Hartke LH500 vs Markbass Little Mark II

[ben12390]

So im looking for an upgrade from my Acoustic B200H.
and Ive played the Markbass stuff and i really like it.
but its around 500 bucks.

and ive heard nothing but great things about the new Hartke stuff coming out.

what im looking for is just a warm smooth tone, a clean but punchy vintage sounding amp. and the Markbass can do that, and some more too.
whereas ive heard the Hartke can as well.
and the Hartke has a tube pre-amp, which is super tempting.

I guess im asking you TB'ers if the Hartke really is all it says it is. Ive got a Sansamp PDDI and a VT bass, so as far as amp models and sounds, ive got it covered. but i just want a warm, clear sounding amp.

and the hartke is WAY cheaper.

what are your thoughts.

[JimmyM]

i prefer ampeg amps, but i felt bad that nobody had answered you so...



the hartke is a very different amp from the markbass, but it's a good amp. don't know which one you'd prefer, but the hartke's solidly made and a good sounding amp.

[perogato02]

Maybe you can find an answer here ...
I would love to help you out but I just dig Oranges (hey, no carots but lets stick to the same colour)

Cheap Head Shootout - Hartke LH500 vs LMII vs Genz Benz 6.0

[BillyIVbass]

The Mark Basses are light and have more EQ control, buuuuuut always sound a bit sterile to me. Looks like you want more of a vintage sound. That is the reason why I never liked the Mark Bass stuff. Too modern for me.

The Hartke is a no frills loud amp with some warmth from 1 preamp tube. Your pedals are capable of giving you plenty extra EQ tweaks.

Anywhere where you can play both next to each other?

[sleepytime]

Originally Posted by ben12390

what im looking for is just a warm smooth tone, a clean but punchy vintage sounding amp.

Buy the LH500. Warm, fat, punchy, clean. Note that the passive tone stack will give you a very scooped tone with the knobs at 12 o'clock. You will have to cut the lows and boost the mids, I run mine usually around 3 or 4 on the bass, about 8 on the mids. This is with a simple Precision (with flats)-->LH500-->Avatar 210(s) setup. Just plug in and go, no fuss, no worries. I get constant compliments on the tone. Also, unlike some amps that run out of gas at around 5 on the volume, the LH500 needs to be past 6 or so before it even starts to get serious.

[gillento]

I have the LH500 and the MB SA450 (basically a LM2 with semi parametric mid controls).
Whereas the MB as more absolute low end, the LH500 has way more "character", more kind of "identity".

I don't know how else to put it, sorry.

[KJung]

Originally Posted by gillento

I have the LH500 and the MB SA450 (basically a LM2 with semi parametric mid controls).
Whereas the MB as more absolute low end, the LH500 has way more "character", more kind of "identity".

I don't know how else to put it, sorry.

That is actually pretty good IMO. The LMIII/SA450 is a relatively wide, relatively transparent, very clean solid state amp. There is some 'pleasant' midrange distortion (most hear this as 'warmth) built in so that it does not sound 'sterile' at all, and hence, some guys describe it as having a very clean 'tube like' tone. Very clean, nice and even from highs to lows... clean, 'modern', but warm... very small and light.

The Hartke LH500 is a very cool amp... amazing for the money. It is quite heavy, and on the large size for a 2 rack space unit. It is VERY tubey, and with that Fender type tone stack, to me, is in the same tone universe as the Alembic Preamp/Power amp set-up. To my ear, it feels and sounds like an old Fender Bassman or Showman head run below the power amp distortion level. So, VERY warm, big down low, lots of complex mids... VERY tubey, but not designed for all out grind and snarl. This amp is just a wonderful tool for those wanting an old school but clean P Bass, 60's J Bass sort of thing.

IMO and IME!