Little Mark II/Hartke 4.5 XL

[SisterAbdullahX]

Not being in the incredible position that some of you out there are in to have collections of incredibly high end and expensive rigs, some seem to have a different $4,000 rig for each day of the week! (where do some of you get your money from!? Do any of you have wives!? Children!!??), I've decided that sometime in the not too distant future I want to get as good a rig as I can without having to move back in with my parents at the age of 40. To this end and after doing a bit of research it seems that the Mark Bass LMII is the baby to go for as far as striking a balance between sound, power and cost, and the Hartke 4.5XL gets good reviews on Basschat and this can be bought for pennies. So I want to hear from anyone out there with experience, good and bad, of either or both of these bad boys.

[GreyBeard]

Originally Posted by SisterAbdullahX

Not being in the incredible position that some of you out there are in to have collections of incredibly high end and expensive rigs, some seem to have a different $4,000 rig for each day of the week! (where do some of you get your money from!? Do any of you have wives!? Children!!??), I've decided that sometime in the not too distant future I want to get as good a rig as I can without having to move back in with my parents at the age of 40. To this end and after doing a bit of research it seems that the Mark Bass LMII is the baby to go for as far as striking a balance between sound, power and cost, and the Hartke 4.5XL gets good reviews on Basschat and this can be bought for pennies. So I want to hear from anyone out there with experience, good and bad, of either or both of these bad boys.

The Hartke 4.5XL was my go to cab for about 10 yrs of constant playing. I powered it with a EV Dynacord 200 watt power amp and it was loud and full. The LMII is 300 watts into 8 ohms so it should work even better than mine did. I sold my 4.5XL for no good reason other than I was bored.

[figuredbass]

As an owner of the cabs and a user of the Little Mark II, I can tell you this will be an awesome rig! I'm now mainly using an Epifani UL310 primarily for weight and portability, but the Hartke cabs are still amongst my faves.

[Kael]

Weird mix weight wise. That 4.5XL is a pretty good cab but it is freaking hefty. The LMII on the other hand is pretty fly weight. Odd. Those two will probably work well together.

[rodl2005]

Hartke 4.5 cab is IMO probly the best cab they built! Great cab & GREAT amp. Very versatile. I use my LMII with ANY of my cabs-either Berg NV610, Aguilar GS112, or EV TL115.......sounds GREAT with any of 'em. Yours Should be a GREAT rig! Congrats!!

[Son of Bovril]

I have been using two 4.5XL cabs for over two years now and have never had a problem with either of them. they are great whether combined or used separately with a variation of heads and preamps

I now use the schroeder for most shows because it's smaller and easier to load with it's castors, but the Hartke's have been faithful and reliable since I got them, and I bought them second hand (in good condition)

IMO the best cab Hartke has ever made...

[gr1m_dan]

Not really sure on the Hartke cabs. I've only ever played through a 4x10 at a gig once (we were kit sharing) and I didn't like it at all, but then he did have a Hartke amp also which I wasn't impressed with.

However, I own an LMK (Similar) and its the best thing I've ever purchased!!! I recently played a gig where the bass player had two Ashdown 4x10s and an Ashdown BM300?500? Cant remember exactly what it was but my LMK, 2x10 and 1x15 blew it out of the water for quality of sound, power and everything! And they weigh pretty much nothing.

So overall, great choice of amp but not my personal preference of cab!

Rock \m/

[bassybill]

LMII with 4.5xl would sound great, but I'd be tempted to try using that amp with two 2.5xl cabs. More flexibility (smaller gigs you could manage perfectly well with just the one cab) and when you use both, the 4ohm load will give you a fair bit of extra headroom from the amp. Bang for buck wise this setup would be VERY hard to beat for versatility, volume and tone. The Hartke cabs aren't light, though - but that's just about their only disadvantage in my own experience.

I've tried my 2.5xl cab with the head in my Markbass combo (same head as the LMII) and it sounded just great.

[KJung]

I really like the Hartke 4.5... nice cab, but as others have pointed out, it's HEAVY.

My main concern with the LMII pairing is that I think the 410 is only available in 8 ohm version, which would only result in the LMII putting out 300 watts. While the 'you only get 3db more when doubling the wattage' is of course true, I find that a couple hundred extra watts into a cab when starting from a relatively low base of 300 watts can really make a difference in the feel and fullness of the low end.

As long as you aren't playing super loud and don't mind the heavy weight, the hartke is great, and I love the sound of that 'small driver as tweeter' tone.

[derrico1]

Originally Posted by Son of Bovril

I now use the schroeder for most shows because it's smaller and easier to load with it's castors, but the Hartke's have been faithful and reliable since I got them.

+1. I'm also gigging a Schroeder now (mostly because the 21012 is a one-hand carry), but I've hung onto a Hartke 410XL to keep as my rehearsal cab for one of my bands. The XLs are punchy, perfectly useful cabs; and the 4.5XL (which I've never owned, but played in plenty of supplied backlines) is a shade better than the 410.

[Son of Bovril]

Originally Posted by derrico1

+1. I'm also gigging a Schroeder now (mostly because the 21012 is a one-hand carry), but I've hung onto a Hartke 410XL to keep as my rehearsal cab for one of my bands. The XLs are punchy, perfectly useful cabs; and the 4.5XL (which I've never owned, but played in plenty of supplied backlines) is a shade better than the 410.

my 310212 isn't quite a one hand load (far from it!!!) but it does have castors and it is only one trip compared to lugging two 4.5XL cabs...

[CElton]

How about 2 2.5xl's? You would get the total 4 ohm load to the LMII.

[bassybill]

Originally Posted by OP1964

How about 2 2.5xl's? You would get the total 4 ohm load to the LMII.

DING DING! See post #8.

[CElton]

Originally Posted by bassybill

DING DING! See post #8.

Sorry, I hadn't had my morning cup o'joe yet. So +1 to your post.

[neptoon]

great cab... +1 on a pair of 2.5xl's, though...see if you can dig up a hartke 2200 2x12 cab...it's just been discontinued (though i can't figure why, except maybe with the new hydrive hartke cabs) and can probably had for even more on the cheap...and hartke 12" drivers sound great

[SisterAbdullahX]

Originally Posted by rodl2005

Hartke 4.5 cab is IMO probly the best cab they built! Great cab & GREAT amp. Very versatile. I use my LMII with ANY of my cabs-either Berg NV610, Aguilar GS112, or EV TL115.......sounds GREAT with any of 'em. Yours Should be a GREAT rig! Congrats!!

That's just what I wanted to hear. Now I just have find 'em. Cheers.

[fbedard]

Originally Posted by SisterAbdullahX

Not being in the incredible position that some of you out there are in to have collections of incredibly high end and expensive rigs, some seem to have a different $4,000 rig for each day of the week! (where do some of you get your money from!? Do any of you have wives!? Children!!??), I've decided that sometime in the not too distant future I want to get as good a rig as I can without having to move back in with my parents at the age of 40. To this end and after doing a bit of research it seems that the Mark Bass LMII is the baby to go for as far as striking a balance between sound, power and cost, and the Hartke 4.5XL gets good reviews on Basschat and this can be bought for pennies. So I want to hear from anyone out there with experience, good and bad, of either or both of these bad boys.

Go for it my friend!
I have this exact rig and it sound awesome!
plenty of power, bid balls sound but very tight and clear.
Yes the 4.5 XL is quite big and it's 100 lbs, you'll need a van or a 4x4 for easy transportation, but it sounds much better than the regular 410 xl for example ( I have both)
it's a cheap no compromise rig (I bought the LM II for 425$ on ebay (used) and the 4.5 XL for 439$ bran new!)
Fred

[murphy]

Great combo.......and you can always add another cab later

[jazzbo66]

Just a note - the 4.5 XL is rated at 275 W @ 8 Ohms.
Don't over-power and blow it!

[jazzbo66]

Just a note - the 4.5 XL is rated at 275 W @ 8 Ohms.
Don't over-power and blow it!