PLEASE HELP ME ASAP!!!!!

gregmon79 · #1 12-20-2012, 10:11 PM

Hello to all out there. I'm very new to the forum thing so bare with me please, thanks. So, my question, if you had to choose one of the two following amps, while running it through a 1x15 hartke hydrive and a fender bassman 410 (probably replacing soon) while playing with an older ATK 300 series Ibanez, which would it be and why

An SWR 750X or a hartke LH1000

I recently bought the SWR too replace a yorkville bassmasrwe 400 (which I still have) and I'm struggling with the "power" thing with SWR. PLEASE HELP ME!!!!! Thank you

Got2SadowskyNYC · #2 12-20-2012, 10:15 PM

SWR. I've always like the sound of SWR over Hartke.

two fingers · #3 12-20-2012, 10:16 PM

Calm down. We'll help. Let's get a little more info.

First of all, what's the ohm rating of the cabs (should say on the back near the input jacks)?

Second, you are about to get hit with the "don't mix drivers" club. It's really not the best situation to run two different cabs. They compete for power in different ways. There are frequency concerns (check out some of the "sticky" threads).

Third, why those two amps in particular? Are they used and for sale in your area?

gregmon79 · #4 12-20-2012, 10:25 PM

I have the fender because its just what I have. I haven't had the luxory of buying matching cabs ever. It runs at 8 ohms. The 1x15 is a hartke hydrive at 8 ohms

gregmon79 · #5 12-20-2012, 10:33 PM

I also would like to know if I'm going to get more bang for my buck with one or the other. I've only been playing the swr for a week and I do like it but it seems like its going to be an ongoing battle for t

gregmon79 · #6 12-20-2012, 10:37 PM

one. Which I know is always the case, but even more so now with the swr. But I'm afraid the hartke won't last. I've seen on here that they will burn out after a few months. And the clipping light is constantly on on this swr so I'm scared of blowing my cabs before their time. But if I turn it down to where the light doesn't go on, I may as well not even be playing with my band. Kinda frustrating already and its only been a week.

zachoff · #7 12-20-2012, 10:40 PM

750X is an awesome SS amp. I'd take it over almost anything not tube and not Genz Benz hybrid. I'd replace the 1x15 before replacing the 4x10.

M. Owen Santy · #8 12-20-2012, 11:25 PM

Hell - I'd stick with the Yorkie! To me - the Solid State SWR's are just over-rated as power is concerned, and I'm not a Hartke tone fan. Perhaps look for a Traynor DB800H (Or the Yorkville Bassmaster xs800h) used and just double the power of you current setup - can find them used for cheep everywhere and if you like your current tone enough to keep the 400 - why mess with a good thing?

wmheilma · #9 12-20-2012, 11:28 PM

Primakurtz · #10 12-20-2012, 11:46 PM

I read your headline and thought you were on fire. You are not. Amp decision questions are not generally caps-lock, multiple exclamation point topics here on TB.

JimmyM · #11 12-20-2012, 11:50 PM

I'd stick with the Yorkie, too, although the Hartke's a cool amp and you could make a case for snagging it. Was not crazy about the 750x. But Yorkville stuff I've played is surprisingly good for the money, and loudness is more about speaker area and cone movement than wattage.

gregmon79 · #12 12-21-2012, 05:15 AM

Primakurtz, if I wanted a smart a** remark about my use of caps lock, inwouldve asked for that as well. But I didn't so please refrain yourself from commenting on anything I post again unless it will actually be helpful. As zachof thanks but my options are limited that is why I kept it to the guidelines in my original post. As for the rest of you thank you much for your time and input, it does help a little and I will continue my registration on this forum as you all seem very knowledgeable and opinionated (this is good here, I'm not trying to knock any of you. Well maybe primakurtz but......haha) so thank you much to those who gave solid input. To all, happy holidays!

RickenBoogie · #13 12-21-2012, 07:49 AM

Not a great way to start off on TB, I don't think.

bertbassplayer · #14 12-21-2012, 07:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gregmon79

Primakurtz, if I wanted a smart a** remark about my use of caps lock, inwouldve asked for that as well. But I didn't so please refrain yourself from commenting on anything I post again unless it will actually be helpful. As zachof thanks but my options are limited that is why I kept it to the guidelines in my original post. As for the rest of you thank you much for your time and input, it does help a little and I will continue my registration on this forum as you all seem very knowledgeable and opinionated (this is good here, I'm not trying to knock any of you. Well maybe primakurtz but......haha) so thank you much to those who gave solid input. To all, happy holidays!

Dude chill. Amp decisions aren't life or death, and acting like it is ends up being a good way you don't end up getting any responses. Also responding to people in the manner that you did is another way to not get any responses. And like RickenBoogie said, it is not a good way to start.

That being said there is plenty of information already on the forum, I would suggest using the search function as it is a wonderful tool (though SWR is hard to search for

).

Febs · #15 12-21-2012, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gregmon79

Primakurtz, if I wanted a smart a** remark about my use of caps lock, inwouldve asked for that as well. But I didn't so please refrain yourself from commenting on anything I post again unless it will actually be helpful.

Since you're new to forums, I will offer you this as constructive advice. First, you are far more likely to get useful responses if you use a descriptive thread title. For example, "SWR 750X or a hartke LH1000: which would you choose?" is a good thread title. "PLEASE HELP ME ASAP!!!!!" is not a good thread title. Using all capital letters in an internet forum is the equivalent of shouting. Imagine what sort of reaction you would get from someone if you walked up to him in person and yelled "PLEASE HELP ME!!!!" at the top of your lungs. You have done the equivalent here with your thread title. Second, if you don't like a particular response to your thread, ignore it. If you react defensively, your thread is likely to turn into a discussion of your reaction rather than whatever it is that you were asking about in the first place. (And, as you can see, that is exactly what is happening here.)

Now, with that said:

I'm not familiar with the SWR 750X, but I own a Hartke LH500 and I have used the LH1000. They are very nice amps and they can be had at a very reasonable price, so they offer a really good bang for the buck. I have not seen any indication here that they "will burn out after a few months." I certainly haven't had that issue, and I've had mine for several years and used it for probably several hundred gigs and rehearsals. I have seen a few isolated instances of people who have had to replace the preamp tube, but that is a very simple fix that you can do yourself in the unlikely event that it is necessary. Moreover, Hartke's customer service is excellent. Larry Hartke himself frequently responds to anyone who is experiencing an issue. You don't find that kind of support with many companies.

If you do go with the Hartke, be aware that it has a Fender style tone stack, where the bass and treble controls boost, while the mid control cuts. So, a good starting point for using the EQ section to find your sound is to put the controls at 2-10-2 (or somewhere in that neighborhood) rather than starting with them all straight up. If you start with them all straight up, you will get a significant mid-scoop in your EQ.

Best of luck with your decision.

fivestringgecko · #16 12-21-2012, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickenBoogie

Not a great way to start off on TB, I don't think.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bertbassplayer

Dude chill. Amp decisions aren't life or death, and acting like it is ends up being a good way you don't end up getting any responses. Also responding to people in the manner that you did is another way to not get any responses. And like RickenBoogie said, it is not a good way to start.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Febs

Since you're new to forums, I will offer you this as constructive advice. First, you are far more likely to get useful responses if you use a descriptive thread title. [...] If you react defensively, your thread is likely to turn into a discussion of your reaction rather than whatever it is that you were asking about in the first place. (And, as you can see, that is exactly what is happening here.)

+1

That said...

SWR has a great history of course, but I do like those new Hartke heads. The Hartke cabs are a bit bright for my current musical tastes/needs, but the amps I've played have been quite solid and sounded good. Good bang for your buck, IMO.

I've only played one SWR, but the power thing that Spector mentioned makes sense... I felt like it just didn't have quite enough "ooomph."

5sg.

JTE · #17 12-21-2012, 09:22 AM

I've read on TB that SWR amps reproduce lower frequencies than most other bass amps- which while it seemingly would be a good thing for a bass amp, it really works against them. Some of that low end they're sending out isn't useful for actually hearing your bass and most speakers can't do much with it anyway. So, it takes a lot of power to create something that you're not using.

Having said that, I personally never played an SWR that I liked (my tone preferences are for my Eden WT-400). With your options limited to the SWR and the Hartke, I'd opt for the Hartke I think, but that's based on ancient experience with the original Hartke 3500 heads- which had some shortcomings for me, but at least I could get enough of what I wanted out of them that I bought one.

I would also counsel you to heed the wisdom of folks on this forum. Personally I'd ditch the 1x15 and get another similar 4x10 before I bought another amp, especially if I could find a matching 4x10. MUCH better in so many respects- and don't buy into the myth that 1x15 has more or better lows than a 4x10. Spend some time reading up on mixing speakers, impedance, power ratings, and EQ for bass in the various threads here.

And I'd also kindly suggest that heeding the counsel of people about etiquette and getting along will help you enjoy a lot more of the wonderful resource that TB is.

John

gregmon79 · #18 12-21-2012, 09:38 AM

Thank you to all for the advice. I had no idea that forums such as these would read that much into what I responded. I apologize for my manner to any of those I have offended. I'm having a lot of trouble just navigating on here let alone making enemies while doing it. Thank you to all for the advice, it is greatly appreciated.

fivestringgecko · #19 12-21-2012, 09:58 AM

All good, brother. I've had a love/hate relationship with Talkbass for a number of years now... I love the wealth of information here. My wallet hates it. lol I've NEVER had a question that someone hasn't already experienced here and had a good answer for. Play nice and people will be more than willing to help out, be a jerk and you'll get flamed. lol Overall, I've been truly impressed with the people here on TB.

Take some time, navigate around, get used to things... Welcome to Talkbass!!!

Good luck with the amp situation, let us know how it turns out.

5sg.

Codger · #20 12-21-2012, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gregmon79

Thank you to all for the advice. I had no idea that forums such as these would read that much into what I responded. I apologize for my manner to any of those I have offended. I'm having a lot of trouble just navigating on here let alone making enemies while doing it. Thank you to all for the advice, it is greatly appreciated.

Don't sweat any of that stuff. Anything said is forgotten within about 5 min of its posting anyway.