Reliable, Plenty of power

Richbass101 · #1 01-11-2012, 12:27 PM

Hey guys my band is going to start doing some serious gigging and I need/want a reliable head with plenty of power. At the moment I'm using a Hartke 3500 ( bought new in '93 been in the shop only once ) an swr goliath3 & son of bertha cabs. I'm trying to decide between these heads: Hartke Kilo
Hartke LH1000
Carvin B2000
Kustom 1300HD

Now ofcourse I'm sold on Hartke due to the fact I've never really had any issues with the head I currently use but I havent heard much on the Kilo which has more features I like than the LH1000. Out of these heads what di you guys think for reliability & headroom?

bongomania · #2 01-11-2012, 12:32 PM

Kustom does not have the greatest rep for reliability. Re "headroom", not everyone has the same understanding of that word, so can you spell out what you are specifically meaning there?

Richbass101 · #3 01-11-2012, 12:35 PM

headroom = not having to turn it up to 7 or 8 and losing tone at higher volumes

bongomania · #4 01-11-2012, 12:57 PM

"Losing tone at higher volumes" is caused by ear fatigue; it will only get worse if you get a more powerful amp.

Unless by "losing tone" you mean unwanted distortion? In that case you really do want higher headroom, meaning greater ability to produce and handle high signal levels without clipping.

There's nothing wrong with turning a volume knob to 7 or 8, unless you mean doing that with your current amp results in unwanted distortion.

keiththebassist · #5 01-11-2012, 01:00 PM

I would normally try to convince you that your current amp IS powerful enough, but in this case I will just ask you how much you want for it after you get your Kilo?

But as an answer to your question, The Kilo has way more features and a good tone, I like it better than the LH1000 but that's just me...

BassmanPaul · #6 01-11-2012, 01:05 PM

"Losing tone" is also caused by not having enough speakers to get as loud as you need. If you want loud more speakers is the way to go rather than more power. To get twice as loud you would have to increase power ten fold.

BassmanPaul · #7 01-11-2012, 01:10 PM

Your choice of speaker cabinets is poor. The 4x10 + 1x15 is a bad combination and the 15 will always be a weak link. Replace it with an second identical 4x10 and you'll be much better off.

Woodsbass · #8 01-11-2012, 01:15 PM

Whenever I hear power and reliability, Carvin comes to mind. I've got the BX1200 and love it to death.

will33 · #9 01-11-2012, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BassmanPaul

Your choice of speaker cabinets is poor. The 4x10 + 1x15 is a bad combination and the 15 will always be a weak link. Replace it with an second identical 4x10 and you'll be much better off.

+1

Get your cab situation sorted, then see if you need more power. Beyond a couple hundred watts, more power isn't what you need to get louder, more speakers is. Real headroom, meaning not having to turn the amp up near it's limits AFTER you already have a lot of speakers, is a real reason for more power. Try playing the 410 by itself with your current amp. If you need louder, get a matching 410. If you're still turning it way up, you might look into a bigger amp, or have the rest of the band turn down.

bongomania · #10 01-11-2012, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BassmanPaul

Your choice of speaker cabinets is poor. The 4x10 + 1x15 is a bad combination and the 15 will always be a weak link. Replace it with an second identical 4x10 and you'll be much better off.

Agreed!

Richbass101 · #11 01-11-2012, 01:56 PM

ok I've got another goliath3 as well & have tried using them both together but my 3500 gets hot so I'm pretty sure another head with more power will handle the 2 4X10's better. With the 3500 getting hot its just a matter of time before I run into problems I'm sure

keiththebassist · #12 01-11-2012, 02:10 PM

Hmmm...

Your amp should certainly not be getting hot. Are you sure that the total impedance of your cabs is matched to your amp? Also, perhaps the amp hasn't been opened up in a while and may be really dusty inside due to the fan intake, that's the biggest culprit with nearly all electronic heat issues...

If you're amp does not have a problem (heating or otherwise) and you just feel that it's underpowered, I'd like to make an offer to buy it from you, I love the sound of these amps but my older 200 watt version doesn't have a line out and she's seen more than her share of gigs

Richbass101 · #13 01-11-2012, 02:17 PM

yep both cabs are 8 ohms & once a year I blow the dust out of it. I recently had the head serviced ( bad input jack ) and had the guy check everything to make sure its working properly. Regardless, when I get a new head I'll keep this as back up. I do have a SWR 550x that I've never been happy with I'd sell but no not the hartke lol

keiththebassist · #14 01-11-2012, 02:40 PM

Well, had to put it out there

Much love for the early Hartke gear!!!

BassmanPaul · #15 01-11-2012, 02:46 PM

Amps working close to or at their maximum will get hot. My old Carvin DCM1000 pushing into 2Ω per channel was a great little fan heater!

My new DCM1000L doesn't even get warm playing all night into two 4Ω loads.

**Primakurtz** · #16 01-11-2012, 02:47 PM

I am loving my Traynor XS800h.
I would like to try the Carvin B2000, as well.
Can't help you with the other brands, though.

bassplayerbob · #17 01-11-2012, 03:01 PM

LH1000 for me. Own it, love it, never gig without it. I have the HX410 paired with it and run it in bridged mode. Never have to go past 3 on the volume. Great thing about this head is if you want more cabs, run in parallel mode and you can hook up 4 cabs to this thing!! Can you say "turn down!!!"

newbold · #18 01-11-2012, 04:55 PM

Not to poo-poo any of the other choices here, but if you like Hartke, I'd say to stick with it. Their customer service seems second to almost none and their gear is always rock solid.

Every time I've played Hartke stuff I've always been able to get loads of juice and really great tone. The Kilo is a real monster. I've only really dug into a 3500 and at that I'd really just want more cabs than a bigger head...though I have never needed to power 4 cabs you might.

babebambi · #19 01-12-2012, 12:29 AM

as long as the the 115 receive half the power that the 410 receive, that is a viable system
(eg. 4 ohm 410 and 8 ohm 115; or 2 channel power amp with individual channel level control)
you just have to decide for yourself whether it work for you tonally

if you are selling either of the cabs, it should be the 410
ppl preaching against the 410/115 combo didn't tell the complete story

get rid of the 410, and buy yourself a couple more 15's, stacks them vertically
you don't want side by side speakers (such as the config in a 410) because that creates unwanted interference (comb filtering) in the horizontal plane

oh and for the amp, B2000 is the bargain of the century

will33 · #20 01-12-2012, 12:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by babebambi

as long as the the 115 receive half the power that the 410 receive, that is a viable system
(eg. 4 ohm 410 and 8 ohm 115; or 2 channel power amp with individual channel level control)
you just have to decide for yourself whether it work for you tonally

if you are selling either of the cabs, it should be the 410
ppl preaching against the 410/115 combo didn't tell the complete story

get rid of the 410, and buy yourself a couple more 15's, stacks them vertically
you don't want side by side speakers (such as the config in a 410) because that creates unwanted interference (comb filtering) in the horizontal plane

oh and for the amp, B2000 is the bargain of the century

+1

Liking 215's here rather than a quad of 10's. The reason everybody says "keep the 410" is simply because it's louder per watt, everything else be damned.