Tell me about Hartke...

[Inconnu]

The older ones, the 3500 head and aluminium speakers. I saw an old 1x15 combo somewhere around here, didn't have the chance to plug in, wanted to know how they are. Is the tube preamp warm, can you get it to overdrive, how's the overall sound, are they worth it? Just tell me!

[BurningSkies]

An Ode to the ol' Hartke 3500

[SurferJoe46]

I have a Hartke 1-15 combo at the practice room where we get to work on new stuff. I played on it a few time.

I never forget to bring my own gear after those two attempts to play on it. Generally - it sucked big ones.

Farting and lousy reproduction and yet another bassist says it's one of the best 1-15 combos made every time he plays it.

No way. A Hartke 1-15 combo might be good for a phone booth venue.

[Dustin Teel]

The tube preamp is warm, and sounds good.

Mine does not overdrive, even fully cranked. It is warm, but clear. You can create mild distortion by mixing the SS and Tube preamps, but I choose not to do this, as the preamps sound better isolated individually in my opinion.

The overall sound is great. I use the 5500 which is the 500 watt version of the 3500. The tone is identical. It is a very true, relatively uncolored sound in my opinion. These heads let your bass's tone shine.

The heads are very powerful and seem louder than amps of equal wattage rating, in my opinion.

The only drawback is that they have a very pronounced treble "bite" in the 5k hz range. I dial back the treble on my Hartke 5500 and boost the low mids a bit. I am using it with a Peavey TVX412 cab and a Schecter bass. It sounds outstanding to me and my band.

Best of luck with your purchase.

[DRafalske]

I just took in a 3500 and 410XL on trade just to have something to leave at our practice space. I'm kind of amazed by it and really digging the tone. Everything Dustin Teel said I agree with. My only complaint would be the weight. My Shuttle combo has me spoiled in that regard.

D