Comparison between Hartke Bass Attack and MXR M80

[jcburn]

I would like a cheap DI with tone shaping and OD. Just after opinions. Owned the MXR before and liked it, but the Hartke gets good reviews. Not looking at anything boutique.
Thanks.

[worshiprocker]

i say get the M80.. i love mine.

[icks]

Never played the Hartke, but I own the MXR and i'm very fond of it. Very good tones, no hum, build like a tank, reliable and precise eq !

What could you expect more from it that the Hartke has and the MXR hasn't ?
Nothing.

IF the hartke is as good as the mxr, only the tone-shaping can make the difference, but only for YOU. So ... try and choose !

[Crystalman85]

There is a big difference between the mxr m-80 and the hartke bass attack pedal. the mxr m-80 has a pure clean, non-tube bass sound(think gallien-krueger or eden-traveller). and it also has a distortion channel that provides heavy grind sound. not everyone like the distortion channel on the mxr m-80, but I think it sounded pretty cool. the hartke bass attack pedal on the other hand has a tube-emulated sound much like the tech 21 sansamp bass driver. the only different from the hartke bass attack pedal from the tech 21 sansamp bass driver is that the hartke bass attack pedal contains hartke's famous shape control which acts more like an eq boost. here some youtube clips of these pedals. hopefully this should help you out on your decision.

MXR m-80
MXR M80 Bass Distortion + Demo Video - YouTube

FPE-TV Aram Bedrosian MXR M80 Bass D.I. + Demo - YouTube

Hartke bass attack pedal

Hartke VXL Bass Attack Preamp And D.I. Does The Job Of Multiple Pedals, Is Frequently Stepped On (Vi - YouTube

Hartke Bass Attack - valve drive - YouTube

[Thylacine Dream]

Are there any other DIs that meet the OP's description? I haven't gotten to listen to both yet, but the main advantage of the M80 that I can see is its separate volume controls for both clean and distortion. I know that this is available on the EBS Microbass as well, but I've read on here that most can't get the clean to catch up enough

[omie]

I generally hated the distortion on the mx80 at high levels... BUT it has a blend knob (blend at 9oclock) that I used to give a little hair for a chorus/solo boost on a super clean SS amp. EQ was excellent.

[jcburn]

I have to admit that I've owned the M80 before and the clean channel was great, EQ was great and the DI was clean, however I'm looking for the pedal to double as an overdrive or distortion and I was just after maybe another cheapish option.
I didn't hate the MXR distortion channel, but it does engage a mid cut that I wasn't real fond of and just having a look for another option.

[xikbastard]

get a dedicated dirt pedal and hooked it up to yer m80. that what i did a few yrs ago, when i want a fuzz type and not dirty type voicing for some parts and other parts i just stack them and go nuts.

[blackba]

Does the M80 have enough output to drive a power amp? I read that the hartke bass attack comes up short in that regard.