Double Bass Does the Hartke suit for upright?

[Melik]

Hi! My friend is trying to sell his Hartke amp to me but at the moment I'm planning to buy an upright bass.

So, hypothetically, if I played the upright through a Hartke amp, would it sound any good?

 

[Melik]

shameless bump after just 20 minutes of starting this thread

 

[JGoldberg]

I started out playing through a hartke kickback cause it was all I could afford. It didn't sound too good but you have to start someplace.

You might be better off getting some used gear. I've seen old Acoustic Image amps go pretty cheap and they sound great.

 

[joemagar]

Which Hartke amp? I've played a number of upright gigs through Hartke 5000 and 7000 heads with very pleasing results.

 

[JGoldberg]

This was a 10 inch combo. I forget the exact model number. It was about 120w. I found that the sound wasn't very transparent. When I upgraded people kept telling me that my playing had improved. I didn't want to tell them that it was the amp all along.

 

[SVT4001]

I will play through a Hartke Kickback 112 on occasion, and while it is certainly not the best sounding amp I own, it doesn't suck at all.

I would call it nominal.

YMMV disclaimer- A lot will depend not only on what sound you are expecting- but whether your bass is fully carved, hybrid or ply- what kind of pick up you are using- how loud you need to get- and your technique to some extent.

My experience- hope it helps.

Respectfully,

Joe

 

[Huy Nguyen]

All the Hartke's I owned (Kickback 110 and a head/cab) all sounded like fart machines. I dumped them as fast as I could. Two thumbs down here.

 

[Melik]

The amp my friend is selling is the Hartke A100

 

[f.c.geil]

No. Hartke cabs (at least the ones I've heard) are very bright, and really don't work for upright sounds.

 

[Melik]

No. Hartke cabs (at least the ones I've heard) are very bright, and really don't work for upright sounds.

Yeah, that's what I thought too. But I've got no personal experience of upright played through a Hartke rig so I had to ask!

 

[Ric Vice]

Yeah, that's what I thought too. But I've got no personal experience of upright played through a Hartke rig so I had to ask!

Melik,
IMHO you should go with one of the inexpensive GK MB combos, either the MB 112 or 115. If that's more than you can afford, check the craigslist or the Talkbass classifieds for used GK MBS or MBE combos. IME the Hartke 10" Kickback, with my bass and the Realist sounded awful. Just my take though.

Ric

 

[RustyAxe]

For my smaller, more intimate gigs I use my little Ampeg BA112 ... sounds great. But I'm actively seeking a used Mesa Walkabout Scout 12 combo for more oomph in a smaller package than my full out Ampeg stack (yikes!). The Hartke's that I've used varied from just ok to abyssmal.