Hartke 5500 into loadbox

[mb2000]

Hey everyone!
I'll be playing a gig this Saturday where I'll only use my amps DI. I've bought a Palmer loadbox to simulate the load of the absent speaker. However, the Palmer can only handle 250 watts of power, whereas the Hartke is a 500 watt amp. Will my loadbox be able to handle the signal as long as I keep the volume below half?

 

[DWBass]

The Hartke is a SS amp. No need to simulate a load like a tube amp. Just use the DI. SS amps do not need to have speakers attached to operate safely.

 

[mb2000]

The Hartke is a SS amp. No need to simulate a load like a tube amp. Just use the DI.

The Harke has a tube pre-amp though. And the manual clearly states to never use the amp without a speaker connected.

 

[Roland GR 88]

I would consult the manual but generally speaking you are flirting with danger. Load ratings of speaker sim/attenuators should be followed just as you would with ohms and speaker cabs.

 

[Jaco who?]

I would contact Hartke and ask just to be sure, but I believe the generic warning in the manual is hogwash, since they say any load greater than 4Ω is safe. No speakers connected is much greater than 4Ω.

 

[mb2000]

Thanks for your replies everyone! One question remains: does an amp put out half the watts if the volume is halfway down?

 

[Roland GR 88]

Nobody, neither Hartke or Palmer will give you the green light to use your gear outside its normal parameters. That would be warranty suicide.
You have 2 choices, try it and watch out for funny smells or take your cab.
I wouldn't assume that your volume knobs position is an accurate measure of power consumption either.
There's a good reason why Palmer and others make many different models to match power consumption and load ratings.

 

[agedhorse]

Don't do it unless you are ok destroying equipment.

 

[DWBass]

The Hartke has a tube pre-amp though. And the manual clearly states to never use the amp without a speaker connected.

Not sure if that is correct. I owned a Hartke 5500. Never heard of that. It has a tube pre but it's not a "Tube Amp" in general. Does not need a load. I've turned it on before without having the speakers connected....by accident though. Had the speakers plugged into the wrong jacks. Was wondering why I didn't have any sound!! Duh moment.

If you're referring to this from the manual

2. Begin by hooking up your bass cabinet or cabinets, using the 1/4” unbalanced Speaker output connectors on the rear panel; it is never a good idea to power up any amplifier that is not connected to loudspeakers. We recommend the use of a single 4 ohm cabinet or two 8 ohm cabinets. Hartke amps are optimized for use with Hartke bass cabinets, although other brands of speakers can be substituted. Any appropriately rated bass cabinet with a minimum impedance of 4 ohms (that is, 4 ohms or greater) can be used. In order to ensure correct phase correlation, the tip of the Model 3500/5500 speaker jack should be connected to the “+” (hot) input of your loudspeaker, and the sleeve of the Model 3500/5500 speaker jack should be connected to the “-” (ground) input of your loudspeaker

It basically means you shouldn't connect speakers while the amp is turned on (electrical hazard) if you haven't already. Many folks use SS amps as preamps for recording or live applications with no cabs connected.

 

[Zbysek]

I'll be playing a gig this Saturday where I'll only use my amps DI.

Why would you do this?

If you need to play ampless, why don't you use a DI box?

If you insist on having your amp's preamp in the signal chain, why don't you bring your cabinet with you, plug it in and leave the master volume knob off (counterclockwise)?