I have an HA4000 that I use along with the Pro 2200 cab. Plenty loud and very versitle tone wise. Sounds a lot bigger than it looks.
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Hartke Appreciation Thread
- Thread starter DbNBassist
- Start date
I've got a 4.5XL cab. Haven't had it too long, but my experiences so far are that its a very clean, punchy tone, which is fine by me because if I want distortion, I'll add it.
I must say though, that Larry Hartke himself is a proper gent. I had bad things to say about Larry and his company before, and I'd like to take the opportunity to apologise to him right now. Perhaps the customer service from the company itself isn't too great, and maybe the products have a bad rep as far as reliability etc goes, but as soon as Larry personally heard about the bother I was having my order completed for one of his cabs in the UK, he got straight in touch with Soundtech, kicked some ass, and rectified the situation. Can't say enough good things about the man.
Only time will tell if the same is true about the 4.5XL!
I must say though, that Larry Hartke himself is a proper gent. I had bad things to say about Larry and his company before, and I'd like to take the opportunity to apologise to him right now. Perhaps the customer service from the company itself isn't too great, and maybe the products have a bad rep as far as reliability etc goes, but as soon as Larry personally heard about the bother I was having my order completed for one of his cabs in the UK, he got straight in touch with Soundtech, kicked some ass, and rectified the situation. Can't say enough good things about the man.
Only time will tell if the same is true about the 4.5XL!
I've gotta say, for the size and weight of my hartke stuff it kicks some serious sonic rear!! I mean, I used to own two Sunn cabinets that sounded amazing, but they each weighed about 100 lbs and I couldnt even fit one in my ford escort. now with my hartke stuff, I can fit my entire rig in the backseat! (210, 118, and a carvin head)
Also, as long as everyone treats these cabs with respect(i.e. not taking them onstage with a deathmetalgrindscreambloodoftheinnocentinyourfacewithanger band and cranking a 1200watt head all the way up through them) I don't see how any reliability problems would come up with them.
Also, as long as everyone treats these cabs with respect(i.e. not taking them onstage with a deathmetalgrindscreambloodoftheinnocentinyourfacewithanger band and cranking a 1200watt head all the way up through them) I don't see how any reliability problems would come up with them.
i loved me 2500 but i no longer have it. sold it a while ago.
was my first decent head and i loved it!
was my first decent head and i loved it!
Thanks everyone for the hartke love. I've been head shopping and this helps astronomically. I had a Hartke 2000 Transient Attack that fell into my lap for free because someone was moving and it was broken. One of the little resistors was loose, so a couple screws later and one little dollop of solder and all was well. Absolute monster, I had never heard so much tone out of a little box (and at 200w it seemed about twice as loud as my 450w behringer, which was a big mistake, don't buy that)
I'm seeing alot of people favoring the 2.5XL over the 2x10XL. I own a 2x10XL, and when i demoed a 2.5XL in a music store i wasn't impressed, the high driver made it seem alot clankier to me, and i didn't like it a bit.
Here's some advice, take it or leave it. Everyone stacks their 2x10 on top of their 1x15, I used to do the same. One day when we were rearranging our practice space, we needed my 1x15 for a speaker stand (ghetto, i know) and i put the 2x10 on the floor on its side and BOOM. It was way louder and sounded so much better, the tone was much fuller. I would assume this is because of the bass resonating through the floor. Give it a try, let me know how it works for you, I always stack my cabs horizontally now, not vertically.
I'm seeing alot of people favoring the 2.5XL over the 2x10XL. I own a 2x10XL, and when i demoed a 2.5XL in a music store i wasn't impressed, the high driver made it seem alot clankier to me, and i didn't like it a bit.
Here's some advice, take it or leave it. Everyone stacks their 2x10 on top of their 1x15, I used to do the same. One day when we were rearranging our practice space, we needed my 1x15 for a speaker stand (ghetto, i know) and i put the 2x10 on the floor on its side and BOOM. It was way louder and sounded so much better, the tone was much fuller. I would assume this is because of the bass resonating through the floor. Give it a try, let me know how it works for you, I always stack my cabs horizontally now, not vertically.
erubus, the increased BOOM of stacking it that way may be because your 15 was closer to ear level and so you heard more of your 15 than your 210.
I bought a hartke 3500 combo back in the early 90's. I seperated it after lugging it around for several years. The head was used in an eastern washington dirt storm and sounded like crap after that. I replaced it with a new head and am still using it regularly.
The 15'' aluminum speaker finally pooped out last summer. I replaced it with a carvin. I like my hartke alot, very punchy, lots of power, and no trouble after years of gigging.
The 15'' aluminum speaker finally pooped out last summer. I replaced it with a carvin. I like my hartke alot, very punchy, lots of power, and no trouble after years of gigging.
Sitting in a guitar store, about 15 years ago. Picked up a Squire P-bass and plugged into a 3500/410XL. Still remember that as the best I ever sounded. Aluminum Love
I bought this cab a few months back; I'm surprised by how deep it sounds; I was expecting more high frequencies, for sure. I'm thinking about getting a 210 or 2.5 to pair up with it.
Although I'm nearly 46 and have been playing bass for 33 years, this is the first time I've wanted to post my thoughts anywhere. I've played all styles to a fair(ish) standard using more basses that I can recall (from Shergold Marathon, Ibanez, Aria, Fender J,P, MM s'ray,WAL Custom, Ex-factor, Warwick thumb etc,etc.) and have done the usual bassist thing of getting bigger more powerful rigs in search of 'that sound'. I've been through Peavey combos + all valve head, Carlsbro,Laney, Ampeg, Trace E, Roland , Sunn and more.
Back in 94 I was using my ash MM and a huge TE stack, it stood 6 foot plus, and was LOUD. However, I went to a local music pub in Sudbury, Suffolk, (The Ship I think?) and heard Hartke gear for the first time. The guy was a great player, finger style, warwick thumb and the sound punched out full, clean, deep and I was blown away. Spoke with him after to learn what it was, I assumed it must be a 1000w rig, and was amazed to find it was only 350w into a 410xl and 115xl.
The next day the TE was up for sale and the hunt was on for this rig and a Warwick. Bought the Hartke 3500 mosfet and cabs second hand from a pro bassist a couple months later. He had already gigged them regularly so I guess these are pretty early models. 410 is the 240w and the 115 180w.
I paid £800 the lot, which was (still is) a fair whack, but back in 94 this lot cost twice that new.
I've used the head and 115 for the past 14 years, only adding the 410 for larger gigs ( or outdoor) and have had no problems either getting a great sound or being loud enough.
Last week I replaced the sovtek valve with a GE5751JAN which has removed the backing track of fizz, crackle and pop and is much smoother. I still dial in the SS pre amp to about 3 to add punch, and always end up bypassing the graphic. I find the graphic is great to get that HiFi sound when practicing, but that scooped sound just doesn't cut through live. Trouble is we all know that the best place to hear bass is 20+ feet back, but that is rarely an option, so we end up asking a non bass playing mate what he thinks.
It was whilst trying to find advice about what tube to try that I found this forum, and the community of Hartke fans/owners. Whatever the price I have never played anything I like as much as my Hartke/Warwick combination. It's pretty compact and will push out any style from deep throbbing reggae through Jaco to unusable metalic ear splitting noise. As this amp/cab set up is the most neutral sounding I have owned I use it flat with a little high and low contour boost, always with the compressor just on to smooth the peaks and protect the cabs. Am I missing a trick? What graphic settings does anyone else recommend?
If you've made it through my garble this far then you must be a Hartke convert and maybe can answer a few more questions:-
Are the newer higher rated cabs better than the originals? Sound better? How long can I expect my cabs to live for?
What preamp valve do you think is best in the 3500 (excluding the super rare Mullard)?
What's the difference between the old mosfet and new bipolar amps. Do they sound the same?
Is there a Hartke owners club? I find the Samson website rather 'corporate' and unfriendly, I think an owners club would be a great idea.
As my rigs gets older I guess I am considering the inevitable and that it will need replacing sometime. I hope the feedback will say that the new stuff is at least as good or better than my early kit.
Cheers.
Back in 94 I was using my ash MM and a huge TE stack, it stood 6 foot plus, and was LOUD. However, I went to a local music pub in Sudbury, Suffolk, (The Ship I think?) and heard Hartke gear for the first time. The guy was a great player, finger style, warwick thumb and the sound punched out full, clean, deep and I was blown away. Spoke with him after to learn what it was, I assumed it must be a 1000w rig, and was amazed to find it was only 350w into a 410xl and 115xl.
The next day the TE was up for sale and the hunt was on for this rig and a Warwick. Bought the Hartke 3500 mosfet and cabs second hand from a pro bassist a couple months later. He had already gigged them regularly so I guess these are pretty early models. 410 is the 240w and the 115 180w.
I paid £800 the lot, which was (still is) a fair whack, but back in 94 this lot cost twice that new.
I've used the head and 115 for the past 14 years, only adding the 410 for larger gigs ( or outdoor) and have had no problems either getting a great sound or being loud enough.
Last week I replaced the sovtek valve with a GE5751JAN which has removed the backing track of fizz, crackle and pop and is much smoother. I still dial in the SS pre amp to about 3 to add punch, and always end up bypassing the graphic. I find the graphic is great to get that HiFi sound when practicing, but that scooped sound just doesn't cut through live. Trouble is we all know that the best place to hear bass is 20+ feet back, but that is rarely an option, so we end up asking a non bass playing mate what he thinks.
It was whilst trying to find advice about what tube to try that I found this forum, and the community of Hartke fans/owners. Whatever the price I have never played anything I like as much as my Hartke/Warwick combination. It's pretty compact and will push out any style from deep throbbing reggae through Jaco to unusable metalic ear splitting noise. As this amp/cab set up is the most neutral sounding I have owned I use it flat with a little high and low contour boost, always with the compressor just on to smooth the peaks and protect the cabs. Am I missing a trick? What graphic settings does anyone else recommend?
If you've made it through my garble this far then you must be a Hartke convert and maybe can answer a few more questions:-
Are the newer higher rated cabs better than the originals? Sound better? How long can I expect my cabs to live for?
What preamp valve do you think is best in the 3500 (excluding the super rare Mullard)?
What's the difference between the old mosfet and new bipolar amps. Do they sound the same?
Is there a Hartke owners club? I find the Samson website rather 'corporate' and unfriendly, I think an owners club would be a great idea.
As my rigs gets older I guess I am considering the inevitable and that it will need replacing sometime. I hope the feedback will say that the new stuff is at least as good or better than my early kit.
Cheers.
Hi, Need some advise.
Someone wants to trade a GK Backline 600 for my Old Hartke Mosfet 3500 head?
Is the GK really worth it?
Am I going to make a big mistake?
Thanks.
Someone wants to trade a GK Backline 600 for my Old Hartke Mosfet 3500 head?
Is the GK really worth it?
Am I going to make a big mistake?
Thanks.
I've heard some pretty bad things about the Backline series'... Like they're unreliable or something.
I play through a Hartke 4.5 XL with an older EV B-210 on top powered by a GK 800RB. Thankfully the Hartke cab has casters on it, otherwise I just wouldn't be able to gig with it. The EV B-210 is a 300 watt cab and is pretty crisp. I'm told that the 4.5 XL is a little deeper depth wise than the older 4-10 series. It is supposed to produce deeper bass. I want to upgrade but don't really want to part with the Hartke because of the sound. However, I do want to part with it because of the weight. I'm getting interested in the GK neo 212 cabs (much lighter) but wonder if I'll end up missing the Hartke.
I am the proud owner of 2 410XL-cabs.
First I had a VX3500-combo that I splitted in a head and a cab (more easy to transport) and I dreamed about those aluminium cones ... I purchased an old XL410 (240 watt @ 8ohm) and now I've found another old XL 410 to complement the first one
They bring out the beast from my amp, a Warwick Quad IV ...
Is there someone else who has a Hartke cab with the signature of mister Hartke on a cone?
First I had a VX3500-combo that I splitted in a head and a cab (more easy to transport) and I dreamed about those aluminium cones ... I purchased an old XL410 (240 watt @ 8ohm) and now I've found another old XL 410 to complement the first one
They bring out the beast from my amp, a Warwick Quad IV ...Is there someone else who has a Hartke cab with the signature of mister Hartke on a cone?
