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The volume difference between 180 and 250 watts (assuming the ratings are accurate) is not going to be much at all, maybe 2dB. The 3500 costs more because of the features...real tube preamp instead of "simulated tube " (i.e. no tubes), blend control on the FX loop.
If you want to save some money get the 2500.
If you want to save some money get the 2500.
I have the HA3500 and been using one since 1997. It's a killer amp with a lot of power. It's a very transparent sounding amp so you need a good sounding bass and play style. In other words it won't give your bass tone a lot of color like an SVT or Mesa Boogie.
I'm going to pickup the 600 watt Class D head from Hartke in May. They are going to be 400.00 brand new.
I'm going to pickup the 600 watt Class D head from Hartke in May. They are going to be 400.00 brand new.
I own a 2500 that I use for practice and used to own a 7000 that is basically a 3500x 2. I would go with the 3500 unless you never plan to gig.Hello , my fellow bass players, i just ordered a Hartke 410XL bass cab (400w, 8 ohm)
on the internet and i'd like to buy a Hartke bass amp for it,
I have in mind the 250 watt version HA2500 (delivers 180 watt at 8 ohms) or if money allows it, the HA3500 350w (250 w at 8 ohm). Can't recall where but i read that the HA2500 amp goes into 'Protected Mode' when trying to push it a little bit, which leads me to get the HA3500, but it's almost twice as expensive as the Ha2500.
Any experiences with the HA2500 amp connected to a 400w cab?
i'm a newbie and I know it's 'safe' to use a lower power amp with a higher watt rated bass cab.
Any comments would help.
PD.- Here's a picture of the bass cab it's supposed to arrive sometime next week
Had the same cabinet with 4 tens and added a transporter with 4 tens also. I had the 3500 head and with a little tuning on the eq and compression I got some decent sound. The highest I ever played was on about level 6 on volume for about 2 hrs in a parade. No issues with clipping and it performed well.the 2500 is ok but I think you are going to get distortion and clipping at higher volume levels. I know it sucks hearing the phrase (save up and get the bigger one) but you will end up better down the road. Woulda shoulda coulda will get you every time
The actual difference in volume between the two won't that big, as Brianrost said. But every bit of extra headroom can be usefull. Unless you specifically want the overdriven hartke transistor sound. I once sold a ha2500 to a Brazillian metal guy, who told me he tried to buy every Hartke in Amstrerdam he could lay his hands on. He stacked them up and played them in full overdrive to get his sound. He probably needed regular replacements. To each his own I guess.
I'm planning on picking up one of these also. Even though $399 is the price, what will they be on the street? $300? Is $399 the MSRP? In any event, this amp has pretty much every feature I'm looking for, tube preamp, compression and knowing Hartke, the power should be on point.
According to Larry, the MSRP will be 399.99. He will be selling him from The Hartke Bass Lounge (part of Sam Ash) in NYC for that price.
I still have my mosfet 3500 from the 90's and the only thing I had to replace was the original pre amp 12ax7 when it died. Even then I just dialled it to 100% solid state pre which you won't be able to do with a LH500.
Also the active EQ and graphic section are way more flexible than the fender style tone stack of the LH series heads. I owned an LH1000 for a year or so and went back to the 3500 because I could get any sound that I needed. The compressor is pretty good for slap too!
Noisy fan though.
Also the active EQ and graphic section are way more flexible than the fender style tone stack of the LH series heads. I owned an LH1000 for a year or so and went back to the 3500 because I could get any sound that I needed. The compressor is pretty good for slap too!
Noisy fan though.
...which is pretty easily covered up by all the noise that should be coming out of the cab!
Totally agree. It never bothered me but some want their amps to be silent for some ( recording /studio / never leave the bedroom? ) reason.
a noisy fan is not a problem to me, as long it's not as loud as my wife's hair dryer on a Sunday morning
Well, after all the advice you guys kindly posted, I finally got the Ha3500 from Sweetwater.com. Haven't plugged it in yet but this next weekend rehearsal will be a lot better than last Saturday. Thanks
As a longtime 3500 player, I'm really interested in the TX600, but I can't get over the lack of graphic EQ. People can argue all they want, but I can utilize a graphic far better than any parametric I've tried. I would consider a TX600 if it could get me the tone I wanted (present, but tight low end - PUNCH - present, not harsh mids, and fairly tame highs). I can get exactly that with my 3500, but its starting to fail regularly (bought it used in 2005, its been gigged, dropped, etc...).
