Hartke KB12 - not usable past half volume?

[bordinco90]

I only have positive thing with KB15.

If you wanna me make complaint with it, I will tell you the KB15 have no Vintage mode like rumble 200conbo; only sound great with bass guitar, sound crap with digital drum, keyboard and elec guitar, the rumble 200 could handle all of them well.
The KB15 combo shape and look is less sexy as fender rumble retro design.
The cooling fan from KB15 is little noisy than silent fan on rumble200.
Kb15 is more expensive than rumble200.
The hartke brand is not as popular as Fender in my contry.Just like Cort vs Ibanez.
The KB15 power supply cable is shorter than the one from rumble200.

Good deal man. How loud is the KB15? Can you hear it clearly in a band mix?

 

[SteveCS]

Good deal man. How loud is the KB15? Can you hear it clearly in a band mix?

Being heard in a mix has very little to do with absolute volume. Properly EQ'd, you can hear a pin drop in any mix. OK, slight exaggeration, but you get the point. EQ everything the same and you end up in a bun fight, aka volume wars. In a well balanced (ie properly EQ'd) mix, everything has its 'slot' and can be heard even at modest volumes. Solo, each part will probably sound terrible, but put the parts together and...

 

[navijaz]

Alright, so here is the promised update...

I went back to the shop to check out another KB12 and it behaved in a very similar way, although it seemed to have a little more headroom.

They offered to order a KB15 for me to try out and as some here had suggested that actually did the trick - a lot tighter with a lot more headroom. I ended up exchanging the KB12 for it, albeit with a bit of a heavy heart, because the KB15 is obviously a lot more bulky.

Thanks everyone for the advice!

 

[Yahboy]

Alright, so here is the promised update...

I went back to the shop to check out another KB12 and it behaved in a very similar way, although it seemed to have a little more headroom.

They offered to order a KB15 for me to try out and as some here had suggested that actually did the trick - a lot tighter with a lot more headroom. I ended up exchanging the KB12 for it, albeit with a bit of a heavy heart, because the KB15 is obviously a lot more bulky.

Thanks everyone for the advice!

Congrat!
For me, there are no different MID voice in between Hydrive 12 And Hydrive 15, but the Low-End difference is clear notable.

 

[basvox]

KB12 is a great amp, I've got one in europe and in the us. The EU one has a new jack input, the US one started to crackle, first I thought it was the speaker so I installed an 8 ohm Eminence basslite s2012 but it didn't stop the crackling. Now with the original 6 ohm Hartke alumium cone speaker (much heavier then the Eminence which has a tiny magnet) I'm trying to find the source of the crackling. I've read here and there that it could be a bad solder connection on the print board. With an Apple laptop, I've packed the motherboard in alumium wrap, and put it in an oven: 5 min on 250 degrees. This solved the graphic card problem! I'm trying to do the Hartke board the same way. And yes, now I know I prefer point to point amps!

 

[songwriter21]

Hey everyone,

I just got a new Hartke KB12 and while I have to say that I like the general tone, it starts to fart out/distort from 5 (12 o'clock) on the volume. That is with a neutral EQ and the shape switch off.

Seriously easing off on the bass will give a little more headroom but I would say 6 seems to be the limit.

What are everyone else's experiences? Did I get a lemon?

I know I'm really late to the game on this one, as I found this info yesterday. I received an Ashdown combo the same day, because I thought my Hartke was dying. The input was crackly, but learned that the power strip and possibly grounding at our rehearsal space isn't the greatest, as my basses are quiet through the amp everywhere else. Mainly, the often-limiting speaker at your stated volume or more, was my concern. Well, like others stated here, my bass' volume knob was up too much, overpowering the KB12 with no gain knob or separate passive/active inputs, also of which I've always found odd. It's the only amp I've ever owned without a gain knob. So, my bass' volume was always up to max until now, and with this amp, I have since turned it down at least 1/4, turned the amp up a little, and voila...volume with no speaker limiting or wimping out.

 

[Phlipper]

Also late ... found this in a search.

Yesterday was the first time I've had the volume on my KB12 past noon. Was playing against a Soldano halfstack and a modded Egnator halfstack and a mega-loud drummer who was also mic'd. No PA for the guitars. This was the LOUDEST band I have ever played with, by far, in a large prefab garage. I figured the KB was finally going to get buried. It didn't, surprisingly enough.

Used my SR505e with B/M/T and p'up selector in the detents, volume 10% from full, with amp knobs all noon and no shape, I rolled the volume up to 6 (1:00) and pulled the bass pot off to like 10:00 and it was able to keep up. Everyone was like "Seriously?".

Very surprising. No farting out. I dunno if the last 10% of guitar volume would have overdriven the input but I just left it there. Didn't go higher than 1:00 on amp volume but will next practice. Hope to find it's limit without blowing the speaker. I will say, at 6 the 'dispersion' wasn't ideal. I mean, everyone could hear me over the two halfstacks and the amp stayed clear and clean. But it was like it wasn't filling the room somehow. The KB15 would probably 'fill' more. But this tiny 12" jobbie was VERY impressive. Shocking almost.

I'll have to get a pic next practice cuz no one will believe this little thing hung with two very loud halfstacks. If given permission I'll get a video of us on one of the tunes. This has gotta be the loudest 12" combo ever made. If there's one that'll run harder and stay sweet and clear I'd like to hear it.

 

[tpaul]

great