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Hartke L500 or L1000

J

JCS1953

Feb 8, 2014
2
0
#1
Hi

I currently am playing a fender American Classic Jazz bass thru a peavey max 700 connected in series to a hartke hx410 and harke hx115.
I am happy with this setup but am considering purchasing a hartke amp. Wonder if anyone has any experience with the hartke amps that might tell me if the lh500 would give me plenty of headroom or if it would be worth it to buy the lh1000.
Any advice would be welcome.

Thanks
John
 
#2
I had the lh500, massive headroom. The thing is a clean machine, that being said I would get lh1000 because of your cab choice. The lh1000 has an extra knob that lets you balance the signal between your cabs, that way you don't end up frying your 115 cab.
 
#3
JellinWellen said:
I had the lh500, massive headroom. The thing is a clean machine, that being said I would get lh1000 because of your cab choice. The lh1000 has an extra knob that lets you balance the signal between your cabs, that way you don't end up frying your 115 cab.
Click to expand...

+1

Great feature on this amp. Dial back the balance knob to your 410 amp, and you can run clean power to both cabs.

Also, don't bridge the head. Use both 500 watt sides of the LH1000 for each cab. 410 in A, 115 in B, unbridged, then balance it around 10 o'clock.

I play my LH1000 aggressively on gigs 3-4 times a week. Get it. Its a beast. Totally worth the few extra bucks. And you'll have a head that can run mismatched cabs much safer than any other head. Plus, if you ever pick up a Hydrive 810, bridge it, and crank 1000 watts of bass glory :bassist:
 
#4
Got rid of my lh500 because it took 30 seconds to turn on and the fan runs on one speed only and was noisy in the studio. It is also old technology with a transformer, so it's heavy.
JMO
 
#5
Oh and if it matters at all, I play a Fender American Reissue 62 Jazz through my Hartke rig (LH1000 / Hydrive 410). It's the cleanest tones I've ever had in my life. I'm never looking back. I'm Hartke from here on out.
 
#6
ejmy said:
Got rid of my lh500 because it took 30 seconds to turn on and the fan runs on one speed only and was noisy in the studio. It is also old technology with a transformer, so it's heavy.
JMO
Click to expand...

Thats so weird because my LH1000 is the quietest head I've ever owned. It's not the smallest or the lightest, but you never know it's on. Thats in a live setting, a live recording setting, or a direct setting.

It takes a minute to turn on because of the tube pre amp. Thats with every model.

The fan on mine never makes a sound, and at weddings I do anywhere from 1, to 2.5 hour dance sets. The one speed keeps it plenty cool. It never gets hot or even remotely warm. The fan being one speed is not really a flaw. Because it never overheats. Same with it being heavy. For me at least. Every new age lightweight amp I've owned has been resold or returned. Nothing is more thin and hollow sounding to me than these new lightweight amps.
 
#7
Cool.. was gonna order it without demoing it because not sure who carries in in the st louis area. The wait time to turn it on doesnt bother me, I have heard the fan does a good job of cooling but a little concerned about the fan noise. Thanks for everyones advice, will return here soon to see if anyone else weighs in.

Cya
JCS
 
#9
MattyH said:
It takes a minute to turn on because of the tube pre amp. Thats with every model.

I had addressed the issue on TB sometime ago, and many had said that.
Before I bought the Hartke, I had a Peavey TMax and my current head is a Carvin BX500, both with tube pre amps and both turn on instantly at the flick of the switch.
Click to expand...
 
#10
Not sure why the 20 second warm up delay is a big deal, but to each his own I guess. I've had my LH1000 for about 2+ years now gigging and rehearsing quite a bit and it's done fine. I don't use it in the studio but i've never noticed any fan noise that I would deem unacceptable.
 
#11
jjk2007 said:
Not sure why the 20 second warm up delay is a big deal, but to each his own I guess. I've had my LH1000 for about 2+ years now gigging and rehearsing quite a bit and it's done fine. I don't use it in the studio but i've never noticed any fan noise that I would deem unacceptable.
Click to expand...

If I remember well mine took 30 seconds to turn on. Just for fun, pretend you go up on stage for the first tune of the set and you turn on the switch, then you hear the count by the drummer as soon as he is settled in, then you have to stop everything until it's turned on. It seems forever when the whole band is staring at you waiting for your signal.

About the fan, it was loud enough that I sent it back to have it fixed and it came back with a note saying it was normal. That's when I decided to get rid of it.
Of course, it all depends on your tolerance. Maybe i'm too sensible to noise, but I can tell you that my Carvin is dead silent.
 
#12
I just recently went with a LH1000.

It's driven through two, 8 ohm, Avatar Neo 210 cabinets with a 4 string passive jazz and a Aphex Bass Exciter.

I auditioned a LH500 first with the loud 6 pcs. 80's/90's rock group I'm working with.
It's 500 watts sounded absolutely great!

But, for a few dollars more the LH1000's 1,100 watts at 4 ohms sound not only great but massive as well!

I'm LOVING that headroom!
 
#13
I bought a Hartke LH1000 several years ago. Used to have both Fender and Sunn bass amps and wanted something similar but cheaper. Told that preamp was like a Fender.
Use Fender Jazz basses - 2011 Amer Std Jazz with upgraded Fender 60s custom shop pickups and 2013 MIM Jazz with Lindy Fralins pickups. Also sometimes us Tech 21 VT bass pedal.
Experience: The LH1000 does not really sound like a Fender but sounds more tubey than many solid state bass amps.
Bridged speakers to Avatar 410 and blew three speakers in one day. Massive power with amp bridged.
Now I just plug into one channel for the 410 and with the 350 watts into 8 ohms its plenty loud for small and medium venues using a 410 cab. Can easily handle another cab.
Is a little heavy at 32 lbs. The LH500 is only around 24 lbs.
Questioned the long time it took to switch on but factory certified shop stated it runs fine. No problems but the band has to wait for it to switch on when coming back from a break.
Conclusion : Not a bad amp for the money. If I had more money and wanted to stay hybrid I would go with Orange Terror Bass Amp ( if I wanted gritty ) or the Streamliner from Genz Benz( If I wanted clean).
 
#14
ejmy said:
If I remember well mine took 30 seconds to turn on. Just for fun, pretend you go up on stage for the first tune of the set and you turn on the switch, then you hear the count by the drummer as soon as he is settled in, then you have to stop everything until it's turned on. It seems forever when the whole band is staring at you waiting for your signal.

About the fan, it was loud enough that I sent it back to have it fixed and it came back with a note saying it was normal. That's when I decided to get rid of it.
Of course, it all depends on your tolerance. Maybe i'm too sensible to noise, but I can tell you that my Carvin is dead silent.
Click to expand...

Fair enough. I usually fire mine up in plenty of time before we start and it doesn't get shutdown until the night is over. The fan is not an issue for me but it is for you. Isn't it cool there are so many great amps out there to choose from that meet our needs, no matter how big or small. Keep bringing the low end and play what makes you happy!
 
#17
I have the LH500 and I love it. I run it thru a Hartke AK115 cab, and it sounds warm and modern. It has the Fender style tone control layout (bass and treble are boost only, mid is cut only), and I couldn't be happier. I also pairs well with my Zoom b3 effects pedal. That said, if you can afford it, why not get the LH1000? It has more power, speakon and 1/4" connectors (the LH500 only has 1/4" speaker outs), as well as the ability to balance the power between 2 different cabs. Plus a great warranty.
 
#19
jjk2007 said:
Fair enough. I usually fire mine up in plenty of time before we start and it doesn't get shutdown until the night is over. The fan is not an issue for me but it is for you. Isn't it cool there are so many great amps out there to choose from that meet our needs, no matter how big or small. Keep bringing the low end and play what makes you happy!
Click to expand...

Words of wisdom
 
#20
I have a Kilo but I would snag a LH1000 in a second if one comes up for a good price.

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