Yep, thats the main reason I sold mine and ended up with an Orange TB500. I just got tired of lugging it around.
The LH1000 is a great head though. Simple, powerful and it sounds great.
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Hartke LH1000...what's the catch?
- Thread starter Dugachug
- Start date
Yep, thats the main reason I sold mine and ended up with an Orange TB500. I just got tired of lugging it around.
The LH1000 is a great head though. Simple, powerful and it sounds great.
Mr. Foxen
Commercial User
I like the fact the power transformer is toward the middle so the amp is balanced when you move it.
they got to "powerful" and "cheap" by going with "simple" and "heavy", too.
a good trade-off in my book.
a good trade-off in my book.
I've played through one with the 4-10 and 1-15 Hydrive stack. I didn't really care for it myself. It just didn't have the tone or volume i expected. I have a HA7000 and it has so much more options and kills it! It's not a true bi-amping head and doesn't have the seperation of the HA series. Guess i'm just spoiled.
I've played through the LH1000 with the hydrive stack. I didn't like the sound 2 all. Although i'm not sure if it was the amp or the cabs. I'd like to try the head with my SWR 4-10 and my Carvin 18. i'd also like to try my HA7000 through the hydrive stack too.
It's better still if you get one second hand I got mine in the UK for the equivalent of $200.
Yes it's a bit weighty, yes it's not parametric, but I form my sound mostly from the pedals in front and have it set flat to blast out what I want, so does the job just fine, and yes it is loud!
Yes it's a bit weighty, yes it's not parametric, but I form my sound mostly from the pedals in front and have it set flat to blast out what I want, so does the job just fine, and yes it is loud!
Or the HA7000 which has a true crossover and is truly bi-ampable or can be bridged..
Okay the bumping of this thread got me interested in this amp, and I never considered it before. What interests me is the fact that it is a cheap hybrid (within my budget limitations) free of the horrible Class-D curse, and the fact that people complain it is heavy does not bother me - I don't mind amps that weigh like s baby elephant. I guess I might go try one out at Muziker.
> Made in China
> Reported issues on TB
> Supposedly has a Fender style tone stack (flat = scooped mids)
Those are the only drawbacks I see with this amp, I've considered getting one. The only Hartke I've played was the TX600, the first one was DOA from the factory, the second one had the most god awful wooden husk sound you could imagine. Kinda put me off Hartke gear honestly.
> Reported issues on TB
> Supposedly has a Fender style tone stack (flat = scooped mids)
Those are the only drawbacks I see with this amp, I've considered getting one. The only Hartke I've played was the TX600, the first one was DOA from the factory, the second one had the most god awful wooden husk sound you could imagine. Kinda put me off Hartke gear honestly.
Well what kinda amp that costs below 500 bucks is not made in china these days? Except maybe Ampeg Portaflex - made in Vietnam (which I am also considering but those issues with it cutting out terrify me)
Sweetwater lists the LH1000 for $600, but I take your point. The only American made amps you're getting around that price realm (some above, some below) are:
- Quilter BassBlock 800: $650
- Aguilar ToneHammer 350: $550
- GK MB200 - $370
- GK MB500 - $580
- GK Legacy 500 - $650
Whether it's founded on actual data or not, a Made in China (or Vietnam, or Indonesia, or Mexico) product is a drawback for some. Anecdotally, it seems that QC takes a dip when amp manufacturers move production to countries like that (see Ampeg, Peavey, Hartke, MarkBass). It may not be a dealbreaker for you (or me, really) but it's certainly worth mentioning when asking what the "catch" is.
These three are China too. Of the non-chinese, TECH 21 VT-500 is South Korean and I am considering that too.
But enough thread hijacking, let us discuss something else about the Hartke LH.
Here it costs 319 EUR for the 500W and 438 EUR for the 1000W, is it worth paying that extra for the double wattage, or is it rare to ever find use for it? Maybe I could spend the extra bucks on a better cab instead.
I could be wrong, but I believe GK moved all production back to the US around 2011. See attached regarding Aguilar.
Attachments
Got one, and an 810. Primarily only use it, and the Marshall, as a practice amp and for large outdoor gigs as it's too damn heavy to move out of the studio. Usually biamp, for a clean and deep bottom with the tube amp handling the high mid and up, but even on it's own this rig kicks butt bigtime. Op-amp inputs, one for each jack, feeding what is essentially the first 2 stages and tone stack of a Fender blackface, followed by more op-amps. It has dual class AB, power sections can be used for 2 different type cabs with a balance control, or bridged into 1 in which case the balance control is disabled. Claims "class A tube preamp" but the tube is in there mostly to be able to say tube, the tube is biased clean, it doesn't use the direct coupled cathode follower which gives the typical voice of a tube preamp. Nothing like the tone of an SVT, more like an army of B15's. At $500 however, if you want a clean amp with exceptionally big balls, it's definitely worth it. Should handle pedals very well and built like a tank.
I had an LH500 that I used with two Hartke 115XL cabinets, and like an idiot, I sold it, thinking I needed to go to the LH1000. I regret that decision! I should have kept the 500 and just bought the 1000. These amps sound better than my Ampeg V4BH or my Fender 100T, not matter which cabinets I'm using, and I have several cabinets/configurations. I never had the first problem/issue with these heads.
