Hartke LH1000

Not sure what your requirements are...

Do you want your bass to sound like an acoustic bass? Or don't you mind if an amp adds color to your sound.
Do you want to go (crazy) loud?
What cab's are you using? Do you have a pre-amp?
Is portability a factor?

 

i had the LH500, which is the little brother of the LH1000. tonewise it was my favorite amp, and i found those simple controls to let me dial in a lot of variety. that being said, i'm a bass guitar player, not a standup player. i have a semi-hollow SRH500 that also sounded great through the LH500, but it's not the same thing, is it?

i finally sold my LH500 because it weighed almost 25 pounds, and for me that was a no-go. it's also physically larger than most non-tube amps. if you compare it to a GK fusion head, the fusions weigh a third as much and also have a tube. they sound great, but cost a lot more.

if you can get a good deal from your friend, what's the downside of trying it out to see what you think?

 

I've heard rockabilly guys dig the GK MB210, and I've been considering one of those myself. I also heard the rumble 500 210 combo is a good amp.

I had a Hartke 410/115 stack setup before, I don't recall what head it was, but it sounded great and had enough volume to do whatever you wanted. I got rid of it for a combo as it just got to be a pita to move all that to play in clubs where a combo would do, and huge joints I never used an amp anyway, just ran direct. Eventually I got to the point where I wasn't using an amp at all, always running direct. But I loved the Hartke for what it was, yes. I'd say pounce on it if ya dig it.

 

the LH500 and LH1000 have great clean tone - that's the way i roll.

 

I had a predecessor of the LH 500 amp when I just started on upright. The Hartkes can do a very clean sound that can be usable for DB. I did use a fishman pre though as an impedance buffer and for the options to fight feedback like a lpf and phase switch. The eq of the Hartke us not really suited if you’re fighting feedback and boom. Something you need if you want to go crazy loud.

 

Cool, have fun!