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Hartke LH500 Problem

Wolfenstein666

Wolfenstein666

Dec 19, 2014
2,326
4,794
#1
Sorry for another SOS post, but I don't really know where to go with this.

I have a Hartke LH500 head that I bought about a year and a half ago. It's a great head, good sound and lots of power. But lately it's been having a disturbing issue. It started whistling a bit and popping and the sound quality started to drop off a bit. Then about 2 months ago after kicking on (takes about 15 seconds after turning it on to get sound, which is normal) it'd play for about 30 seconds then cut out completely. I'd turn it off, flip it back on and it'd be good to go after about 30 seconds to a minute. Well, yesterday at practice it started cutting out after about 10 minutes consistently. At first I thought it was my cabinet but in the elementary research I've done on the issue it seems to be a pretty common problem with these and the LH1000's and I haven't found a concrete cause of failure. In it's current state its basically unusable, which is a problem considering we have gig's upcoming and we're fixing to head into the studio soon.

If anyone could point me in the right direction for either troubleshooting or getting it fixed I would be eternally grateful. You guys have been awesome helping me along since I became a member and I truly thank anyone that will help or has helped in that past.

Bass on!
 
#5
username1 said:
Have you tried swapping the tube?
Click to expand...

I have not. I'll see if I can pull the article I found but a gentleman was having almost word for word the same problem as I am having and he tried various things to fix it, a tube swap was one. He said it made no difference. I'll dig around and if i can find the article I'll post it here. Thanks for the response!
 
#8
pcake said:
have you tried contacting hartke? sorry to say, but it seems like you're going to have to.
Click to expand...

I'm doing it today. I'm really hoping they can help out. The thing is only 18 months old, it shouldn't be having problems like this I wouldn't think. I'm gentle with the head, I'm not mistreating it or playing it out of specs. I will say that I have heard nothing but great things about Hartke Customer Support, namely as it pertains to Larry. So fingers crossed.
 
#12
I just wanted to share my experience with the Hartke Hydrive Equipment. I recently wanted to switch my 15 year old SVT4Pro/SVT810 Ampeg Rig out with the lighter and newer Hartke Hydrive LH 1000 running into The Hydrive 410 and Hydrive 115. Brand new out of the box the LH 1000 didn't work correctly as the balance knob which is supposed to control power to the cabs does not do so. The amp runs in Bridge Mode or splits into two 500 watt cores. I go back to the store where I got it and they switch it out with another one. The second one's balance knob functions correctly but the amp immediately starts clipping the horn out of the A side amp. When I switch cables/cabs the clipping phenomenon follows the A side amp. It is ungodly awful and makes the rig unusable. Also a lot of hiss and noise when the amp is idle. I switch the amp over to my old Ampeg SVT 810 Cab and play with my band for a session. The amp sounds good and pretty punchy. Not sure what is going on but the SVT cab has no horn so the problem is not so apparent. This experience makes me feel really shaky about the quality of the manufacturing but these guys have a lot of great bass players endorsing this setup. In any case call me disappointed and bummed... Called Hartke Tech support but still waiting on a callback. In 15 years with my Ampeg rig and hundreds of gigs I never had one problem.
 
#13
FunkHead said:
I would at least try a new Tube and Reseat any Connections.
Click to expand...

Roger that. If I don't hear back from Hartke that's the first thing I'll look into. Thanks for the response!

Sam Conable said:
I just wanted to share my experience with the Hartke Hydrive Equipment. I recently wanted to switch my 15 year old SVT4Pro/SVT810 Ampeg Rig out with the lighter and newer Hartke Hydrive LH 1000 running into The Hydrive 410 and Hydrive 115. Brand new out of the box the LH 1000 didn't work correctly as the balance knob which is supposed to control power to the cabs does not do so. The amp runs in Bridge Mode or splits into two 500 watt cores. I go back to the store where I got it and they switch it out with another one. The second one's balance knob functions correctly but the amp immediately starts clipping the horn out of the A side amp. When I switch cables/cabs the clipping phenomenon follows the A side amp. It is ungodly awful and makes the rig unusable. Also a lot of hiss and noise when the amp is idle. I switch the amp over to my old Ampeg SVT 810 Cab and play with my band for a session. The amp sounds good and pretty punchy. Not sure what is going on but the SVT cab has no horn so the problem is not so apparent. This experience makes me feel really shaky about the quality of the manufacturing but these guys have a lot of great bass players endorsing this setup. In any case call me disappointed and bummed... Called Hartke Tech support but still waiting on a callback. In 15 years with my Ampeg rig and hundreds of gigs I never had one problem.
Click to expand...

That's disconcerting. That is the only negative thing I have heard about Hartke in my research thus far. I really have enjoyed playing on the head up until this point. I'll guess I just have to wait and see what exactly is wrong with it. Thanks for the response.
 
#15
Before the LH500 started cutting out it was an absolute MONSTER. My band plays very loud (probably too loud) and I can set my head to volume 4 and am constantly being told to turn down. For the money I spent on it it really has been a good piece of equipment which is why I'm hoping to get this solved so I can get back to playing.
 
#20
mcm said:
i would trash it. its hartke. save up and buy something made decently
Click to expand...
At first glance this a bit harsh but I have to respect your attitude. You need to be able to depend on your Rig! I do however still dig Hartke Amps but a back-up amp is always recommended. As far as putting $$ into a Broken Hartke, Well that is probably not a smart move. All in all I agree with MCM. (Sorry Larry):ninja:
 

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