I must know what that little fuzzy lookin' square pad next to the power switch is? am I goofy?
It's a filter for the air intake for the fan. Not sure why they did this, and why they put it on the front of the amp, but that's what it is.
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Hartke LH500
- Thread starter KJung
- Start date
It's a filter for the air intake for the fan. Not sure why they did this, and why they put it on the front of the amp, but that's what it is.
Chef
In Memoriam
I'm on the fence for buying one. I need a spare/new amp as my 350x has seen better days. I tried it out for a few minutes the other day and saw that there is something there, worth checking it out with my bass. What may float the deal for me is: Sam Ash just sent me a coupon for $100 off on a purchase of >$499. If I buy $50 bucks of strings and wires, I'm still saving $50 bucks and the'll give me 12 months to pay on their credit card. Its tempting. The downsides to me are 1) no speakons on the LH500. 2) its a heavy sucker: 20+ lbs. and 3) I had a 3500 that literally fell apart in less than 2 years.
I'll keep you posted, this ones tempting.
I'll keep you posted, this ones tempting.
I just found this thread and checked it out. There aren't many online reviews yet - this is the most comprehensive discussion I've found. The reports on this amp here are pretty encouraging. A street price of $449 makes it a decent value, and I don't see that a shipping weight of 25 pounds makes it very heavy. There are a lot of amps in its power range that are heavier.
Longevity is kind of a crapshoot at this point - the amp seems to be pretty new, so it doesn't have much of a track record yet.
Longevity is kind of a crapshoot at this point - the amp seems to be pretty new, so it doesn't have much of a track record yet.
This would be me as well. I love the old bassmans for that warm but still pretty clean and fat sound. I have the 135, the biggest one I could find but it still lacks the power to get loud enough sometimes and still play clean. A bass plugged into an overdriven fender is not a pleasant sound IMO.
Not on the fence anymore. Bought the last one out. Can't put it through its major paces 'til next week. I have a big band job tomorrow and I'm sure I won't be blasting. Sounds nice so far: fat and punchy. Can't post a pic because I'm temporarily over my limit, but trust me. Its here and its heavy.
You should try the LH1000 with a 1000 watts with the new 4x10 1000 watt cabinet !. It just kills and mind you the LH1000 is only about $160.00 more . I was playing one of the new MIM 70's thru this thing and I was like "Damn all this power for under $1000.00 bucks.I just tried this head through a few cabs up at LDS (Eden 21XLT, LDS 310), and it is absolutely killer. I was using a LowEnd Jazz, and compared it to the Genz Shuttle 6.0.
The LH500 has a tube front end, and seems to be designed around the old Bassman circuit (class A with a preamp tube). It's very similar to the Alembic preamp... simple bass, mid, treble and a single volume control. The tone controls are that unusual 'Fender' type thing, where flat seems to be bass and treble turned down almost all the way, and the mids up a bit.
Anyway, not a lightweight at around 25 pounds, but two space rack format, and about $500!
Fat, tubey, warm front end. It's not designed to distort or grind a lot. Again, more like the Alembic pre through a nice SS power amp. Quality seems first rate... good feeling pots, heavy-duty metal chassis.
To my ear, it is more 'tubey' than the Shuttle, and had a much more even and forcefull, fat low end response, and warmer mids versus the 'brightness' of the Shuttle (of course, it is 20 pounds heavier also!).
For those who like a somewhat modern tube tone (like the Alembic pre) in a simple to use all in one unit, this head is completely killer.
Amazing what is coming out in that lower price range of heads at this point.
FYI... I had not heard of this head before. They also make a higher powered model from what I understand. For you 'clean but tube warm guys', this is worth a look IMO and IME
I tried the 15 to audition the LH500. For a 15, it sounded pretty tight and fast. But this was in Sam Ash and I'm just not gonna blast out there. I kink of feel bad for the salesmen there as kids will be wanting to crank up a 1,000 watt amp in the store.
Trust me the Kilo will do well,but I can tell you that the Sam Ash were I lived had 3 of the LH 500''s and 2 of the LH 1000's and they sold ALL OF THEM.I recently had the chance to try out all three of their new heads
There is also a 1000 watt version of the LH
$650.00 street price
Specs:
2 x 500 watts of power, 1000 watts bridged mono
Classic 12AX7 High Voltage Class-A tube preamp circuit
Bass and Treble Shelving, plus mid-peak EQ controls
Selectable brite switch for added high frequency response
Selectable limiter switch with LED indicator
Balance control blends level of A and B outputs
Front panel XLR balanced direct output
Rear panel 1/4-inch effects loop
1/4-inch plus Speakon output connectors
Two-rackspace metal chassis with steel faceplate and handles
but If i were to buy a new Hartke product it would be this one...This monster blows the LH series out of the water
$999.00 street price
The Hartke Kilo raises the standard for bass amplification. Two separate power blocks deliver a true 1,000 watts at 4 ohms in bridged mono or 500 watts per side in either stereo or dual mono.
Classic Hartke Shape Control and Bass Attack Overdrive are onboard, as well as three 12AX7 tubes, a variable compressor, bass and treble shelving, limiter switch, tube EQ and 10-band graphic EQ for complete control over every aspect of your tone. The Kilo also features XLR balanced direct outputs, as well as both 1/4-inch and Speakon output connectors. The Kilo provides robust, full-range tone that will shake the foundation for discriminating players in any style of music. And these demanding players will choose the Hartke Kilo because it gives them unrivaled tone control and plenty of power. An enduring design that features a three-rackspace chassis, milled aluminum faceplate and oversized handles also offers the assuredness that any bassist can be perfectly comfortable taking this amp on the road. Thanks to its power, resiliency and tonal versatility, the Hartke Kilo emerges as a trendsetter on the bass amplification market.
Specs:
True 2 x 500 watts of power, 1,000 watts bridged mono
Three 12AX7 tubes
10-band graphic EQ
Bass and Treble shelving, plus mid-peak EQ controls
World-famous Hartke Shape Control and Bass Attack Overdrive
Variable compressor
Deep and brite switches
Limiter switch
Front panel tuner output jack
Direct output with level control and select switch to choose input, compressor, EQ or effects
XLR balanced direct output with ground lift switch
Footswitch jacks for optional footswitch to control Overdrive, EQ, effects and mute
1/4-inch and Speakon output connectors
Three-rackspace chassis with milled aluminum faceplate and oversize handles
As far as the Cabs go the look very nice and feel as though they are constructed well, however for my ears thy have way too much midrange honk that i couldn't quite eq out, but i imagine this would be great for some styles of Rock and Funk. I would be concerned also at the long term life of the cone, i would be afraid that where the aluminum is fused to the paper they would crack or come apart at the seam, but maybe thats just me, I also tend to favor ported cabs, and these are sealed
Dual-chamber, sealed Cabinet
4 x 10-inch 250 watt HyDrive neodymium hybrid cone drivers
1-inch titanium compression driver
Power Handling: 1000 watts @ 8 ohms
Frequency Response: 30 Hz to 17 kHz
Sensitivity: 99 dB @ 1 W/1 m
Voice Coil: 2.5 in.
Parallel Speakon and 1/4 in. inputs
High frequency attenuation switch (On, -6 dB, Off)
Removable casters
Dimensions: 24(H) x 24(W) x 15(D) in.
Weight: 68 lbs
but i CAN ASSURE YOU That if that Kilo head had a different name on it it would fly off the shelves, it is just amazing and then some....
Now as far as the 4x10 cabinets not only did I get to try it with both of the Hartke heads, I also hooked up a used Fender Pro 800 head ( which is pretty damn loud ) to it,and it sounded just as good.
X
X Wolf
Guest
Really looking forward to trying the LH500. I absolutely love the simplicity of the controls and so long as it's not much over 20 pounds, that wouldn't be too heavy in my estimation. I have some physical issues so anything much heavier than that would be a problem. I'm already wondering how it would sound with a pair of compact lightweight single 15's. This is the first Hartke product that I have even been remotely interested in.
George
George
First gig w/LH500 complete. This gig is the wrong gig to judge this amp: 16 piece big band, small stage. Sound guy comes up and wants to hang a Shure SM57 over the cabinet at speaker height with the ball facing straight down. I told him to either mike it with a stand with the mike facing the speaker, use the line out ( risky, it is direct, no pre and it is a first time for this amp) or do nothing. He took the hint and a line out.
This amp is simple. 4 knobs and one of them is volume. I kept it low but it still made my Avatar sb112 sing. Very full sounding and I was being very careful with the eq, hardly pushing it east of 12 o'clock. I pushed the volume at sound check for a second and its in there. I'll know better next week when I work my regular gigs. As mentioned, its heavy. But heavy in a sturdy way, much better constructed than the 3500 I owned. Knobs feel solid. I did get a compliment from a customer about the tone, but I have no Idea what it sounded like in the house. Wasn't even my regular Peavey Foundation, it was a Foundation strung with flats but the one time I popped, it sounded clean, not brittle or clangy.
To sum it up: so far, so good.
This amp is simple. 4 knobs and one of them is volume. I kept it low but it still made my Avatar sb112 sing. Very full sounding and I was being very careful with the eq, hardly pushing it east of 12 o'clock. I pushed the volume at sound check for a second and its in there. I'll know better next week when I work my regular gigs. As mentioned, its heavy. But heavy in a sturdy way, much better constructed than the 3500 I owned. Knobs feel solid. I did get a compliment from a customer about the tone, but I have no Idea what it sounded like in the house. Wasn't even my regular Peavey Foundation, it was a Foundation strung with flats but the one time I popped, it sounded clean, not brittle or clangy.
To sum it up: so far, so good.
Very different. The LMII is quick, clean, and while warm for a SS head, it's definitely solid state. It sounds absolutely the same through its entire volume range, and is a wonderful head for slap style playing (and most other styles that require accurate, clean bass reproduction). It's even mid response results in a very 'studio board' sort of vibe to my ear (warm, but accurate and relatively transparent).The Hartke amp we are talking about is voiced to sound very 'tube clean'. It reminds me a lot of an old Fender Bassman turned down so that it doesn't distort and fart all over the place. It's kind of like a 'poor man's' Alembic preamp/power amp rig. It's very warm, very fat, it has some 'give' to the feel, and while it is not meant or voiced for overdriven tone, you can feel the tube 'give and break-up' in a very pleasant way when you dig into it.
It only has a 'pregain' control (no master). It seems they really were going for the 'old school' sort of Bassman thing, without the low power tube amp distortion. It even has tone controls that seem to be based on the old 'Fender' stack, where noon is not 'flat', etc.
Quite frankly, this amp sounds like what I was hoping the Shuttle 6.0 would sound like. It is much fatter and warmer than the 6.0, and has a tube voicing, like the Alembic pre, that really gives a sense of 'high quality tube driven tone', if that makes sense, versus the more 'suggestion' of a tube in the Eden, SWR and Shuttle 6.0 (IMO there).
Edit: FYI, while I've done about a zillion gigs with the LMII, my experience with the LH500 was in a music store. I was just so pleasantly surprised by this thing (especially given the price point), that I felt it was worth a thread. It seems MUCH better quality and construction than the earlier Hartke heads, as posted above.
They're totally different from each other.
The MarkBass stuff is nice,but a little soft in areas where's the Hartke is a little more open and transparent,however I think the LMII is a little cleaner,but the Hartke has more of a bite to it but this is not to take anything away from the MarkBass because it's a great amp,but now I'm going to throw a "wrench in this thread (don't mean to hijack it) the Carvin BX1200 Bass head is proably the best head I've played thru and you can get it shipped @ your door in 5 days for $599.00 plus shipping and if that ain't enough power for you,then they also have a 1500 watt head for 699.00 and a 1900 watt head for 1299.00,however I've only played the 1200 thru 1 of the new Hartke HyperDriver 4x10 and I had all the headroom I would ever need
But does the Carvin have a tube? The thing about this amp thats great is the simplicity and the tube sound. Just like a vintage amp bufore its pushed into mushiness, except you're sitting on 500 watts ( 1,000 if you go for the larger one)
No , however you can dial in a tube type sound with these heads,but I see were you're getting at when discussing the simplicity of the Hartke because besides it's power (LH1000 ) I was thrilled to see how straight forward the Hartke was,but I wouldn't call the Carvin simple,but it isn't rocket science either.
Now if I'm not mistaken the Carvin 1900 head is tube.
I've been curious about the new Hartke stuff as well, and finally today picked up the new "Guitar & Bass Gear Buyer's Guide" that GP & BP put out.
It was there that I first realized the LH series had just a three band EQ! Quite a change from the 10-band graphic plus high-and-low shelving of the original Hartke amps, as well as the two band parametric on the 4000. Hard to figure what's up with that, but at least they left off that danged compressor that nobody liked!
I wish them luck with these new products. They've needed some new blood for a while now.
By the way, in the Gear Guide, it says the Kilo has both a tube preamp, as well as a tube power amp! Can you say fact checker?
I still use my 1155 Combo (with the 3500 head) from time to time. Nothing else quite like it.
It was there that I first realized the LH series had just a three band EQ! Quite a change from the 10-band graphic plus high-and-low shelving of the original Hartke amps, as well as the two band parametric on the 4000. Hard to figure what's up with that, but at least they left off that danged compressor that nobody liked!
I wish them luck with these new products. They've needed some new blood for a while now.
By the way, in the Gear Guide, it says the Kilo has both a tube preamp, as well as a tube power amp! Can you say fact checker?
I still use my 1155 Combo (with the 3500 head) from time to time. Nothing else quite like it.
