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Hartke LH500
- Thread starter KJung
- Start date
I have heard nothing but good things about hartke's newest line of amps and cabs. Only thing I would change is I would have ported the cabs instead of sealing them. I like the fact that I have been hearing this amp is heavy on the mids and has a good deal of punch. I play with a "p bass" and I use that term loosely, but I think that maybe with a good outboard compressor I will be able to nail those pop punk tones. Also really dig the simplicity, anyone who has owned a hartke can probably agree that sometimes the knobs on those things can be a little overwhelming. You can't mess up with 4 knobs so plainly labeled. This thing also looks pretty slick, very clean and the chrome knobs add a touch of flash that other hartkes lack. This amp also seems very durable. I just hope that fan/foam doesn't cause heat problems in a high volume situation.
Either way, I am gonna pick one up here soon enough and put it through its paces to see how it does. Will definitely let you guys know how it holds up.
Either way, I am gonna pick one up here soon enough and put it through its paces to see how it does. Will definitely let you guys know how it holds up.
Well, well, well. Amp gas...... gone.
Got to put the LH500 through its paces at a decent volume twice this weekend.
Gear: Peavey Foundation (maple neck, maple sunburst body, superferrites) Avatar SB112 4 ohm.
First gig was a wedding in what used to be the main office for a savings bank. 50 foot ceilings, large square, lots of marble. Not a great room by any stretch. Played with the volume near 6 ( one o'clock) and pushed the bass and mids a tad. Full sounding and fat, yet when slapped, there was a nice high end, not harsh but smooth. I had no PA support ( other than bleedthrough) and had no difficulty cutting the room.
Second gig was a wedding at a country club in CT. We were on a set back stage with a small overhang. Additionally the stage was also acting like a bass trap. The drummer has a set of Smith drums: I've heard them before. He was complaining about the lack of low end to his drums that afternoon and he raises the bass drum off the floor for all gigs. Played the gig at a slightly louder volume ( barely at the 2 o clock level) and had a good sound considering the awful acoustics. Need to be able to tweak out the interaction of the bass and mid controls at stage volume and that was hard at the gig ( I hate noodlers on the job)
Overall, I'll give my general reactions: details ( like its heavy 25 lb weight) are on Hartkes website. Its heavy and it feels sturdy. Much more so than the 3500 I owned. Havn't opened it up yet to see the tube and parts but the outside is pretty simple. The volume controls taper seems pretty smooth without adding grit or grind on the way up. As you get to between 5 and 7 (say, a little bit more than 12 o clock on the way to 2 o clock) there is a big volume increase but its still the same tone and feel from the amp, just way louder. Wasnt necessary to push past 7, it was kill at soundcheck, had to back off.
Is this the greatest amp ever? Don't know, probably not. Needs speakons, needs to be able to send preamp mix to both the line out and the direct out on the front. Am I happy? Hell, yeah. Great sound, great pricepoint, simplicity. I remember both my Acoustic 360 and my SVT. Both only had a volume control. Both only got louder. In my SVTs case, I never had that amp past 4 except maybe twice. I also rolled some bass off and still had bottom to spare. The LH500 seems like that because of the volume effect. It just puts out more sound, and so far, it's quite a nice sound.
Got to put the LH500 through its paces at a decent volume twice this weekend.
Gear: Peavey Foundation (maple neck, maple sunburst body, superferrites) Avatar SB112 4 ohm.
First gig was a wedding in what used to be the main office for a savings bank. 50 foot ceilings, large square, lots of marble. Not a great room by any stretch. Played with the volume near 6 ( one o'clock) and pushed the bass and mids a tad. Full sounding and fat, yet when slapped, there was a nice high end, not harsh but smooth. I had no PA support ( other than bleedthrough) and had no difficulty cutting the room.
Second gig was a wedding at a country club in CT. We were on a set back stage with a small overhang. Additionally the stage was also acting like a bass trap. The drummer has a set of Smith drums: I've heard them before. He was complaining about the lack of low end to his drums that afternoon and he raises the bass drum off the floor for all gigs. Played the gig at a slightly louder volume ( barely at the 2 o clock level) and had a good sound considering the awful acoustics. Need to be able to tweak out the interaction of the bass and mid controls at stage volume and that was hard at the gig ( I hate noodlers on the job)
Overall, I'll give my general reactions: details ( like its heavy 25 lb weight) are on Hartkes website. Its heavy and it feels sturdy. Much more so than the 3500 I owned. Havn't opened it up yet to see the tube and parts but the outside is pretty simple. The volume controls taper seems pretty smooth without adding grit or grind on the way up. As you get to between 5 and 7 (say, a little bit more than 12 o clock on the way to 2 o clock) there is a big volume increase but its still the same tone and feel from the amp, just way louder. Wasnt necessary to push past 7, it was kill at soundcheck, had to back off.
Is this the greatest amp ever? Don't know, probably not. Needs speakons, needs to be able to send preamp mix to both the line out and the direct out on the front. Am I happy? Hell, yeah. Great sound, great pricepoint, simplicity. I remember both my Acoustic 360 and my SVT. Both only had a volume control. Both only got louder. In my SVTs case, I never had that amp past 4 except maybe twice. I also rolled some bass off and still had bottom to spare. The LH500 seems like that because of the volume effect. It just puts out more sound, and so far, it's quite a nice sound.
wow, i stopped in my local guitar shop, Bananas at Large in San Rafael on my way to a recording studio, so i didn't have much time to check out the gear. BUT, i did check out the new Hartke heads, both the LH 500, and the LH1000. great heads both of them, walked out with the LH1000 for $499. 
oh ya,, i'm happy
they also had the LH500 on sale for $349.
that's $349.00 yall
you can get it at that price at www.bananas.com ( & no, i have no affiliation with them whatsoever ) just trying to turn a fellow TB'er on to a great deal
oh ya,, i'm happythey also had the LH500 on sale for $349.
that's $349.00 yall
you can get it at that price at www.bananas.com ( & no, i have no affiliation with them whatsoever ) just trying to turn a fellow TB'er on to a great deal
Chef
In Memoriam
ya, that's what i thought.
they only have one & it's a floor model, but i don't think it's even been plugged in yet
- Jun 25, 2007
- 4,531
- 135
- 63
- Disclosures
- Artist:TC Electronic RH450 bass system (original test-pilot)
i demo'd the LH1000 thru an ampeg 410 cab, as they had none of the Hy-Drive cabs.
but next weekend i'll be running it thru a pair of Carvin LS1503's & my 55-01 & Highway One P
should sound sweet,,, can't wait
wow, i stopped in my local guitar shop, Bananas at Large in San Rafael on my way to a recording studio, so i didn't have much time to check out the gear. BUT, i did check out the new Hartke heads, both the LH 500, and the LH1000. great heads both of them, walked out with the LH1000 for $499.
they also had the LH500 on sale for $349.
that's $349.00 yall
you can get it at that price at www.bananas.com ( & no, i have no affiliation with them whatsoever ) just trying to turn a fellow TB'er on to a great deal
just checked their website, & the LH500 is not listed
best thing to do is contact them directly by phone & get whoever ( nick ) to go check out the bass amps & get the floor model at $349. & have them ship it to you.
how does the SOUND quality of this amp compare to that of the older HA5500?
(i dont suppose anyone would be able to produce a sound clip? or kno where somebody in the boston area could try such a head?)
(i dont suppose anyone would be able to produce a sound clip? or kno where somebody in the boston area could try such a head?)
The black square thingy is actually an air filter. The air is sucked in the front and out the back by a whisper fan. Sorta looks like the material you clean you bbq grill with. The fan is quieter, and doesnt push as much air as the Hartke HA5000.
First thing I thought when I saw that black square was "remote control."
Now, that would be an interesting development for Hartke.
i played one today at daddys (THANK YOU KPJ!!!)
it did not AMAZE me, but it was definitly a pretty dandy little head!
and I definitely would agree that it is warm yet VERY clean. I would say its worth it.
it did not AMAZE me, but it was definitly a pretty dandy little head!
and I definitely would agree that it is warm yet VERY clean. I would say its worth it.
i just spent the afternoon at a rehearsal with my 55-01 & Highway One P / Fralins running my 700RB-II into a Carvin LS1503 doing rock & blues.
about a half hour into it we took a break & i went out to my suv & got the new Hartke LH1000 head, switched it to bridge mode & hooked up the speakon, pushing 700 watts @ 8Ω into the 3way cab & it literally took all of 20 seconds to find a HUGE fat VERY clean tone that KILLED with the P.
everybody there loved the warm punchy clean tone,, i'd say it's a keeper for sure. ( the best $499. i ever spent on a head )
about a half hour into it we took a break & i went out to my suv & got the new Hartke LH1000 head, switched it to bridge mode & hooked up the speakon, pushing 700 watts @ 8Ω into the 3way cab & it literally took all of 20 seconds to find a HUGE fat VERY clean tone that KILLED with the P.
everybody there loved the warm punchy clean tone,, i'd say it's a keeper for sure. ( the best $499. i ever spent on a head )
I heard the new Hartke stuff last night. Victor Wooten is using two LH1000 amps and two each 4-10 and 1-15 Hy-Drive cabinets. He used only his Fodera Yin-Yang bass, although his Monarch was there on a stand. I saw this at the first ever SMV (Stanley-Marcus-Victor) concert!
Stanley had two Alembic F1-X preamps into two QCS PLX amps along with some compressor (I couldn't see what it was) driving two each SWR Goliath Jr. and Son Of Bertha cabinets along with two Fender Blues Juniors (I think) for his Alembic bass and a Super Redhead for his upright. He had two of his Spellbinder basses there but did not play them.
Marcus used an EBS TD650 amp with an Empirical Labs Distressor into two EBS 4-10 cabinets. He played 4 and 5 string Fender MM sig. basses and a fretless Jazz Bass, in addition to saxophone and his bass clarinet.
All three had numerous, hard to see for the most part, effects pedals.
If you can catch the rest of this tour, do so, as it was AWESOME!!!
Stanley had two Alembic F1-X preamps into two QCS PLX amps along with some compressor (I couldn't see what it was) driving two each SWR Goliath Jr. and Son Of Bertha cabinets along with two Fender Blues Juniors (I think) for his Alembic bass and a Super Redhead for his upright. He had two of his Spellbinder basses there but did not play them.
Marcus used an EBS TD650 amp with an Empirical Labs Distressor into two EBS 4-10 cabinets. He played 4 and 5 string Fender MM sig. basses and a fretless Jazz Bass, in addition to saxophone and his bass clarinet.
All three had numerous, hard to see for the most part, effects pedals.
If you can catch the rest of this tour, do so, as it was AWESOME!!!
I heard the new Hartke stuff last night. Victor Wooten is using two LH1000 amps and two each 4-10 and 1-15 Hy-Drive cabinets.
& how was his tone with the LH1000's & the HyDrives ?
Given that most likely the sound I was hearing was the PA from a DI, good question! 
He did sound like one would expect Victor to sound, does that help?
He did sound like one would expect Victor to sound, does that help?
Given that most likely the sound I was hearing was the PA from a DI, good question!
He did sound like one would expect Victor to sound, does that help?
certainly
