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Hartke or Ampeg?
- Thread starter Wade Chandler
- Start date
Haji
Supporting Member
I've got an SVT-3 Pro through a Hartke 410. The cab I'm keeping. The head won't be around a whole lot longer. I'm planning to replace it with a Carvin. I just don't really dig the Ampeg sound.
Both are great head amps, but if I had to choose my choice it should be the Ampeg Portaflex.
My reasons are mainly the weight: 11 lbs of Ampeg against 45 lbs of Hartke; it´s easy to get good sounds fastly (I said probably it´s more versaile too) and I like too much the warm tone of Ampeg instead Hartke.
I must say that I had a Hartke 3500 in the past, and I could get good enough sounds. But his size and weight it made me to decide to get ride.
My reasons are mainly the weight: 11 lbs of Ampeg against 45 lbs of Hartke; it´s easy to get good sounds fastly (I said probably it´s more versaile too) and I like too much the warm tone of Ampeg instead Hartke.
I must say that I had a Hartke 3500 in the past, and I could get good enough sounds. But his size and weight it made me to decide to get ride.
Hartke LH500. Really.
I grew up playing a Fender Dual Showman, this was 100 years ago. Great amp.
Got out of playing out. Many years later, started shopping for an amp. Didn't like the sound of all the modern stuff, EA, Genz-Benz and some others. All sounded to
hi-fi (active eq?, maybe). Never thought I would own a Hartke. The older Hartke with the graphic EQ, no thanks.
Was going to just get an old Fender (or Ampeg) all tube amp, have a tech go thru it and be done with it. Bought a used HartkeLH500 off TalkBass,
absolutely love it. Sounds much more like an all tube amp. 4 knobs, Volume, bass ,mids, treble. A bright button, and a limiter button. Both seem engineered/tuned
well (useful). Makes my bass sound the way an amplified bass should sound. I use it with a single 12 (no tweeter) Bergantino cabinet. I'm really pleased.
I liked it so much when I got it I called Larry Hartke on the phone and thanked him for coming out with such an old school, low tech amp. He was real nice, said
the circuitry was based on a Fender Bassman and Dual Showman amps. (Demeter's famous preamp is based on a Fender Showman Amp.)
As far as Hartke not being very professional. Premier Guitar did a Rig Rundown with Will Lee (David Letterman) and he is using the LH1000. So is Victor
Wooten. Plus on top of all this, they are not expensive at all.
Can you tell I like this amp?
Hope this helps.
I grew up playing a Fender Dual Showman, this was 100 years ago. Great amp.
Got out of playing out. Many years later, started shopping for an amp. Didn't like the sound of all the modern stuff, EA, Genz-Benz and some others. All sounded to
hi-fi (active eq?, maybe). Never thought I would own a Hartke. The older Hartke with the graphic EQ, no thanks.
Was going to just get an old Fender (or Ampeg) all tube amp, have a tech go thru it and be done with it. Bought a used HartkeLH500 off TalkBass,
absolutely love it. Sounds much more like an all tube amp. 4 knobs, Volume, bass ,mids, treble. A bright button, and a limiter button. Both seem engineered/tuned
well (useful). Makes my bass sound the way an amplified bass should sound. I use it with a single 12 (no tweeter) Bergantino cabinet. I'm really pleased.
I liked it so much when I got it I called Larry Hartke on the phone and thanked him for coming out with such an old school, low tech amp. He was real nice, said
the circuitry was based on a Fender Bassman and Dual Showman amps. (Demeter's famous preamp is based on a Fender Showman Amp.)
As far as Hartke not being very professional. Premier Guitar did a Rig Rundown with Will Lee (David Letterman) and he is using the LH1000. So is Victor
Wooten. Plus on top of all this, they are not expensive at all.
Can you tell I like this amp?
Hope this helps.
When I started playing again I bought an Ampeg head with a 4x10-1x15 stack. Then went to a Hartke LH1000 with and Ampeg PR410hlf cab. Both sounded good but I ended up with the TC RH450 and 2 RS212 cabs. Great tone, plenty of volume and easy to move. Hope that helps!!
Ric5
Inactive
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
- 30,452
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- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
+1 for Hartke. I'd also consider Markbass and the Carvin BX500 is a very versatile head. I love my Markbass and Carvin gear. YES....Hartke gear is very much PRO gear.
None of the above?
I don't like Ashdown cabs, but quite like their heads (I've run one for nearly 15 years now). Berg + Ashdown = bliss. Heck, Berg with pretty much anything sounds great to me!
The made in Minnesota Edens are good amps...love my Metro 2x10 combo!
Over 900 watts into 2 ohms as well.
Over 900 watts into 2 ohms as well.
There´s a lot of people that they´ll don´t think the same. I have seen many Hartke gigging and touring, even like a renting backline on stages/venues. They do the job and are solid/hard like a tank.
I can understand that you don´t like Hartke, but not that it wasn´t a professional gear. If it were true Sheehan, Wooten, Lee, Bello and more, they´d don´t use Hartke.
I never said Ampeg hasn't had it's share of problems, but my experience is not that. I have had nothing but good sounding, reliable service for the last 18 mos. from this little powerhouse! I expect I'll get the same from the SVT 7 Pro I will be replacing it with!
Hartke not professional grade? Wow….Just wow..
Marc
There´s a lot of people that they´ll don´t think the same. I have seen many Hartke gigging and touring, even like a renting backline on stages/venues. They do the job and are solid/hard like a tank.
I can understand that you don´t like Hartke, but not that it wasn´t a professional gear. If it were true Sheehan, Wooten, Lee, Bello and more, they´d don´t use Hartke.
I said I don't consider it professional grade gear. As for the endorsements: it reinforces my point. Hartke NEEDS those high profile endorsers to appeal to their large- and largely amateur- market.
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Haji
Supporting Member
Back in the day, PV and later Ampeg furnished the back line for a touring group I was working with, guess they needed us "amateurs" also?
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