Hartke or Ashdown?

[jpark369]

as far as guitar vs bass in volume worries, the guitar will be fine. most every guitar combo will be heard with or over a bass amp/cab setup.

my guitar player had a small 1x12 fender tube combo, loudest thing ive ever heard. i had an 800 watt SWR head, a peavey 4x10 and 2x10 just to keep up with that little 12" combo of his, ridiculous!

 

[MingusBass]

The Ashdown is darker sounding to me.

 

[John Deacon]

I think the Ashdown may have more of a mellower sound to it, but then I see that Rick Savage from Def Leppard uses them, so I guess it can't be too warm sounding.

 

[John Deacon]

Wait...so 12 o clock isnt flat on the LH500? How does it work then?

And the think is, none of the stores around here carry Ashdown. So I can't try it out first.

 

[bassguppy]

Alright then...

Let me preface this by saying I'm in a children's music band so I'm already humiliated.

Here's a couple of live clips of my Ashdown ABM rig with no PA support. I have a somewhat more lowend to "my" sound but the Ashdown can do a lot more.

They are really short clips so hopefully you can get an idea. Also remember, some camcorders have various audio enhancement capabilities but I do not know if these clips had the audio smoothed out.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0856Ry9qLx8&feature=PlayList&p=F3EF931AE72C3228&index=9


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VzXuzCRpsE&feature=PlayList&p=F3EF931AE72C3228&index=8


no laughing dammit!!!

 

[UncleBalsamic]

Wait...so 12 o clock isnt flat on the LH500? How does it work then?

And the think is, none of the stores around here carry Ashdown. So I can't try it out first.

I think the controls are boost only on the Hartke.

 

[John Deacon]

I think the controls are boost only on the Hartke.

Ok, so turned all the way down would be flat then?

Haha, i didn't laugh, but I could tell it has a really smooth sound to it.

 

[John Deacon]

Ok, will do. What does 2-10-2 mean?

 

[John Deacon]

Thanks! That did help. So what would the true flat be on it?

 

[clockworkwar]

Ashdown.

 

[dannybuoy]

You can download the Hartke manual which explains the EQ. Things to note are:

- If you turn down all 3 knobs then the sound totally cuts out
- 3 knobs at noon results in a slightly scooped sound
- The knobs affect each other, the bass feeds the mids which feeds the treble
- I find these vintage EQs most confusing to understand what's going on, but it's still easy to find a great sound!

 

[fatgoogle]

I have a question, Can the hartke ha 5500 be taken out of its box and put in a rackmount.

 

[SGD Lutherie]

I mean, I just dont want to overpower him. And with a half stack I feel like I might.

No way. Bass always requires a larger amp. Guitarist can use a little 50 Watt combo and crank it up to 10 and over power a 200 watt bass rig.

Also you want the extra power to keep your signal clean.

 

[SGD Lutherie]

so, i stand behind my Ashdown for now, but only until I can afford a tube head!

Tube heads are over rated IMO. I have a big Mesa 400+ head and 4X10 cab, and I used to have a GK-800RB. The 300 watt amp in the GK mopped the floor with the Mesa, even though it's 500 watts. Tube amps have a nice warm tone, but they break up too soon for me and have a softer/slower attack which I don't care for.

I've never tried an Ashdown, but they are made by the people who used to make Trace Elliott, which I also have, so they can't be too shabby!

I like the Hartke stuff too.

 

[John Deacon]

Hm...does anybody on here happen to have a demo of an ashdown mag600?

 

[John Deacon]

Hm...does anybody on here happen to have a demo of an ashdown mag600?

So the LH500 sounds like a bassman?

 

[NorCal Dog]

i'd say Hartke,, but i am a bit biased