Hartke: Why Do Musicians Use It?

[lalo_garcia-maynez]

I have used Hartke cabs for over 30 years too. I have had a lot of models . On my experience these are the best in order of preference:
Hartke 4200 pro (expensive and heavy but a great cabinet hard to find )
Hartke 2200 pro (2x12 great growl also hard to find )
Hartke 2100 pro (2x10 portable and hard to find !).
HL 410 hartke’s top of the line model as of 2022; sounds great and is light (the tweeter is not good so I changed it ; now it’s an amazing cabinet ; but it’s expensive!).
Hartke vx215 (I Have two of these ; I removed the hartke paper speakers and installed Electro voice pl 15b instead- now it’s a monster!!)
Hartke vx1508 (it has a 15 inch and two 8 inch speakers plus a tweeter ) I replaced the 15 inch with a hartke XL 115 aluminum driver and replaced the 8 inch speakers with the Ones I took out of the hartke 508 combo .
Hartke 2.5 XL- heavy but great!
Hartke 4.5 XL heavy but It rocks !
All these has been expensive to modify but I’m happy with all of it . Great stuff !
The best is probably the pro series but it was expensive and discontinued very quickly .
Here’s part of my collection (I have other top of the line brands of bass cabinets in my collection; Hartke is NOT inferior to anything! It’s just different but it’s great stuff!).
I have also used hartke cabinets and changed the drivers to expensive paper cone speakers ; that has been a great idea too… here you can see a lot of my experimentations:
All I can say is I like it !!!
I also have a couple of hartke 4200 with discontinued blue aluminum speakers from eminence . These handle more watts are lighter and allowed me to wire the cabinet to 8 ohms instead of 4 ohms. Great results too !

 

[lalo_garcia-maynez]

I also just built a hartke 4x8 combo amp. It will have a trace Elliot ah200 head racked in there; it has a jbl tweeter ; it was built with a crossover and attenuators on the back . It should arrive next week .

 

[The Hook 1988]

Here’s part of my collection (I have other top of the line brands of bass cabinets in my collection; Hartke is NOT inferior to anything! It’s just different but it’s great stuff!).

That's a great collection! I wish i had the room. I consider Hartke the best I've ever owned, but also among the best I've ever heard. Started out Earth and Kustom amps and cabs. Then I got an Ampeg, did not like the tone and took it back for an Acoustic 370 rig (my favorite out of the "vintage" stuff) Later various incarnations of Sunn, Peavey,Bag End, Trace elliot Etc. Last one before Hartke, Mesa Boogie (favorite Tube amp). That's when I got the Hartke 410/115 XL rig with GK head.That was the sound i was looking for. Unfortunately had the room/storage consideration and the beginnings of some health issues. Tried some GK and Peavey combos, went back to Hartke 210/115 combos. Had a chance for a great deal on a 4.5XL (of course took it!), great sound, but with a back condition and joint disease too heavy . Went back to GK neo rig 212/115, sounded really good, but not quite there. Finally back to Hartke when the HD series came out. Now I run 2 x 112HD's with GK MB-500 (MB-200 backup) I also have a powered GK MBP 115 cab that either head can control if I need an extension(rare). All "modular" and lightweight besides powerful,clear and articulate. 45 years playing with different rigs, including various backline stuff, Hartke still the top of my list.

 

[bigdaddybass12]

Maybe because they are good stuff,,,,

 

[Angelus Mortem]

I love Hartke gear, I own two Hartke heads, and three cabinets (2-4x10, 1-1x15) that have never done anything but perform flawlessly. After lugging around Ampegs for years, well, I'm not getting any younger, and the WWE never called me up to wrestle an 84 pound head, and 165 pound cab in a triple threat match!...I'm not getting paid to say that, but if you want to throw money at me, I'll accept it!

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[chaosMK]

A lot of these pro bassist probably dont make that much

 

[BassyBill]

I’ve owned a fair number of pieces of Hartke gear and generally had good experiences with it. The only doubt I ever had about my Hartke stuff was some vague uneasiness about the robustness or longevity of the Ali coned drivers. The amps were really great, though.

 

[The Hook 1988]

The only doubt I ever had about my Hartke stuff was some vague uneasiness about the robustness or longevity of the Ali coned drivers.

Likely still be around and kicking long after the paper cones have turned to dust!

 

[BassyBill]

Likely still be around and kicking long after the paper cones have turned to dust!

True enough.I was just a touch unsure about the adhesives used to attach the centre dust caps to the aluminium, for some reason.

 

[rockdoc11]

The one experience I have with Hartke started maybe 15-20 years ago, with the most extraordinary "blowout" sale from a retailer that I ever experienced.

IIRC, I was then a member of an early online bass forum called The Bottom Line. A member posted and said that a big mail order retailer was selling the Hartke HA1400 head, along with 12 (!) sets of bass strings, for:

$99

That was too incredible a deal to spend even a second considering, so I called and bought it. Somewhat to my surprise, all came through exactly as promised. I sold the bass strings on ebay, and easily made my purchase money back after the first few string sets sold.

And that Hartke head has been flawlessly powering my music room bass rig ever since. Effects loop, a contour switch, four band EQ, switchable compression, all for $99?

Anyone else remember that deal? Anyone know what was behind it?

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(Picture borrowed from reverb.com, where these things are still selling for $100.)

 

[JimmyM]

I’ve owned a fair number of pieces of Hartke gear and generally had good experiences with it. The only doubt I ever had about my Hartke stuff was some vague uneasiness about the robustness or longevity of the Ali coned drivers. The amps were really great, though.

I still see plenty of older Hartke stuff.

 

[mexicanyella]

The one experience I have with Hartke started maybe 15-20 years ago, with the most extraordinary "blowout" sale from a retailer that I ever experienced.

IIRC, I was then a member of an early online bass forum called The Bottom Line. A member posted and said that a big mail order retailer was selling the Hartke HA1400 head, along with 12 (!) sets of bass strings, for:

$99

That was too incredible a deal to spend even a second considering, so I called and bought it. Somewhat to my surprise, all came through exactly as promised. I sold the bass strings on ebay, and easily made my purchase money back after the first few string sets sold.

And that Hartke head has been flawlessly powering my music room bass rig ever since. Effects loop, a contour switch, four band EQ, switchable compression, all for $99?

Anyone else remember that deal? Anyone know what was behind it?

Link Removed
(Picture borrowed from reverb.com, where these things are still selling for $100.)

Back in the late 90s the bassist of the band I was in played a Hartke Kickback combo with an aluminum 12 in it and (I think???) 120 watts. As I recall the controls were laid out similarly. I wonder if it was basically the same circuit?

That little combo served him well. It was a band with sub-20-watt guitar amps, and it seemed like a good volume match.

I wonder what the conversion factor for aluminum cone watts to paper cone watts is.

 

[6thplanet]

I'm a speaker geek by nature, so those shiny aluminum cones were total eye candy. Then I heard them. Dang, they sound great too!! Sold. When I was able to afford an amp I bought the HA7000 in the late 90's. I still rock that thing today. I was playing with the cheapy MCM aluminum cones speakers for awhile, then scored a killer deal on a Hydrive 810. Promptly turned that into two 410's and never looked back.

 

[MMMiguelito]

View attachment 4635190 View attachment 4635182 View attachment 4635181 View attachment 4635180 View attachment 4635179 View attachment 4635178 View attachment 4635177 I have used Hartke cabs for over 30 years too. I have had a lot of models . On my experience these are the best in order of preference:
Hartke 4200 pro (expensive and heavy but a great cabinet hard to find )
Hartke 2200 pro (2x12 great growl also hard to find )
Hartke 2100 pro (2x10 portable and hard to find !).
HL 410 hartke’s top of the line model as of 2022; sounds great and is light (the tweeter is not good so I changed it ; now it’s an amazing cabinet ; but it’s expensive!).
Hartke vx215 (I Have two of these ; I removed the hartke paper speakers and installed Electro voice pl 15b instead- now it’s a monster!!)
Hartke vx1508 (it has a 15 inch and two 8 inch speakers plus a tweeter ) I replaced the 15 inch with a hartke XL 115 aluminum driver and replaced the 8 inch speakers with the Ones I took out of the hartke 508 combo .
Hartke 2.5 XL- heavy but great!
Hartke 4.5 XL heavy but It rocks !
All these has been expensive to modify but I’m happy with all of it . Great stuff !
The best is probably the pro series but it was expensive and discontinued very quickly .
Here’s part of my collection (I have other top of the line brands of bass cabinets in my collection; Hartke is NOT inferior to anything! It’s just different but it’s great stuff!).
I have also used hartke cabinets and changed the drivers to expensive paper cone speakers ; that has been a great idea too… here you can see a lot of my experimentations:
All I can say is I like it !!!
I also have a couple of hartke 4200 with discontinued blue aluminum speakers from eminence . These handle more watts are lighter and allowed me to wire the cabinet to 8 ohms instead of 4 ohms. Great results too !

I've been looking for a 2100 Pro for YEARS. Due to hearing issues, the 'tilt up' feature is a game changer for me.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I've been looking for a 2100 Pro for YEARS. Due to hearing issues, the 'tilt up' feature is a game changer for me.

It reminds of this cab. Not sure if you’ve seen it:

Chris Cole 1212 Bass Guitar Cabinet Kit

 

[StayLow]

Perhaps they are paid to use them?

Good ol’ TB… with wisdom & wit O.F. in the very 1st reply clobbers it out of the ballpark, clear past the parking lot and across the highway yet here we are a year and a half later approaching page 15!

 

[Marko 1]

It reminds of this cab. Not sure if you’ve seen it:

Chris Cole 1212 Bass Guitar Cabinet Kit

One of my Fender Pro 410s has the top two speakers slanted upward.

I'm not sure, but I suppose it helps.

 

[Marko 1]

Good ol’ TB… with wisdom & wit O.F. in the very 1st reply clobbers it out of the ballpark, clear past the parking lot and across the highway yet here we are a year and a half later approaching page 15!

Just one of the things that makes this place so wonderful.

 

[lokikallas]

I’m sure all the guys you mention get a lot of the best Harte gear free. I doubt they are paid outright. Hartke is also widely available globally and very robust. Not to mention they can sound good. Amps are mostly set dressing for these guys anyway.

 

[otp57]

While watching the likes of Dave Ellefson, Billy Sheehan, Rex Brown, Etc., I noticed they all used Hartke. From what I seem to have noticed is after the Mid-2000's Ampeg Meltdown many artists transitioned to Hartke, but why? Why not Ashdown, Gallien-Krueger, Aguilar, MarkBass, upon many other bands? I'm pretty sure you could get a full Hartke 1000 Watt head and 2x12 HyDrive Cabinet that Billy Sheehan uses, and still not have enough to get even a used Aguilar (or other brands) Head. Why do the big names use Hartke?

Other Notes: I have heard these speakers blow out a TON, another question mark there....

I also love my Hartke HA5500 and my VX3500,Played them HARD and never blown a speaker.
I played with Orange,Fender, Ampeg etc but my HA5500 sound the best to MY EARS.
I just picked up a 1994 or 95 Ampeg 810 cab and my HA5500 just sings with that cab.
If I was a true ROCK STAR(with lots of greenbacks) I will still be using Hartke HA5500 amps
You can test Hartke or any amp ,just pick the one that sound best to you.