- Jan 1, 2014
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- Decendant from the Clovis culture. "Emitting that wonderful bass effect since 1970".
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I only used Hartke gear once, provided as backline, at the Black Swamp Blues Festival, a few years ago. It was a 410 Transporter Cab with a 3500 head. It sounded fantastic; warm, creamy bass tones with some muscle behind it. Perfect for the gig ( Blues ), I was doing. I then looked up reviews for that particular cab, and they were pretty much negative ! I thought, *** ? I even got hold of the sound company who did the festival, to see if I could buy it from them, but they never got back to me. I'm pretty much set for equipment, these days, but I wouldn't hesitate if I saw that rig for sale, somewhere.
The main thing you need when you are a global touring artist is to maintain your sound no matter what happens or where. Ampeg seemed to loose the confidence of many top touring bass players. How many other companies have the infrastructure to supply and support artists around the world? Hartke seems to be the choice for many because they are willing to stand up and support those guys.
Big time players are using Hartke because they like them . No one is playing them because Larry Hartke is passing a check over the table . I would bet everyone out there , that the players mentioned paid ''something'' for their gear .
Victor Wooten mention at a seminar he uses hartke because he likes the tone, quality, support, and people behind the product so he uses them.
I had a vx3500 4 x 10 hartke combo for over a decade and it was a great cab and amp. the ha3500 head had a great tone and the built in compressor and eq were really nice.
I had a vx3500 4 x 10 hartke combo for over a decade and it was a great cab and amp. the ha3500 head had a great tone and the built in compressor and eq were really nice.
My main amp is a Fender Rumble C500 I bought new, but about 6 yrs ago when I was getting back into playing I bought a Hartke 2nd hand (3rd hand probably at least) for $200. A kickback single speaker of a couple hundred watts I believe. TBH all I knew about Hartke as that time was "oh, they have those silver coned speakers" - and a general feel that those probably had brighter highs. However, this used beast had had it's speaker replaced who knows how long ago. But it worked except for the jack was sort of f'd up and not reliable. On someone's advice I contacted Hartke - though I was far from the first owner of it, and the particular model had been discontinued some time before.
They sent me a replacement jack free of charge.
That blew me away. (I hadn't the heart to ask for a free speaker!
) THAT is customer service, and frankly not likely any other major manufacturer would do that. I still have that amp, though I keep it in a place in Florida I visit often enough to want to have one standing by. Yes, it weighs a ton compared to my Rumble among other things, but I still and always will have a soft place in my heart for Hartke because of that. And it sounds decent enough for the purpose I use it for. Rugged, dependable now that the jack is replaced, sounds good. (cheap!)
Maybe they just like Hartke amps better? Always possible!
They sent me a replacement jack free of charge.
That blew me away. (I hadn't the heart to ask for a free speaker!
) THAT is customer service, and frankly not likely any other major manufacturer would do that. I still have that amp, though I keep it in a place in Florida I visit often enough to want to have one standing by. Yes, it weighs a ton compared to my Rumble among other things, but I still and always will have a soft place in my heart for Hartke because of that. And it sounds decent enough for the purpose I use it for. Rugged, dependable now that the jack is replaced, sounds good. (cheap!) Maybe they just like Hartke amps better? Always possible!
There are a lot of quality choices out here now, Hartke being one of them. Each one of them offers something to the beholder. I'm happy to play on any of them, to me, they all sound goodAlt title for this thread: Music Gear: Why Do Musicians Use It?
GK head into Hartke cabs was the rig when I started out in the 80s. Funny to hear disparaging things about Hartke cabs now, but I guess everything has its day.
Yup, optimize your rig as dependable stage monitor. Nobody cares what your cabs sound like or what the badges say.That may sound dismissive, but it's really liberating.
My first rig that wasn’t a combo was a Hartke MOSFET HA3500 on top of a Transporter 410. I added another 410 as soon as I could find one, maybe 3 months. No tweeters in the cabs was a big selling point for me, as was the on board eq. I jammed and gigged that gear for a few years with no issues. I had a brand new preamp tube I kept on hand but never used it.
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I’ve always liked Hartke Gear. The Hydrive cabs are fantastic.
Really, you took the time out of your busy day for this? ^
Much nicer than the reply in my head.
That may say more about your friends than it says about Hartke cabs. I've been rocking a 410XL (purchased used) for over 25 years. And it sounds spectacular with any P bass i have put through it.
D
All Hartke amps/cabs I've tried have a very distinct sound that can be a good match for some genres of music, particularly certain types of metal IMO. It's not my favourite tone, it wouldn't be a good choice for most of the stuff I play and I would never personally buy any Hartke gear but I totally understand why some people like it or even need it to get the tone they want.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
A lot was their marketing strategy. They pushed the concept of the aluminum cones, and I would imagine paid the high profile players to use them.
Interesting to see all these comments on how durable they are. They do sound good. I blew a 410 Harke in the 90's, blew a harke combo amp couple yrs later. I've had my boogie speakers since with no issues.
The answer is simply that some players actually *like* Hartke, and some players are *paid* to endorse Hartke. Some of those players may honestly believe the products are a good value for their fans and followers. I have nothing against either motivation.
I’ve never been particularly impressed by Hartke products. I think the aluminium cones are a gimmick, like the Yamaha speakers back in the 1990s that used sitka spruce cones, though they are admittedly attractive, if you like that sort of thing (I don’t). If aluminium cones provided any significant benefit, you can be sure that other manufacturers would be using them. If there was ever a patent on such a thing, it would have expired long ago. Hartke’s mechanical build quality has never seemed particularly high, to me, although it’s possible that the units I’ve come across in my life were simply abused.
That being said, I’ve never particularly *disliked* Hartke products, either. They just simply don’t appeal to me enough to buy them in preference to the brands I *have* bought: Trace Elliot, Pearce, SWR, and Mesa/Boogie.
I’ve never been particularly impressed by Hartke products. I think the aluminium cones are a gimmick, like the Yamaha speakers back in the 1990s that used sitka spruce cones, though they are admittedly attractive, if you like that sort of thing (I don’t). If aluminium cones provided any significant benefit, you can be sure that other manufacturers would be using them. If there was ever a patent on such a thing, it would have expired long ago. Hartke’s mechanical build quality has never seemed particularly high, to me, although it’s possible that the units I’ve come across in my life were simply abused.
That being said, I’ve never particularly *disliked* Hartke products, either. They just simply don’t appeal to me enough to buy them in preference to the brands I *have* bought: Trace Elliot, Pearce, SWR, and Mesa/Boogie.
Back in the day, a favorite combination was a GK head paired with a Hartke 410 enclosure. Little known fact: Hartke drivers are actually recycled Jiffy Pop tins but I like popcorn so that's okay.
Riis
Riis
I loved that combo too back in the day.
A number of years ago (mid 2000s?) I recall a pretty heavy duty marketing campaign, which went so far as to feature Larry Hartke’s personal cell phone number and an invitation to speak to the man himself.
Hartke gear is not my favorite from a tonal or aesthetic standpoint, but many players love it. I have to give the company credit, though, for they certainly know how to sell gear.
Hartke gear is not my favorite from a tonal or aesthetic standpoint, but many players love it. I have to give the company credit, though, for they certainly know how to sell gear.
Al Kraft
Supporting Member
- May 2, 2016
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- Mesa Boogie beta product tester and player support
I owned Hartke cabs and heads for many years. Oddly enough I never used both my Hartke cabs and heads together, but that was just circumstances and tone preferences.
My Hartke gear treated me well, although the cabs (2.5XL and 4.5XL) weighed as much or more than my old Peavey gear causing me to subliminally associate big sound and reliability with weight. Of course today's bass gear has completely dispelled that myth. I did find that those who used Hartke's lighter duty cabs (e.g. transporter series IIRC) needed to be careful about abusing the drivers...my XL cabs took a pounding from my SWR head (with no HPF at the time) and just delivered gig after gig.
My Hartke 1400 head with an SWR Goliath Jr II (4 Ohms) was my original light-weight rig back in the 90's.
My Hartke gear treated me well, although the cabs (2.5XL and 4.5XL) weighed as much or more than my old Peavey gear causing me to subliminally associate big sound and reliability with weight. Of course today's bass gear has completely dispelled that myth. I did find that those who used Hartke's lighter duty cabs (e.g. transporter series IIRC) needed to be careful about abusing the drivers...my XL cabs took a pounding from my SWR head (with no HPF at the time) and just delivered gig after gig.
My Hartke 1400 head with an SWR Goliath Jr II (4 Ohms) was my original light-weight rig back in the 90's.
