Hartke: Why Do Musicians Use It?

[Spirit of Ox]

Stuart Hamm has been using Hartke since they came out. I think he still uses the HA amps.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Not sure who this is directed to but I do not think Hartke equipment is repugnant. In fact, the Hartke gear I have heard other bassist playing sounded just fine.



This was not my point. When manufacturers pay musicians to hawk their wares, they actually pay them. Money. They don't just loan them a rig or give them a rig. They PAY them and, under the agreement, the musician agrees to use their gear in public.

Yup, 2 810s and 4 fifteens behind them...that don't even have speakers in the boxes.

 

[steveinohio]

All this Hartke talk is making me want to go buy a new rig!

Back in the day Harke was the brand to have. To me it seems to be analogous to what Aguilar is now.

I've owned one Hartke product. A combo that was super loud and had a great sound! My only issue with it was that the input jack broke on it. It was plastic. I have no doubt Hartke would have taken care of me if I pursued it.

I can understand people's apprehension a bit. Their aesthetics arent for everyone. If you listen to how they sound though you will be surprised.

 

[Rilence]

-SNIP-

Hartke amplification is really good and pretty much neutral sounding. It doesn't have a real signature tone like Ampeg, GK, or Mesa.

Pretty much this.

 

[marchone]

Ten years ago all the house players at BB King’s NYC used a Hartke back line. Few artists brought their own gear in.

The sound was great.

 

[Medicine Man]

My friend's studio had a kickback that I hated, just because it didn't have the spl. Ive used a ton of backlined hydrive and they were great, but never gave me the warm inner smile of finding a backline SVT/fridge. I really like the sound for rock and pop, but you need a stupid amount of hydrive cabs to play dubbier genres.

 

[7dollarbologna]

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....

Jaco used them, I guess they can’t be that bad

 

[Gustopher]

My cab is what used to be a Hartke 1510 combo, I pulled the amp out and soldered in a speaker jack.. it sounds glorious with my Carvin head and only weighs like 25lbs.

 

[Al Kraft]

Ten years ago all the house players at BB King’s NYC used a Hartke back line. Few artists brought their own gear in.

The sound was great.

As I recall back in the 90's it was not at all uncommon to see Hartke gear being used by bands playing in clubs around NY, NJ, and DC.

 

[Corigan]

This ^^^^^^^

Very few artists get free gear as part of their endorsement deal, let alone being paid for it. Mike Portnoy, as a drummer's drummer, was no doubt helping Tama & Sabian sell a LOT of drums & cymbals in the early 2000s and even then spoke about getting free gear (and logistic help etc) but not getting paid for it.

There are quite a few TB members who are endorsing artists, and the quoted benefits are consistently mentioned as reasons why the deal works for them rather than getting anything for free or being paid.

This right here. Not all sponsorship deals are the same. I know some people sponsored by various bass companies, and they usually get 50% off new gear purchases with all the other benefits of the sponsorship. Still, when you're buying 4k+ custom instruments, 50% off isnt too shabby.

 

[Matt R.]

I used to play Hartke. I’ll be asking myself why for the rest of my life.

 

[darkwasthenight]

I wish I lived in the same world where artists get paid for working with a gear company. Hell, I wish we had the budget to pay artists to use gear! Would make everyone's life a bit easier.

There is a big difference between paying for advertising on a youtube channel (which is more likely to be via demo gear they can sell later than cash), releasing a signature product with your branding on it (for which you will receive a piece rate), and having short-term loans for tour support/buying gear at artist rate (which is what everyone else is doing).

 

[Bikeguy57]

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

JIFFY POP!!

 

[chriscrob]

Back in MY day (oh, there goes my hip!)...Hartke was the IT brand...when I came back to it in the early 2000s, Hartke was a cheap, budget based brand. I was like, wth happened?

I feel like they have been hella smart about it. They were unlikely to become Ampeg-level iconic and trendy brands always tend to have a day in the sun before being replaced by something newer and shinier---you can only stay trendy for so long (especially if you offer entry-level equipment that will show up on the used market for decades and dilute the exclusivity that drives people towards trendy brand names.)

But the market for dependable, workhorse amps that sound generically "good" without being defined by a specific tone that are ubiquitous enough to expect exact replacements to be available in any given city is way more consistent.
It was a perfect way to utilize the Hartke name.

7 pages of comments here and nobody is trashing them---they've been consistently good for decades. The people who aren't on TB waiting for the next coolest amp rig to show the world how cool their amp rig is recognize that and even here, in one of the harshest environments a bass amp can endure, nobody has anything bad to say.

 

[Wheezerbass]

Hartke Cab's are heavy duty - I've abused the 4x10 and 1x15's - and amased i was - they stood up for it.
They're affordable and "kinda Neutral" in sound,which in my ears allows me to sculpt my sound almost in any way i like. Some other cabs I've tried - adds too much colour to the sound and that was not what I was looking for. They serve me well to this day still - no history of breakdown.

People tend to discuss equipment - quite fiercely sometimes - In my oppinion - if it get's the job done - use whatever U like. Quality speaks for itself - and comes in budget too. This is sometimes the difficulty with hyped stuff - I ain't gonna pay an excess amount of money to buy fancy Brand-X if I can find the quality I need somewhere else. Hard earned money IMO needs to be spend wise. Thx Have a nice day U lot

 

[slagbass]

Also, I swear I remember an add with Michael Anthony (thought it was a Hartke add) where he was quoted in the ad saying something like
"There's nothing worse than an amp that sounds like a precisely place to fart"
or something to that effect. Can't seem to find it anywhere.

It was a Mesa Boogie ad.

 

[57pbass]

I have played through many back line and rehearsal studio Hartke rigs and they always sounded great. I own the LH500 and it’s a nice piece of gear.

 

[mikecd1]

The reason people love Hartke is the man! Larry is such a nice guy, makes great bass amps, runs the bass lounge loaded with cool bass gear at Sam Ash 34th St. in NYC and the guy knows how to EAT! He gets these amazing subs from Troops subs in Clifton, NJ, pizza from Mario's Pizza there yet also bakes a fine Tree Tavern pizza (awesome local frozen pie), fried bologna sandwiches and more! The first 4x10 I ever played was the 410B and it had some of the best bass tones I'd ever heard. Those kickback amps were also great amps and Will Lee used one on Letterman for years and heard him play them in NYC clubs too. Nothing wrong with Hartke gear and as innovators they came up with a ton of cool bass stuff! I don't know if theres anything so special about aluminum cones, but that's just part of his trademark though his innovations and creations go way beyond just that. I really love the Hydrives and LX amps of late too especially the 112 cab which is lightweight, decent price and has very usable tones.

 

[jasper383]

I have no complaint about any of the many Hartke cabs I have played over the years.

I love my LH500 head. Casady or P bass into an LH500 head is one of the very best bass sounds I have heard anywhere.

 

[JRA]

Hartke: Why Do Musicians Use It?


why not? musicians still buy and "use" fender P-basses!

i've never owned hartke stuff, but i've played hartke stuff plenty of times = good stuff! he[[, every brand makes something usable (in the right context).

i understand "hating" on gear that's overpriced for what it is, but i don't think hartke fits that description.