Hartke: Why Do Musicians Use It?

[Yellow Bang66]

I liked my Hartley 210 Combo when I had it. It had the fully aluminum speakers.

The fully aluminum speakers sound better when accompanying a group than playing by yourself. They had a strong attack to them. Maybe that’s where “Transient Attack” comes from.

Sounded clean and clear when playing with two guitarists and a drummer. Cut through anything. I kinda want to get another 2x10 cabinet.

I bought a Hartke LH 500 to replace an ashdown head that blew during a rehearsal. really happy with results! and low cost too!! Great tones & power. I d endorse if I was a bigger name. Only caveat is no techs want to work on them! I knew a repair guy that wont touch them! told me to get something else! no problems yet. so I guess i'll just keep my fingers crossed!& hope for the best!

 

[MikeBass]

Because they still sound great.

The 4.5 and 2.5 cabs sounded as good as anything on the market then, or even now.

I took my 2.5 to a bass get together with a lot of other uber high end gear. It shocked the owner of a magazine dedicated to bass stuff.
And, it shocked others who were there as well.

He rehearsal studio I’ve been working at recently has a 410XL that I’ve been using. Sounds freakin amazing.
I may grab one myself again.

 

[Zoffy]

I use Hartke cabs (HD210 and HD112) and like them a lot. They are well-built and I've never had any issues with them. In fact, I'm thinking about picking up another 210 later on in the year. Good quality at a fair price - why wouldn't I use them?

 

[Midas]

I like the fact that they still do analog bas amps. I just don't like digital amps no matter what brand! It is not the real tone deal !!!!!
And just for fun...go search for a good analog amp in your store or online-shop......

 

[pie_man_25]

my hartke experiences are three.

first, in the 90s i did blow out a hartke aluminum speaker (it ripped like tissue paper), but while my wattage was well within its specs, i play with a lot of attack and hadn't yet learned that made a difference. after that i blew out a peavey black widow LOL

second, my beloved hartke LH500. it is still my favorite amp that i owned - what tone! - but alas, shoulder damage means it was hard to move, and i prefer a smaller amp.

third, my husband has a little hartke HD15. it has more low end at lower volumes than any similarly sized amp i've tried. it's definitely got the beef.

When I worked in China I had an hd25. If I needed a tiny amp I'd get another one, that amp was perfect. I know lots of people like the rumble series, but between the hd25 and the rumble 25 it's not even a competition - but it is a bit pricier than the rumble.

 

[sonic 7]

There are trends in music gear just as in clothing and sneakers. Are you really gonna run further and faster in a new pare of Nike’s than you would in a pair of NOS 20 year old addidas. I’ll probably get flamed for saying this but if Hartke raised their price point along with some slick marketing they would probably get a little more respect.

 

[TonyP-]

Backline support is huge.
Sampson does a great job with this.

 

[Al Kraft]

As a satisfied Hartke user back in the day (and still a happy user on occasion) I'm really enjoying hearing all the stories that match my experience from that time. Now I'm starting to wonder if the thread should be titled, "Hartke: What got you started using it?".

 

[Watchootognbout]

Back in 2000 I had a 30 watt Gorrilla amp and a P Bass Lyte Deluxe.
The P Bass overdrove the Gorrilla amp.
So I went and bought a Hartke Kickback 120.

Why?
Because it was good and it worked.

 

[dbase]

Got back into playing after 45 years not familiar with the latest bass gear so my 1st amp was a Hartke HA2000, then the LH500, TX600(for 1 week) and 10's, 12's and 15 cabs. It was a lot of gear for not much investment and I bought all new. I sold it all and got a Mesa for giggles, Now I love Mesa. But I have to admit, the Hartke gear was a workhorse for me at about half the price.

 

[mikewalker]

I currently have a couple of Hydrive HD112 cabinets, an older ('ratfur') 210XL cabinet, a TX600 amp and a TX300 amp. I have owned lots of other bass gear from Mesa, Ampeg, and the like - but am very pleased with the quality of my Hartke gear. Will likely buy more Hartke products in the future!

 

[mikecd1]

Don't forget, he's also a Grill master. This guy knows how to BBQ! He also endorses Rolling Rock!

Indeed he does! And to quote the man himself:
"I pledge allegiance to the charcoal grills of the United States of America, and to the backyards where they stand, one nation under smoke, indivisible, with ketchup and mustard for all.United We Grill!!"

 

[Buster Brown]

Back in the day (like 1980) I was asked to play Traynor and I agreed. Not given to me, just to use and talk up a local music store so I was glad todo so. We shared the stage with a couple of other groups one night and we all had to bring our own set up.

95% of the bassists used Peavey back then and I was asked "why would you be using Traynor and not Peavey?" simple I said, "because it fits my style of playing."

Same thing, I guess, with guys who choose Harkte. They like it. Simple as that.

 

[klejst]

To each their own...some people like apples, some like oranges. Don't like apples don't eat them, but you really cannot fault those who do like the oranges either. (Food is fun)

 

[Spirit of Ox]

Indeed he does! And to quote the man himself:
"I pledge allegiance to the charcoal grills of the United States of America, and to the backyards where they stand, one nation under smoke, indivisible, with ketchup and mustard for all.United We Grill!!"

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OMG! is that a mini Tom Peterson 12 String? Only Larry could find something like that. I love his Facebook posts!

 

[Fishheadjoe]

I bought a used TA3500 for $200 a few years ago to use in our practice space and backup for gigs. It has been abused, miss-lead, laughed at, frowned at and any number of other abuses one can imagine.
Best $200 I have spent. It takes pedals like a champ!
Fishheadjoe

 

[brianrost]

Why are these legendary bassists using Hartke?

Wait a minute, let me get a third thread going...

 

[brianrost]

GK head into Hartke cabs was the rig when I started out in the 80s.

Played rigs like that many times as provided backline. I liked the sound.

For about 15 years I stage managed a large festival and the supplied rigs were either GK/Hartke or SVTs. Had a number of the SVTs go belly up, never problems with the GK/Hartke.

Blown speakers just means the cab was driven past it's capabilities.

 

[Fishheadjoe]

Blown speakers just means the cab was driven past it's capabilities

I think a lot of those blown drivers are the result of that dirty rotten 30hz fader on the graphic eq and folks not hearing the drivers struggle until it's too late.
Fishheadjoe

 

[dkelley]

I like the fact that they still do analog bas amps. I just don't like digital amps no matter what brand! It is not the real tone deal !!!!!
And just for fun...go search for a good analog amp in your store or online-shop......

What do you mean by digital amp? If you mean Class D, they aren't digital. I'm not judging your opinion of amps, just pointing out the terminology in case you go into a store and ask about digital amps, when maybe they would give you better answers if you said "class d".

again, I'm only assuming you mean class D, since lots of people misunderstand how it works and believe they are in some way digital. They have been compared to the way digital audio works, inaccurately, and that, combined with the big letter "D", and probably some bad early marketing materials, combine to confuse people.

I'm just trying to help with terminology so you can explain what type of amp you dislike. It's like when I used to say I liked humbuckers in guitars. Well, it turned out, that wasn't true. I liked albums using a certain guitar model (Les Paul) that I assumed had humbuckers because the ones I had seen and played had humbuckers... yet the two sounds I idolized on record actually turned out not to have humbuckers in their guitars despite it being the same model as mine. That took me several years to learn about, since nobody sat down and told me the truth. I guess it's not that close to what we're talking about here LoL, oh well.