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Hartke XL vs VX

F

funky_bass_guy

Guest
Jul 30, 2004
296
0
#1
Hey guys :hyper:
I am looking at buying my first big rig, upgrading from my 20 watt combo to hopefully a 4x10. I have been looking at the Hartke cabinets in the VX and XL ranges. There seems to be a large price gap between the VX and XL, is this due to the aluminium speakers of the XL or is the VX not as well built? I am on a bit of a budget but I would rather be saving for a bit longer to get something reliable, as I cant afford to replace it 3 years down the line. Also what would you suggest amp wise to go with it? I play a mixture of rock and funk, think chili peppers early days and do quite a bit of slap. I want a fairly high-quality sound though, it must not go into sonic mush when I turn it up, as I plan to gig with this! I have heard the Hartke 3500 amp is good, but some people have said it is a bit punchy, I am a little cautious of these comments as I want something that sounds good and makes my bass sound good, rather than a in your face bad quality sound. My bass teacher is bringing his Hartke 4x10 XL and 3500 round in a few weeks so I will try that out and see what I think. Feel free to suggests any other makes of cabinets or amps and my bass is a DeArmond Pilot Pro (2 soapbar pickups) if that helps.

Many thanks
Chris
 
#4
I've been using a 4-10 Hartke Transporter Series, which I beleive is thier less expensive series for about 15 years now and have never had one complaint.... well I did have a bar owner ask me to please turn it down because I was rattling the bottles behind the bar. Low volume or high volume it still sounds sweet to me.

I'm sure there is better out there but the differance in quality of sound can't be that much.

You will definatly want to put a foam pad between your cab and your amp. I had to put my amp in the shop twice because it was shaking it to peices. The last time in the Tech covered the whole board with hot glue. It's been 14 years now with no problems.
 
#6
My old rig was hartke cab and amp (not sure which amp). Extremely realiable and never had any issues with volume. If you play funk and really want to get that punch when you pop the aluminum cones add to that in my HO. I would go with the Hartke Cab is will last you a very long time. **** mine last too long and everything happened to it.

As for an Amp go for what sounds and suits your needs the best. I currently don't play in loud loud situations and if so I just use the DI out on my Hartke combo amp.

But I rely more on my bass for the sound I want than the amp.

Matt
 
#7
Well my bass sounds very nice DId but the lil 10 inch fart box I have does it no justice. I was skimming through some posts here and some people said, in relation to a yamaha amp, that 500 watts was not enough, they would rather 1,200. My bass teacher has a 350 watt hartke rig and he reckons its all you need and I have to say I agree, why would you need anymore power?
 
#8
Hey I got my Hartke 410xl of ebay for 200 bucks. it was pretty used but it sounded pretty good. I blew one of the speakers within the first week I had it. I was pretty pissed bu I called Hartke and even though it was out of warranty they replaced the speaker for free. there customer service alone was really impressive prompt responses and once i mailed of the speaker it was back to me within a week. Now i have had this cab now for about 4 years and not a hitch it's got a lot of midrange & high twang due to the aluminum cones only thing i wish it had was more bottom end but that is why i added an ampeg BXT115 helped outt eh sound alot.
 
#9
funky_bass_guy said:
Well my bass sounds very nice DId but the lil 10 inch fart box I have does it no justice. I was skimming through some posts here and some people said, in relation to a yamaha amp, that 500 watts was not enough, they would rather 1,200. My bass teacher has a 350 watt hartke rig and he reckons its all you need and I have to say I agree, why would you need anymore power?
Click to expand...

Honestly, if you need more than 3-400 watts just go through the PA. I had a head that was 350w and it was never turned up over 3 or 4. I think it was the Hartke 3500. That was back when I played tons of rock (2 guitar, vocals, loud drums).
 
#13
Southpaw59 said:
My Hartke amp is only 200 watts and anything over 6 would require ear protection.

No point in trying to pull a lawnmower trailer with a mac truck....so to speach. Nice thing about the Hartke 350 head is you can bi-amp them if you choose. Split your power and freqs between two cabs.
Click to expand...
That's not the 350w, thats the 500 & 700.
My Hartke 3500 gets pummeled by a 60w TSL guitar amp at our practises! Might be because its only running at 240w through one quad, but i'm yet to try 2 quads.
 
#15
My mistake... it's been a while since I payed much attention to such things. When you have used the same peice of equipment for 15 years you almost forget everything about it except where the volume knob is and where the speaker plugs in :confused:
But, yeh! if a 60watt amp is cleaning your clock and your pushing 350 or even half that you have problems other than power.

I agree with Lefty Punk Bass... Sounds like an EQ thing.
 

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