My Craigslist Score: Hartke XK-4 Bass

I swear this is the last bass I'm gonna buy, until I see another bass I want!

I got to play Larry's XL-4 (The nicer US made model) at The Hartke Bass Lounge in Times Square and casually had one on my radar for about 2 years. There were only 1000 Korean-built XKs made in 2001 or 2002. A few weeks ago one popped up on Ebay, but was in rough shape. Before snipping the auction at the last second (Don't you have THAT guy?) I saw this on Craigslist. 2 hours worth of driving, $120 and an afternoon of cleaning it up here it is.


The bass has got some weight to it, not a boat anchor, but I'd say it's comparable to a Musicman in weight. 10-11pounds? The aluminum neck is pretty beefy. I'd say it's somewhere near an old P-bass and my dad's Gibson EB-0. The P/J pickups are Hartke branded, I'm thinking they are imported EMGs, but I'm not sure. The knobs are V (neck P pickups) V (bridge J pickups) and then a stacked Bass and Treble boost.

Looks wise it reminds me a little bit of the old Teisco basses with some Fender going on. Plugged in the stock electronics are very adequate and plugged in or unplugged this bass sustains like an all out monster. The pickups are considerably loud with no real unwanted noise unless you have the Treble boost or bridge pickup cranked.

The hardware is Hartke branded, but looks to be comparable to Gotoh so no real need to upgrade. My only hold up is trying to find a tool to adjust the truss rod. Currently it plays great up and down the neck, I just want a little less relief. I would without hesitation stack it up against any comparable Ibanez or Schecter in the $500-$1000 range.

 

It'd be cool to see a side by side of the necks. I can't remember if the XL I played was much different.

 

Vaccaro was the company that made them and they went out of business, I think unexpectedly. I remember seeing a ton of overstock parts on Ebay, so there's probably some killer hybrid stuff out there.

The aluminum neck is definitely a unique sound.

 

Thanks! You are spot on about the truss rod. Standard 1/4" wrench worked fine, I just needed to find a set with a short enough arm.