New amp day

Well, after toying with a head/cab transition for awhile, I finally broke down and bought a used head and cab from GC.

I went to the GC with the intention of buying a Fender Rumble 150 (which I've used before) or Ampeg PF350, but decided to try out some used heads first. They had a Fender BXR300R (which is similar to the Rumble 350), a Hartke 2500, and an Acoustic B200 (I've used the combo before and liked it). I did not intend to buy a cab.

I noticed a Marshall Bass 1 x 15 cab in very good condition for a great price. Hmm, I've heard good things about Marshall cabs, but have never played through one. It was very lightweight too. I decided to try out all 3 heads into that cab, then intended to try the one that I liked best against the Ampeg and Fender Rumble. Then I would try out the two best ones into a couple of other cabs to make my choice.

First the Acoustic...sounded very good. In fact, better than the combo that I'm used too. Very old school, but more SVTish into that cab. It did the rock tone very well. Very tempting. Not very versatile though.

Next the Hartke...sounded great. I could cop a lot of tones. In fact, I had a hard time dialing in a bad tone. Not any dirt, but I could easily add a pedal.

Finally the Fender BXR...not bad. Versatile and quite loud. Very much like a Rumble. So much like it, that I decided to scrap the Rumble idea and get this one, if it was the finalist.

I went through them all again several times...but kept coming back to the Hartke. I liked it so much, that I never even made it to the Ampeg (sorry JimmyM). In fact, the head/cab sounded so good together, that after some price negotiation with the GC staff, I walked out the door with both the Hartke head and Marshall cab for around $350.

I'm thrilled with my purchase. My wife...not so much. She didn't know that I was going to GC today. She knew that I was considering a head, but didn't know that I was ready to buy. She does admit that I got a good price though. After a couple of weeks sleeping on the couch, I think she'll forgive me. I'd let her off the couch sooner, but she doesn't like to admit when she is wrong.

 

Quote "Hartkes are great, glad you avoided the low end Fender and new edition Acoustics that sub-par compared with Hartke."

--Actually, I didn't think either were bad at all. I was able to get a good tone out of both. But the Hartke just sounds fantastic...it was hard to dial in a bad tone.

 

Quote "and hartke has awesome customer service to boot! enjoy!"

--You know, my decision was based completely by the Hartke's fantastic tone. But after I made my decision, that thought did come to my mind. If this amp is as reliable as I'm hoping, ANY future amp purchases will be a Hartke.