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New Hartke, New Problems......
- Thread starter metalreptile
- Start date
I thought LH1000 FLAT EQ was Bass 5, Mid 10, Treb 5. I ran my new HyDrive 4x10 through the wringer yesterday and the speakers started distorting when I cranked up my active bass control on my instrument. This was an EXTREME setting that I'd never use. I was also using the PASSIVE input and the amp was in the bridged mode. I DO NOT think the distortion was a result of a fault in either the amp or the cab. It was the totally extreme EQ.
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2, 5, in there somewhere... Some of what sounds flat to you will also be influenced by the cab coloring.
The essential point is that Treble and Bass are boost-only, while Mid is cut-only.
Lots of people new to the Fender-style tone stack think Flat is 5-5-5 and then wonder why their tone is scooped and not as loud as they think it ought to be. The whole EQ concept is pretty well glossed over in the manual, IMO, which doesn't help.
My retailer contacted me today, and after telling the tech everything I could about the problem once again, he put me in a conference call with a tech at Hartke. I explained everything again, and told them everything I had tried. Hartke agreed it sounded like a problem in the SpeakOn jack on the cab. So, the retailer is shipping a new 4x10 cab to me with a paid return shipping label to ship the one I have here back to them. They are out of stock but expect a shipment in the next day or so. Best service I have ever had from an online retailer. If all goes as planned, a new cab should be here within a week & we'll see how things go from there. The retailer you ask? I'll post who they are once everything is wrapped up & all OK. They will be the only company I order from in the future once all this is cleared up!
Alrighty then. The retailer sent me a new cab just as they said they would do. This one will take whatever I give it, no cutting out whatsoever using the SpeakOn cable. I can still tell a difference between 1/4 inch and SpeakOn tho. Playing with the 1/4 inch cable yields a clear, perfect sound, while the SpeakOn yields a slight "growl" to each note. Nothing bad or anything, but noticeable. Does that make any sense? Anyway, there WAS a problem in the first cabinet. Other than the minor "growl" with this one, all is well. More amp than I'll ever need, but I got it if I do! Oh yeah....for the best customer support and service I have experienced anywhere, Sweetwater is second to none.
Very glad it worked out for you but there shouldn't be any difference in sound between the two inputs.
This is where it gets complicated, because unless you're using something like a SPL meter, it's hard to know if you are hitting the cab with exactly the same power...
With the SpeakOn, you are in Bridged Mode, with approximately 3X the available power.
Through a 1/4", you are in Dual Parallel, with something like 225W into an 8 Ohm load; Bridged Mode delivers 750W into an 8 Ohm load.
There may also be a very small difference in the sound if the two power amp cores in the LH1000 are not absolutely identical. Basically, in Bridge, one core drives the peaks and the other drives the valleys. In Dual Parallel, each core drives the complete waveform.
I think you may just be hearing the effect of nonlinearities in the cab as you hit it with more power....
When testing with the 1/4" connections in Dual Parallel, does the cab sound exactly the same when driven from the right side as the left ?
- Feb 12, 2006
- 60,986
- 5
- 220,769
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
IMO, while I understand the attempt at simplification, this is not at all accurate
In bridge mode amp A drives the positive waveform (around ground) and amp b drives the negative waveform, at 180 degrees amp A drives the negative half while amp B drives the positive half. This alternates every 180 degrees. In bridge mode, the minimum valley still resides at zero volts or ground (virtual or otherwise)
If there is (excessive) distortion in either amp, it will show up at the output.
I do agree however, that the distortion being heard in bridge mode is likely the cabinet crying for mercy.
Thanks for the clarification !
It's a 1000W 8-Ohm cab. Seems like it oughtta be loafing at even 750W unless the EQ is whack... I have this exact configuration (LH1000 into HyDrive 410) and while I've never tried the 1/4" vs Bridge/Speakon A/B test, nor driven it really, really loud, I haven't heard anything I'd describe as unexpectedly growly... I've driven the cab "pretty darned loud" with about 350W (GK MB500Fusion) and it seemed clean to me with that setup...
If it were me I'd probably compare the Left and Right channels with a dual-trace scope, but I understand this setup isn't convenient for everyone...
That's my gig rig as well. Same speaker configuration running in the bridged mode. I've never noticed any foul sound emanating from my speakers. Although, to be honest, I've never had it above two. I'd be very interested in the results of that 1/4" vs Bridge/Speakon A/B test.
