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Sire V7 + Hartke HD15

Rafael Giuliani

Rafael Giuliani

Guest
Aug 7, 2018
8
0
Leeds, England
#1
So, I recently bought a Sire Marcus Miller V7 and a Hartke HD15 to practise at home.
My first general impression was good but it sounds a bit "muddy", especially the lower notes.
I'm not sure if it's the bass, the amps, the how I'm setting the amp. The notes don't sound very "concise". Maybe it's lack of compression. I don't know... but I felt like sending the bass back and saving a little more to get a better one. The problem is I have no where at the moment to try the bass with another amp and maybe it's the amp...

Has anybody experienced anything alike?

Thanks, guys!
 
#2
I don't think it's the bass, but make sure you start in passive mode, and when you switch to active mode, make sure you have the active tone control knobs all at their center detentes - if the low notes are still muddy then, it's the amp.
 
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#4
How do you set the EQ on the amp?

I have an HD15 too. I think it's a very nice practice amp. I've even played in front of small audiences with it, in primarily acoustic groups without drums. In general, I used to set my amp EQ with the treble and bass boosted a bit and the midrange slightly cut. Recently I've changed to boosting the midrange, cutting the treble, and adjusting the bass to the room (usually setting it flat or with a small boost).
 
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#6
twc1313 said:
What settings are you using on the Sire preamp? Keep in mind that a little goes a long way and if you've cranked the bass or low mids, you will get some mud.
Click to expand...
Yeah boosting the bass on the Sire active setting would likely blow that poor little speaker out of the cabinet! Ouch!
 
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#11
I have the V3 and it's very punchy and has a very clear defined tone, in fact more so than a number of my other basses. The V7 has an even better set of pickups. it's not at all muddy. However I'm playing on a 100W amp. I think on a 15w amp, you probably shouldn't even use the preamp on a Sire bass, it might be too much for the speaker, maybe use it on an amp with at least 30w. Quite a number of basses will not sound good on a 15w amp, I would try the basses at a store with a larger amp and you'll probably get a better idea of the true sound of each bass and try to move up to a bigger amp if possible. Just my 2 cents.
 
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#12
Maxdusty said:
I have the V3 and it's very punchy and has a very clear defined tone, in fact more so than a number of my other basses. The V7 has an even better set of pickups. it's not at all muddy. However I'm playing on a 100W amp. I think on a 15w amp, you probably shouldn't even use the preamp on a Sire bass, it might be too much for the speaker, maybe use it on an amp with at least 30w. Quite a number of basses will not sound good on a 15w amp, I would try the basses at a store with a larger amp and you'll probably get a better idea of the true sound of each bass and try to move up to a bigger amp if possible. Just my 2 cents.
Click to expand...
Yes, I believe you`re right.
 
#14
Rafael Giuliani said:
Yes, I believe you`re right.
Click to expand...
Also want to add, if you plan on playing a five string bass, a 30w amp won't work. My son found this out the hard way. Reason for this is on most 30w amps, it won't even pick up the low B string being played at all, it's too low of a frequency for the amp and speaker. We had to return the 30w amp and move up to a 50w just to listen to it.
 

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