Why do some folks hate Hartke so much?

[Tim1]

Good enough for Jack Bruce!

 

[Kelly Lee]

Good enough for Jack Bruce!

..and Tom Hamilton.

Ofcourse, he is running Ampeg now.

 

[Skel]

I've owned a few Hartke heads, no cabs. The heads sounded "ok" - kind of drab (a 3500 & a 7000). There is just too much other stuff out there that sounds better. I'd rather have a used Ampeg B2R any day over a new Hartke 5500, but that's personal preference. I did get very good customer service from them, unlike some other posters. I think if you like Hartke - there is no reason, like quality or customer service, not to buy the stuff. Regarding Jack Bruce; based on the tone he got on the live version of "Crossroads", I'm not convinced he knows good tone. Tom Hamilton - I doubt he was using Hartke during the "Toys in the Attic" stuff, which was the only period I liked Aerosmith. I think he's a very good rock bassist, though.

Skel

 

[Akami]

Stu Hamm seems to like 'em too...

 

[mwm70]

That being said, when I bought my cabinets they came with a sticker on the grill that wouldn't come off. I contacted customer support and explained the issue. It took me 2 weeks of pulling pieces of sticker off using hot water and vinegar and there is still sticker all over the grill. It took them 3 months to send a new one and when it arrived.... it had the sticker on it. I told customer service to *&^% off after that. Apparently they can't understand repeated emails. So I will never buy another hartke because I don't think they want to go the extra step in customer service.

Here you can see what's left of the sticker still.

My 210xl came the same way. I took the grill off and used WD40 on a rag to remove the residue. Came out pretty good. WD40 works far better as a degreaser and cleaner than as a lubricant IMHO.

 

[jay_t]

I'll try that! Thanks.

 

[BigMikeW]

I've read in places the hate some folks have for Hartke.
Some folks hate the heads,some the transporter series and some anything that says Hartke.
I was just wondering whats up?
Is this a common feeling?

Cuz they sound like @ss???

I'd use a full Carvin rig before anythign Hartke

 

[seamonkey]

For any amp.

It's all a bunch of opinions you should take with a grain of salt.
Try them yourself, but not just in a store. Try them over a few gigs. Decide for yourself.

Report back what your opinions are.

Your audience wont care what care what you play.

 

[rogerjeep]

I own a 210 XL cabinet and liked the sound for small gigs. However, it would crap out with my 5-string at louder volumes. It is bright, but I felt like it projected well. One of the speakers is now blown so I will be replacing the cabinet. I am thinking of getting either a Berg IP310 or IP112 to replace it. Any recommendations? Has anybody tried the IP112?

 

[threshar]

I've got a HA5500 head and a vx1508 cab and it is just wonderful (for me). The only thing i don't like is the cooling fan is a touch noisy, but once you start playing you can't hear it.

I did have a problem with the cab where one of the 8s blew. Then daddy's junky music (where I bought it) took their sweet ass time fixing it. But on the upside, they managed to get all teh sticker residue off. (I'll agree, those stickers on there are pretty stupid - they should at least use ones that peel off easily).

 

[bannedwit]

I talked with a Hartke dealer and they said about 2 -3 years ago, they outsourced to overseas for speaker building and they have sounded like crap ever since. I was lucky to own a 4x10 and 1x15 Transporter serier that was made about 6 years ago so I have the better quality ones... They are good entry level cabs but You will sing a different tune after you hear how SWR, Ampeg etc... stack up to the Hartke sound wise...

Great for the price and weight though.

I dont like them because the Hartke 4000 head blew my 1x15 speaker... You would think that it wouldnt since the cabs together took 450 watts and the head put out only 400 watts...
That is Hartke for you.

 

[cheezewiz]

Cuz they sound like @ss???

I'd use a full Carvin rig before anythign Hartke

Ouch!

 

[dood]

I haven't read the rest of the thread with any great detail, but I support Hartke!

There really is only ONE cab that sounds great, above all the rest of the models. That would be the Hartke 4.5xl.
I used to use 2 with my Ampeg SVT2 pro. Careful with the EQ and they took everything that the SVT threw at it. An awesome sound. I never had an engineer complain and never had any cab problems.

 

[pmcd]

Can't speak about the cabs, but I had a 3500 head for a long time.
Actually really liked the sound. I was mostly running it through a SWR Goliath II. What I didn't like was when it stopped working on gigs twice in a year. Finally sold it for parts after the second breakdown. It seems every bass player I know personally who has had a Hartke head has had the same story. Liked the sound, thought they were very unreliable.

 

[The 0x]

Hmm lets see:

• The cones sound harsh and overly-trebley.
• The amps are totally bland sounding
• The tin can speakers are much more fragile than paper cones
• Ever tried playing with overdrive through one? Enough said.
• The compressors are absolutely worthless.
• They can get very noisy.

Oh well, that's just a few of many.

 

[BigMikeW]

Ouch!

Was that too direct? Gotta speak the truth.

 

[srxplayer]

I have played through a few of them.

A 3500 head on a 4X10 with a litlte 5" HF Driver(4.5XL) and a 5500 head though a weird looking 4X10 (I think it was the 4200). Nothing impressed me about them.

I can't say that there is anything wrong with them. Just not my thing. I say the same thing about SWR

 

[Vapor-Toast]

I've had the HA5000 for 6 years now (bought used on ebay) and I have no complaints at all. Just recently did some maintenence on it (1 tube replaced and pots cleaned) but other than that perfect.

I came across an opportunity to buy the 410 and 115 xl cabs so I tried them out and really wasn't the sound I am going for. I thought I could eq some of it out but they just started farting out.

Heads
Cabs

Just my opinion though.

Vapor

 

[Vic]

To MY ears...

Hartke heads are loud for the money, but that's all they are.

Their tone is nasal and lacks definition. The treble is harsh, and the low end is boxy. They're great at cutting thru a mix because honky mids, their specialty, do that well. I've messed with their heads thru lotsa' cabs and just can't get rid of the nasal honk, which is infinitely frustrating and intolerable to me.

Other than that, they're great.

All you Hartke fans back off, I said to MY ears.

I also find their cabs to be "so-so" with the exception of the little angle front cabs (2100 and 2200), which I like.

EDIT: Most of my experience is with the older stuff (like the 3500), so if the new stuff is real different, take that into account.

 

[cheezewiz]

Was that too direct? Gotta speak the truth.

Not too direct at all. It sums up my feelings on Hartke exactly. The "ouch" was referring to hating Hartke so much, you'd use Carvin (which at least in the redline series, suck just as hard!)