Why Do You Think Hartke Sucks?
Dennis Raven
vs. Eden vs. Hartke etc., etc., etc. The one thing I've noticed
is that many posters think that Hartke sucks and whatever they
have (or maybe wish they had) is faaaar superior. I own a Hartke
and find it to be a great amp and speakers. I especially like the
aluminum cones. I would just like to know specifically, from REAL
experience, not from "I knew someone who owned one and he said it
sucked" why supposedly Hartkes are no good. Additionally, if they
are so bad, I'm possibly in the market for a 4 X 10 transporter
cabinet and a 3500 amp at a good price. One last thing if you
would - please reply via private Email in case no one else is
interested in this except me. Thanks...
--
Dennis Raven
71342...@compuserve.com
msmeets@ibm.net@ibm.net
The one thing I've noticed
>is that many posters think that Hartke sucks and whatever they
>have (or maybe wish they had) is faaaar superior.
Hartke isn't superior at all....infact, they are infererior. The only good thing about
Hartke are there heads, which they make some nice sounding ones but there cabs
are the pits.
I especially like the
>aluminum cones. I would just like to know specifically, from REAL
>experience, not from "I knew someone who owned one and he said it
>sucked" why supposedly Hartkes are no good.
I tried out a couple Hartke's when I was lookin for a new bass amp, the aluminm
cones are a joke. I almost bough a hartke combo, tube amp round 375watt tube amp
with 2x10's I think, anyways, it sounded very good and frankly it was quite nice but
around a month ago, I was looking for more hartke's again, and I came upon one and
tried it out, as soon as I hit my E string, I see the cab 12's just pop out so far, I only had
the master on 2...and already the speaker was workin its ass off.
To see a speaker come out far as a result of hitting your E string just once, is a scary
thing to see. So, I headed down to the local music store and tried a trace elliot, there is no
other amp...they make great amps.
Whats the beef with the aluminum cone, well, frankly, its the stupidest invention in the world.
SO, a speaker is supposed to PUSH air out, now, if you introduce something to stop that
air from being pushed out, the aluminum cone or whatever material is there will rip and
then you need to recone and spend a bundle doin it.
MOST cabs use paper cones I believe, I think a general rule when looking for cabs
is f you see that cone come out and your only at like 2 or 3...and its a solid stateor tube,
you know there is something wrong.
So, why waste your cash on an inferior product that could end up costin ya cash.
I wouldn't play a gig with a Hartke, not unless they got rid of those cones, I might
condsider using their heads but thats it. If your going to get a head and cab, don't
go for the cheap crap, get the hand made stuff, LIke mesa Boogie or TE or SWR.
Your there for a good qaulity amp 99% of the time, it'd be stupid to take a chance.
Mark
Yauch
: Mark
--
Their amps are really quite good. I've played several. I love them.
You're right about the cabs though.
--
"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent"
--Salvador Hardin
KidHavok
time is super fast, so you get a very accurate recreation of what your
bass sounds like. However, alot of bass tone comes from overdriving your
speakers (that's where the growl comes from), and paper or impregnated
paper cones give you a warmth that aluminum never could. I won't even go
into my horror story of owning one of the 1st Hartke 7000's off the
line...
Ian
Patrick Richmond
: Well, the aluminum cone thing is the big hurdle. The transient response
I've heard horror stories of the 1st runs of their heads too, but
I think that can be expected with most companies that begin making heads
for the first time - they just need time to get feedback and work out all
the bugs. I find the aluminum cones are great for high end and punch. I
use a 210 Combo (350 watt head, 2 10" speakers) hooked up to a Doyle cab
with a JBL 15" speaker. Personally, I think my sound is darned fine for
anything I'm doing (I play stuff w/ just an acoustic guitarist all the
way to some pretty intense punk rock and even stuff with another
bassist). I have noticed the speakers move a fair bit, but this
certainly doesn't seem to be affecting the sound at all, and they're
covered with a 3 year warranty anyway. I'm very happy with my Hartke setup.
Michael P Davis
>around a month ago, I was looking for more hartke's again, and I came upon one and
peaker was workin its ass off.
>
>
>Whats the beef with the aluminum cone, well, frankly, its the stupidest invention >in the world. SO, a speaker is supposed to PUSH =
air out, now, if you introduce >something to stop that air from being pushed out, the aluminum cone or whatever >material is there w=
ill rip and then you need to recone and spend a bundle doin it.
The point was to make a more rigid air piston, but it had to be light so someone
did it out of aluminum. They do it with tweeters also. Rigidity is sought to
eliminate the coloration caused by the speaker piston material flexing in its
own wind.
By the way, your post sucked, and was even less intelligent than mine, and that
doesn't say a lot for you.
Oh yeah, are you Beavis' son or Butthead's??
Len Moskowitz
KidHavok <kidh...@aol.com> wrote:
>Well, the aluminum cone thing is the big hurdle. The transient response
>time is super fast, so you get a very accurate recreation of what your
>bass sounds like.
This is wrong, probably a result of Hartke's marketing and advertising
approach. A faster transient response would be reflected in extended
high frequency response. The Hartke driver frequency response is
nothing special. They roll off rather drastically at 4 kHz and beam in
a narrow angle well below that.
> They do have a different sound...
That they do. Sound travels through aluminum at a different rate than
through paper or polypropylene. Whether you like the Hartke sound or
not is a matter of taste.
--
Len Moskowitz
Core Sound WWW site: http://www.panix.com/~moskowit
mosk...@panix.com
CHill3644
wasn't really abusing it with sound pressure levels. ( I had a limiter in
my rig) The aluminum speakers would just fatigue after a while and split.
Hartke reconed them for free, as they damn well should. However, I got
stuck with shipping costs which weren't cheap. I now use SWR cabs
exclusively.
-Chil...@aol.com (Carl Hillman)
Harry DeBusk
yes, you are right; my ears tell me so :-) But since we're speaking about
aluminum cones, I'm wondering about your opinions on the Bullfrog/alumabass
cabs/drivers. The drivers look like a good idea (the metal cone also forms
the place for the coil to be wrapped), which would seem to give good heat
dissipation. I've not played through any, but they have a good rep around
Balto/DC.
hd
Len Moskowitz
>Hey, Len, good to hear from you.
Hi Harry! Nice to see you here too.
> But since we're speaking about aluminum cones, I'm wondering about
> your opinions on the Bullfrog/alumabass cabs/drivers. The drivers
> look like a good idea (the metal cone also forms the place for the
> coil to be wrapped), which would seem to give good heat dissipation.
> I've not played through any, but they have a good rep around Balto/DC.
I haven't tried 'em so I won't comment on their sound. I have seen them
and they look reasonably well made, though there's nothing unique about
'em.
I'm not so sure that using an aluminum voice coil former is a good idea
unless the driver's designers took its thermal expansion rate into
account when specifying the coil gap. It's could be a useful way to get
the heat out of the coil -- their power handling spec will tell that
story. Any idea what they're rated at?
David Fung
Moskowitz) wrote:
> > But since we're speaking about aluminum cones, I'm wondering about
> > your opinions on the Bullfrog/alumabass cabs/drivers. The drivers
> > look like a good idea (the metal cone also forms the place for the
> > coil to be wrapped), which would seem to give good heat dissipation.
> > I've not played through any, but they have a good rep around Balto/DC.
>
> I haven't tried 'em so I won't comment on their sound. I have seen them
> and they look reasonably well made, though there's nothing unique about
> 'em.
>
Well, I'm not really replying to this post, but anyway on this thread...
I've got one of the old Guild/Hartke 4*10" cabinets. They're a little
different - tolex covering instead of carpet, and a regular grille cloth
instead of metal. Same speakers, I think (I'm not sure on this).
This model was the first of the "modern" 4*10s. It's well constructed
(although not nearly as rugged as the newer Samson ones). It also sounds
good - good solid low end and crisp highs even with no tweeter. Seems
more bassy at moderate volumes to me than a Goliath or Eden, although I've
not had a chance to do side by sides with my amplifier. This may change
at high volumes - as has been mentioned before, the Hartke has much lower
power capacity than a Goliath (240 vs. 300+).
All that said, I have to admit that I think the aluminum cone thing is
hype. If you actually pull the front cloth, you see pretty quickly that
the aluminum cones are very thin and flexy. That's in contrast to a paper
or plastic cone which usually is really stiff. No question that the mass
is less, but I think you'd be hard pressed to make much of an argument for
stiffness.
Of course, all that really matters is the sound...
David Fung
Wurdswurth
better sound. It really is just a matter of taste. What you (whoever
started this string) need to do is go try it out for yourself and find out
if it's to YOUR taste. Everybody's going to tell you the system they use
is the best, more or less because they paid a lot of money for their
system, and they can only justify that purchase by negating all other
systems. Penis envy for bassists, basically. :)
Go and try out the Hartke system before you lay your money down. If you
like it, and it sounds good for what YOU want from your bass, then who
gives a fart what anyone else thinks? If you don't like it, get something
else...
Happy shopping!
Al
David An
But there is no taste in cones that rip ... I've owned a Hartke 4x10"
for over 6 years now and have gigged it extensively and quite loud. I
have never once had to have it reconed. About three years ago I bought
an SWR Triad (15", 10", horn). For a while, I used both these cabs on
stage ... at one particular gig, I blew the 15" _way_ out of whack,
and the Hartke kept truckin'. I replaced the 15". Now the horn is
shot in the SWR ...
This Hartke has been my friend and main cab for a long time .. I would
recommend it to anyone ... and yes, the cones move a lot.
JuliaS
SPEAKERS AND THE 3500 HEAD. ALTHOUGH I'VE HAD A PROBLEM WITH THE SEND AND
RECEIVE JACKS, THE AMP SOUNDS REALLY GREAT. I CAN BLEND TUBE AND SOLID
STATE SOUNDS, ADD EXTRA CABINETS, AND SEND AN ACCURATE, WARM XLR FEED TO
THE BOARD. I PLAY PROFESSIONALLY
AND HAVE OWNED SWR, PEAVEY, ETC. I REALLY LIKE THIS THING.
CHUBBY JOHNSON ..... PHILLY BASS GUY
Bill Bolton
>I have a couple Hartke Transporter cabinets and I've never enjoyed a
>better sound.
I'm also very happy with my Hartke Transporter 2x10, it's been a vary
reliable piece of equipment for me.
Cheers,
Bill
____________________________________________________________
Bill Bolton billb...@acslink.net.au
Sydney, Australia
Tim Potter
bassist, in my experience, was a GK RB800 / Hartke 4-10 setup used by Mike
Mesaros of the Smithereens. He had a DI signal running thru the mains that
sounded great, but if you got up close, right in front of his rig, his tone
sucked hard. It was very brittle and harsh, without a hint of warmth. And he
was using a P-bass! Unbelievable! I can't be sure that the speakers were
causing this, but I'm sure they at least contributed...
Patrick Richmond
: The hands-down winner for the worst-sounding rig used by a professional
As far as I can remember, Andrew Weiss (ex-Rollins Band) uses the
same set up (maybe another cab) and he has a pretty darn awesome
sound...and he plays a p-bass. :)
Yools
>
>Tim Potter (tpo...@accessone.com) wrote:
>: The hands-down winner for the worst-sounding rig
>As far as I can remember, Andrew Weiss (ex-Rollins Band) uses the
>same set up ( and he has a pretty darn awesome
>sound...and he plays a p-bass. :)
>
I've personally known several people who use this setup; they all sound
good with it. I've considered getting it myself for a number of years.
Mesaros probably didn't know how to set up his rig, or, more likely, the
venue they were playing in may just have bad acoustics for bass sounds.
Finally, my $0.02: I have used Hartke gear for several years now (3500 head
and a 4X10 Transporter), and I have never had any problems with it. One thing
that I think people involved in the Hartke debate need to realize is that there
is a big difference (in my ears, anyway) between the Hartke XL cabs and the
Hartke Transporter cabs. I think a lot of people hear the transporter cabs, and
automatically assume that all Hartke cabs sound thin and brittle. The transporter
cabs do sound a bit thin (I also use a Peavy BW 1X18); the XL cabs, on the other
hand, can handle the lower frequencies much better, and give a fatter all around
tone (hence the additional $300 or so on the retail price). Before you judge all
the Harke gear as worthless, be sure you realize the difference between the
Transporters and the higher end cabs (not to say that the Transporter cabs suck;
for the money, they are good cabs).
Oh, by the way, I don't work for Hartke, I don't endorse Hartke, and I could give
a damn about the company; I am merely giving my personal opinion.
Yools
Groundwater specialist and bassist for DMA
"It could grip it by the husk!"
- King Arthur
Rex Jackson
>This is interesting to me... I tried the GK800RB with a Hartke 4x10
>cab (don't remember which model) and found the tone to be too shrill
>and terse for my taste so I bought GK cabs instead.. maybe if I had
>tried the Hartke cab with a Hartke head I'd have changed my mind.. ;-)
>
>Cheers,
>Rob
>maybe if I'd
A guy I went to MI with had a GK800RB with Gauss cabinets. The Gauss
1x18" and the 2x10". It was the best I have ever heard an 800RB sound.
The Gauss 18" was very tight and controlled. We used to trade rigs
sometimes (I have an SVT and 8x10" cab) and I was always blown away by
the sound of his gear. I haven't seen any of those brown carpet-covered
Gauss cabinets since then and that's going back to about '85. Pity...
--
Lash1
> The hands-down winner for the worst-sounding rig used by a professional
Mike
> Mesaros of the Smithereens.
pric...@uoguelph.ca (Patrick Richmond)
> As far as I can remember, Andrew Weiss (ex-Rollins Band) uses the
> same set up (maybe another cab) and he has a pretty darn awesome
> sound...and he plays a p-bass. :)
This is interesting to me... I tried the GK800RB with a Hartke 4x10 cab
Greg Sullivan
I would say t's a matter of taste. I much prefer Hartke to
GK. I've found the GK sound to lack versatility. It is
warm, but at the expense of clarity. I've only tried a few,
but have yet to be impressed. I prefer an Ampeg SVT with my
vintage instrument, and my rackmount Bi-amp system for my
Jackson bass.
Just my opinion,
GS
Michael E Corum
la...@eworld.com (Lash1) wrote:
snip...
> This is interesting to me... I tried the GK800RB with a Hartke 4x10 cab
> (don't remember which model) and found the tone to be too shrill and terse
> for my taste so I bought GK cabs instead.. maybe if I had tried the Hartke
> cab with a Hartke head I'd have changed my mind.. ;-)
>
> Cheers,
> Rob
> maybe if I'd
I bought a GK800RB head back in 1983. I used it with a Peavey 1-15" cabinet.
The sound was good for jazz and OK for other stuff. Later (1991), I got a Hartke 4-10XL
to use with the GK800RB. I can't describe it but I suddenly found myself saying
to people that I was tired of the solid-state sound. I got a Hartke 3500 power amp
to got with the Hartke 410XL (I also have a 210XL for practice and small stuff). Now
I feel I have the sound I've been looking for. In response to the people who dis
Hartke, I'd say that you probably got a lemon. It sounds like lemons started
appearing on the market after 1993. I got my Hartke 410XL cabinet in 1991 and my
Hartke 3500 head in 1992. So far, all I've had to do to the 3500 is replace the
pre-amp tube once about six months ago. With this rig, I've played Alternative Rock,
Jazz, Blues, Church Orchestra, and Church Praise Band music. It has been an
excellent rig. I use a Fender Precision (73) fretless 4-string and a Modulus Graphite
SPI-Custom 5-string.
Mike
CSC
are hands down the worst sounding things I ever had the misfortune to
use - worse than the old Peavey 18/20 cabinets. Unless you like lots
of fret noise, low-end farting, no tone and lame cone response (especially
the 1x15), I'd stay away from Hartke boxes. The only exception seems to
be for amplifying stand-up basses - the aluminum cones in the Hartke
enclosures help the acoustics of the stand-up in a live context.
Mesa-Boogie 4x10 road-ready cabinets are the most reliable, even-response
cabinets on the market. *And* they come with Eden Speakers.
However, since you seem to like the sound of a P-bass played through
a Hartke rig, I don't think you'd notice how bad it really sounds to
everybody else.
>
CSC
Hartke enclosures - NEVER!
Mesa-Boogie enclosures - Always
ROBERT rock
>>sound...and he plays a p-bass. :)
>
Or thumb, in my case. :) I only use fingers when I need to go
really fast, I prefer the softer, smoother tone plucking with
your thumb makes.
Of course, the best sounding bass solo I've heard in a long time
was Anestisia (sp?) by Cliff Burton of Metallica.
I got my bass to sound like that and tried playing some other
songs with it...it actually sounded better.
(just a little bit of distort and some wah now and then)
GaryMRosen
>Tim Potter (tpo...@accessone.com) wrote:
>: The hands-down winner for the worst-sounding rig used by a professional
>: bassist, in my experience, was a GK RB800 / Hartke 4-10 setup used by
Mike
>: Mesaros of the Smithereens. He had a DI signal running thru the mains
that
>: sounded great, but if you got up close, right in front of his rig, his
tone
>: sucked hard. It was very brittle and harsh, without a hint of warmth.
And he
>: was using a P-bass! Unbelievable! I can't be sure that the speakers
were
>: causing this, but I'm sure they at least contributed...
> As far as I can remember, Andrew Weiss (ex-Rollins Band) uses the
>same set up (maybe another cab) and he has a pretty darn awesome
>sound...and he plays a p-bass. :)
It's all in the fingers, man.
- Gary Rosen
Bill Hammon
Sucks?), you write:
-->> As far as I can remember, Andrew Weiss (ex-Rollins Band) uses the
-->>same set up (maybe another cab) and he has a pretty darn awesome
-->>sound...and he plays a p-bass. :)
-->
-->It's all in the fingers, man.
-->
-->- Gary Rosen
No, what you are hearing is PA. If you are in any large room, hall, or
coliseum, you're hearing the PA speakers, not the bass rig. Most of the
time, you will be hearing the bass, plugged into a direct box, right into
the board. I went through many cabinets looking for that full, well
rounded sound. I finally setteled on 15" JBL Caberet PA cabinets. They
are a bit large, but nobody can touch them for sound quality. And, since
I've switched to an SWR preamp, it's gotten even better.
Bill Hammon
drh...@onramp.net
Home Page: http://www.dfw.net/~hammon
/~~~~\ /~~~~~~~\
/ V~\ -Whoah! That was cool! ( |
| | ( |
| | We're like at the end ( \\\ |
|/~~\ /~~\| of the page and stuff- ~~~~~~\ |
| ~ ~~ ~ | | | |
{ {O} |{O} }-Dammit Beavis! That | / | |
| | | part sucks! O O } |
| / \ | / \ |
| ^\/^ | Oh yeah- /_o) \|
| /++\ | |____ |
\ \__/ / -But the rest was cool _____\ |
\ / Yeah,yeah...cool- \____ |
| | Thankyou, Drive Through... \ |
LoZTigger
hear yourself. An angular, piercing, shitty tone is good for that, but I
sure wouldn't want it going to the PA or to a recorder. Yuck! I guess
that's why Will "the Man" Lee uses Hartke on Letterman....just so he can
hear himslef against that horn line. I'm reasonably sure the Hartke isn't
going to the mix we hear through the TV. Does anybody know for sure?
By the way...Best 4x10 cabinet I've ever heard?....Electrovoice B-410.
It's $1140, but the best investment an active bass playing guy could make
in a cabinet. Sweet!
Coolg27
uses it it has two preamps (tube/solid-state) and you get a great solid
low sound or a crappy green day bass sound.
'Dead Goon' B. Timpe
The cabs suck because they have one tone, the metal speakers don't allow
you much flexability with the overall sound they produce. It's going to
always sound like a Hartke. If that Hartke sound is what you want, all
the time, then I guess they don't suck.
I've heard conflicting stories on the heads, some people think they are
great and some think they are garbage. The garbage people claim they
have problems over heating and just plain dying on you. I've never owned
one, but I have played through one before. They are OK from what I can
tell, nothing to get incredibly excited about though.
-Brian
**************************42*************************************************
Zaphod: Hand me the rap-rod, plate captain!
Garkpit (the waiter): Sir?
Zaphod: The *phone*, waiter! Geez! You guys are so unhip its a wonder
your bums don't fall off!
************************************************42***************************
Rick Raymond
--
_______________________________________________________
Dorothy & Rick Raymond
I play professionally and swear by Hartke. I have a
4by5 cabinet and a 7000 head. AWSOME!jjf...@imv.aau.dk
(Joergen Jakob Friis) wrote:
>In article <4ertgi$2ht$1...@mhafc.production.compuserve.com>, Dennis Raven
><71342...@CompuServe.COM> wrote:
>
>> I've been reading many of the posts here regarding SWR vs. Ampeg
>> vs. Eden vs. Hartke etc., etc., etc. The one thing I've noticed
>> is that many posters think that Hartke sucks and whatever they
>> have (or maybe wish they had) is faaaar superior. I own a Hartke
>> and find it to be a great amp and speakers. I especially like the
>> aluminum cones. I would just like to know specifically, from REAL
>> experience, not from "I knew someone who owned one and he said it
>> sucked" why supposedly Hartkes are no good. Additionally, if they
>> are so bad, I'm possibly in the market for a 4 X 10 transporter
>> cabinet and a 3500 amp at a good price. One last thing if you
>> would - please reply via private Email in case no one else is
>> interested in this except me. Thanks...
>
>Year, I would like to know that as well. I rented a Hartke Amp with just
>about 400 Watts and a 4 x 10 cabinet to use when we played a gig, since I
>only had a combo for practice, and I was very pleased. It really got a
>great sound, and if I could afford buying anything new right now, I would
>probably be either a Hartke or a Trace Elliot system.
>
>Just my humble opinion
>
>--
>mba...@imv.aau.dk
>Department of Information & Media Science
Bob Comarow
I think you need to distinguish between Hartke heads and cabs.
The first time I tried a Hartke Cab, I was very impressed. It
was at Epcot, I was using the "house rig", which included
a hartke 410 TP with someone else's head, with my old P Bass.
Playing outside in a bandshell, it had a big clean sound.
I've tried one head, a Hartke 2000. It had great tone, but
was noisy. The noise scared me.
I've a Hartke 210 TP I often use now as an extension cab.
It's small, light, and adds a lot of punch. I like it better
as a guitar cab then a bass cab.
Bob Main
>From: bcom...@bb.iu.net (Bob Comarow)
>Subject: Re: Why Do You Think Hartke Sucks?
>Date: 19 Mar 1996 10:40:28 GMT
I use a hartke 3500 and I love it and its not noisy. I use it with an ampeg
410 and it is a great sounding setup and easy to carry which is nice. bobm
ringpiece and godspeed
Andy Shrimpton
>In article <4im2us$a...@cc.iu.net> bcom...@bb.iu.net (Bob Comarow) writes:
>>From: bcom...@bb.iu.net (Bob Comarow)
>>Subject: Re: Why Do You Think Hartke Sucks?
>>Date: 19 Mar 1996 10:40:28 GMT
>>I've tried one head, a Hartke 2000. It had great tone, but
>>was noisy. The noise scared me.
I use a Hartke 7000 Head, biamped through 2 4x10" cabs. Sure, there's
a bit of noise, but it varies from venue to venue, and is more to do
with the power suplly methinks. But this is more than compensated by
the AWESOME sound of this amp, IMHO :)
J
> I use a Hartke 7000 Head, biamped through 2 4x10" cabs. Sure, there's
> a bit of noise, but it varies from venue to venue, and is more to do
> with the power suplly methinks. But this is more than compensated by
> the AWESOME sound of this amp, IMHO :)
Why would you biamp if you have two identical cabinets?
Just curious.
Alexander E. Schmidt
j (J) wrote:
>Why would you biamp if you have two identical cabinets?
>Just curious.
I know some people saying having a better sound with two same boxes. Of
course you can modify the sound much better in biamping mode ...
Alexander Schmidt
-------------------------------------------------------------
Alexander Schmidt e-mail : asch...@m.isar.de
Lindenstrasse 1, 82031 Gruenwald, Germany
Tel/Fax : ++49-89-641 21 82
-------------------------------------------------------------
EMIHayes
Harry Powell Watson
Hartke.. by EMIH...@aol.com
> Because they sound awful.
subjective
gerk
wrote:
> Because they sound awful.
Seen lots blow up to (cold + condensation + aluminum cone = trouble)
Don Hinds
is how they rated (tone paramount)
Hartke 1410
Crate BX160
Hartke 1415
(SPACE)
SWR Basic Black
Fender 300C
SWR 15"
(SPACE)
SWR 12"
Don
Bassman
HARTKE SUCK?????????!!!!!!!!!!...........
OK...Interesting OPINION!!!
First off Hartke Speakers have Proved their selves time and time
again, In the Studio and on the Road. Their "KILLER" No nonsence In
your Face Tone and Portability...Of course your not going to get that
Big Bottom AMPEG sound...But then again, You Don't need a Road Crew
just to play a local club gig. Have you Priced Hartke? You can afford
one...Not like the Trace Elliots or Mesa Boogies. Just like Don has, Try
one side by side with any other Cabinet (use the same pre and power amp
of course!!!) and you should "dig" it TOO!!!
Bassman
bas...@pennet.com
http://www.pennet.com/bassman/
P.S. I am talking STRICTLY
Speakers and Cabinets.
Heads, Power amps & Pre-
amps are another story.
Kosta Kostis
>Because they sound awful.
Says who? Compared to what?
--
kos...@acm.org, ko...@live.robin.de, ko...@blues.sub.de
Kosta Kostis, Talstr. 25, D-63322 Rödermark, Germany
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/kosta/
gary watts
: What do you know. ;-) I tested a bunch of amps side by side, and this
: is how they rated (tone paramount)
: Hartke 1410
: Crate BX160
: Hartke 1415
: (SPACE)
: SWR Basic Black
: Fender 300C
: SWR 15"
: (SPACE)
: SWR 12"
So is your list in ascending or decending order? What bass did you use to
test them with?
Gary Watts
Don Hinds
: Crate BX160
: Hartke 1415
: (SPACE)
: SWR Basic Black
: Fender 300C
: SWR 15"
: (SPACE)
: SWR 12"
So is your list in ascending or decending order? What bass did you use
to
test them with?
>>>>
I used my best sounding Bass, a Custom Mouradian, with Joe Barden PUs,
and D'addario XL strings. It's descending, as if you couldn't tell with
the SWR 12" at the bottom... ;-)
Don
Don Hinds
>>>>>
You read another message and replied to mine. You will note I rated the
Hartke 1410 top, and the 1415 3rd.
Don
Brian Gregor
No kidding! I tried out the Workingman's 15 the other day with a
bunch of axes: an Alembic Elan, Gibson EB-2 (what a fantastic axe!!!),
Fender J, Barrington fretless. I did NOT like the amp a bit. It
has an amazing amount of coloration. Between the "Aural Enhancer"
and the "Transparency" controls, all of these axes could be made
to sound _very_ similar. This is no good for me. FWIW, I also
tried an ampeg combo w/ a 10, 15, and horn. It was ok - sucked
out the mids too much. Do all Ampegs do this? I did like the
Hartke 1415 better, and my trusty, compact GK MB150S the best.
All I look for in an amp is to take the sound of the bass and
make it louder. Anyone out there know of an amp that does
this?
brian
Richard Cullen
princely sum of 750 pounds stirling. This amp has a 12 band graphic with
two presets, a split low-high compression with variable mix, valve and
solid-state preamp and 500W peak/250W continuous power amp. I play
medium-sized rock gigs where my amp is all the bass gets, and it works
admirably. It sounds great and is very flexible.
However, on the first outing to a real gig, just as we were taking to the
stage after the sound check, the sound from the amp went farty big time.
This was very dissapointing. I returned it to the shop, The Bass Centre,
where they duely tracked the problem down to the power board - it
transpired that the mark 2 board used new power MOSFETs which were less
reliable then the mark 1, and was duely replaced under warranty.
In the mean time, however, they leant me a Harkte 1215 (??) 1x15" plus
horn combo, 200W, valve plus solid state preamp. On the face of it, a
reasonable stop-gap. The amp is awful. No balls, dreadful 'clean' sound,
no preshape, appauling compressor and low power power amp (125W into the
8 ohm speaker). Plus, it cost 999 UK pounds, a third as much again as the
Trace amp.
I would be desparately unhappy to be the unlucky owner of a Harkte amp.
Shop around, there are _much_ better amps out there. It is unfortunate
that my Trace gave up so early in its life, but I received excellent
service from The Bass Centre and Trace, so thumbs up there. Plus they
offered the best deal in the country!
Sorry to go on so long. Just steer clear of Harkte!
Richard
--
_______________________________________________________________________
Richard C A Cullen | Postgraduate Student
EMail : I...@SIRIUS.TN.RL.AC.UK | Imperial College,
at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory | Dept of Electrical Engineering,
____________________________________|__________________________________
Don Hinds
<<<<
In the mean time, however, they leant me a Harkte 1215 (??) 1x15" plus
horn combo, 200W, valve plus solid state preamp. On the face of it, a
reasonable stop-gap. The amp is awful. No balls, dreadful 'clean' sound,
>>>>
With it's variable combo of tube and solid-state pre-amp, it's not an amp
easy to setup as a temporary. You need to play with it a lot to get yout
sound from it. Most people find the Hartke is plenty loud, and the tone
is the best, smooth and mellow.
Don
Bobby
Brian Gregor (bri...@hastur.coe.neu.edu) wrote:
: All I look for in an amp is to take the sound of the bass and
: this?
Yeah, the SWR Baby Blue. It's expensive, and only a combo (loud for the
140W or whatever), but it's nice and clean. If you want something louder
for big gigging, the sound quality isn't going to matter as much: all
clubs sound weird....
Cheers,
Bobby
Bobby Bissett, EMT | bis...@bu.edu | PO Box 15350, Boston, MA 02215
----------------------*----------------*---------------------------------
"Gravity is a harsh mistress." -The Tick