Bleurg Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 (edited) Greetings all. Been lurking for a while but now first hopefully not too dumb a question. Played guitar for ages but bass on & off for a few years now. Last year picked up a second hand Hartke 5210 combo (well a rack mounted LH500 atop a 2x10 cab) which suited fine once I had sorted the tone stack arrangement in my own head and found that elusive dry joint. Now been asked to play bass as cover for few "gigs" (yes, midweek to 5 drunks in a sh*tty pub) with a band that does ye olde rock stuff mostly. Their regular bass player has offered me use of his battered Ampeg 4x10 cab. but not head which is fair enough. So I am proposing to use the LH500 in or out of the 5210 just to drive the Ampeg, which I am pretty sure will be fine, but grateful if somebody could confirm or deny. Wary of using the Ampeg as an extension cabinet because it is 4 ohms. Edited January 14, 2014 by Bleurg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 You`ll be fine. The LH500 in your amp puts out 350 watts at 8ohms, and the full 500 watts at 4ohms. You can connect another 8ohm cab to your combo (there should be another speaker connection port on the back) to get the full power so if you like the Hartke sound another possibility for the future is another Hydrive cab to match. But re the original question, no worries with the Ampeg. Just make sure you disconnect the current speaker as your amp can only take one 4ohm cab. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 If you're playing to 5 drunks in a pub, I'd try the Hartke 2x10 combo on it's own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 (edited) [quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1389691904' post='2336881'] If you're playing to 5 drunks in a pub, I'd try the Hartke 2x10 combo on it's own. [/quote] This. Unless the band plays exceptionally loud for some reason, the 'combo' should be quite sufficient. Edit: And welcome to the forum, by the way. Edited January 14, 2014 by discreet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleurg Posted January 14, 2014 Author Share Posted January 14, 2014 Thanks for the replies. They do not play loud but the regular bass player (old school with attitude, tending to what I at least think is an overly thick & dead sound) poured scorn on my using the Hartke alone. He clearly thought me a dangerous modernist heretic when I told him I had just started to use a Bass Big Muff pi. But I will take it a long just to see how it goes. Given a decent input level and not killing it via duff tone stack settings seems loud enough to me but never know how it will pan out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 I get those sort of looks when I turn up with a 2x10 combo to a gig, but you should see the old folkies faces when I pull out the Moog pedals at an acoustic gig! Priceless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0175westwood29 Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 [quote name='Bleurg' timestamp='1389696064' post='2336922'] Thanks for the replies. They do not play loud but the regular bass player (old school with attitude, tending to what I at least think is an overly thick & dead sound) poured scorn on my using the Hartke alone. He clearly thought me a dangerous modernist heretic when I told him I had just started to use a Bass Big Muff pi. But I will take it a long just to see how it goes. Given a decent input level and not killing it via duff tone stack settings seems loud enough to me but never know how it will pan out. [/quote] ive had this with my a guy turned up with my orange rig his first words were "well its not ampeg" give the 210 a try as it will soave you lugging a big 410 cab to the gig. andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleurg Posted January 14, 2014 Author Share Posted January 14, 2014 Ah the 410 will be in the van with all their other kit. One thing about the Hartke which surprised me was the weight: 38Kg (84lb) ! Deffo do not want that landing on your foot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0175westwood29 Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 [quote name='Bleurg' timestamp='1389737811' post='2337463'] Ah the 410 will be in the van with all their other kit. One thing about the Hartke which surprised me was the weight: 38Kg (84lb) ! Deffo do not want that landing on your foots [/quote] well the weight is probs down to it being a combo, give it a try hes probs judged it before even hearing it at gig volume andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleurg Posted February 21, 2014 Author Share Posted February 21, 2014 OK bit of a belated update. The 5210C alone was OK but I plugged in the Ampeg for a bit. Not happy: to my ears at least all got a bit heavy & muffled. So next thought was a Hydive 4x10 as extension. Found a post saying how that would be unbalanced because the 350w into an 8 ohm 2x10 would turn into a 4 Ohm load, being 250w into a 2x10 & 250w into a 4x10. But that sees wrong. If I have got this right, end up with a very odd load because lashing the 4x10 on gives you 2 x 16 Ohm 10" units in parallel (the 5210) which then has connected in parallel 2 x 8 Ohm parallel wired 10" units connected in series to another set of 2 x 8 Ohm parallel wired 10" units (the 410) So in effect 3 sets of 2 x 10 inch units wired in parallel to a common amplifier feed, but 2 are 16 Ohms an 4 are 8 Ohms and the net is 500w into 4 Ohms...... Before I go lay down in a dark room for a while: a) Is that right? does it matter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truckstop Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Sort of matters because the speakers in the combo will be working harder under the same power from the head. The speakers in the extension cab will be underpowered (or rather will be working less) which MIGHT affect the sound because the speakers in the combo might be rattling away and breaking up while the speakers in the cab are working as they should. Unless you're playing really big stages though I can't see why you'd want a 4x10. A 2x10 will be plenty! Truckstop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Like Truckstop says, you're gonna send the same to the 4x10 as the 2x10. Therefore the drivers in the 4x10 are gonna be working about 1/2 of what each will in the 2x10. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with the Hartke, but if you're not happy with the Hartke, it might make more sense to sell it & get something that you do like? Obviously go & try some gear & listen to other bands gear (Lozz196 found his rig by doing this) before you get rid of anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bassman7755 Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 (edited) [quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1389691904' post='2336881'] If you're playing to 5 drunks in a pub, I'd try the Hartke 2x10 combo on it's own. [/quote] I think people these days underestimate the capability of modern bass gear. I've played in a deafeningly loud rock band in medium sized venues (village halls and club houses) with no PA using a 200W (admittedly a marshall DBS which is is very loud for the rated power) amp and an eden 2x10 cab and never had any problems with volume. IMO the need for anything more than a 2x10/2x12 for any pub/club/function situation that I can imagine is more psychological than real provided you have a decently powerful amp. Edited February 22, 2014 by bassman7755 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleurg Posted February 22, 2014 Author Share Posted February 22, 2014 Happy enough with the current 2x10 arrangement, certainly fine for each of the 3 gigs I have played with them now, although going to get a stand to raise it up a bit. Going to stick with it for a while & see how it goes. (BTW, I see that Harkte Amps now come stickered up as made in China.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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