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New Hartke Kickbacks


Guest MoJo
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Anyone got one, tried one? had a Kickback 12, years ago. It was a great combo and produced a lot more low end than such a small 1x12" should, but it's 120W struggled to be heard at a pub gig. The new ones are 500W so should have plenty of punch

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I was quite excited to hear that they were being re-vamped with a 500W lightweight power section, but then I read the owners manual online and found out the 500W is peak (not RMS) and there's no inbuilt facility to add an extension cab, only unplug the internal speaker and use an alternative 4ohm cab - presumably because the internal speaker is 4ohm to match the minimum impedance of the amp. Of course, none of that is necessarily a problem if it performs really well as a standalone unit, but it curbed my enthusiasm somewhat.

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Before my Rumble 500v3, I used a TC BG250-115 which was more than man enough for any gig I did. That too had no extension speaker out and TBH, didn't need one

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I use one of the old Kickback 10s for small gigs and semi acoustic stuff. I quite like it as an on stage monitor with most bass going through the PA but some drummers aren't so keen on low bass volumes on stage. To be honest it struggles at loud rehearsals and most gigs so I end up cutting deep bass. Doubling the power is going to help but that will also depend upon the speaker they use. Its on my list of things to try. 250W is just about where power becomes enough, a single speaker has to be a good one to be enough on its own.

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Couple of demos of new combos here by Victor Wooten.

[url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQKjAT8soLk"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQKjAT8soLk[/url]

[url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YQy7TAeRos"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YQy7TAeRos[/url]

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[quote name='MoJo' timestamp='1468698985' post='3092785']
it's 120W struggled to be heard at a pub gig. The new ones are 500W
[/quote]
[quote name='Ed_S' timestamp='1468740937' post='3092928']
found out the 500W is peak (not RMS)
[/quote]
[quote name='Phil Starr' timestamp='1468826169' post='3093495']
Doubling the power is going to help
[/quote]

Since it is the same product from the same company, is it fair to reason that if their "500W" is more like what you and I would call 250W, then the original "120W" was more like 60W? So the power in the new version has quadrupled. I'm also quite curious about these, and perhaps I am trying to convince myself to get one!

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[quote name='jrixn1' timestamp='1469198439' post='3096577']
Since it is the same product from the same company, is it fair to reason that if their "500W" is more like what you and I would call 250W, then the original "120W" was more like 60W? So the power in the new version has quadrupled. I'm also quite curious about these, and perhaps I am trying to convince myself to get one!
[/quote]

[url="http://medias.audiofanzine.com/images/normal/hartke-kickback-12-210427.jpg"]This[/url] page from the manual of the original one seems to suggest that it was 120W RMS into its built-in 8ohm speaker.

I've gigged with a Hartke HA2000 and a GK MB200 in the past, both of which are 200W and did the job perfectly well, but usually with a decent 4ohm 4x10 or 2x12 so affording full power output and more speaker area. It's less the 250W rating that slightly puts me off getting a KB12, rather more the lack of ability to add another cab, especially when you perhaps didn't expect to need one but could have borrowed one at the venue.

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I use one of the old Kickback 15s on smaller gigs. I also use it on a jam night I do where It holds its own, never has anyone said it is not loud enough, sometimes I'm having to turn it down. Two other bass players have bought one after using mine on the jam night. Bought it in 2001.
The 15 has a 6Ω speaker.

Edited by goingdownslow
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I used one of the old ones on a gig with a few choirs that did some pop songs. It performed perfectly admirable, but I doubt it would hold up in a louder setting. Nice bit of kit, if you can get away with it.




Hey, that rhymed. Does that make it seem any more convincing than any of the above? :P

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