NAD... Hartke!!

[attackbass]

So, earlier this year I found myself in a position where I was offered an exclusive artist endorsement contract with Hartke Systems. I had recently played through a Hartke rig at a festival and was really impressed with the tone.

 

Obviously, being a fan of the amps I bit their hand off and a couple of weeks ago my rig of choice turned up at the doorstep. I opted for the LH1000 and the new HL410 and couldn't be more happier with the new setup.

 

I absolutely love the tone I'm getting, the LH1000s simplicity and warmth combines perfectly with the clarity and punch of the HL410. The hybrid speaker cones give me the perfect amount of high end that I've never experienced with other cabs. They had their first outing last weekend at Lattitude and Leopalloza Festival and filled the stage with glorious low end!

 

 

 

I apologise if posts about equipment from companies you endorse aren't allowed but I'm just so pleased and my mind is blown I'm getting this support from the company.

 

 

[Lozz196]

Nice one, I had a Hartke rig a good few years ago and it was really good (HA4000 with XL 210 & 115 cabs), must be great to get an endorsement from a company whose gear you really like, very pleased for you.

[attackbass]

Thanks man! The HA4000 was a great amp, I had no idea how to use it properly at that age though!! 

 

I've gone back to the gear of my youth, hartke amps and finding I just love playing my Warwick 5 string with emgs recently!!

 

I think its important to play instruments and gear you enjoy! 

[BlueMoon]

10 hours ago, attackbass said:

I think its important to play instruments and gear you enjoy! 

Totally agree with this statement.

[Baloney Balderdash]

I ever only had experience with Hartke amps and speakers through one of their tilt back combos featuring a 15" aluminum cone speaker unit, 120W I think it was rated at, that I owned years back, so a much earlier model than their current tilt back combo offerings, but to be honest I was, mildly speaking, not impressed.

 

Sounded flat, dull and lifeless.

 

From a tone perspective hands down the worst bass amp I have ever played through.

 

That said I do realize that this was one of their cheaper offerings, and that they also might have improved since then.

 

I also admittedly have had a keen eye on Hartke HyDrive HD112 1 x 12" + 1" tweeter cabinet for a while, which on paper, spec wise, seems like a genuinely great light weight cab, and the demos I have watched featuring it have actually also sounded great as well.

 

However to this day my experience with that tilt back combo back then still makes me sceptic of their amp offerings.

 

Great that you found the right amp for you though, and congratulations on getting an endorsement deal on it. 

 

Edited July 28, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[attackbass]

Cool, you should try and demo the new gear. Hopefully it would change your opinion.

 

There is a great video with Victor Wooten playing through a mic'd up rig similar to mine and it sounds incredible. It's a sweetwater video about looping or something.

 

 

[BassmanPaul]

How's about a link to the video?

 

[gjones]

That's great, I hope you will actually get some use from your Hartke.

 

Most of the players with amp endorsements, that I can think of, play on a silent stage and use IEM to hear themselves and the band, so lugging an amp and cab around is no longer strictly necessary.

 

One rather famous player, who endorses a high end amp manufacturer (who I won't mention), uses a Porter and Davis kinetic transfer platform, to feel and hear what he is playing because his amp is turned so low onstage and he can't hear anything directly from the amp he endorses (he's endorsed by Porter and Davis as well).

 

You should see if you can get Porter and Davis to endorse you https://www.porteranddavies.co.uk/products/kt-platform/?fbclid=IwAR1D4Q7s17-kK0QSbSM64t7t19raQ0XZ11I-L7tb5nhP8U8bGH2yFEnxdyc

Edited August 12, 2023 by gjones

[attackbass]

9 hours ago, BassmanPaul said:

How's about a link to the video?

 

I'll see if I can find ir again!

[attackbass]

Yep getting plenty of use out of the rig, it moves some serious air!!  

 

 

[attackbass]

10 hours ago, BassmanPaul said:

How's about a link to the video?

 

 

 

Here you go

 

https://youtu.be/EwvbrCZn4NQ

[BassmanPaul]

But he's using the dreadful 4x10 and 1x15 pairing. It shouldn't be allowed! In an actual on stage use the 15 is greatly left behind by the more able 4x10 and eventually fails.

 

BTW Thank you for taking the time and effort to post that link.

Edited August 12, 2023 by BassmanPaul

[attackbass]

4 hours ago, BassmanPaul said:

But he's using the dreadful 4x10 and 1x15 pairing. It shouldn't be allowed! In an actual on stage use the 15 is greatly left behind by the more able 4x10 and eventually fails.

 

BTW Thank you for taking the time and effort to post that link.

 

It's not my favourite set up but it works for Victor live! The LH1000 actually has a balance control so you can send more output to either cab. 

 

Only the top 4x10 was plugged in, in that photo as it was deafening! Me and the keys player do not like bass through monitors so we just blast the amp! 

 

Love these amps!

[attackbass]

A bit of advice to anyone with lightweight cabs. Even if they are light, don't jump out of a van with them!

 

I did and I suspect I have now a few bruised ribs from the impact of the cab hitting into my chest!!

[Supernaut]

How does the LH compare to the old HA heads? 

[Elfrasho]

Nice one! I had an LH500 for a while....so loud and clean.

[attackbass]

2 hours ago, Supernaut said:

How does the LH compare to the old HA heads? 

 

It's been decades since I played through a HA series amp that I couldn't really fairly compare them. I would love to get the HA3500 at some point though. The HA4000 i had was completely solid state, and I remember it had a huge amount of low end but was very clinical sounding where as the LH1000 is a very warm amp that let's the sound of the bass really come through. After having used the amp for a few shows now, I've found the way I've used the EQ is to simply enhance the sound subtley rather than trying to really shape the sound, if that makes sense?

[attackbass]

23 minutes ago, Elfrasho said:

Nice one! I had an LH500 for a while....so loud and clean.

Definitely! I've found I like to run very very hot alpher into the passive input, just seems to give it a little more edge. The new cabs are great too, the sound seems so immediate, very punchy!

[Wolverinebass]

6 hours ago, Supernaut said:

How does the LH compare to the old HA heads? 

The LH series are louder, but tonally very limited due to the way the EQ is. My old HA5500 was immensely flexible and just sounded better.

 

I would go so far as to say Hartke are a dying company. All their lightweight amps are rubbish (I've tried most of them), the HA series is discontinued and I don't even think there's a distributor in the UK anymore.

 

The only endorsee of any note is Victor Wooten and frankly, he'd sound great through anything and is totally getting paid to endorse them. Even Billy Sheehan is mainly using the helix for tone on tour.

 

How many times can they say "Jaco played these!" with a straight face? He's been dead for more than 30 years. Jack Bruce has been gone for some time as well.

 

Hartke didn't move with the times and they're now almost irrelevant.

[attackbass]

Just got back from a session at Rockfield studios. The first time I've used the amp for a session that's in a studio and not at my desk with a DI box and my interface.

 

Absolutely love the recorded tone. Pure, clear, deep and warm but with just enough presence to cut through. Just had a D112 pointed at the edge of the cone. Sat at the desk and dropped out the DI to just hear the amp by itself.

 

Couldn't be more happier. I think they've really nailed the lightweight 4x10 with the HL410!

 

 

 

 

 

[police squad]

I used the HA3500 and 4x10 transporter cab for nearly 20 years. It was a great setup but then I went lightweight cabs (mark bass) and eventually the amp went class D too.

I still have a (different) HA3500 in the music room though

[attackbass]

Ah I would love a HA series amp too!

 

Did another session again this weekend, again the amp and cab delivered. I had. Quad Cortex running into the front end of the amp so I could still use the LH eq section and it sounded bloody great, though it was prob overkill. Looking forward to having some time in the new year to actually do some Hartke captures for live use and to be able to set yo the Quad Cortex for live use with my Hartke rig.

[Sparky Mark]

I don't know whether newer 3500 amps are different but my 90's mosfet version has quite a loud cooling fan so might not be suitable for low volume studio use. I gigged mine for 10 years before buying a Markbass LM3 but will probably keep it forever for sentimental reasons. Great amps.

[attackbass]

I love the styling of the older amps! 

[attackbass]

Thought I would update as currently using the Hartke gear for its first tour! 

 

Firstly, I'm not sure if this a first for me but I have voluntarily turned the amp down on stage, I think I'm running it at just below three on the dial. Huge amounts of volume and only using a single 4x10 HL cab. Playing from Concert Halls to club shows.

 

Running with the tweeter off, bass at 3 , mid at 5 and treble at about 2 is giving me a very full,warm tone that really bites and gets aggressive when I dig in which is perfect as the set is pretty dynamic. Really love the high end the speakers deliver, it really just helps you sit in the mix and still hear the definition of your playing on stage.

 

I'm running my Spector in the passive input with a very slight boost of treble and bass on the onboard preamp, just sounds like that little bit extra push really gets the amp working.