Hartke amp love

[Rich]

Having read Shrek's post about his underperforming Warwick head, I thought I'd post a little something in praise of the ancient but still completely trusty Hartke 3500 head I bought from Brycebites (remember him? wish he was still here) many years ago, and which I use for rehearsals and small gigs.
Christ, it's loud. I mean, [i]really[/i].
If I use it with one of my 8Ω Nemesis cabs it's supposedly only delivering 180 watts, but good god it delivers it well. And with both cabs, it's fackin huuuuge. Sometimes I think about flogging it and getting something else, but then I think... why? It definitely ain't broke, so why try to fix it?
It's great. Anyone else got some Hartke lurrrve?

[xilddx]

[quote name='Rich' post='913839' date='Aug 3 2010, 01:34 PM']Having read Shrek's post about his underperforming Warwick head, I thought I'd post a little something in praise of the ancient but still completely trusty Hartke 3500 head I bought from Brycebites (remember him? wish he was still here) many years ago, and which I use for rehearsals and small gigs.
Christ, it's loud. I mean, [i]really[/i].
If I use it with one of my 8Ω Nemesis cabs it's supposedly only delivering 180 watts, but good god it delivers it well. And with both cabs, it's fackin huuuuge. Sometimes I think about flogging it and getting something else, but then I think... why? It definitely ain't broke, so why try to fix it?
It's great. Anyone else got some Hartke lurrrve?

[/quote]
That's what my mate has, with a Hartke 4x10 cab.

It makes a gorgeous sound with my Warwicks. If I used rigs, I would seriously be thinking of going that route.

[blind pilot]

When returning to playing after a massive 14 year+ break, I needed to buy kit. I got a HA3000, 4X10 transporter cab, 1x15 Transporter cab all for about £350.00 and i love it, and i have just bought a HA3500 (via here) so I am very excited to try this out! especially the valve pre-amp. I also use the Hartke VXL pedal and I also love this, was a cheap alternative for the Sansamp for me!

Bear in mind i used to play through a Selmer treble and bass amp and carlsborough horn loaded cabs, i prefer my new sound loads!

From Shopping around, i think they give great value for money!

Im in!

BP

Edited August 3, 2010 by blind pilot

[JakeBrownBass]

My first proper head was that and i loved it, but it just weighed so much.

I really really want to try the new hydrive stuff but with being at uni its just not practical, so the berg trumps it atm

[thisnameistaken]

I've got a HA2500 which I use at home and keep as a backup, fan's pretty noisy on it and it's missing some knobs and stuff but it still sounds good. My gigging head is an LH500 and has been for the last 18 months without a single hiccup. So yeah I like Hartke amps.

Haven't used their cabs since the early '90s so I don't know how good they are these days but I didn't like the aluminium coned stuff they did back then.

[neepheid]

Yup, another 3500 user here, great sound and I feel completely at home with it. I got mine second hand for cheap with a dodgy valve preamp section, repaired it with the help of a friend and has been with me ever since.

[Rich]

[quote name='jake_tenfloors' post='913862' date='Aug 3 2010, 01:55 PM']My first proper head was that and i loved it, but it just weighed so much.[/quote]
Yup. The weight is the one single solitary thing I dislike about it.

[Doddy]

I've had an HA3500 and HA4000 with 4x10 and 2x10 cabs for years. I've not been gigging them that much lately,because I love my Genz Benz/Bergantino rig,but I still use the Hartke for all my teaching and for occasional gigs. I really like their amps and have never had any major problems other than having to replace the preamp valve. I'd be more than happy to use their amps all the time.

[lemmywinks]

[quote name='blind pilot' post='913859' date='Aug 3 2010, 01:50 PM']When returning to playing after a massive 14 year+ break, I needed to buy kit. I got a HA3000, 4X10 transporter cab, 1x15 Transporter cab all for about £350.00 and i love it, and i have just bought a HA3500 (via here) so I am very excited to try this out! especially the valve pre-amp.[/quote]


Those HA3000 heads are great, in many ways i preferred them to the 3500/5500.

I have loads of Hartke love, always been great, dependable amps and so much rig for the money. For many years they were my chosen brand before i moved to lightweight gear.
I still use my trusty A70 combo, it's had a hard life but still keeps delivering a fantastic sound at any volume

[Daquifsta]

Much love from me. I run an LH1000 through a coupled of (very!) 'roadworn' Peavey 2x10's. To be honest, the cab's aren't really worthy of the amp and fart out at around 6 on the loud knob, but that's more than enough to flap trousers.

It's my long term plan to get something a bit more appropriate for my Hartke to sit on , but as the band are more of a recording project at the moment, as opposed to gigging, due to various members commitments, there's no great rush.

An action shot! (The bottom slot in the rack is occupied with the PA amp):
[attachment=55604:24010_37...071613_n.jpg]

[Marvin]

I haven't got one but it's definitely on the list. I don't need it at the moment, however, seriously considered one the Hydrive combos.

[Johngh]

I've got one exactly the same. It's brilliant. In a way I think they do themselves out of selling more gear as I sometimes think of trading for something else, but this amp performs everywhere I use it. It's never let me down, so I can't see why I should change it.

[blind pilot]

WOW, reading all this, makes me even more excited about getting my HA3500! Cant wait! :wub: :brow:

[Bassistclem]

Yes another satisfied user here. Can't believe the quality/reliability for the money. Nothing else better in (or somewhat above) the pricerange....

Edited August 4, 2010 by Bassistclem

[peted]

+1 for the Hartke 3500. Mine is my first proper gigging amp and it's still going strong. The only reason I'm contemplating replacing it is for the weight. It sounds great though. I remember a friend-of-a-friend of mine who runs a studio calling it "the poor man's Ampeg" - I think that's pretty spot on

[pietruszka]

I to am a lover of the Hartke. My first half stack rig was a HA2500 and a Transporter 410. I loved it and only got rid of it because I could afford better, and believe me I had to spend ALOT more to get better than Hartke.

I always recommend then to any bass player on a budget, theyre affordable, nay, very affordable, reliable and sound great!

+1 on the Hartke love. Id use them again. Man, I miss my Hartke rig now!

Dan

[johnnylager]

LH-1000 into Barefaced Big Juan. Had a problem that turned out to be a dodgy aftermarket valve. Simple & bastard loud when bridged into the Big Juan, great rig. It's not a Peavey Mark IV into a Sunn 215B, but it's lighter.

[CHRISDABASS]

Can i show some love for hartke cabs???


Ive used their transporter 4x10's for a few years now and i bloody love em!!

Great value, light weight (as light as markbass neo cabs) and the sound is just right for me! And all that for £120!! (second hand)

Cant go wrong with Hartke

[Lozz196]

[quote name='johnnylager' post='914577' date='Aug 4 2010, 08:38 AM']LH-1000 into Barefaced Big Juan. Had a problem that turned out to be a dodgy aftermarket valve. Simple & bastard loud when bridged into the Big Juan, great rig. It's not a Peavey Mark IV into a Sunn 215B, but it's lighter.[/quote]
I had the HA4000, with 1x15 XL & 2x10 XL cabs. probably the most versatile rig I`ve ever had.

But in the end, GAS got the better of me, plus, being in a heavy rock band at the time, just [b]needed[/b] a Marshall (which is more "me").

Would still recommend Hartke to anyone though, lots of performance, for not a lot of cash.

[TheRev]

I still have the HA3500 that I bought from Ped (remember him?... Oh yeah, he's still here!). Although it sometimes needs a bit of a thump to get it going (must have that looked at sometime) I regularly use it at home and it sounds amazing through my 2 BFM Omni 10.5s. If I'm honest, I actually prefer the sound of this amp to my LMII. Set completely flat with the valve pre on 3/4 and the solid state pre on 1/4, I get a beautiful, warm bass tone that sounds great in any venue. I bought the LMII when I moved into a 3rd floor flat and needed lightweight gear but if I didn't have to lug my gear up & down 3 flights of stairs for every gig I'd probably use the HA3500 instead of the LMII - and that's saying something.

Another bass player at work offered to buy it from me last month but I couldn't bear to part with it. I might have a rock trio project coming up - if that gets going then I'm definitley using the Hartke.

[Ancient Mariner]

3500 here as well - my first real bass amp, bought from a forumite here earlier this year. Sounds great to me, though I'd really like a lightweight 2X10 to play it through, rather than a 1X15.

[casapete]

The 3500's are great amps. I had one at the same time as an Ampeg SVT3Pro, and actually preferred the Hartke - tonally just as good and
seemed a lot louder too. Ultra reliable and easy to use, I love 'em. (Personally did n't find mine too heavy either!)
The LH series is on my list of stuff to try after hearing the recommendations on here.
Was n't such a big fan of the cabinets (Transporter series 4x10) but still great value for money - definitely the best in the price range.

[Johngh]

[quote name='Ancient Mariner' post='914623' date='Aug 4 2010, 09:47 AM']3500 here as well - my first real bass amp, bought from a forumite here earlier this year. Sounds great to me, though I'd really like a lightweight 2X10 to play it through, rather than a 1X15.[/quote]


I have 2.5xl and a 1x15xl Hartke Cabs that go with my 3500. Great play anywhere rig.

[Tinman]

Just sold my two 4x10XLs, brilliant cabs, I can't rate them highly enough but they were so damn heavy.

[Dood]

Anyone want to fill in my post for me? You know what I'm gonna say!!!! :wub:

I adore the Hartke 4.5XL cabs. I used to run two with an Ampeg SVT 2 Pro. I now own the LH1000 with a pair of HyDrive 410's. Brilliant bits of kit - and I am expecting the rig to show up with me on Channel 4 in coming weeks! I'll keep you posted when it's due to happen.

My danveall.com pic!