Skybone Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 So I was trawling through the local Gumtree, when I spotted an advert for a number of various bass amps for sale. I emailed them, and was sent quite a long list of amp heads, a few combo's, a few cabs and effects. There's a few Behringer, Warwick & Peavey heads, but quite a few Hartke heads, such as the HA3000, HA3500, HA4000, HA5000, and an LH1000. As a long time Geezer fan, I'm tempted by the LH, but the HA3500 looks interesting too. Has anyone used any of these amps? Any good for hard/heavy rock? Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 They're great for it I use a Hartke Kilo into a Bergantino NV610 and always get compliments on my sound Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 I gigged the HA3500 for years. Great amp that never let me down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamdenRob Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Always pleased to see a Hartke rig when I turn up at an unfamiliar rehearsal studio... Never had one I couldn't get a decent sound out of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davehux Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 I've had 2 HA3500's and play another regularly at a jam night. Massively, stupidly loud, and sound wonderful through a 410 cab Unloved by many, so cheap to buy. Well worth the small amount of money you need to spend on one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skybone Posted June 19, 2015 Author Share Posted June 19, 2015 (edited) Thanks for the replies, I've asked to go and have a look... we shall see. Looks like I can get myself a decent rig for about £300, not including any effects/tuners etc (they have a few V-Amp's & rack tuners as well). "Massively, stupidly loud" sounds good to me! Edited June 19, 2015 by Skybone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barkin Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Big Hartke fan here. I've an HA2500 and an LH500, and don't plan changing 'em any time soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
40hz Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 (edited) There's a Ha3500 at my bands practice room. It's brilliant. The only way I can describe it is as a very 'strong' amp. Real authorative sound to it. Edited June 19, 2015 by 40hz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randythoades Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 I have one too for gigging (not that I do much gigging at the moment). Great amp but a little on the heavy side to lug to rehearsals. I use it at home and take a tiny lightweight GK head for practices but it doesn't have the oomph and presence of the HA3 500. Cracking amp for hard and classic rock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonzodog Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 I had the Ha3000 and have now got the LH500. Great sounding and great build quality on both. I like to stick with an amp once i like it and i love the simplicity of the LH500. Thinking of getting a Ha 2500 or 3500 as a back up if i can find one second hand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Had a HA1000, great bit of kit - Hartke gear has some of the best bang to buck ratio out there. I used that head to record by old metal band's album, so definitely works for heavy stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skybone Posted June 19, 2015 Author Share Posted June 19, 2015 Going to have a look tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skybone Posted June 19, 2015 Author Share Posted June 19, 2015 Oooops. That was a mistake. For the grand sum of £250, I came away with a Hartke HA4000 head & rack case and a Red Sub 2x10 cab. VERY impressed with the sound from the cab, tried out a Hartke aluminium cone 2x10 as well, and wasn't impressed at all. Anyway, they didn't have the HA3500 that I wanted, but tried out the HA4000, a HA2000, an LH1000 and a Behringer BX3000 with either the Red Sub or the Hartke cabs. Of the 4 amps, the 4000 sounded the best (all on a flat EQ too), but they said that if another HA3500 turns up in the lockup, they'll let me know and I can try that out with a view to swapping it with the 4000. Turns out that these guys had bought a job lot from a guy who had been something of a hoarder, sounds like he had at least 2 of everything! He'd then popped his clogs, and the family were clearing things out. They have amps & cabs coming out of their ears! Anyway, was a bit dubious at first, but they came across as straight up, decent guys, so was happy to do a deal with them. Here's the Gumtree link, & mention the guy who bought the Hartke 4000 recommended them. [url]http://www.gumtree.com/p/guitar-bass-amplifiers/bass-amplifier-heads-for-sale/1120866091[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 The HA4000 is a very nice amp - I had one and the parametric is very good, you can really get some good tones from it. It`s a nicely loud amp too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Fitzmaurice Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 I ran a 3500 for ten years, never any problem, always sounded good. I only sold it because it weighed a ton. Or is it tonne? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skybone Posted June 20, 2015 Author Share Posted June 20, 2015 It's an American company and design, so it'll be ton... though it was made in Korea, so it might be tonne. Yes, the head weighs a bit (probably more than the cab TBH!), but it sounded really nice last night. Looking forward to playing with the EQ & getting it into the rehearsal room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 We've had an HA3500 for maybe a decade..? It's our 'spare' now, replaced by a hefty Hiwatt 200w PA head, so, to us, the Hartke is 'lightweight'..! All is relative, eh..? A good, solid, workhorse of an amp, well constructed (so robust...), reliable and with wide tonal possibilities. We are simple 'plug and play' minimalists, however, and so don't faff around with eq, pedals, 'dirt' and such; we just play bass through our gear, so we're not best placed to laud all its features The mixable valve/transistor i/p is a good idea, though. Standard, classic rock is how I'd describe it. Can't go far wrong with 'em. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Badderer Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 Been running a HA5500 for a few years now and it's got a great sound. Powerful and solid, 10 band graphic eq works well. It's heavy, but it is really solid! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkHeart Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 Ive got a HA3000 head and its strange cos its louder than both my 400w Warwick and 500w Tc, it very rarely gets turned up above 3-4 when gigging where the others are on 5+ sounds very decent through a tc 2x10 as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skybone Posted June 20, 2015 Author Share Posted June 20, 2015 (edited) I'm hoping that another 3500 head will turn up when they go through the rest of the horde, quite liked the sound of the 2000 I tried (a close second to the 4000). Wasn't that impressed with the LH1000 funnily enough, stonkingly huge power from it, but the sound seemed a bit 1 dimensional compared to the 4000 & 2000. Managed to have a quick play with the amp today, and had a quick tweak of the EQ. The sound seems bright & lively, only made some really minor tweaks from 12 o'clock/flat, but it all sounds great so far. Much better than any of my old bass amps. Seriously impressed with the Red Sub cab though. A bit of t'interweb research turns out that it's an "in house" brand for Gear4Music. Nice and light cab, but sounds great to me. The 4000 is quite deceptively loud, We'll see how it fares when we rehearse next! Edited June 20, 2015 by Skybone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skybone Posted June 20, 2015 Author Share Posted June 20, 2015 Little bit concerned about the cab, it's only rated at 250w @ 4 ohm, where the amp kicks out 400w @ 4 ohm. Trying to get my head around the numbers, and understand the impedance/wattage ratings, but no, still don't get it! If I get another 250w @ 4 ohm cab, that would be a 2 ohm load (get that bit), but would the speaker handling go up to 500w (IIRC it would)? Would a 2 ohm load damage the amp? Would I still get the 400w+ out of the amp? OR would it be better to try and find a 400w @ 4 ohm cab? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Dare Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 Don't worry about wattage, etc. Speakers can handle much higher than stated ratings in short bursts. You're more likely to cause damage by under-driving a cab. Most amps don't give rated power anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Fitzmaurice Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 [quote name='Dan Dare' timestamp='1434827917' post='2803182'] Don't worry about wattage, etc. Speakers can handle much higher than stated ratings in short bursts. [/quote]With a few exceptions thay cannot handle even half their rated power before they'll distort, so if you don't push them so hard they they are distorting you'll be nowhere near their power capacity. That's where the volume control comes into play [quote]You're more likely to cause damage by under-driving a cab.[/quote]That would be fostering the myth of underpowering. There's a reason why it's a myth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skybone Posted June 20, 2015 Author Share Posted June 20, 2015 The only damage you'll get by under-powering the speakers in my experience is the damage to your sound when the speakers "crap out" - or when there isn't enough power getting through to them. Used to hear this a lot when the "blues lawyers" slagged off amp attenuators, making their boutique six strings & valve amps sound like crap. The truth was their attenuators were set so high that they weren't putting enough power to the speakers to drive them properly. Quite keen to see how it takes to the B3, and see what works/doesn't work. Anyway, really looking forward to putting this rig through its paces at next rehearsal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 (edited) [quote name='Dan Dare' timestamp='1434827917' post='2803182'] You're more likely to cause damage by under-driving a cab. [/quote] I don't think that's possible. D'oh! Beaten to it by Mr BF. ^ Edited June 20, 2015 by discreet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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