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NAD - Hartke KB12


Ba55me15ter
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Taken a punt on one of these little combos. I'm an advocate of the wedge shape, especially on small stages when I'm invariably DI'd. It lacks a few features in the amp section but I'll often run a VT Deluxe in front of it anyway. The 500 watts is actually peak, 250 RMS, which should be plenty even if it is annoying marketing.
First impressions are very good. Basic tone is deep and smooth. At low levels with the mid control backed-off slightly and a touch of extra treble I get what is to my ears a sound that resembles my Phil Jones Briefcase (which I love!) with slightly more bottom end - a great start! There is slight whine noise from a fan, but nothing you would notice in a live setting. It might be slightly annoying in the studio though. You can disconnect the internal speaker if you want to use a different cab.
I'll be using it in anger next Wednesday in a guitar / bass / vocals trio.

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Used one of the older (heavier) Kickback 12 amps for years - great piece of kit. Handled pub gigs with ease and the tiltback feature was great for personal monitoring when used with a PA. My cat absolutely destroyed the carpeted finish once however. Do they still have it, or is it vinyl now?

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Have to say I'm extremely interested in one of these.
I'd like to see a bit more in the preamp, even just the addition of low mid and high mid, but I guess you can drive it with a preamp pedal like you do.
Currently using two compact 1x10 cabs, I find I'm missing a bit of thick effortless low end, does the single 12" really kick out a nice bit of oomph?

Looking forward to hear how you get on with it in anger!

Eude

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The EQ section is actually really effective with well-chosen frequencies to my ears. In particular the Mid is at 700Hz nicely removes mud for a modern hifi sound. I'd be happy to use it without an additional preamp on big gigs where I'm DI'd were it not for the fact the DI is pre-EQ (and not switchable) - minus points there. Small bar gigs though it'll be perfect.

Edited by Ba55me15ter
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Not boxy, but inevitably a little more lower-middy compared to the deep thunder of the S12T. Still a full sound though. Of course the room had a lot to do with it too, so I'm not going to draw too many conclusions from the one gig.

I have a full 9-piece band gig a week on Saturday when I'll be using it in 'monitor' mode beside a drum kit. I usually run my Mark Bass SA450 flat with just a tad of VPF and VLE, so I've managed to buy a secondhand Super Booster pedal which has the VPF/VLE filters built-in. I'm going to run the DI to the PA from that and of course also into the Hartke. That makes for a super-flexible rig as I can use the Hartke EQ to adjust my on-stage sound independently of the FOH for maximum clarity (not that you have a choice with it being a pre-eq DI). I still have the VT in my chain for dirt on appropriate numbers too. Gonna need a bigger pedal-board though!

Edited by Ba55me15ter
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  • 2 weeks later...

Oh dear, this was a gamble that didn't pay off unfortunately. Last night's gig was a wedding do in a reverberant room. I was stood next to the drummer as usual. Unfortunately the KB12 just couldn't keep up and I was struggling to hear myself all night. I was wondering if I was standing in some kind of dead spot as there was a wall behind me, but I tried moving around a bit to no avail. Darn it. Looks like I should be able to return it and I'm only down the cost of shipping. Be aware, this is not a loud amp though it sounds great at low volumes.

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