Hartke LH 500 query

[daz]

I bought a LH500 last week (from GAK £270) First impressions are, im very pleased with it. The tones i can get from it make it easily the best i have ever had. I will try and do a full review when i have had more time with it. Im not very knowlegable with this stuff, having only played bass for 20 months, so i dont have too much to compare it with. All i know is i like it.

Two things have struck me as strange though. But first of all let me tell you that i have it going through my Behringer Combo, that i have pulled the amp from (pictured below. Ignore the arrows)

Like i said i pulled the amp from it and was left with two wires with jack plugs on them, coming up from inside the cabinet. These had obviously been plugged into the back of the Behringer amp (pic two below) Those two jacks either side of the Speakon is where they went. The writing below it says [i]450 watts power output into 1x 4 ohms or 2 x 8 ohms[/i] The leads of the Behringer were only short so i had to get a male/female jack plug for the other one to reach the Hatrke, as the Harke was just a tad too big to go into the space left behind by the Behringer amp.

Anyway three things are puzzling me. Firstly, the time it takes for the amp to go from being switched on and the time it takes for the speakers to become live. Its 15 seconds ( I have timed it) from the time the red power light comes on to the time when i can get any sound out of the speaker. Is this normal ?

The second thing is thing is everyone says how loud it was, well this is loud but not anywhewre near as loud as i expected.

The third thing is the bright switch. I'd been lead to belive this was a real scary type mode that wouldpeel paint off the walls. Well all i can hear is the treble going a bit higher, again is this normal ?

I know its not an ideal situation and i am saving for a Barefaced cab, to do the amp justice. I hope that improves it some more.
.

[u]My Behringer BX4210A combo used for the speakers (ignore the arrows)[/u]


[u]rear of the Behringer amp[/u]


[u]Inside of Behringer BX 4210A amp.[/u] Is that round thing just copper wire wrapped around an iron core? In other words not worth my time weighing it in ?

[icastle]

[quote name='daz' post='1341040' date='Aug 15 2011, 07:27 PM']Anyway three things are puzzling me. Firstly, the time it takes for the amp to go from being switched on and the time it takes for the speakers to become live. Its 15 seconds ( I have timed it) from the time the red power light comes on to the time when i can get any sound out of the speaker. Is this normal ?[/quote]

Yep.
Hartke amps have a protection device that delays switching the output on until it's checked for any short circuits in the speaker lead. If you listen carefully, you'll hear a little 'click' as the relay switches in.

[quote name='daz' post='1341040' date='Aug 15 2011, 07:27 PM']The second thing is thing is everyone says how loud it was, well this is loud but not anywhewre near as loud as i expected.[/quote]

That's probably because you're using the combo speakers.
Behringer do have a habit of somewhat 'over stating' the ratings of their amplification equipment, so avoid pushing the speakers too hard or you'll probably destroy them.
If you want the full output from the amp then you need to give it a decent 4Ω load.

[quote name='daz' post='1341040' date='Aug 15 2011, 07:27 PM']The third thing is the bright switch. I'd been lead to belive this was a real scary type mode that wouldpeel paint off the walls. Well all i can hear is the treble going a bit higher, again is this normal ?[/quote]

That sounds normal to me.
All I would expect a 'bright' switch to do is to increase the top end.

[quote name='daz' post='1341040' date='Aug 15 2011, 07:27 PM']Is that round thing just copper wire wrapped around an iron core? In other words not worth my time weighing it in ?[/quote]

The round thing is the transformer used to power the amp - yes, they are usually just copper wire wrapped around an iron core, but don't let any transformer designers let you hear it described like that.

[northstreet]

What icastle says. The only other comment I would add is that the volume control needs to be turned up higher than you'd expect, and to my ears isn't linear, so at less than 5 or 6 it's really quiet, 6 to 8 it's loud, and then at about 8-and-a-bit it goes hyper.

[Prime_BASS]

1.The time delay can also be attributed to the tube warming up?

2. Through a solid 4ohm cab(very good 2x12 or a decent 4x10) it may very well crush you.

3. Bright switches, ones I've used before usually boost a certain high end frequency that the "treble" has little or no effect on, some may increase the treble output from maybe around 5khz to 20khz.

[clauster]

I'm another new-ish LH500 owner - bought it a few weeks ago and thanks to holidays etc I've only had the chance to use it at one rehearsal.

1. As previously said, there is a relay protection on the output. I first tried mine at home, plugged in, turned on, play, nothing, turn up, play, nothing, click, BOOM!

2. I felt the same about the volume. At rehearsal, put everything at 12 O'clock. Okay, loud but not LOUD. Remembered what I'd read about the EQ - Lows and Highs at about 9 O'clock, mids full on. That's a lot better. Also, unlike a lot of amps, there's still a lot more volume to come past 12 O'clock on the volume knob.

3. Bright knob: Like you I expected super harshness with the bright knob engaged. All I got was a bit more treble. But I'm using a BF Compact. With a hifi cab, I can see it might be too much.

[51m0n]

The volume control is just that.

There is no input gain which is supposed to be a good thing, but I know of at least one case of a player with an active bass who plays so gently that they need to plug into the passive input to give the head enough level to get a decent output from it.

If it seems very quiet it may be that your bass output is pretty low.

It also sings at 4 Ohms, and is less impressive at 8 Ohms (but only marginally IMO).

[daz]

Thanks for the input guys. Looks like ill just have to wait a few months till my barefaced cab can be ordered. So that i can hear the best from the LH500 (do you have to order them in advance and/or pay for them or just pay a deposit?)

Unless some BC lottery winner or well to do fellow low ender wants to buy me one? (me: looks around and sees an empty forum with a lone tumbleweed rolling along in the deserted, [i]virtual street [/i])

Guys. Hey guys wheres everyone gone?

Edited August 16, 2011 by daz

[Lozz196]

I was lucky when I bought my BF Midget - Alex just had a batch coming in, so I bought it Thurs, was with me by the following Weds.

[daz]

Have just had a look at their website. In see they ask for £100 before building, which is fair enough, but thats all i have at the mo so ill wait a while before ordering, maybe two weeks before ill have the rest of the cash. That way hopefully it will just be ready in time for the payment of the balance. Ill probably go for the barefaced midget. Shame they are not doing the [i]barefaced midget tour [/i] like they used to. I had my name down for over a year, but they never came anywhere near me before being recalled.

Edited August 17, 2011 by daz

[daz]

[quote name='daz' post='1341040' date='Aug 15 2011, 07:27 PM']The second thing is thing is everyone says how loud it was, well this is loud but not anywhewre near as loud as i expected.[/quote]

I must in all fairness take back what I said re the decibells that you can get from this amplifier.Tonight I have just plugged in a new P bass that I'd not tried in the LH500 before ([i]The CV jazz i normally play and my fave Westfield P bass, both are not 'loud' basses)[/i] I dialed it to volume 4 which i normally do to start, and strummed the strings together. Man i wish i hadn't. I nearly fell off the cab i was sitting on, when the sound wave hit me!!!

The amp is loud as heck. Along with all the other great things, it pumps out [b]mega decibells[/b].

Edited August 22, 2011 by daz

[Mr. Foxen]

If you take out the transformer, you can weight it in as a motor, which gets a better rate than mixed scrap. Kind of need a bunch to be worth a trip though.

[daz]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='1347480' date='Aug 21 2011, 08:37 PM']If you take out the transformer, you can weight it in as a motor, which gets a better rate than mixed scrap. Kind of need a bunch to be worth a trip though.[/quote]

I may well put it on ebay and see if i get a tenner for it. I think its just suffering from dry (solder) joints. Otherwise it seems fine. After it warms up (10 - 15 mins) it starts cutting out for a few sconds them comes back on and off intermitantly.

PS the LH500 is fine as ever this morning. Im [b][i]so[/i][/b] glad i bought it.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='1347480' date='Aug 21 2011, 08:37 PM']If you take out the transformer, you can weight it in as a motor, which gets a better rate than mixed scrap. Kind of need a bunch to be worth a trip though.[/quote]

I didnt know 'Motors' was a catagory at the scrappy ? Im not disputing it, just nerver heard of it ?

Edited August 22, 2011 by daz