Hartke HA3500 vs Kustom DE300 HD

[Troy_E]

Hi everyone,

I'm in the process of upgrading my backline and have narrowed down my options to either a Hartke HA3500 (one of the older models with the cover) with a Hartke VX4x10 cab, or a Kustom DE300 HD with a Kustom DE4x10 cab.

I mainly play a MIJ 1975 RI Jazz (made around 1985) which already has a very organic sound and a nice growl to it. To go with it, I'm looking for an amp that can deliver a full and punchy tone with some added grit if necessary. These particular amps interest me because of their tube preamps, but I can't decide which one to go with.

There's a lot of info on the HA3500 as it seems to be a very popular amp, but most people say that even with the tube preamp full on, it doesn't get dirty at all. On the other hand there's very little info on the DE300, with almost no sound clips. The few people who own it usually say very good things about this amp, but I've also seen a few comments saying that it distorts way too much when the gain is cranked up. So it looks like either not enough dirt or way too much, and I'm looking for something in between - ie. starts to drive with gain around 7/8 and not 4/5, the main concern here being the loss of volume without having the amp drive too much.

I've considered changing up the tubes to get different sounds, but would prefer not to if possible. I've also got a SansAmp BDDI, but after 4 years of use, I'm still not entirely comfortable with it as it colours the sound way too much and renders the on-bass knobs pretty much useless.

Any advice will be much appreciated.

T

[attachment=109794:hartke.jpg] HV3500 & VX4x10


[attachment=109792:274224.jpg] DE300 & DE4x10

Edited June 7, 2012 by Troy_E

[Dood]

I know I'm going to sound biased, but there's a local band here in Norwich I know and the bass player uses a P bass in to the combo version of the Hartke stack you have pictured above.The VX3500. It sounds so cool!