Hartke HD75 Bass Combo

[petetexas]

Hi All ,

Has anyone got one of these ?

Just got one and want to compare with others , before sending back .

Pete

[Phil_T]

I've got a HD50 if that's any use

[Cuzzie]

And I have a HD25....

[petetexas]

Cuzzie and Phil T ,

Can I ask you both if your Bass Guitar drives the input to distortonon the low E string ?

If I put my Stingray into the HD75 , it distorts , even with the Volume rolled back about 30% , if I really hit the string .

I have sent an email to Hartke asking their opinion .

Pete

Pete

Edited October 29, 2017 by petetexas

[Phil_T]

No, I've used it with both a passive and an active bass and never noticed any distortion. I usually have the volume around 1 to 2 o'clock but it's clean up to maximum.

[Cuzzie]

I have made mine fart out when pushed, vol wasn't maxed on it, but i did have a pre amp pedal.

Its worth emailing them to find out, but their cones are a bit stiff so it does not surprise me it farts, but yours seems to be doing it a little early.

Be worth finding out what they say. Is this just your practice rig or what you maybe take out?

[petetexas]

Hi guys ,

What I failed to tell you , is that this amp is bloody loud ( got for bedroom practice - did not realize how loud ) the volume is not

even at 1 on dial .

The volume pot seems to be on the edge of either on or off ( just under 1 on dial )

I have found that if I turn all the EQ sliders to -12 , it does not distort , and the volume control works much better - up to

about 3 or 4 for a reasonable bedroom volume .

Tried it through headphones , seems ok .

I will take the combo to rehearsal tomorrow night , and try at volume to see if it distorts .

Will let you guys know .

Maybe I am expecting too much for a 75w efficient combo , to play at a quiet bedroom level ?

I never get this problem with my LM800 and G&K cabs in the house - but then again the LM800 has a gain control at input .

Pete

Edited October 30, 2017 by petetexas

[petetexas]

Hi Guys,

Problem solved .....................I plug my Stingray into a Behringer Micro Mix and turn the signal level down ( mini 4 channel mixer ) ,

then into the amp .

This stops the output from the Stingray , overloading the input on the HD75 .

I`ll still await the reply from HARTKE to see what they say

Pete

Edited October 30, 2017 by petetexas

[Cuzzie]

Remember also about the Hartke EQ

Flat is Bass and Treble at 3 and mids at 10

Dunno if that helps

[petetexas]

Hi Cuzzie ,
Thanks for the suggestion , but I`m a bit confused ...........Bass +/- 15,,,Treble +/- 15,,,, Mid +/- 15 then there is the graphic freq all +/- 12 on HD75
Are you saying that i try and put Bass and Treb at +3 and the Mid at +10............................... ?
What I have done is put the "smiley face" on the graphic eq , and that has helped ....made it smoother , but hit the strings hard -lower register - and it still distorts .
I still believe its the input signal - miss match .
It will be interesting to see what Hartke say,,,,,,,,,if they get back !
Pete

[Phil_T]

I noticed that a relatively small bass boost on the active bass would cause the speaker to flap so it looks the same sort of issue

[petetexas]

Hi Phil T,
Yes you are right , wound the bass on the Stingray back to mid position ( no boost or cut ) and its improved it a lot .
I always have the bass full on and bring the treble in to get just enough bite , playing live with the Markbass and G&K Cabs
Markbass set at 12 o`clock on eq.
I can compensate now with the eq on the Hartke for bedroom practice .
To anyone reading this , the HD75 is VERY VERY loud ! ! ! ! ! ! ! it could probably do small gigs ( 40 / 50 people )
Decided to keep it now , thanks again to all the input [u]Phil T[/u] and [u]Cuzzie[/u]
Pete

[Cuzzie]

Glad to hear that and let the fun begin!

[petetexas]

Correction to my above post , this amp will NOT do small gigs IMHO , unless you want the sound of Elvis Costellos Bass player at the

start of PUMP IT UP !

To keep it clean ( using a 2 band eq Stingray ) you not only have to keep the bass control 12 oclock , but also the volume rolled back

to 50%, or it distorts .

Because you have the volume rolled off , you dont get enough output for a gig ( IMHO again )

I bought this amp for bedroom use, and with "tweeking" its ok .

I have had a reply from Hartke , after sending them a second email , and they quote " we have not receied yor previous email" ?

I have now sent another ( 3 in all ) we will see .

Pete

Edited November 3, 2017 by petetexas

[petetexas]

Udate................
After a number of emails to and fro with Hartke over the last few days ( what are the amp settings , what are your bass settings , have you tried with other basses , are the batteries new , try changing the leads etc )........they have come to the conclusion that I should get it to an authorised dealer workshop , to get it checked out .
Pete

[petetexas]

Have built myself a little signal pad - 250k log pot with treble bleed cap and resistor - plug bass into it , before going into amp and turn it up ( padding the signal ) now I get NO DISTORTION .
Shows that the input of the amp is distorting .
I sure wont buy any more Hartke amps , or any other , which do not have a gain control at the input
My Stingray works perfectly with my Markbass LM800 , Warwick LM1000 , Warwick X-treme and my Ampeg PF500 - all of which have a gain control at the input .
Pete

[Cuzzie]

Well worked out buddy, sorry you had to go through all that.

[petetexas]

 

Just had the chance to try two Passive Bass into the Hartke HD75 . A Tokai Thunderbird , with Humbuckers , and a Fender Jazz

NO DISTORTION AT ALL  !

Why don`t Hartke put a gain control at the input , to pad the input signal ...........I suppose its down to cost , but they have certainly lost a

customer for any future purchases with me .

Edited November 23, 2017 by petetexas

[Kerry]

Anyone taken apart a HD75 to get at and clean the pots, ie what screws to take out to do this????