Hartke LH1000 or GK 1001 RB II?

[chris_pokkuri]

I'm looking to upgrade my head, i'm currently using a warwick profet 5.1 500w. I use it through a warwick pro 411 (4x10) cab that is rated 600w at 4ohm with max 800w.
I like a sound similar to the tool bassist and play a similar style of music - sort of progressive heavy rock...? I like a clean but fat sound, I think perhaps a slight bit of 'growl' might be nice for some of the heavy parts when i'm really going at it but i don't like an overdriven sound.

I don't use any effects either.

I'm very interested in the Hartke LH1000 and the GK 1001 RB II. Has anyone used one or both these amps? Can you tell me the pros and cons of each (apart from the Hartke is way cheaper) and if they would suit the sort of music I play? Or perhaps a different suggestion?

Also as they are both powerful amps would they kill my cab? I am planning on eventually getting a compact or bigone from Alex at Barefaced Bass but that will be a bit after i've got a new head so I will have to play with the 4x10 cab for a while.

Thanks for help!

Chris.

[johnnylager]

I've used an LH-1000 into both the Barefaced Compact and Big One and find it excellent for the punk / rock that I play. My Spector drives the preamp valve [changed to a Ruby] well and there's a nice growl when I give it some. The simple tone controls do it for me. It's loud too. Very loud through the Big One. Very very loud indeed.

The GK is a totally different beast - 4eq, voicing filters, bi-amp, silver bits, more lights - never used one, sorry.

[peted]

The bassist from Tool uses GK amps and I believe it might be Wal basses (well, he did at Download Festival a few years ago when I saw them).

I think you'd get the most similar sound using the GK amp with a Sansamp pedal in front of it. I don't believe that the Hartke can recreate the overdriven growl of the GK without external effects.

[redstriper]

[quote name='chris_pokkuri' post='475792' date='Apr 30 2009, 10:38 AM']I'm looking to upgrade my head, i'm currently using a warwick profet 5.1 500w. I use it through a warwick pro 411 (4x10) cab that is rated 600w at 4ohm with max 800w.
I like a sound similar to the tool bassist and play a similar style of music - sort of progressive heavy rock...? I like a clean but fat sound, I think perhaps a slight bit of 'growl' might be nice for some of the heavy parts when i'm really going at it but i don't like an overdriven sound.

I don't use any effects either.

I'm very interested in the Hartke LH1000 and the GK 1001 RB II. Has anyone used one or both these amps? Can you tell me the pros and cons of each (apart from the Hartke is way cheaper) and if they would suit the sort of music I play? Or perhaps a different suggestion?

Also as they are both powerful amps would they kill my cab? I am planning on eventually getting a compact or bigone from Alex at Barefaced Bass but that will be a bit after i've got a new head so I will have to play with the 4x10 cab for a while.

Thanks for help!

Chris.[/quote]

I have also used the Hartke LH1000 but not the GK and I think it would suit you very well.
Clean, fat with a touch of growl and plenty of power - it's a lot of amp for the money.
I sent mine back because it was too heavy and too rich sounding for me.
I prefer a very smooth sound and I now use a markbass LM11.

Oh and it won't kill your cab unless you're really determined, stupid or deaf.

[Delberthot]

If I hadn't gone down the light weight route and bought a Shuttle 6.0, I would literally have a GK over everything else out there and I mean everything.

Personally nothing can touch it in terms of power, inherently good sound, reliability and good American bollox.

I owned an HA5500 for several months before going back to GK

[alexclaber]

I think either choice will be great but as they're fairly different sonically one will definitely be better for you but I have no idea which one! One thing I will say is that the GK is a much more aggressive sounding head than the Hartke therefore my gut feeling is that I'd want the GK with the Compact but the Hartke with the Big One.

Alex

[chris_pokkuri]

Thanks for the replies so far.

I'm quite keen on having a fairly simple head without too many controls for me to mess up my sound with which is why i'm leaning more towards the lh1000.

I'm also probably more likely to go for the big one rather than the compact. Do you think the heads running through the compact would be able to compete with 2 guitarists and a loud drummer at small-medium sized gigs, sometimes not di'd?

Are there any other suggestions for similarly powerful, reasonably small heads, in a similar price bracket that would also do the job?

[johnnylager]

[quote name='chris_pokkuri' post='476729' date='May 1 2009, 09:49 AM']I'm also probably more likely to go for the big one rather than the compact. Do you think the heads running through the compact would be able to compete with 2 guitarists and a loud drummer at small-medium sized gigs, sometimes not di'd?[/quote]
LH-1000 + Compact - yes.
LH-1000 + Big One - oh yes indeed and better off-axis response meaning you will hear yourself better & so will they. See [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtopic=46780&view=findpost&p=409683"]here[/url]. For what it's worth, the guitarists in me band prefer the Big One. So I've ordered one. And some ear defenders.

[JD1]

From my experience its quite difficult to mess up the sound on a GK and very easy to get a good sound.

In terms of volume, my 1001RBII is seriously loud. I use it through an Epi UL310 and it cuts through anything. I [u]never[/u] have to push it and it just seems to have loads more grunt than other amps I've had over the years. For example it has more volume and punch than the SWR750x and EA iAmp800 I had.