Admission and criticism retraction: Hartke

[Gruuve]

Oh...I should mention that the Warwick bass that I auditioned tonight (and in fact, the Tobias that I bought over a year ago) were both auditioned through Hartke cabs and amps at Sam Ash. Sam Ash has a plentiful supply of Hartke gear, so it's difficult to find something else to plug into.

 

OK, I have to admit...my first bass head many years ago was a Hartke and it was decent, especially for the price. A bassist that I played with as a drummer had a Hartke 410 w/aluminum drivers, and I never really cared for the sound of that cab, it was just too mid-rangey and really seemed to lack anything remotely resembling low frequency respones...although I do have to admit that perhaps it was merely his EQ settings, or maybe even just his hands.

 

I auditioned the Tobias over a year ago through a Hartke 810 cab w/alum drivers, and it DID sound quite good. Tonight, I auditioned the Warwick bass through a Hartke 410 and Hartke 215, and it also sounded quite good.

 

So, I think I need to retract some of my prior criticism's around Hartke cabs with alum drivers...if you use a big enough cab (or enough cabs) to get enough low-end extension, it's a pretty nice sounding rig...very articulate and clear, plenty of lower-mids for some good booty, but not enough sub-lows to make things boomy (unless you really crank the smiley-face EQ). The price is pretty cheap, and the drawbacks are still the size/weight of the cabs, and the suspected longevity issues with the aluminum drives. That said, I think the Hartke rigs I've played through sound as good or better than anything else in their price range. (Ducks and runs for cover... ) Do keep in mind though that my concept of "sounding good" might totally differ from yours. However, don't buy nor rule out Hartke cabs just on other folks opions...play through it yourself and judge with you own ears.

 

Dave

 

[Bottomgottem]

WHAT!?!?!?!?

[DavidMPires]

I had an hartke combo and never really done it for me. aybe they have changed alot. As you said it's a matter of trying them out.

[The Geoff]

I'm a bit 'iffy' about Hartke too, and then I think 'Jack Bruce must have had *some* reason to use them?'

 

Eh?

 

G.

[jcadmus]

I agree, the small combos always left me cold, but the larger rigs do sound pretty good if used the right way.

 

Not really my thing, personally, but a lot of guys like them.

[...]

No sir, I still don't like them. I wouldn't even play them if they were sent to me for free.

[Gruuve]

WHAT!?!?!?!?

 

The thing that I think is most notable is that the Hartke cabs seem to have the right characteristics to really showcase the signature growl in the Warwick Thumb and the Tobias Killer B. After I got the Warwick home, my ears were going "I don't hear that growl as well through my rig" (BBE BMax -> QSC PLX -> Acme LowB4). I experimented with some frequencies on a rack-mount graphic EQ, and found that the "growl" in both of those basses seems to be showcased by a little boost at 250Hz. So, presumably, the Hartke cabs have a 250Hz or so hump designed-in, and the lows roll off a little early (like maybe around 60Hz or so?...some Carvin 410's I used to have were similar in that regard). So, low cut and lower-mid boost...sounds reasonable that this kind of frequency curve would showcase growl.

 

Dave

 

[Brocko777]

No sir, I still don't like them. I wouldn't even play them if they were sent to me for free.

I don't like them, no sir-ee

I wouldn't play them in a tree

The aluminum is shiny and reflects the light,

But, something, just something, something is not right.

Aluminum if for wrapping up dinner,

For low end sound reinforcement, it doesn't get any thinner.

I will now say I do like the heads,

But I also like bahwhoop, kinphowerp, flambozzle, and brown thread.

Free would be nice, if it was a plane or a boat.

But aluminum cone drivers to me just don't float.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/portal/graphics/exclusions/quiteinteresting/nosplit/doctorpic.jpg

[TreR1969]

Yo folks....bash all ya want...I play an 8x10 cab and love it...it delivers the sound I am looking for...have not found anything I would trade it for...

[...]

No sir, I still don't like them. I wouldn't even play them if they were sent to me for free.

I don't like them, no sir-ee

I wouldn't play them in a tree

The aluminum is shiny and reflects the light,

But, something, just something, something is not right.

Aluminum if for wrapping up dinner,

For low end sound reinforcement, it doesn't get any thinner.

I will now say I do like the heads,

But I also like bahwhoop, kinphowerp, flambozzle, and brown thread.

Free would be nice, if it was a plane or a boat.

But aluminum cone drivers to me just don't float.

 

You're a flamboozle.

 

Brocko just won. I don't know what he won, but I know he just won.

[Brocko777]

 

The best (or worse) thing is YOU knew that I mis-spelled

"flambOOzle.

 

jeez, no-one has heard of a flamBOZZLE, they don't make 'em anymore.

[Michele C.]

I saw Stu Hamm at a clinic and guess what he wa splaying through.

He had a 4x10 and a 1x15. When he soloed each of the cabs disconnecting the other I felt that the combination was sounding like him, not the individual cabinets.

Maybe this boils down to "given enough surface aluminium gets some bottom too".

Of course Stu's sound was very detailed and chords did not sound muddy at all, but nobody in a band needs that clarity.

I will be in a clinic with Billy Sheehan next friday (it is bass clinic month here maybe).

[...]

Of course Stu's sound was very detailed and chords did not sound muddy at all, but nobody in a band needs that clarity.

 

I do.

[...]

 

The best (or worse) thing is YOU knew that I mis-spelled

"flambOOzle.

 

jeez, no-one has heard of a flamBOZZLE, they don't make 'em anymore.

 

[rumpelstiltskin.]

I agree, the small combos always left me cold, but the larger rigs do sound pretty good if used the right way.

 

i always felt that peavey suffered from the same bias. how many people will never play a peavey because they didn't like the TNT they played through once back in the 80s?

 

i have yet to have a bad hartke experience. i am still considering buying their VXL attack preamp. it looks pretty cool.

 

robb.

[...]

I agree, the small combos always left me cold, but the larger rigs do sound pretty good if used the right way.

 

i always felt that peavey suffered from the same bias. how many people will never play a peavey because they didn't like the TNT they played through once back in the 80s?

 

i have yet to have a bad hartke experience. i am still considering buying their VXL attack preamp. it looks pretty cool.

 

robb.

 

Not to hijack this thread completely but: Peavey's best bass amp ever was the DataBass combo. 1x15 (Black Widow speaker) and a 450W amp to drive it. Awesome. They sounded great and could tear a building apart with all their volume/lowend. I also recall that they weighed a friggin ton - probably less than my current Mesa Boogie combo does however.

 

On topic: I still don't like Hartke.

[Tom Capasso]

I think the issue has been reliability of the drivers, and a general "low end" build quality. I agree that I've seen many bass players (famous and otherwise) cranking away on a large Hartke system and sounding just fine. For me, the combos haven't been quite up to speed.

 

TreR1969 - if they work for you, great. At their pricepoint they are a good value. If you live anywhere near Sam Ash, they are readily available. It's guys like you that keep them out there for the rest of us to hear.

 

I'm not ready to join up for cabs yet - partially because I like smaller stuff. Partially, I've gone for more high-end stuff because I like having the better build quality. That doesn't mean there's anything "wrong" with other brands. I've seen some in rehearsal studios that have sounded bad, but that's not the best test case. I'm not much of an Ampeg fan either.

 

I've liked their heads (and I suspect that pedal robb is talking about is a good value).

 

Tom