hartke 3500 head

[hankSRay]

Well a good friend of mines bassist just quit their band so I've been recruited to play for them. Only thing is I need a new bass head for a show we'll be playing on the 24th. Anyways I called my local GC to see if a poor kid like me could score some sort of deal cause i dont have time to save up for anything too high end. The guy said he has 2 used hartke 3500 bass heads and they were real cheap, only like 250 bucks. anyone have any experiences, im hoping to drive up 2morrow and pick one up cause im desperate lol thanks for the input in advance

 

[Franky]

hartke heads are good. they arent the best, but they are not that far from the top either.

ive used a hartke rig 3500+410+115. it was really smooth and made for a good mix.

 

[TSanders]

IMO, not the best, but a heck of a lot better than nothing. And at least its a mid line head for a good price.

 

[hankSRay]

yeah like i said this is a just a quick fix for now, not a top end purchase, but im sure itll get me by

 

[TheDirtyMoocher]

i talked a guy at gc into giving me an swr workingmans 4004 for 350..so if you have that much you might want to look into that (you can get away with it cause of this: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=bass/search/detail/base_pid/482031/
plus the fact that they get a comission (i think)

 

[Bubba Love]

Bass Guitar Magazine (UK) put the Hartke 3500 up against an Ampeg, and SWR and one of the new Fenders, and apparently the best thing it had going for it is the price. They reportedly had trouble getting the tubes dirty at all, although sticking a Hartke up against an Ampeg which costs twice as much seems like a bit of a silly thing to do to me.

 

[hankSRay]

trouble gettin the tubes dirty? whats that mean?

 

[Bubba Love]

Some would view the inclusion of tubes as a way of getting the amp to drive in a certain way at the higher volumes. They had trouble getting the Hartke to do that apparently, they said it was clean all the way, not so great for the rock. But hey, try it for yourself, that was only the opinion of 3 guys. With different tubes, different basses.... it's a different ball game. So many variables!

 

[tkarter]

Tubes won't get dirty. I want one of those heads. I will add cabs until it will and give atleast the first 3 rows of audience a heart attack while playing only R 5. LOL

Hartke and Peavey = opinion. Mine is they work.

Hopefully they will let you plug one in or give you a period to check it out. It has your sound it doesn't need a name when it comes to an amp.

The bass,well you know, it doesn't have to be the best either. That is until you have played the best.

once again IMHO

tk

 

[hankSRay]

well it sounds like the head isnt to damn bad, and I mean the price is just right so i'll let u guys know 2morrow if i picked one up or not.

 

[Mobay45]

I played a Hartke 3500 for about 8 or 9 years. It broke down about 3 days out of warranty. Once I got it repaired, I never had another serious problem from it. I don't think you can go wrong for the price. I always liked that it had a gain for the tube side and a gain for the solid state side so that I could blend them together however I wanted. One thing I did notice is that I quit using the EQ section altogether when I started playing my Stingray. It just wasn't necessary anymore with the onboard preamp on the 'Ray.

Downside: It always seemed to have a hum. Not noticible when you're playing but it is a little annoying. Sound men always hated it. That is one time that the EQ section came in handy. A lot of times you can EQ out the hum by cutting certain frequencies. Of course that changes your sound. I don't know if the hum in mine was usual for these amps or if it was just in mine.

FYI - I played through a Hartke 115XL and a 210XL with a BBE Sonic Maximizer in line.

 

[Jazzbassman23]

I've been using a 3500 for about four years now and have had no problems whatsoever. Good, solid mid-priced amp that can adequately cover just about any style. Are there better amps out there? Of course, but in that price range, you can't go wrong. When I was in the market, I tried the SWR WM's and was not that impressed. I've never experienced any kind of hum.

 

[BigStrings]

A solid all around performer is the Gallien-Krueger 800RB. I picked one up for $400 on E-bay but it was super clean. I've seen them go for less but not quite as clean, cosmetically speaking. I wouldn't be afraid of what they look like, they are built like a tank and everyone raves about their durability. Some even say they like them better than the newer RB's.

 

[Mobay45]

Before I had the 3500 I had the GK 400RB. It was a rock solid head. I liked it better than the Hartke.

 

[hankSRay]

thanks alot for the input guys, I'm glad u guys give it good reviews, Id rather hear ur opinions than reading some from one of those review sites. The 3500 seems like a good deal, my only concern is do u think that it will be enough power. ill be playing it through a 4x10 8ohm cab that handles 400 watts, so i should pump out 240 watts with the 3500, think thats good enough? i know the bands old bassist used a 200 watt rouge head or sumthin like that, I think ill be ok but what do u think?

 

[Franky]

Before I had the 3500 I had the GK 400RB. It was a rock solid head. I liked it better than the Hartke.

No sh*t, you liked the GK head more than a hartke head

 

[Mobay45]

No sh*t, you liked the GK head more than a hartke head

Yep.

 

[hankSRay]

Well i want a GK head more than i want the hartke, but i just cant afford a nice 700RB right now lol

 

[Mobay45]

Right now I like my BBE BMaxT through my Carvin DCM1000 better that anything I've had in the past.

 

[Bluesbob]

Wattage...

of a cabinet means how much it can take before it distorts. More important is the efficiency of the cab, measured in dB's at a certain input frequency and power. Eden and SWR (pro series) cabs have very good sensitivity (efficiency) ratings, over 100 dB for most of their products. For instance, the Goliath III which I use has a rating of 105 dB at 2.83 volts of input measured at a distance of 1 foot. The Eden 410 XLT is rated at 106 dB at the same input figures. I think a couple of other manufacturers have similar ratings, while others have less. A measured difference of 3 dB is enough to hear plainly. A difference of 10 dB roughly equates to a 2 times difference in perceived loudness, everything else being equal, which it can never be , due to frequency-related differences in impedance, defined as the opposition to current flow in an AC circuit, which is what comes out of an amp. So find out what the sensitivity (efficiency) of your 4X10 cab is and don't worry about its capacity in watts (which can also vary with impedance). And now after all that, I think for $250.00 you can't beat a Hartke 3500.