Customer Reviews

Hartke 2500 Bass Guitar Amplifier Head, 250 watts

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Let me just start off by saying that I have used the Ampeg B-2RE Bass Head and the Ampeg SVT-CL Bass Head. If you aren't familiar with amplifier heads, they are fairly high-end heads. I bought this head because I had two bass cabinets and two speaker cables, but no head. I had to resort to borrowing the Ampeg B-2RE Bass Head,from a guy at my church, when the Youth Praise Band was going to play at a Youth Rally. Just so we are clear, I am the bass player in the band. Anyway, I have been longing to own an amplifier head of my own for quite some time. Just as luck, or God, would have it my mom, dad, and church - the band previously played at - I finally had enough money to purchase one. This particular one has been on my Wishlist for quite a while. I'm not going to lie, I know less than nothing about Hartke except thatthey are a fairly decent brand. In light of this I purchased this head on April 26, 2012. It arrived exactly two days later. I immediately opened the box and set this beauty up. Now my excitement was the primary driving force and I just wanted to try out my FIRST amp head. It has a 10-band Graphic EQ similar to the Ampeg B-2RE Bass Head. That was good since I had a bit of experience with that. It also has a Compression knob. As far as general EQ it has a High and Low know, then a Master Volume. Before I get to far the Master Volume really controls the volume as opposed to some heads thathave a gain that makes it difficult to control the volume without altering your gain level. On this head the volume control works as it should. Now one cool thing I am not familiar with is the Tube Emulation and Solid-State Preamps. I've never seen or used anything of this nature so I can't tell you anything about it. As for the compression, I doubt I will use it. I'll probably keep it down low since I can add some compression on my bass guitars. For example, I have a Yamaha RBX374 that can be compressed by altering the 2-band eq. I also have a MusicMan StingRay that can be compressed from the guitar itself. So the compression feature is useful if you have a crappy bass that lacks tone controls. In this case a Pete Wentz Signature P-bass. It only has a volume control. Anyway, I love this head. I am close to getting the EQ set the way I want it. Don't let this review cause you to have second thoughts about buying this. Oh and I am sorry for all of the rambling I did. I would recommend this head to any intermediate>semiPro players. I run this through Seismic Audio 4x10 & 1x15. The head puts out a very deep and rich low and a "punch you in the mouth" high. The attack that you can get with his head almost resembles Victor Wooten's setting. (His is PERFECT) You will not be disappointed by this head. It looks complicated, but the Graphic EQ is probably the simplest feature on the deal. My sister could probably set it and she doesn't even play bass; much less own an amplifier of any kind. You need to buy this before they go out of stock. This is a steal. I mean come on! It's only $249.99! Don't hesitate because you will be sorry. I mean you could get better, but there will always be a better one out there. (Markbass as an example) You need to buy this whether this will be your first, you already have one, trying to replace, looking to expand your sound, etc. Whatever the reason buy this bad boy.

This head was my first foray into component bass rigs. Prior to getting this amp I owned a Fender Rumble 150 Bass Amplifier, which was all the amp I could possibly need for darn near any size venue. I purchased the Hartke, plus Seismic Audio - 1x15 & 2x10 BASS GUITAR SPEAKER CABINET COMBO PRO AUDIO to create a rig that could be downsized to a the 2x10 cab, or upsized to the full 2x10+1x15 configuration for outdoors playing. The Hartke amp drove the rig beautifully.

What I like about the Hartke is the ease and precision with which you can establish a tonal baseline, then contour it to suit specific requirements. In fact, the manual has templates for documenting your EQ settings so you can quickly reset for any venue or desired sound.

The ability to dial in a virtual tube tone or mix that with a solid state tone is another plus. Frankly, while the flexibility of the head with respect to tone and character is a plus, I rarely mess with it. It is nice, though, to know you have these features when you need them.

However, there is one thing I do not like and I posted a customer image above to illustrate it: the carrying handle that is on the right side of the head when it is sitting flat on a cab or in a rack is problematic if you want to mount the head in a rack. Please examine the photo, which I have annotated to fully describe this issue.

This head plus some decent cabs will make for a bass rig that can be configured to meet the unique requirements of a wide range of venues (and musical genres), and the price makes it a genuine value. I intend to add Seismic Audio - 4x8 Bass Guitar Speaker Cabinet PA DJ 500 Watts 4 8 with horn to give me even more configuration options.

I highly recommend this head, especially if you are moving from combo amps.

The Hartke 2500 is a 250-watt (max.) bass amp with two pre-amp settings, equalization, a high- and low-end 'cut,' compression, and master volume. Takes active or passive instruments. Effects line in/out, ground lift, fan, two speakers out. 25 lbs.

I play mine through a highly rated Schroeder 12-inch 8-ohm cab, which draws 175 watts; adding another 8-ohm speaker would draw the full 250 watts. With the single speaker, I get amazing tone and power. Of course, it helps that the Schroeder speaker is top quality.

Features: a tube-emulating pre-amp and a solid-state pre-amp. These can be employed separately or blended. The tube-type produces a fatter, old-fashioned sound. EQ sliders are efficient. Compression can be dialed in and is very helpful when playing louder and harder as it prevents sudden strong signals going to the speaker(s). The high- and low-end cut seems somewhat superfluous, being similar in function to the equalization function. But I may be wrong about that.

Strongly built cabinet, convenient handle (on side). Hartke Co. responsive to two emails. An extremely good buy.

This is about the most versatile bass amp I've ever had. It's very clean and punchy and has plenty of power. with two preamps, a compressor, a graphic eq and high and low contour controls, this amp covers it all. Hard to beat for the price.

Ernie Leblanc: Endorsed Hartke Bassist, August 1, 2009
By "Ernie Leblanc" (Providence, Rhode Island USA) - See all my reviews

Many thanks to Larry Hartke for my Hartke Endorsement and to The Music Stand in Smithfield RI for supplying Harke Bass Amps. The Harke 2500 Bass Amp is a perfect fit for my sound and style and for venues large and small. This amp truly has "incredible clarity and punch" as Hartke claims. Best of all, I have MANY HAPPY DANCING FANS!!!

Thanks Hartke and The Music Stand!

- Ernie Leblanc

Proud Endorser of Spector, RotoSound & Hartke Bass

Providence, Rhode Island USA

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