Need Advice on Bass Amp

[davin]

Hey guys,

With the recent CM sale, i'm looking for a new bass amp.
Currently i'm using a fender rumble 15w but i feel that i want something more complex and with more clarity in the tone.
I'm looking at the Hartke HA3500A and the Hartke 210XL.
Do you think its a good amp when combined?
Anyone could perhaps give a review on it?
I've read many reviews on various forums but most of them are the earlier models (90s) which varies from the newer ones in quality and tone.
I'm probably going to head down to test it out at CM on monday,
But it would like to get more advice on other brands before i shoot on my purchase on mon.
My budget is around 800~ and i'm not really looking towards a combo amp.

Thanks loads.

 

[alanchia]

any intention to upgrade the cab in future? why not go for HA2500 which is 250W?

 

[davin]

Nope i'm using it for home use only so i think the 210xl will suffice. Hmm. The only difference between the ha2500 and 3500a is only the wattage right just to double confirm?

 

[alanchia]

Nope i'm using it for home use only so i think the 210xl will suffice. Hmm. The only difference between the ha2500 and 3500a is only the wattage right just to double confirm?

i didnt check the technical data. you can ask staffs at cm anyway.

 

[lordie]

3500 has both a solid state and tube and u can blend them.

i liked the amp, get the job done. 2x10 is fine if u need more oommphh can just add 1x15 in the future.

 

[shinobi]

i don't think you can go wrong with that combi.

the 3500 has a tube preamp while the 2500 is fully solid state. tube is not necessarily better, just different tone. anyway tube preamp isn't exactly tube tone either; the folks at tc electronics would have you believe that tube tone is determined by a tube preamp AND tube power amp.

in terms of power, the constraint will be the cab. no point having a really powerful amp if your speakers cannot handle that much power. the loudness depends on the speaker size anyway. the 2x10 is plenty loud.

210xl is 200W, 8 ohms. HA3500 is 240W @ 8ohms. HA2500 is 180W @ 8ohms. realistically speaking the difference in power is not much and may not necessarily translate into louder volumes.

 

[davin]

in terms of power, the constraint will be the cab. no point having a really powerful amp if your speakers cannot handle that much power. the loudness depends on the speaker size anyway. the 2x10 is plenty loud.

210xl is 200W, 8 ohms. HA3500 is 240W @ 8ohms. HA2500 is 180W @ 8ohms. realistically speaking the difference in power is not much and may not necessarily translate into louder volumes.

Hmm. I'm not looking for extremely loud volumes just something that can give me a clear sound. I play a wide genre from funk to metal so generally i would like an amp which can deliver clarity and depth.
So if you put yourself in my shoes, would you opt for the 3500 or the 2500 with the power issue aside?

 

[alanchia]

home use? i doubt you'll blast the volume unless you have soundproof the room, or you are in landed property. for hdb dwellers like me, i even think 180W (max) may be too loud. lol

 

[davin]

I went down to try the amp at CM today, it seems that the 2500 and 3500 are the same except the watts and voltage is different.
I think i'm set for the hartke 2500 + 210XL.

 

[DonovanLesterSia]

Good Choice... I recently got that combi in CM's sale too... nice and bright with enough mid range punch..

 

[shinobi]

don't worry about the power because there's not gonna be much of a difference between the 2 through a 2x10. you may only feel the difference on bigger rigs.

that aside, the other difference is the tube preamp. you may not even like the tube tone. or you may need the tubes specifically to push the amp into overdrive. its up to you whether it's worth the price premium. but for your needs the 2500 will be fine.

in small apartments/hdb units you can just cut the volume if its too loud. the 210xl is still a fine cab and other than simply pushing air it also has a decent tone. but adjusting the gain or pre-gain or whatever it is called on that amp will have consequences on the tone.

its nice to crank the gain just before the point of clipping. but that would mean the volume knob's taper would be really sensitive ('gain' is usually a pre-eq active boost while 'volume' is usually a post-eq passive cut).

but either way you can't go wrong with hartke's price to performance ratio. i'm not just saying for the sake of being a hartke fanboy; i don't even own a hartke.

if there is one criticism i feel that hartkes start to sound tinny when pushed to loud volumes. sometimes the clarity is good. but not necessarily.

 

[lordie]

don't worry about the power because there's not gonna be much of a difference between the 2 through a 2x10. you may only feel the difference on bigger rigs.

that aside, the other difference is the tube preamp. you may not even like the tube tone. or you may need the tubes specifically to push the amp into overdrive. its up to you whether it's worth the price premium. but for your needs the 2500 will be fine.

in small apartments/hdb units you can just cut the volume if its too loud. the 210xl is still a fine cab and other than simply pushing air it also has a decent tone. but adjusting the gain or pre-gain or whatever it is called on that amp will have consequences on the tone.

its nice to crank the gain just before the point of clipping. but that would mean the volume knob's taper would be really sensitive ('gain' is usually a pre-eq active boost while 'volume' is usually a post-eq passive cut).

but either way you can't go wrong with hartke's price to performance ratio. i'm not just saying for the sake of being a hartke fanboy; i don't even own a hartke.

if there is one criticism i feel that hartkes start to sound tinny when pushed to loud volumes. sometimes the clarity is good. but not necessarily.

tot u got a 2x10 vx? cab?