Hartke 3500 Transient Attack Bass Head

Compre este chisme a finales de los noventa, sobre el 98.Ahora toco con aparatos de valvulas pero sin duda, que la marca no os confunda, no trae ampeg escrito(salvando las distancias)pero su sonido y calidad es excepcional.El aparato tiene mas controles de los que necesito pero afortunadamente es bastante sencillo y su manejo se hace facil. Dos controles de preamplificaci??n (solid & tube), un buen compresor(con un amplio rango), una secci??n de ecualizaci??n bastante fina, un paso de graves y otro de agudos y por ??ltimo un volumen master mas el bot??n de encendido con protecci??n. Se echa de menos un mute.
Por detras, lo tipico moderno, loop de efectos, salida canon, dos salidas de altavoces...etc etc etc; 350 wattios de potencia mas que suficientes si lo conectas a la pantalla adecuada...puedo asegurar que en este aspecto es monstruoso. Eso si, mejor con pantallas con cono de carton (4x12 por ejemplo) y a sus buenos 4 ohm.

Suelo emplear para tocar bajos americanos Fender, ya sea jazz o precision con o sin fuzz y va como la seda...toco desde doom-stoner hasta jazz o blues (segun la banda)y este aparato lo aguanta todo dandote la versatilidad necesaria en cada momento...si, es feo como un demonio y quizas, tus amigos en el local o tus compa??eros de concierto se rian de ti antes de verlo en acci??n....esta claro que no consigue la distorsi??n de unas buenas valvulas calientes pero eso lo solucionas facil con algun buen pedal...si la pantalla te acompa??a, el sonido sera rico y nitido, sobrado de potencia...puedes conseguir grave abundante como sonido motorhead, pasando por rangos muy buenos para historias como slap, etc...vamos, que este aparato deja ver bien el bajo que empleas y como lo tocas.

........dale la ca??a que quieras, prestalo, tocalo 8 dias a la semana.....no se estropea, no se rompe, siempre suena como el primer dia.......(...hombre, no lo sumerjas en agua o le tires un yunque encima...)

Ahora llevo tocando 15 a??os, he tenido muuuchos bajos y este aparato lo vendi porque necesitaba el dinero y sin duda lo pienso recuperar...ese mismo, no otro, no el modelo moderno. Me gustan los amplis de valvulas, he tenido sinmarc, gallien krueger 70s, orange 70s, tengo marshall 70s con los que actualmente toco que no cambiaria; pero tampoco quiero prescindir de este cacharro...es una apuesta segura.
No le voy a dar un 10 porque se que hay amplis mejores pero sin duda se lo merece.
Recomiendo probarlo con una pantalla de 2x15, a 8 ohm esta bien...increible!

I bought this amp around '93. Has inputs for passive/active instruments. Has Bass/treble contour controls and an Eq. The contour controls really give the punch and sizzle,while the eq takes some time adjusting to get the sound you want.There's also a variable built in compressor. There's an effects loop and direct out w/pre-post effect choice and ground lift. The pre amp has controls for tube and solid state, which allows for any blend of the two. The amp outputs are two 8ohm outputs. Around 275 watts @8ohms and the full 350watt @4 ohms. I run each output to 15" JBL for max power. It's very loud! No trouble keeping up with 2 rock/metal guitar players.

With a Warwick neck thru Thumb bass and running this thru two seperate 15"JBLs rated at 400watt each for the full 350watt output, the sound should be great right? NO. No matter how I adjusted the eq, contour control, compression, fx, the sound was ALWAYS lacking the clarity and punch I was striving for (everyone else thought it sounded great though). Eventually,it was suggested I replace the preamp tube. I replaced it with a JJ/Tesla "high gain" tube ($15) and Holy @@#%! the sound just exploded. Unbelievable head room(used to break up around 5), clear sound and the eq WORKS! Setting the tube at 4 and solid state @2, it has incredable punch,lows and highs. Do this! remove top screws on amp, CAREFULLY lift tab holding down tube, pull tube out and smash, replace with JJ/Tesla tube, replace tab and screws.Done!

I've never had a problem with this amp in 15 years! Not one. Still the only amp I've used since purchase.

Emailed once, took a couple weeks to hear back from them.Helpful though.

Been playing bass in bands since 1982.Traveled with this amp all over US. I use many pedals thru this amp and has always worked, been loud enough,(and after changing tube)sounds great. Hey, if it's good enough for Jack Bruce it's good enough for me!

I bought this amp approximatley in 1993 and is STILL going strong after thousands and thousands of gigs! I toured the U.S. with this rig (along with a Ampeg 410) and played many, many arenas...this rig NEVER gave me any trouble. There was more than enough power to handle any gigs we played and still play, and is as durable as anything out in the market. As a matter of fact, during one tour, it fell off the equipment truck at 30mph and has yet to give out!! Only thing negative, the compressor.

Awesome sound quality. I used this rig during 1993-2001 tour with a latin band, "also simple". We played Latin Jazz, Funk, Tejano, Motown, and Country. It gave me every tone I needed. Of course it has the classic "tube" hum which i think is pretty cool, to an extent. Over all.....This is an amazing rig...It is Still Kicking tail!!

This rig is extremely reliable. I have never used a back up for this system. I still gig heavily and have yet to use a back up for any gig I play

I have yet to deal with them in over 14 years....

I have been playing professionally for over 25 years and so far this is the best amp I have owned. If it were to go out, I probably would not buy another Hartke 3500 due to the other opinions on the newer 3500. As far as the older Hartke 3500 Transient Attack model...Nothing beats it.

Made 2005, 3 year warranty and needed it. Tube/solid state pre amps, solid state power, Graphic EQ, Hi Lo pass controls, effects loop, DI, compressor. Used in variety band from country to rock to originals to Power Dance music. Should have had enough power, see below.

I have an older 3500 with MOSFET power that totally blows this newer one away. I bought this one as a back up to my at least 10 year old one and it turned out to be totally different in sound and power. Very disappointed. No punch compared to older unit. Running it thru the original 1155 combo speakers. It blew the power fuse last job and still under warranty. Service Center found nothing wrong with the amp. The amp worked at least for a while and the sound was nothing compared to older Hartke. Ran old one Master 1, New one was on 7-8 to come close to volume, still no punch.

I baby all of my equipment. Blowing a power fuse then not being able to find out why is not reliable in my book. I liked the old Hartke which was reliable after I reworked it. All of the old solder joints were terrible. My EQ cut in and out to start with. The wave solder on the boards were all very questionable. I resoldered all of the terminal connections and it is still going. I would use my old one which i did for years. The new one is now gone. Since the repair center did not find anything, i traded it in on a new Markbass without even plugging it in after it was serviced.

Service Center went thru amp 2 times, were very friendly and honest but i am sure the amp sounded the same before the service as after so i traded it. I have heard many Hartke 3500 and this one was not right.

Played for over 30 years, Would not replace it now. Old one was very acceptable and sounds good, new one was very very disappointing.

I have reviewed this head before in 2004 and I want to do it again now. I've gained an additional 2 years of experience with it, including many live performances.

Not gonna rave the features. I actually do not use the features a lot. I use the gain and the master volume and occasionally I use the graphic EQ to filter some frequency that gets in the way. I never use the low or high pass filters and I stopped using the onboard compressor in favor of an external Aphex Punch factory stomp box.
This amp though has enough features for its price. The only things I miss are a tuner out, phones out and speakon outputs. But I actually used the effect send as a tuner out some time and the amp works fine with just the jack outputs anyway. And which cheap amp has a tube inside anyway? You can actually blend tube sound with the transistor sound. Considering the price, its set of features is great and that 8 is well deserved.

Sounds are not really coloured by this amp, if you ask me. The amp can sound quite harsh when you add a cheap bass and sound lovely when adding a bass with better electronics, but after you add some EQ-ing, the sound blends into whatever you want.
I also highly recommend to replace the tube inside. I replaced the standard Sovtek tube with a JJ tube. The difference is HUGE. I also tried an Electro harmonix tube. That was great too, but more suited to hard rocking. The JJ is just a tad friendlier.
I am still annoyed by the loud fan, though.

I've got it for 3 years now and it is still going fine. I take care of my stuff and it is like new actually. I also took a look inside. very tidy, good soldering, good craftmanship.

Not dealt with them.

After 3 years of playing through this amp, I am still a happy user.
Of course there are MANY other amps that are MUCH better than this one. But there are also much more amps that are much worse than this and are more expensive anyway. Sound is a matter of taste. I say that an amp must be loud and consistent. I have no need for that extra quality. Nobody will hear that when you are on stage anyway. Especially not when playing in a rock band. i actually colour my sound with effects and stuff like the Tech21 SansAmp.
The only other amp I will ever replace this with would be a MarkBass Little Mark II.

if you are reading this, you know the features, and you know that they are pretty much all you would need in a bass head (as far as i am concerned)

the thing with this head, that i really liked is that it didnt really doctor up your bass, and make it sound the same as the next one. (like some amps tend to do) i have found that with some amps, that you only have one good sound, and i preffer to play with alot of different things. so, sorry if you play a shitty bass, its not going to sound good, but if you play a solid bass then it's gonna sound tight... i have an Ibanez sr500 and a Fender Jazz Bass and they both sound incredible. now the fender is a passive bass, with very hot pickups, so i play it through the active input to keep from pre-amp distortion. the active electronics on the Ibanez sr500 really make this thing sing. i am more than happy with this head.i could go on, but in all seriousness, you should try one. i have owned everything from ampeg to peavey... and i dont know if i would play anything different. i may get the 7000 in the near future and run two 810s. but this has plenty of power with just a 410 to play 500+ venues with no help from the P.A.

i have never had a problem with it... the tube pre on it is a little worn in, and i love the sound. a friend of mine told me that his would just shut off from time to time, so he got rid of it. i have never had a problem, and i play with this thing cranked.

i will say that the customer support at Hartke is lacking. also, there is a new version of this head, so its hard to get the Manual for the origional.

overall i would give this a 9... i have no problems with it. it is plenty loud with a two 410s or a 410 and a 115... there seems to be a stronger bass response with an 810 though.... but yeah, great head.

Amp is a new 2005. It has enough versatility for most and probably more than i need. The transistor pre amp doesnt seem to have alot of highs but i would only ever use the tube side anyways. Some have complained about no headphone jack but you can plug your headphones in the effects send and just turn the master volume off and that works fine. Dont know why everyone is bitching about the compressor, this one works just fine.

I'm using a vintage fretless fender jazz bass with stock pickups. It works great for blues and classic rock styles. The tubed pre amp sounds every bit as good as my swr grand prix but i changed the tube right away to a ruby 7025 and it improved the tone alot. With the stock sovtek tube it didnt sound as good as the swr. Ive used everything from svt's to swr and it sounds just as good as all of them for alot less money.

Havn't owned long enough to give a fair comment but i imagine you get what you pay for.

Been playing 37 years. I use this through a genz benz 410t and works great. What i love the most about it is the price and sound, havnt found anything i really hate except fan noise which i guess isnt really any louder than my svt fan. Also it doesnt weigh alot which is nice. I really dont think for the money you could do any better and for the working musician it is priced right. Audition it before you blow alot of cash on something that wont sound any better.

Purchased in 2004, very basic set up by todays standards. Loud clear & very punchy. If there is a better value for money amplifier out there I have never seen it.

I changed the pre-amp valve and the over all tone becomes much better, the standard valve is very poor quality.

For rock the amp can be a little bright, I use a sansamp in front of it and the depth of sound is very good, loud & punchy. This is my second Hartke 350w, I replaced my first one with an Eden WT500 which sounded better but wasn't as loud.

When I returned to a loud rock band again the Hartke was my first choice. I have used various cabs with this amp but the best results come with quality items.

Because of the overall bright tone, this amp responds very well to effects.

For rating I am only giving this amp a 6. With a new decent quality valve it would get a 7. With a sansamp in front of it you are getting up towards 9.5 but that unit is almost 50% the cost of a standard amp.

It has never missed a beat and my previous Hartke was the same, I owned that one for 10 years+

NA

Loud, cheep, punchy, reliable & cheep!

It is very hard to get a better value for money amplifier these days. By the time you stick a drummer & 2 guitarist in the mix, what counts is head room, this amp has that. What is the point of a #1000+ that sounds great but you loose it in the mix.

I have never struggled to punch thro with this amp. I couldn't say that about my Eden. The Eden sounds much better but you can almost get 3 new Harke 350w amps for the price of one Eden.

Not the best out there but buy one of these, stick it thro a decent cabinet (I use Mesa Boogie & EBS) and save you money.

I Bought this amp in '93. Still going strong after hundreds of
gigs. Plenty of power! Variable effects loop is very handy. I've
played MANY different styles of music...no complaints. Won't give
it a 10 'cause the compressor is junk. I use a DBX which, by the way,
is even older and still kickin' just fine.

My main axe is a custom built 4-string; swamp ash body, one piece
bolt on neck, ebony fingerboard and EMGs. But everything sounds good
through this amp. It has plenty of EQ; 10 band graphic, hi and lo
contour.... I imagine it can be as versatile as you want it to be.
I basically go for MY sound. Bright and punchy... and it does just fine. For heavier rock I have an old Blue Tube in the fx loop for
distortion. The loop is variable so you can blend the dirt with the
clean which, for me, is key. Also, I use a very short delay with this. About 40ms. Very "Billy Sheehan" kind of sound. The tube preamp
in the Hartke won't give up any overdrive at all but I prefer it to
to the Solid State. It has more sparkle in the high end.

Yeah, the fan is a bit loud. Who cares. You can't hear it during a gig. I've used this in the studio as well. One DI line right off my
bass and an AKG D-112 on this through a Hartke 410XL. No, you can't
hear the fan.

Never had a backup, never broken down. If you take 30 seconds to
look at the manual, you'll get the most headroom with the master
at around 7 and the pre no higher 5. You won't get "thermal shutdown"
or "poweramp destroyed" as described by some others here. I've played
gigs in front of 5000 people on a 60 foot stage with two 410s and
the pre at 3 1/2....Plenty loud enough! In small clubs its usually
at around 2. I don't know what some people are thinkin'.

No idea.

Been playing for over 20 years now. Too much gear to list. Since
Ive had this I've never really been interested in anything else but
I think it's the hartke cabinets more then anything. When
I've played overseas, Ive had to play outta whatever could be rented
or provided; Trace Elliot, SWR, Peavey, and once a Warwick rig.
There was nothing special about any of them but I could get a good
sound outta all of 'em. But if this were lost or stolen I'd probably
get another. Sounds great, never any probs. Why mess with success?

Made in 2005
Loads of features.
350@ 4 ohms 240@ 4 ohms
Built in EQ, Contour, Tube/Solid State Preamps (Switchable)
Compression (not to good)
Passive/Active Inputs
XLR output
Effects Loop

So much tones. Awesome Loud. Delivers punch and power. So many features very versatile. Great preamp selcetion. I usually have Tube Preamp at 6.5 Solid State at 3.5

Theres noisy hum from the tube preamp on the 2khz to 10khz level. Other than that. It goes away after abit though no big dealio! Expierience for 12 years never had to be replaced.

Not had to be used.

Great Price, Kickass Punch, Various Tones for any playing styles. I use the effects loop send for the headphones jack. If I lost it. I would hunt them down kill them take it back and buy another one so I never had to part from Hartke!!!