Product: Hartke 3500A
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted
02/11/2009
at
09:43am
by
Tony Martinez
Features
:
9
Added tube is a great feature for the money. I have owned amps from other major manufacturers that have not had the tube option,the compressor feature, the contour feature and on top of that a 10 band E.Q. You can't compete with that in an amp under $500.It is missing any kind of overdrive which is why I give it a 9,however, I never used overdrive and would much rather have expanded E.Q. features and a tube option than distortion.(personal preference)
Sound Quality
:
9
Very nice sounding amp. I use an MTD made in U.S.A. 4 -string active with Bartolini pickups. I have to say that this bass sounds great with almost any rig but I have owned Fender U.S.A. Jazz basses before and it takes a good amp to make them sound great ,in my opinion..I play jazz for my own pleasure but play classic rock, top 40 and a little funk at local clubs and this amp covers all styles well. I don't give it a 10 because an all tube amp with be the gold standard for sound. I purchased a 3500 head a few years back and sold it because it wasn't beefy enough and it turned out to be my cabinet ( a Hartke 4X10 with aluminumn coned speakers). On a side-note(this is totally my personal preference as well) I think that the aluminumn coned speakers are too bright for my taste. I purchased a Hartke 15" combo amp a while back and the sound was not warm enough for me.
Reliability
:
10
My previous head was dropped by the lead guitar player and he also spilled beer on it and dicolored the tolex and dented one of the corners but it still worked like a champ.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Haven't had to use them.
Overall Rating
:
9
Have to give it a 9 overall. I have been playing bass for 15 years and guitar for over 30, though I consider myself primarily a bass player. Are there better sounding amps out there with as many features at this price? I doubt it.I also own an Eden combo which sounded really great for about 6 months and then stopped working.An authorized repair shop was 40 miles away and you pay for repairs and then are reimburssed by Eden. The head is kind of bulky as compared to an Ampeg SVT 3 ,which I also own, but not as bulky as an all tube head in comparison. If it were lost I would buy another right away, especially at this price.
