Hartke B60

Shape control, volume, bass, mid, treble, effects loop, 12" speaker, passive and active inputs, and solid design. 60 watts is all the power i needed for a church band that played 12 stones, creed, and kutless type stuff. The only time it was having trouble keeping up was when I played with a LOUD drummer that liked to play Metal.

I think the sound quality is great for a 60 watt solid state! I play all kinds of rock and funk. Whatever is needed. I use a cheap Washburn XB-100 bass guitar and I can crank the amp to max and it still sounds good and plenty loud for most applications. I was looking for a cheap bass and amp solution to help a friend's band that needed a bass player when I bought this amp. I play guitar usually (Ernie Ball guitars, Mesa amps, and BOSS GT-8 for effects) but I enjoy being on the funky, low end of the spectrum from time to time! The shape control lets you dial in a nice 'Some Kind of Wonderful' tone and all the way up to sub frequencies! I've never had the speaker 'fart out' on me - no matter how loud I am playing. You can't beat the bang for the buck with this amp.

Used it for several gigs, practices, and jam sessions and its never given me a problem. I bought it used so not sure how old it is, but it has been extremely reliable! Would (and have) gigged without a backup several times.

Not had to call them... it's never messed up!

You can't beat the bang for the buck with this amp. If you need a good practice/jam/small gig amp on the cheap then look no further. I've got under $300 in a bass and amp and couldn't be happier!

Just enough power, but I got a steal on this amp from pawn shop..just a little buzz turned up loud..it is a B600, so newer I think

a little noisy but for the money it is a nice amp good enough. You can dial in some good sounds

seems pretty sturdy...I would have my PA for backup, so I would probably not play without backup, but maybe!!

Just bought and played maybe 10 times

For the money, u can''t beat.. I would however buy a different amp if I lost...I got a smashing deal...I would probably buy a Krueger, or SW8, etc.

Bought it new in 2004. Has a basic feature set - Volume, 3 band EQ and Shape. Controls have a decent range of operation. Active and Passive puts, FX loop (rear) Line out and Headphone out (front). Everything works - although I bought this as a practice amp, I can use it for small laid back gigs (coffee shop bars etc) with no problems. I am going to knock a point off for not being able to defeat the shape control.

I use this with an old Ibanez TR 4 string with old strings, and a new Spector Legend Custom 5 string. I can dial in the sound for each one even though they both have totally differet sounds. THe low B does not quite track the other strings on the Spector, but on the other hand it does not make the speaker flop about all over the place. The shape control has a wide range of coloration. I had no noticeable distortion even when I was trying to keep up at a larger venue with a full band.

Most of my gigs are mellow affairs in coffee shops. In this environment it has been fine, and I don't have a spare. I wouldn't use it as a regular gigging amp with a full band. That is not because I don't trust the amp, but because it is just a 60 watt, single speaker amp.

Hasn't broken down - ever.

This is the main reason I am addding the review. I have no idea how, but when I got the amp home after a show, I noticed that the Hartke logo was missing the "E". I searched for Hartke on the web and found out that Samsom owns them, so I emailed my problem to Samson. I got an email the next day with a toll free number for customer service. hen I called them and explained my problem the guy said they would send me a replacement logo at NO CHARGE! Two days later I got an invoice for $0.00. The day after that I got a card thanking me for my order, and the following day the piece arrived, wrapped in bubble pack and packaged in a durable box. Fabulous service. While I realise that it is in Hartkes interest to replace their logo, very few companies realiz the benefits of good customer service. Makes me want to make sure people I know include Hartke / Samson when they are looking for gear.

I've been playing 35 years. I am just now buiding a half stack bass rig (TBA). I also play six string (lead) guitar. The last time I had a full bass rig it was made by Simms Watts! If it were stolen it would be my choice for a practice amp again. I loved the customer service, nothing to hate.

When shopping I had a budget. THis amp was the one that gave me good sound within the budget while seeming to be well built. I like Behringer gear for 6 string (and I have Behringer monitors), but I had less joy on the bass side - the amps were noisy, and the low B tortured it.

Bought in Feb 2000, so could have been built in 1999. Has active and passive input; line out and phones out; effects loop; volume; bass, middle and treble controls; shape control.

The latest version (B600) has a tilt-back casing which would be quite useful.

It's 60W with a 12" speaker, so it's either a largish practice amp or a small venue gigging amp. I've used it in a band against a Marshall lead and a keyboard and it was ok, but I'm aiming for a vintage sound, so the odd bit of distortion isn't a problem. Frankly anyone who buys a 60W bass amp and complains it isn't loud should get professional help.

The other big plus is that it's light for a bass amp - about 47lb. Haven't seen anything close, even in the 60W category.

The shape control changes the sound from a funk slap to a muddier rock growl. I play with shape at about 7, bass at 8, mid at 10 and treble at 1. That, with a Boss LMB3 Limiter and sometimes a Marshall ShredMaster gets somewhere close to the Cream/Free noise I want. I've never taken the volume over 6, though in anything more than a pub it goes into the PA. If you're trying to get a very clean modern sound with the volume at 9, buy something more expensive.

Never had any problem, but I bought it from a shop not a catalogue. Only thing that broke was the white plastic Hartke logo on the front, which was great because I unscrewed it and threw it away and the whole amp looks a lot better now. Construction is very solid, but it's light enough to carry without totally busting your back.

Never needed it.

I bought this because I needed a bass amp in a hurry and there wasn't much choice in the shop in my price range at the time. It was my first bass amp, though I've been playing guitar a lot, lot longer. I don't gig a lot, in large venues even less, so it has been fine and in the meantime I've learned a lot.

Absolute best thing about it is the weight. The sound is good for me, others might not find it crisp enough, though the shape control could help. If you're starting out with limited funds and realistic expectations you could do a lot worse.

it is 1997 i think. The shape control was awesome, I used the amp more for guitar than for bass. i never used the headphone jack or fx loop. I used this from practice to shows with about 800 people in the crowd. Very powerful.

I used a Peavey P-bass kinda thing, a DeArmond Pilot 4-string and a Les Paul. I played everything from funk, reggae, metal, JAZZ, Rock, punk, and acoutic folk stuff and it handled everything excellently on both guitar and Bass.

I used this amp for the past 4 years exclusively and never had a problem, I played every sunday morning and Night, and wednesdays at Church, everyday for a jazz combo and Big band, and gigging on the weekends and NEVER had a single problem. The amp did however blow up yesterday but i'm looking in to it.

Never dealt with the company. I bought the amp used. I'm trying to contact Hartke tomorrow.

I've been playing for 6 years, i've owned A LOT of gear, and this has always been part of my setup. I am definetly looking to get another one. I loved the VERSITILITY of the amp. It was Amazing.

This amp was made in 1999. I play heavy metal. I play a 5-string warwick fortress. This amp can handle the fifth string perfect. It has active and passive input, shape circuit, 3-band equaliser, line-out and phones jack. It is great for playing all kinds of music. I wish it had a compressor, but for the price it's ok. The amp does not have enough power to go out on stage

The sound is ok. Not great, but ok for a 60 watt basscombo. The clean channel is distorted at high volumes, which makes this basscombo unable to use with gigs.

I can depend on it. I have played a lot of times with the volume at max and the speaker never broke down. I have never had any problems

N/A

60 watts plenty to do small gigs and jamm. The tone controls are well suted for bass with high, mid and low control as well as a shape control for major changes. But you most likely will find one or two settings that you like and stick with them. High and low gain inputs with an effects loop for those that need that sort of thing, also headphone and preamp output jacks (nice to have). Nothing special here, about the same as most other modern bass amps in its class. A standard speaker not one of those chrome dome tinny sounding things, they try to sell as A High-end product; sort of their own little gimmick, but a real speaker. It has is a real solid built cabinet, particle board I think, but is easy to transport. Made in Korea!!!!

I play a cheap Squire P-bass special, but I have played it through many bass amps and my PA, and it sounds good with almost any bass amp.
The B60 was the exception! It sounded distorted at low volume and only got worse as the level went up great for, I can't get no "satisfaction". Hee Hee Hee! But the funny thing is you could really hear all the different tone settings from deep mud to crisp crud. All that said this amp will not due well for my music playing style mostly chean and deep walking bass lined and a little slap for some modern playing. I wish I would have played through it first before buying it, but it was purchased by mail order and I trust the company and have had good support and service from them in the past. More on that later.

But...it's got a guarantee!
I could not trust this amp for any use: practice, jam sessiom or gig, just sounds too bad. I don't think it was built right on the inside. Cheap parts gone astray?

Sorry but I had to return it to the catalog company I purchased it from. I told them I wanted something else, another brand in its price range but the closest thing they had was was about $100 more (called a bump up by salesmen), real clever of them. I said no and sent it back for a refund which I hope gets here soon so I can find another amp.

All I wanted was a good deal on a good amp. I hate to give it a bad rating but the fact is it had poor workmanship, it could just be this amp or a few of their other amps from this company but it left me cold tward Hartke. I'm into my second wave of bass playing. I used to play a Fender Jazz Bass with a old 50 watt Black Face Bassman amp (a beast to carry), but went back to guitar for several years. I am finding it fun to play bass again and just want a easy to carry good sounding combo with enought power to do the job. This is about the right size and power for my use but it has to be reliable and much cleaner at normal gig volume to do the job. I'll check out some others next time I'm in the city, maybe a Peavy, GK or Ampeg. Something Made in the USA! maybe a used one with some miles on it.

Made in 2000 I guess. 60 watts, Shape control, headphone jack. Effects loop.

I use a Fender P-Bass with humbucker. It is very quiet. I aslo play
Fender Fat strat through it with no noise at all. I use the shape
control a lot, especially with the strat. I turn the midrange down to
2, treble at 7, and bass about halve. I plan on buying a Digitech
RP-100 and running it through the effects loop with the strat. Seems
like I can get any variety of tone I want, Bass or start. I even tried
my Martin acoustic/electric through it and it sounded great with the
midrange down all the way, but got some feedback when turned up loud.
I tried playing both the P-bass and the strat and 10 and got no distortion.

I can't say, it's still new.

I've been playing forever. I own guitars mentioned in review plus
two other amps. A 60 watt solid state Acoustic amp and a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. I've owned a ton of guitars, too many to mention. This is
my first bass amp and it seems like a good one. The cabinet seems like
it's an inch thick (good, I guess). Speaker seems kinda cheap. Electronics seem very well suited for variety of sounds.

The idea was good simple tone controls and shape selector with headphone and amp-out no ex. speaker jack but an fx. loop added (big deal).

I have no idea? This thing had no volume, you could play your bass louder acousticly than the amp and it was total distortion, but the tone controls worked just fine!

Reliability sucks! I ordered this NEW from AMS and it was broken before I got it.

AMS wanted to send me another to replace it. Sorry but if the Hartke people are selling junk like this I don't want to try depend on luck that I will get a good one, so far I have heard several complaints about the quality of their products, some in this User Review section, I guess I was not really taking them seriously, I will now! I tried to call Hartke and they left me on hold so long that I finally hung-up and called back they told me to send it to them and they would fix it,YEA RIGHT how many times would I have send it to them before they got it right. They sure didn't do it right the first time. I don't want one that has a burnt circuit board and a bunch of marginally good left over parts which are ready to blow. What they don't know is if I had the parts I could fix it my self, I rebuild old tube amps as a hobby and took the liberty to inspect the inside of this amp and it looked like some one had tried to fix it once before,there service people I would guess, they did a poor job replacing a resistor, but I think the power transistors are bad. This was supposed to be a new amp when I got it.

I have a small Studio and gig with a band part time. Mostly I play guitar but I have a few offers to play Bass so I wanted a small combo bass amp to fill the gap.
This amp sucks and I think Hartke knows this,because I have read what the other writers have said, maybe some of their other amps are better, but I will pick another company and try the thing out before I buy it. I will never buy a Hartke product again. NEVER!

Built with only a 5 knob control, the features aren't that great.I can still get great low and high tones with this amp.

Being a 60 watt,i was expecting a high sounding amp with little hardcore bass.I was wrong,this amp can shake the ground at only half way turned. It is also very clean with little hum depending on where you set it.I can play jazz,slap,and two finger with the same clean sound.

I have knocked things off on to the amp and the cab was uneffented.There has been many times where i had the volume blasting at max and would play for hours and still it sounds like the first time i bought it.This is a great work horse for only 60watts

A great amp for a cheap price.I highly recommend this amp to anyone who is looking for a low wattage amp that has great sound and great realiability.I have compared this amp to crates,yamahas,and fenders and still it works up to it name