Hartke Kickback 15

Well i got this bass amp at the begining of this year, i hav to say apart from 'ashdown' and 'hughes and kettner' bass amps this is easly one of the best ive had. I play metal and was in a couple of punk bands and its great for both styles (not 100% sure how good it would be for others). it only has 3 eq settings but im yet to find an amp of this price and power(new that is) that has more.

Atm i play a ibanez srx390 and a squier percision bass (one tuned to drop C ibanez and squier in standard E). The amp has no proplems with either. Its has a very good clean tone and is very loud for an amp of this size and price. it only has 3 eq settings but im yet to find an amp of this price and power(new that is) that has more. In my curent band i play with 2 guitarist with marshal avt 150 half stacks and hav no proplems keeping myself in the mix. It has no feed back at all the noise gate is very gd.

Ive had it about 5 months and its as gd as new. Ive banged it and dropped it like any person does by actcedent an its still fine

not problems to note it works as gd as new!

Since ive only been playing about 2-3 years i don't think i no loads about playing and kit but i no gd stuff wen i use it and this is a very very gd amp for the money! I love the sound and tone, its heavy but with a 15'' speaker and the magnet it has its understanderable. overall its a very gd amp and i would recemmened other people to buy one because for the money its very hard to bet if not almost imposable to.

Hartke Kickback 15. 120 watts, 15" speaker (stock aluminum speaker replaced with an Eminence Delta 15), generic 3-band EQ (Lo, Mid, Hi), Shape control, headphone out, and direct out. Pretty standard fare when it comes to bass combos. Nothing special here. A four- or five-band EQ would have been nice.

I mainly play this amp with my Essex BG-205 5-string bass with two single-coil pickups. I usually keep the amp volume about 1 o'clock, and fine tune the volume knobs on my bass to tune in the sound I need.

With this amp I get a very bright, punchy tone with intense mids. My style is a blend of funk and rock, and for this purpose the Hartke Kickback 15 really excels. The mids are especially powerful, and the lows are warm in tone. Hits Low B with ease.

I play with two guitarists, both running about 120 watts through 12" speakers. Between those two and the hard-hitting drummer, I used to have major problems cutting through the mix (not to mention when our rhythm guitarist used a 4x12 half stack). I too made the mistake of boosting the lows and cutting the mids. Very amateur mistake. Turning the amp up only resorted in distortion and muddy-sounding riffs. Now that I've turned down the lows and boosted the mids I cut clear through the mix and bring out the best of my bass' tone.

I've had this for probably about two years. I jam with it usually three times a week, and I've gigged with it. I would definitely play a show with this amp without a backup. The only part of the amp that shows signs of wear is the handle on the top, but sketchy as it may look it still works.

Never dealt with any Hartke customer support. I doubt I will have to.

I've been playing 3 years now. I own two basses, an Essex BG-205 and an Ibanez GSR200. I also own a Crate BX15 practice amp. If my Hartke amp was stolen or lost, I wouldn't buy the same amp again. Its a great combo, however it is quite simple. I would probably go for something with a little more power and a few more features, preferably a better EQ. However, for the price I paid this amp is exceptional. The sound leaves nothing to be desired, and I've had plenty of power for every playing situation I've been in so far.

Hey, I'm the guy who left the anonymous review on 12/16/2004. I would like to change my really bad review on the sound quality of this little amp for a rock setting. I've been playing bass 5 years, and 2 and 1/2 years in the same band and using this amp for the last year or more, fighting to hear myself over two guitarists. Well... seems I fell into the trap of most bass players who start playing with other people, cutting midrange waaay too much and thus, completely falling out of the mix. I like some good biting treble and bass, but found that cutting some of the low bass and bringing up the lower mids has put my bass back in the mix big time. My novice mistake, not the amps fault!

Good sounds for a small simple amp. I play with 2 guitarists with halfstacks and can still cut through pretty good. Decent warmth for solid state, just need to eq it right!

Very reliable! I've beaten the sh#t out of it volume-wise, and held it's own.

It's great for it's size and weight, but due to G.A.S. I'm looking for an Ashdown ABM 500 for more tone and headroom(gotta keep those overzealous guitarists in check! heh heh...). A great amp for the size and money though.

Same features as listed in the previous reviews. This amp has plenty of headroom and typically I have the volume at 10 o'clock and I cut through the drums well. I wish this amp had an effects loop so I could bypass the preamp. An additional shape filter (high/low) would be nice as well.

I use this amp with a Warwick five string and a Musicman Stingray. I dropped a six in this category because I?m not very fond of the harsh tone the preamp puts out. I use my favorite preamp and have the EQ on this amp set flat. With that setup, I can get some really nice, crisp tones from the amp. I think this amp can shine where you want crisp well defined tones. There is no warmth to this guy, so you may want to look elsewhere if you are looking for a nice warm rock tone.

As far as power, this amp has plenty of power (I am also using active basses) and I don?t think I?ve ever had to turn the volume above 12 o?clock to cut through the mix. I?ve never had any noise or hum issues with this amp and I?ve used it in varying environments with various effects.

In the three years I have owned this amp, I have not had a single problem with it. It has powered up every time I flicked the switch. It?s endured traveling and sitting in the hot and cold without so much as a whimper.

I have yet to have to deal with them.

Keeping in mind what this amp was intended for and the price point it sits in; I give this amp an eight overall because I can get some really useful tones from it (while using my preamp!) and it is very portable with plenty of power. I have also ?kicked it back? and used it as my own personal bass monitor ? another plus. I?ve been playing bass for about ten years and I bought this amp because it was on sale for about half price. I am blessed to be able to play bass on several worship teams and I use this amp for smaller venues and an Ashdown ABM500 for larger venues. The Ashdown sounds insanely better but this amp?s lower power rating and portability give it a place in my arsenal.

If it were stolen, I?d probably replace it, but I would seriously consider a warmer sounding amp instead (like an Ashdown MAG 210 combo or the Ampeg 210 in the same price range). For the price, this amp is hard to beat.

15' combo amp rated at 120 watts @ 8 ohms. Features: shape control,3 band eq, headphone out,xlr. Heatsink instead of fan, but it works.

I play through this amp with an Aria P/J bass with an ash body and emg active pickups. Very transparent amp w/descent warmth. With two guitarists playing through 2 halfstacks in my band, this little amp is buried in the mix, and is way too weak. This amp would work great with a guitarist with a 50 watt combo amp playing slap or jazz, but not enough character for any hard rock. I prefer amps that get a crunchier tone, and so this combo is going to ebay.

Very dependable. Trying to cut through two halfstack usually puts the volume at 80 percent or more.[of course the bass knob gets turned down] I can't believe it is still fine. The knobs are a little fragile, though. Gig without a backup? uh, yes if it was loud enough and meaner-sounding!

Proprietary cones? Keep your pepsi-can cones! I think good 10' traditional cones are bright AND warm. Way warmer.

Been playing 10 years on/off. Moreso recently I've been playing through a peavey Mark 4 Bass amp, and it has the crunchy, yet smooth tone I prefer for rock. The hartke is good for quieter, more detailed stuff. Good stuff, just not my stuff.

It has all the basics you need to have a solid sound. This amp is pretty solid for small and maybe meadium size gigs.

I am using a American Fender Jazz Bass and it sounds great. Theres no buzzing that I have heard. I play mostly contemperary rock and some jazz. This amp has a nice pop to it and pretty good tone for rock.

I have taken it to many gigs and thrown it into the my trunk many times. This amp has done very well and has had no problems that I have come across yet.

I have been playing for a year. If it were lost or stolen I would consider getting another used one or I'd just probably save up and buy a Fender Bassman. I love the light weight of the amp. Very portible. The only thing I dislike is I wish instead of one single handle on the top they would have mounted to handles on the side but other than that its still very easy to transport. I had an SWR LA15 and well the Hartke is just much louder and doesnt buzz. I would recomend this amp as something to begin with and use for small gigs.

All the basics are there. Volume, EQ, Shape, Direct out. You really don't need much more with this amp. Nice and simple!

This thing sounds great. Aluminum cone provides a nice/unique contemporary bass sound. Nice clean tones with some great low end. Traditional bassists may not favor this sound.

NOTE: Designed for SMALL gigs/parties and great for practices. I see a lot of people trying to crank amps like these way beyond their capacity. It's no wonder they blow speakers and get clipping sounds. You need something bigger/more powerful if you want to play to the big crowds.

Been very tough. The aluminum cone did recieve some water on it one time. It dried away and the amp still sounds great. I doubt paper cones would have held up very well.

never needed any

I've been playing for 4 years. I use this a lot for gigs where I don't need my 500 watt Hartke and 2 cabs. This thing is so easy to carry around compared to my main rig. Every bass player should own something like this. If you plan to buy a kickback for more than practice....get the 15" model! It gives superior low end compared to the 12" for small gigs/parties.

I just played the most recent version in Feb '03

Sounds nice - and tinny... DO NOT Turn this amp up... Unless you love that Hartke CLIPPING sound! That sound that makes you expect to see the cone fall out the back...

I can't imagine this amp lasting long.

if i had KNOW the parent company for this amp, i would NEVER have even sat down to try it in the store... The Cracking and POP-PING sounds it makes if you get on it are horiffic!!

Played a nuber of basses through this thing... Peavey Cirus being one of them... the amp could NOT handle it.

Pretty standard features, DI out is nice to have but the sound I got from inferior to other DI alternatives I have used.
The EQ works pretty good for what it's ment for.
The right amount of feasible features.

Primarly I play Music man stringray 5-string.
I have played some other basses trough it as well.
Initially the sounds are nice; you can get slap&pop, stingray growl, you can cut the hi's as well if needed.
There isn't enough low end for 5th string, but it's a small combo so it's not expected either.

However when playing real rock music with real band it lacks the punch needed and doesn't cut trough on it's own.
When cranked too high the sound gets destructed.
I used to compensate with an outboard compressor with medicore results; I was able to cut trough but not without rumbling over the guitar player.
Also I used to get my fingertips blistered when subconsiously trying to pump out the punch with my fingers.
I also tried recording it: couldn't get a setup where the sound would be better with amp (DI or miked) than without it.

After playing for a year or so the speaker gave up.
I replaced it with a EV 15" speaker and actually got somewhat better sound from it.
On the downside the amp became too heavy to carry.

I have played bass for couple of years.
If it was stolen I probably woudn't even notice.
Should have bought Ampeg or EBS to start with.
Still it's not all bad amp, you can just do better with about same money.

i beleive my amp is either a 1999 or a 2000 model. It is a single channel with a shape and Low,mid,high controls. It doesn't sound like alot but beleive me you can get about any type of clean sound out of this amp you could possibly look for. I really like the XLR out feature also, its very helpful when recording or running through a PA.

This is such a clean sounding amp, hits all the frequencies with no problem and like the last review states it has great definition on each string. I really think this can suit any type of musical style there is and the controls are quit simple so it shouldn't take you long to find the sound you want.

no problems at all, and this thing has been lugged around to alot of places and shows.

thank god i can have a no opinion!!!

You will definately find another amp this good in the price range. The only amp that comes close is the Ampeg Ba115 but that is such a bulky amp and I personally don't think you can get as many good sounds out of it as you can the Hartke. In conclusion this amp is such a versitile amp nothing i seem to play anymore really compares to my Hartke I find myself finding flaws that i just can't seem to derive out of the Hartke.