Hartke LH500

Amp's made in 2009.

This amp really is versatile enough soundwise, though, it doesn't have that much features. I play all sorts of music from blues to post-rock to poprock to latin and I can say that it can cover all that I'm playing very well.

you can check out the features from other reviews. I just wish it had tuner out and speakons. Brite -switch is kind of useless to me, but can be useful when slapping or tapping or something like that. On the other hand the Limiter -switch is very useful and natural sounding.

This thing has whole lotta power and is satisfyingly clean at high volumes. It's a loud, powerful and straight-forward amp.

I have a Sandberg California JM4 bass which has a jazz neck pickup and a musicman humbucker as a bridge pickup. Highly recommended. I use all the pickup settings and the amp pretty much gives the natural sounds of my bass. The LH500 has a very clean and big sound itself but I have a Tech21 Character series VT bass pedal in between my bass and the LH500 which makes my rig sound completely thunderous -- but still natural and warm.

I can say this amp suits pretty much every music style and for it's price it has very very very good sound.

mm... a bit noisy when volume turned all the way up but you don't really have to turn it up anywhere. It's loud enough.

I have owned it for about two weeks now so no problems yet. Simple and straight-forward. Nice, rugged case, so i'd say that no problems in sight.

I've been playing for 4 years. Only bass I need and use is the Sandberg. I have an Ampeg BA-115 combo, Warwick WCA211 cabinet (which I use with the LH500) and the VT bass pedal. That's all I need to get THE sound.

I love the fact that it wasn't too rough for my wallet :D And of course the sound is good, it's simple to use and it doesn't have too much knobs. I only would have wanted the tuner out and speakons. And the brite switch is useless. :D

500 watts/4ohm solidstate amp with tube 12ax7 preamp (hybrid) and a build in limiter. send/return, active passiv input...

a few knobs is all it takes to make this baby sound right with anything from bass to guitar - no need for a fancy graphic eq ;)

Only thing i miss, but hey thats on most amps, is a low cut switch around 30hz as featured on many power amps - just in case...

I don't miss a second channel as they're usually not perfect for me and i end up using a external stomp or board anyway.

i love this amp -

i've had a nightmare of testing several budget amps for my purpose. i play bass and also guitar with this one so i needed something versatile, yet warm sounding clean tone. i had a chance to compare this one to marshall mb450, ashdown MAG 300H EVO II, hartke ha3500, behringer bx4500h and its a blessing compared to these. Sure they get the job done but not quite as powerful and warm (except the mb450 which is warm but its too touchy protection circuit too often leaves you soundless!).

i feel i have total control over my sound. its just about right already with all the knobs around 5. the brite switch i only recommend on low volumes, limiter works but tames the amps raw power a bit too much so i keep it off.

Here are some of my observations:
no noise, very loud, silent fan, build like a tank, under the hood it also looks very convincing with nice ringtransformator, coolingtunnel with many OPs and the real tube.

i've used this baby with a 15" bassspeaker and a 2x12" eminemce legend 121 both in vented cabinets at roughly 3 ohms total and it sounds sweet and even though our drummer is LOUD i have no problem keeping up.

It's got a clear but yet warm slightly driven/in your face sound (the good one) with both basguitar and guitar.

It also handles well with stomps (overdrive) or boards before the input as my superb vox tonelab st even with evil distortion. the send return is great for effects also.

so give this "new" hartke stuff a try with the right cabinets and you'll be amazed for the budget. Finally my search has come to and end thanks to Hartke :)

heavy, built like a tank, no plastic and it looks well crafted under the hood - i haven't had it more than 5 months but it seems reliable

i have never dealt with hartke or samson/zoom for that matter but i only hear good things

i've been playing guitar/bass for more than 20 years and had my share of equipment as i am considered the gearnerd in our bands and also own a small studio. i am always excited about products that exceed their expectations even at a lower budget...

my final statement. i love this amp!

I believe this was made in '08 sometime. I've had it for about 2 months. Well as far as features go, this is simple. It has two inputs for passive or active basses; one volume knob; a bright switch; bass, mid, & treble knobs; a XLR D.I. and a limiter switch. Single channel amp. Has a single 12AX7 preamp tube which gives it some warmth. There is an effects loop which I have not yet used. Dual 1/4" outputs; no Speakons which I would like. So yeah, not a lot of knobs to screw with. That doesn't bother me, but this not very versatile from a tweaker's point of view. A gain knob is my only want.

This is where this amp shines. I think that with the right cabs this thing can sound as good as any higher priced boutique amp. The headroom is impressive. I use a G&L L2000 which is extremely hot-even in passive settings-and I get barely any distortion. I run my bass into a Seymour Duncan Classic Twin Tube Overdrive and straight into the amp on the active input. I have the EQ's all at about 12 'o' clock and the limiter on. I should note that I do like a little breakup and strive for a Justin Chancellor-type sound and want to add some other distortion boxes. I'm using a Hartke 4x10 Aluminum coned cab and an Ashdown MAG 15 cab. I find that I can get an array of sounds just with my bass alone. Factoring in the simple EQ layout gives me more versatility sonically. This amp just cuts through for me. My thoughts are that this amp could be used in many other styles with just different basses/cabs. As another reviewer mentioned this amp is very quiet-so long as grounding is good and the wiring in the particular place is quality. That's an issue where my band practices.
I play in a progressive hard rock group with a vocalist, 2 guitarists (each using a 4x12) and a drummer. No one has a problem hearing me-myself included. I just really like the sound of this amp.

This thing appears to be built extremely well. Used it every week for the last 2 months. I would gig without a backup if I didn't have a backup. Nothing has broken down so far and I'm the 2nd owner. The first owner took good care of it and I generally treat my gear like gold. I have no doubts about this amp despite what I've heard of other Hartke bass amps.

Haven't had a need to contact. Couldn't say.

I've been playing stringed instruments for roughly 14 years and I've had an assortment of basses and gear that I wish I still had (Modulus and Pedulla come to mind). But I'm sure I will come across those things again. I would be pissed if this were stolen and would absolutely buy it again. I love the tone and the power it has! I hate that it doesn't have Speakon outputs. I have had experience with a multitude of gear and for the deal I got this worked out perfectly. I do wish that it had a way to adjust the tube's gain. Oh well, that's why I use outboard gear.

Bought brand, ex demo stock.
A very simple setup, separate passive and active inputs, master vol, brite button, bass, bid and treble pots, limiter button, power switch. Thats it for the front fascia.
2 jack outs for the cab, effects send and return, power cable socket, thats the back.
The only things it misses are an input gain pot and a mute facility.

A tube front end and a 500 watt solid state power amp, plent of power.

Clean but warm sounding, this a departure from Hartke's previous Bass amps. It has a very big sound and a lot of presence. A quiet amp too with very little noise floor from the fan either.
The tone section is very useable, the controls are interactive in a semi-parametric way, I got tones ranging from modern hi-fi to old school woody thump. I did have to dial in a lot of mids to get that classic Hartke punch though.
I found the limiter to be a touch too intrusive for my ears, but only when I was digging in, I also found that the pre-amp tube sagged a bit when I was playing harder...I only play passive basses so this really should not have been an issue.
I'd use this amp for pretty much any style of music.

Brand new, no complaints as yet.

Not used em.

One of the best amps I've played through in a long time, I'd be happy to take this out in place of my SVT2PRO.

08' Hartke LH500. This thing is ideal. Believe the forums. It is so easy to use. There is a padded input. (active or passive) and a master output volume. It works! The eq is simple. Three knobs:- Bass boost, Mid cut, Treble boost. This works too! In fact, i honestly can't make it sound bad! The amp has a 12ax7 tube pre-amp. The tone is very clear and warm and allows the sound of my bass to shine through. Its loud! And shakes the building that i live in if i turn it past 6. Doesn't seem to distort, though i'm not trying to make my ears bleed! It has a "brite" for that scooped slap sound. It also has a compressor which seems to be very unobtrusive. I guess my only negative would be that it doesn't have speakon connectors. But i'll get over it!

This amp's tone is fat and warm, but modern at the same time.I play it through an Ashdown 410t cab. It really lets the tone of your bass shine through. I'm mostly using my MTD kingston Artist at the moment. This has a punchy Stingrayesque tone. I love being able to roll on as much bass as i want without it sounding muffled or harsh. It took me a long time to find a reasonably priced amp to better my Series 6 Trace combo, and i guess that this comes from a differant ethos, but this just solves all my problems. No more sacrificing tone for volume!

It seems absolutely bombproof. I've only had it for a few months so i can't give a real opinion. It is built solidly and will fit in a 2u rack case for added protection. It has a fan built in but it doesn't seem to get too hot. I haven't noticed the fan turn on yet, even after a good few hours playing. I have heard only good things about Hartke reliability.

Again, I haven't had to deal with Hartke (or samson) directly, but i have heard only good things. Apparently, if you send a query to Hartke, Larry Hartke will get back to you personally. The 3 yr warranty was also a big plus point.

I have been playing bass for 15 years. I have used a Trace Elliot series 6 combo for the last 12 of those. I have not had one problem with it. A few years ago, I began playing bigger gigs and needed more headroom than my Trace could provide, so i went on the hunt for something with a bit more oomph. I could not find anything to better my Trace (imo) without spending a fortune that i didn't have. So, I stuck with it. A few years later, i had a chance to try the LH500. This is so differant to the Trace, but it's as if i can just get a whole lot MORE of anything i want! FAT tone, but transparent at the same time.
Some other amps that i considered were:- GK backline 600 (300w at 8ohms, SS, around ??255), Ashdown mag300 (300w at 8 ohms, SS , Around ??240), Ashdown little Giant 350 (350w lightweight digital), Peavey tour 450 (about 300w SS at 8 ohms). For me, the Lh500 had easily the nicest tone and seemed to have more power. It has around 350w at 8 ohms. I bought this amp for ??225 from BassMerchant.co.uk. This is an absoulute steal for a 500 watt tube/SS hybrid amp of this quality. There's recently been a price hike. The cheapest i've seen this for recently is ??310 delivered. I would have still bought the amp at this price. I have seen a new LH1000 on a well known auction site for ??395 shipped. If your looking for a new amp at any price point, Try one of these Hartkes. You will be surprised. Boutique tone for budget money! If they're good enough for Victor Wooten, They're good enough for you!!