Members AlexMC Posted August 11, 2010 Members Share Posted August 11, 2010 I'm looking for my first bass rig, for jamming and maybe small gigs in the future. There's a Hartke 15 Kickback with a few minutes to go on eBay for Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AlexMC Posted August 11, 2010 Author Members Share Posted August 11, 2010 Read a bunch of reviews in the last ten minutes, 99% favourable, so I bought it for Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JeffBass Posted August 12, 2010 Members Share Posted August 12, 2010 Sounds like a deal. Post a review later, if you get a chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NeonVomit Posted August 12, 2010 Members Share Posted August 12, 2010 Good bargain for the price. Let us know what you think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members T. Alan Smith Posted August 12, 2010 Members Share Posted August 12, 2010 Those are pretty decent amps. Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cpt. Spliff Posted August 12, 2010 Members Share Posted August 12, 2010 I have the alu 120 k-b for practice. You can dial in a lot of tones from horrible to horrible with very nice inbetween with the shapecontrol.It's not an in-your-face combo. Rather polite, so I usually try to live it up with a Sans-Amp driver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AlexMC Posted August 12, 2010 Author Members Share Posted August 12, 2010 I've only used my POD XT Live (with bass exp pack) thru a set of small studio monitors until now... trouble is, all the amp models sound the same to my untrained ears, and the low-end extension ain't that great (small speaker cones). Any improvement will be welcome, and I may even get more out of the POD by running it through the Hartke. Tell me about the Sans Amp bass driver - is it just a distortion box for bass, or is there more to it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AlexMC Posted August 12, 2010 Author Members Share Posted August 12, 2010 Also, why are so many bass cabs/combos covered with carpet rather than vinyl? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cpt. Spliff Posted August 12, 2010 Members Share Posted August 12, 2010 I mostly use it to get more "presence", secondly to beef up the sound. Carpet is for the convinience of our cats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AlexMC Posted August 17, 2010 Author Members Share Posted August 17, 2010 The amp has arrived at the office... can't wait to get it home to try tonight! So, I have a Yammie RBX270 and a Hartke amp... what else do I need? The amp doesn't have graphic EQ or a compressor, are these essential? I have a BBE Main Squeeze compressor for my guitar, would that also suit a bass? Has anyone here had a good experience running a Bass POD or similar into the front end of a combo bass amp? Finally the Hartke only has a single input; how well is it likely to take an active instrument (I have my eye on a Vintage bass with active electronics)? Thanks folks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jonjohn Posted August 17, 2010 Members Share Posted August 17, 2010 Finally the Hartke only has a single input; how well is it likely to take an active instrument (I have my eye on a Vintage bass with active electronics)?Thanks folks! Vintage wit active electronics lol.That is odd that is doesn't have a pad button , but I am sure they would have thought about this....I hope. You could always turn the vol on the bass down if it has a super hot output Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jonjohn Posted August 17, 2010 Members Share Posted August 17, 2010 Carpet is for the convinience of our cats. I am very familiar with this design fault Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cpt. Spliff Posted August 17, 2010 Members Share Posted August 17, 2010 Instead of a graphic eq, your combo has a shapefilter.You can use your POD. You may need to adjust its channel volume. Set the bass, mid and treble flat on the combo.The input is made to accept both passive and active. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AlexMC Posted August 18, 2010 Author Members Share Posted August 18, 2010 No not at all.Vintage wit active electronics lol.That is odd that is doesn't have a pad button , but I am sure they would have thought about this....I hope. You could always turn the vol on the bass down if it has a super hot output Have since downloaded the manual, which indicates the input can handle up to 15V, i.e. good for passive or active. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AlexMC Posted August 18, 2010 Author Members Share Posted August 18, 2010 So I had a bit of a play with the Kickback when I got it home last night. Firstly, bass extension is fantastic with the 15" driver. My studio monitors only extend down to 55Hz so I've been missing out on the fundamental on the lowest notes (low E is 41Hz) till now. The EQ controls seem to be pretty effective. 15dB boost/cut at 100/300/5kHz gives me a decent selection of sounds. The Shape control has a modifying effect on my tone but I'm not entirely sure how it works yet! Running straight into the bass amp I notice a wide range of dynamics on plucked notes... I tried putting my BBE Main Squeeze in front which has tamed and leveled things out very nicely. Looking forward to trying the POD XT in front at some point - I'd like to know if the POD's different bass amp models *do* have any significant effect on tone (hard to tell through my monitors), plus the Hartke doesn't have any overdrive or FX. I connected the direct out on the Hartke to a mic channel on my mixer. It's pre-EQ and volume, so is essentially the same signal as I'm running into the front end of the amp. I'm not really clear on the difference between using the direct out, and just running the bass's output straight into a mixer channel - can anyone advise? Overall I'm very happy. Got a Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members T. Alan Smith Posted August 18, 2010 Members Share Posted August 18, 2010 The Shape control has a modifying effect on my tone but I'm not entirely sure how it works yet!I connected the direct out on the Hartke to a mic channel on my mixer. It's pre-EQ and volume, so is essentially the same signal as I'm running into the front end of the amp. I'm not really clear on the difference between using the direct out, and just running the bass's output straight into a mixer channel - can anyone advise? Typically(not sure about your Hartke, specifically) shape controls will scoop out all important midrange frequencies(the ones necessary for you to hear yourself when playing with other people) while boosting low and high frequencies. Using the direct out on the Hartke will both change the "impedance" of your signal as well as boost your signal. Hopefully, more technically minded people will chime in. I've been out of the loop on such stuff for too long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AlexMC Posted August 18, 2010 Author Members Share Posted August 18, 2010 Typically(not sure about your Hartke, specifically) shape controls will scoop out all important midrange frequencies(the ones necessary for you to hear yourself when playing with other people) while boosting low and high frequencies. Using the direct out on the Hartke will both change the "impedance" of your signal as well as boost your signal. Hopefully, more technically minded people will chime in. I've been out of the loop on such stuff for too long. Oh yeah, the manual said the direct out added 6dB to the level of the input signal. I really don't understand impedence matching... does it mean that plugging the bass directly into a mixer channel will impact my tone compared to using the amp's direct out (or an external DI box)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WynnD Posted August 18, 2010 Members Share Posted August 18, 2010 In the kick-back the line out totally by-passes the amps eq and volume control. If you use the amp as a small club amp or as a local bass monitor, you'll be fine. (I've got the 12" model.) It's impressive for its size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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