Way back in 1984, there was another bass player — a master, some will say — who was always looking for ways to improve the clarity and definition of his instrument. That player was the gifted Jaco Pastorius, who left us in 1987 after a brief, but meteoric career. Jaco was a firm believer in aluminum cone drivers, and Larry Hartke still has the original bass cabinet Jaco used, equipped with eight 10” aluminum cone drivers.

On stage or in the studio, Hartke cabinets are instantly recognizable because of those highly polished speakers. Thanks to their unique, patented design, these drivers offer super fast transient response along with a pure, transparent sound that captures the essense of your instrument’s voice. What’s more, they do it with plenty of headroom, so you never have to worry about your sound breaking up. There’s only one speaker that looks (and performs) like this and it’s a registered trademark of Hartke!

Whatever your needs or budget, Hartke builds a cabinet that will outperform anything else in its price range. In fact, the XL Series provides the highest performance at every level because each cabinet is carefully calibrated and tuned to give you a smooth, balanced response along with an articulate, high-impact attack. Equipped with custom Hartke XL aluminum-cone drivers for maximum response (of course), the XL Series also features high-quality 3/4" and 5/8" composite plywood construction and a shockproof metal grille. These high-quality cabinets come equipped with a rugged, road-tough covering, interlocking stacking corners and recessed input jacks to safeguard critical cable connections.

The 4.5 XL "Expanded-Design" Tuned, Ported Cabinet ($899.99 list) features a custom Hartke 5" aluminum-cone high-frequency driver, along with four Hartke XL 10" aluminum cone bass drivers. Power handling is 400 watts at 8 ohms and the cabinet has a frequency response of 30 Hz to 12 kHz and a sensitivity of 99 dB (one watt / one meter). It weighs in at a hefty 97 pounds.

The 410B XL Dual-Chamber, Dual-Ported Cabinet ($719.99 list) also sports four Hartke XL 10" aluminum-cone bass drivers, 400 watts of power handling at 8 ohms and a frequency response of 30 Hz to 5 kHz. Sensitivity is 98 dB (watt / meter) and the weight is 87 pounds.

For high performance in a smaller cabinet, there’s the 210 XL Single-Chamber Sealed Cabinet ($549.99 list) with two Hartke XL 10" aluminum-cone drivers, 200 watts of power handling at 8 ohms and a frequency response of 50 Hz to 5 kHz. Sensitivity is 96 dB (watt / meter) and the unit weighs in at just 46 pounds.

If you need bass that will literally shake the foundations, you might want to try the 215B XL Dual-Ported Cabinet ($849.99 list) which features two Hartke XL 15" aluminum-cone bass drivers and power handling capabilities of 400 watts at 4 ohms. Frequency response is 30 Hz -1 kHz and sensitivity is 99 dB (watt / meter). Weight is as solid as the sound at an even 100 pounds.

Hartke makes other great-sounding, high performance cabinets, so I suggest you call your Sweetwater Sales Engineer for additional information and super low pricing.

But what’s a great speaker without a superior amp to drive it? It would be like owning a Porsche, but without the engine! At present there are no less than seven amps in the Hartke line starting with the 140-watt (at 4 ohms) Model HA1400 ($299.99 list) which features four-band EQ, preset contour control, an effects loop and switchable compression. The HA2000 ($499.99 list) delivers 200 watts (at 4 ohms) with selectable tube and solid state preamps, 10-band graphic EQ, bass and treble contour controls, adjustable compression and an effects loop plus XLR out. At 350 watts (4 ohms), the HA3500 ($619.99 list) has all the features of the HA2000, but with more room-shaking power.

If you need a BiAmp, Hartke delivers two models. The HA5000 ($749.99 list) features 250 watts per side (into 4 ohms), selectable tube and solid state preamps, bass and treble contour controls, a 10-band graphic EQ, adjustable compression and variable active crossover with balance coltrol. The HA7000 ($999.99 list) has all the same features but delivers an awesome 350 watts of absolute bone crushing power per side into 4 ohms . . . whoops, sorry, got carried away there.

The latest addition to Hartke’s amp line is the Millennium Series, both of which offer unparalleled input and output capabilities in a single rack space. The HA3000 ($569.99 list) offers up 300 watts of power into 4 ohms, a four-band EQ, a Shape circuit with variable intensity control, deep bass enhancer and much more. The HA4000 ($699.99 list) puts out a whopping 400 watts into 4 ohms and has a studio quality four-band EQ with sweepable mids plus all the other great features of the HA3000, like Preamp Out, Direct Out and Line Out, Pre and Post-EQ effects send and return and independently buffered inputs.

Of course there are those who prefer to have their amplifier and speaker(s) in one package. For those players Hartke offers the Combo Series: 11 compact bass units for rehearsal, recording or playing smaller venues. The basic 1410 Combo ($699.99 list) sends 40 watts of power through two Hartke aluminum cone drivers in a super compact cabinet design. Features include a Preset Contour control and four-band EQ plus switchable compression. The 1415 Combo ($549.99 list) has similar features but combines a 140 watt amp with a single 15-inch aluminum cone driver. For those who need more power, more features and a high frequency driver, there’s the 2155 Combo ($1249.99 list) which includes selectable tube and solid state preamps, rotary bass and treble contour controls and a 10-band graphic EQ for tremendous tone-shaping capabilities, then adds adjustable compression and full effects send and return capability. Basically the same combo amp but without the high frequency driver, the 2115 Combo ($949.99 list) features a frequency response of 40Hz to 12kHz.

For budget-minded players who still want the legendary sound of a Hartke amp, there’s the B-Series combos ranging from the super compact, 20-watt B20 ($149.99 list) and 30-watt B30 ($199.99 list) all the way up to the 90-watt B90 ($449.99 list) with a full range 15-inch bass driver, three-band EQ and adjustable Shape circuitry. These are affordable combo amps that actually outperform some of the expensive models produced by other bass amp manufacturers.

Finally, there’s Hartke’s unique Kickback Combos. Flexible enough to be played upright, yet versatile enough to be “kicked back” for use as an on-stage monitor. You can select the Kickback 10 ($529.99 list) with 10-inch aluminum cone driver, 120 watts of power, three-band EQ and Shape control. Or you might want the Kickback 12 ($599.99 list) which also features 120 watts of power into a 12-inch aluminum cone driver, plus three-band EQ and a special wide-range Shape control for more tonal variations. For “big bottom” lovers, there’s the Kickback 15 (pictured at right — $699.99 list) with a massive 15-inch driver, 120 watts of power, fully adjustable Shape control, three-band EQ and more.

Okay, now it’s time for all you bass players out there to put down this issue of Sweet Notes and call your friendly, knowledgeable Sales Engineer for additional information and special low pricing on the Hartke bass equipment that’s exactly right for your needs. — Bill Hoover