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I enjoyed the quality of the Hartke LH500.
By: Gordon Deere
Submitted: 1/4/2024
Product Rating
Product Review
I enjoyed the quality of the Hartke LH500. It's simplicity, yet has every you need for professional sound
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Bought this to replace an old 300 watt harke head over i had over a decade, man what an improvement.
By: G
Submitted: 3/6/2023
Product Review
Bought this to replace an old 300 watt harke head over i had over a decade, man what an improvement. Plenty of bottom end and good punch, hooked it up with two 410 xl cabs and this thing is like a mountain of bass.
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The controls are simple to use.
By: Robert Telford
Submitted: 10/20/2022
1 person found this review helpful.
Product Review
The amp is so easy to use. And the sound is incredible. The power and punch is awesome. Never had a bass amp they sounded so good.
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Great head
By: Gregg Guinn
Submitted: 1/26/2022
Product Review
This is a great bass guitar head clean and bright
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Bass amp
By: Latigo Band
Submitted: 1/25/2022
1 person found this review helpful.
Product Review
This bass amp rocks the nice thing is it’s so basic no frills but it is a great amp and easily set up
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Fast shipping
By: John Barr
Submitted: 8/5/2021
Product Review
I ordered this head and a cabinet and got the head within 2 days! The cabinet was back ordered so I opted to call and cancel that and get a different one. Customer service was absolutely top notch and very helpful. I will never go through another music supply store again. American musical supply is by far the best and easiest to work with with their payment system.
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Great sounding amp!
By: Doug
Submitted: 5/12/2020
1 person found this review helpful.
Product Review
I already had a Hartke "Transient Attack" 200 Watt amp that I bought about 15 years ago. I wanted more power so I bought this one. Great decision. Together with my HD 115 and my HD 210 I've got a great sound. Very happy and highly recommended.
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Nice amp..
By: Mr. Sulton
Submitted: 3/30/2020
1 person found this review helpful.
Product Review
Great bass amp.. Built like a tank with a built in fan.
My only gripe is that it isn’t a bridge able amp so I had to purchase two 4-10 cabinets. One for the left output and one for the right output.
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What a Difference!
By: Bob Ericsen
Submitted: 5/10/2019
Product Review
Making the graduation from a beginners, to intermediate, to this amp has been a experience. This amp does it all. Gives me the oomph and volume medium gigs and is controllable for home maintaining quality tone and sound in both. A bit heavier than I am used to but very manageable. And the Price! I am very happy. The owners manual could be a bit more in depth on the settings and explanation side but is no worse than the others. Once again AMS comes through and lives up to their reputation.
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I'm not easy to impress, but this one did it!
By: Mike Bunner
Submitted: 10/15/2018
Product Review
At 500w into 4ohm load (325w into 8ohms), the Hartke LH500 head has more than adequate power. I have it paired with an 8ohm Hartke 4x10 400w XL Series speaker cab. With this rig, I get more than enough sound levels in the studio without turning the head volume up past 4. The 3 independent to equalizer controls produce a wide range of sounds that provide most whatever you’re looking for. I usually keep the bass set to 8, the mid set to 4, and the treble set to 3, which gives me a solid bottom with a crisp, punchy mid/high. The XLR jack on the front panel makes it easy to connect to a console or mixer and there’s effects send/return jacks on the back for any outboard effect processors you have. What I like best after the performance is that it doesn’t look or feel like a cheap piece of equipment. It’s solid, the knobs and switches all have a solid feel, and the jacks hold the cables solidly. Nice job, Hartke!
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Great product, pleasantly surprised!
By: Alex
Submitted: 9/5/2018
Product Review
The Hartke series has always been a go-to brand for anything bass related and the combination of this 500 watt amp and the 4x10 XL cabilet delivers the goods! It is sturdy and compact enough to travel and is built like a tank, as it should be! It has earned praise from various different bassists at our church for providing great highs and deep lows and is over-kill for any medium sized church or building. If I would change anything, I would have included a speaker cable and a more capable EQ then your standard 3-band, but it stayed under budget. Great buy!!
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Great piece of gear!
By: Jeff R.
Submitted: 7/23/2018
1 person found this review helpful.
Product Review
I bought this and the XL410 cabinet, and they do not disappoint! I have a Darkglass B7K Ultra and a Keeley Compressor that I use in front of this head, and it is a monster! Plenty of power, clean gain! The EQ section on this head is a little weird. It took some getting used to, but it sounds great!
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Love it
By: William
Submitted: 5/2/2018
Product Review
Get it if can
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great amp !!1 day service!!WTF super !!!!
By: brian
Submitted: 4/3/2018
1 person found this review helpful.
Product Review
Great reliable amp bought this one for a spare before you cant get them anymore. i waited 3 months for a competitor to ship me one but then dropped the item reordered it from ams at 3 oclock and it was on my door step by 12:30 the very next day!!!!!!!!
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A review... 5 years later
By: lessthanbug
Submitted: 7/28/2017
3 people found this review helpful.
Product Review
I bought this head about 5 years ago when I joined a local band needing a bass player. I needed something that was reasonably priced and powerful enough to be heard over a guitarist running a Marshall DSL100H into a 4x12" cab. Well, it worked wonderfully. I have been using it in one of two different cabs: a 4x10" Ampeg Classic and an old, 1970's Kustom Tuck and roll 2x15" cab. It has no problem pushing either cab with headroom to spare. I keep an SWR Workingman's head as a spare and I never have to touch it because the Hartke has worked flawlessly. Where the SWR gives me a boomy, low end heavy sound, the Hartke is a punchier, twangier sound. Used through the Ampeg cab I get a sound that's perfect for the stuff we play. (Think Fat Mike's sound in NOFX.) I love this head. I am at a point in my career where I could probably buy something a bit more "high end", but I get everything I need from the Hartke. I give you my no-BS guarantee: it is a great head. You can't go wrong with this one.
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Solid bass amp!!
By: Aaron B
Submitted: 1/9/2016
1 person found this review helpful.
Product Review
This amp is awesome!!! Nice thump and highly recommend!!!
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best deal out there for a bass head
By: Vic
Submitted: 3/1/2015
1 person found this review helpful.
Product Review
Brutal simplicity at its finest and an awesome sound from the tube preamp do a side by side comparison with other high end tube preamp heads and hartke comes out on top with its specs and price.
My head came a lil dinged from shipping but hey the amp works amazing its built like a tank. Im running my head with a XL hartke cab so I have to watch my volume knob. 500 watt head into a 400 watt cab.
If you are looking for a distorted bass sound this will not give it to you but for the money you save get a decent pedal and your set!
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Love it
By: Ed
Submitted: 9/30/2014
1 person found this review helpful.
Product Review
The amp has great tone , with plenty of volume , all of the members in the band commented about the sound . and they have no problem hearing me now . I am using this with 2 of the 112 Hy drive cabinets . I love it .
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lasted 6 months
By: rick from oak hill,wv usa
Submitted: 7/15/2014
Product Review
powerful,tone is great,great sound
lasted 6 mos before it blew due to a screw loose in unit that was lodged below output circuitry(from factory in china)under warranty ,ups charges,parts not avail for 2 months, gigs under contract every weekend,not funny
perfect amp when it worked
perfect for any bassist if it would last
yes
great
no comment
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Love it!! Worth the money I spent!!
By: Mary Mitchell
Submitted: 7/10/2014
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Good Amp
By: DSizzzl from Abingdon, Md
Submitted: 6/4/2014
0 people found this review helpful.
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It Nearly Works!!
By: Andy Vernon
Submitted: 3/22/2014
4 people found this review helpful.
Product Review
I love the concept of this amp, too bad it only worked for about 20 minutes. I will be returning it this week.
I suspect most of it is high quality.
Features look like they are exactly what I was looking for.
Sounded great.
yes.
awesome.
no friggin' way.
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Excellent in every way
By: Terry from Missouri
Submitted: 2/28/2014
3 people found this review helpful.
Product Review
This is my first bass amp head. I did a lot of research on different brands comparing prices and features. I could not be happier with this choice for the wattage it produces for the price I paid
It seems to be a solid & well made
Yes. The limiter is a great feature & it has a fan that is so quiet that I had to look to see if it was even on
I am not in a band yet & I am only using it with one 2x10 cabinet for now & it sounds great
Yes
This head only has 3 tone knobs but, with just this three knobs you should be able to get any tone you would need out of it without any additional pedals
Since this is my first amp head I can not compare it other brands but, for me it has more than enough power for the price wise
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EXCELLENT BASS HEAD!!!
By: Deadbeat Stevo
Submitted: 7/28/2013
2 people found this review helpful.
Product Review
I was in the market for a powerful bass amp that sounds great and wasn't loaded up with unnecessary knobs and features. I was considering a few different heads like the Ampeg Portaflex 500, the TC Electronics BH500 and the Mark Bass Big Bang, as well as a few others. This amp stands out as far as killer sound w/o having to fiddle around all day with knobs. I was really impressed with its sound when I checked it out at GC. It's really solid and sounds better than many amps that are three times the price. It thumps and looks great in my rack!
Very well made.
Features are very basic. I love having the "direct out" on the front because it makes it easier to record into my interface. Sounds awesome going into a direct in.
I bought this to replace my old SWR. This LH500 sounds way better than my old amp ever did!
Sounds amazing with very little effort.
This is a very good deal for an amp of his quality! I am very happy with my purchase!
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GRUESOME TWOSOME!!!
By: DEAN from Vinton, VA USA
Submitted: 5/31/2013
Product Review
I've played guitar for 30+ years. Decided to play bass and researched and reviewed many, many rigs and decided on the LH 500 AMP and HARTKE XL 4-10 CAB. I'm absoloutely ecstatic about the tones that come out of this reasonably priced amp and cab! This is my first bass amp I've ever purchased. Any genre of music can be played with this amp setup, jazz, country, rock, metal-you name it. I play a Squier Tele w/ humbucker in neck position and Duncan-designed bridge pup, this cheap bass sounds awesome through the Hartke rig!!! Thanks, NUFF SAID, DEAN
Designed and engineered in the USA, made in CHINA. The sound is the bottom line, arrived with a 1 year warranty plus another FREE year warranty coverage from AMS!!!
A very simple layout on the amp, VOLUME-BASS-MIDS-TREBLE. Turn it on, dial it in, strap in and take off people!!!
Clear bottom, smooth mids and crisp highs. Excellent response and clarity.
The tone controls are in perfect order.
There is absoloutely NO distortion from this head. Even with the 12 AX7 you'd expect a bit of growl, but none here. I use a pedal for any sort of overdrive.
The price for this amp, compared to others I tried, cannot be beaten, hands down. A rugged built piece of gear for all types of music and built for the road.
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Simple...and perfect!
By: D. Johnson from Helena MT
Submitted: 12/16/2012
Super solid. A tank with tone!
I love that this head has decent power, the features you really want (like balanced DI out), a great tone with no tweaking required, and not a bunch of crap you don't need but would have to pay for.
This thing is awesome with all the tone knobs straight up. Solid bottom end, a little bit of bite, crisp high end without being piercing. I love it!
Your general opinion of this product.
Best amp I've ever had (and my wife would tell you I've bought and sold WAY too much bass gear in my time...).
N/A
See above: (This thing is awesome with all the tone knobs straight up. Solid bottom end, a little bit of bite, crisp high end without being piercing. I love it!)
Cosmetically it is perfect...classic black and chrome, baby!
N/A
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Solid and well built!!
By: XMikeEdgeX from Lancaster, California, USA
Submitted: 6/16/2012
1 person found this review helpful.
Very well built and sturdy metal. Weighs a bit but what the hell!
Pretty basic, volume , bass, mid, treble which is why I bought it. I do like the bright switch and find myself using it pretty often
Not the Ampeg sound I'm used to and seems to lack that punch I normally like. Not bad for rehearsal and smaller gigs.
Your general opinion of this product.
This is a very dependable amp to say the least. With the basic preamp set up it is what it is.
Basis controls, bright switch is a plus
Pretty good tone as it is
Dark grey face looks good in a black ata road case. Chrome topped knobs make it easy to see and adjust in darker clubs
Action is awesome
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Ahhh... A Fresh Breath of Simplicity
By: Josh from Greensboro, NC
Submitted: 3/16/2012
1 person found this review helpful.
This amp is heavy. I would rather have a heavy amp than one of the new micro amps that are 4 lbs from fear of the micro amp getting blown off my cabinet when a patron to the venue I'm playing at opens the front door... Heavy, solid, seems reliable.
Breathe in the freshness of simple controls! I've always been a fan of Hartke amplifiers, but I found them cumbersome to use because of the massive 10 band EQ of the previous models. Once you dial in your sound on one of those, you're golden; its just getting there with all of the adjustments...
This amp is so simple, a caveman could use it. ;-) Input jack, volume, 3-band boost-only EQ (like what old school Ampeg amps used) with killer frequency centers, limiter (if you want to use it; I prefer to have it on), DI, and on/off switch. Setup with this amp takes all of two minutes to get a good tone dialed in.
Just about any sound you could want. If you can't get a sound that you like, you could easily purchase a rackmount preamp to enhance your EQ options. I have a BBE BMAX pre that I plan on running through the effects loop of this head when I purchase it.
I am in the process of rebuilding my rig to turn pro in the area in which I live. I want to have a simple rig that easy to transport and sounds great. I have owned Hartke gear in the past, and it is unbeatable when you compare power, tone, and price. That said, I'm going to purchase this head & 2 Hartke 410XL's. I already a BBE BMAX preamp, rackmount tuner, and a nice road rack to carry everything in.
Studio: take in the rack, no cabinets.
Small-medium venues: take in the rack and one of the 410XL cabinets.
Large venues: rack and both 410XL cabinets.
I like the gunmetal gray(ish) finish on this amp. Chrome knobs are a nice touch.
Well, this is an amplifier head... ...that fits in an SKB rack... Not a whole lot of "action" to speak of...
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Love this amp!
By: Jim from Oklahoma, USA
Submitted: 2/29/2012
1 person found this review helpful.
Seems very well made and have owned several Hartke products in the past, always dependable.
Love the simplicity of it only 4 knobs. That's really all you need to get a great sound.
Sounds great and with only bass, mids and treble it is very easy to dail in the right sound.
N/A
Tone sounds awesome with all set at 12 o-clock. Like the brite switch too.
Ok
N/A
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Excellent equipment and powerful!
By: Dennis from Caguas, PR
Submitted: 9/1/2011
Built to last.
Eq just gave you infinite possibilities for different styles.
Gives you the presence, the punch and the clarity necessary for live performance
Easy to setup.
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Perfect clean amp
By: Mikey from
Submitted: 3/22/2011
This thing is rugged
Could use a gain control for the tube preamp and maybe a couple extra EQ controls, but other than that it's great
It sounds amazing, doesn't have any issues with clipping like a lot of others in the price range, and it's definitely loud enough for most venues
Very simple to figure out
Two words - perfectly clean. If you're looking for the Ampeg growl, this isn't your amp. Otherwise, it's perfect.
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Great Buy
By: Brent Oatsvall from Huntingdon TN
Submitted: 7/27/2010
Very well made its a tank
Simple and easy to use
Clean at all ranges low to hogh
Its heavy its a bass amp
Good
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Wow!!
By: J Miller from Centreville, VA USA
Submitted: 6/7/2010
This thing is definitely road-ready. Very solid. Toss it in a rack and it should last as long as you want it to.
There aren't a lot of bells and whistles with this head. It's got a basic EQ but that's plenty! The tube preamp gives it that warm sound with any EQ setting. The bright and limiter switches are extrememly useful.
Very warm tone. Between the EQ and bright switch you can dial in any sound you need.
Very easy to use.
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Big Bang for the Buck!!!
By: Darrell (Da B string) from Greensboro, NC
Submitted: 3/12/2010
1 person found this review helpful.
built strong and solid like a small tank.I been playing bass for 35 years and I will be first to say its well built.
The face plate handles works very well if want to carry the amp with one hand. I wish the amp came with a cover.
Very fat and smooth with clarity. Since I play rock, jazz fusion, r&b, and gospel, thats the tone I need in my craft. Im playing through a epifani UL2-112 cab, which is light weigh & versatile with a Roscoe skb 3005, & warwick corvette 5 string. Both basses has pre-amps built in, so all I needed was a great powerful amp with basic controls with a limiter, and thats what I found in Hartke LH500, it is a beast and it works for me.
Its a amp ?
This amp gives me any sound I want with very little tweak of the controls.
Very Nice, nothing fancy, black with gray face plate, but it looks real nice.
Ok, takes all most 30 seconds to power up.
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You won't get better at any price, only different.
By: Joe Sanchez
Submitted: 7/4/2009
This amp is built at least as well as anything on the market and better than most of them.
This is a definitely a gigging amp.
The DI is clean, the limiter is transparent and the bright switch really helps you cut through the mix. The EQ while limited to three bands, is very musical. There is very little to go wrong with this amp. It is simple, solid and sounds fantastic!
The tube preamp plus the interactive eq gives you a full, rich tone that is easily sculptable.
The pots have a solid feel to them. Same thing with the switches. This whole amp screams 'not fragile'.
Warm as opposed to sterile but not woolly like some amps. Ultimately, whether you are looking for 'bang for the buck' or are a 'tone purist' you will be happy with this amp. Unless you are looking for sterile or wooly.
There was a scratch on the right side of the case but in a rack you don't even see it so no problems.
This is an amp.
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Hartke
By: eric from GA
Submitted: 6/4/2009
Made well. Knobs are quality. Got the bass attack foot switch to sweeten the deal :)
I love the simple eq and the design of the amp. 500w is all i need atm.
With my Hydrive 15 this baby pumps! Would love to add a set of 4'10 in the future but as it is I really enjoy the variety of lows and even highs.
not light crap,its made heavy and strong
great tone and flexibility
black paint, not fancy but not crappy either
action? its a amp
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Simple Clean Power
By: Mark Siddall
Submitted: 8/1/2008
I just purchased this amp a few weeks ago but it seems to be solid and very well built.
Just enough...I am a firm believer in the KISS method. The three band EQ provides enough tone variation that I can dial in what I need without having to deal with too much complexity.
Lima Chalie! The tone is very clear and transparant; what you get is the actual tone of your bass which is the very reason I purchased this unit. My Carvin LB75 sounds like a Carvin LB75! I have never really cared much for all the guitar/bass/amp modeling stuff on the market.
Your general opinion of this product.
Good to go! If you want a simple unit that has the power to get the job done then get yourself one. Hooah!