Respect the Low End

tornadoclaw

Member
There is a trend in tone matching and profiling not to give much consideration for bass amps cabinets, and effects. Fractal is no exception. Despite diverse bass tones and effects from rock to jazz, blues to funk, nobody company gives you more than a "basic" bass guitar consideration. For example, while Fractal has a drive block Darkglass B7k, where are the Darkglass amps, Microtubes or Alpha - Omega? No Mark bass amps, Gallien-Kruger, Trace Elliot, or Hartke. The list goes on and on. I get that most companies feel their market is not the bass player and each device has limited storage capacity. But that does not prevent Fractal and others from releasing cab packs that have a diverse bass amp and cab selection, not the same amp and cab with different microphones. All bass amps, cabs, and effects do not sound alike. Remember, except for "When Doves Cry" by Prince, and "Red House" by Jimi Hendrix , almost every song has a bass run. Give bass players some real respect, Cliff.

Thanks.
 
Just wanted add here that We at Soundwoofer have atleast recorded a big bulk of Bass cabinet IRs available for free in our library, We basically hit up an old local music store and borrowed their whole inventory over a weekend and went nuts in a studio. Gallien-Kruger and Trace Elliot i remember recording among them!
 
There is a trend in tone matching and profiling not to give much consideration for bass amps cabinets, and effects. Fractal is no exception. Despite diverse bass tones and effects from rock to jazz, blues to funk, nobody company gives you more than a "basic" bass guitar consideration. For example, while Fractal has a drive block Darkglass B7k, where are the Darkglass amps, Microtubes or Alpha - Omega? No Mark bass amps, Gallien-Kruger, Trace Elliot, or Hartke. The list goes on and on. I get that most companies feel their market is not the bass player and each device has limited storage capacity. But that does not prevent Fractal and others from releasing cab packs that have a diverse bass amp and cab selection, not the same amp and cab with different microphones. All bass amps, cabs, and effects do not sound alike. Remember, except for "When Doves Cry" by Prince, and "Red House" by Jimi Hendrix , almost every song has a bass run. Give bass players some real respect, Cliff.

Thanks.
Perhaps I can help.

https://www.drbonkerssoundlab.com/product-category/bass-guitar-cabinet-files/

One thing that I do is also tailor guitar amps in the Fractal units and show how with the right cabs and bass friendly effects, there's a plethora of bass tones in the box.
 
People want Hartke bass amps?

Pretty sure the III has the mesa strategy 400/+, Orange AD200, two different GK's and some Ampeg stuff.

I agree that a better focus wouldn't hurt, but they didn't just say "here's an SVT good luck". More bass cabs, that I could go for.
 
People want Hartke bass amps?

Pretty sure the III has the mesa strategy 400/+, Orange AD200, two different GK's and some Ampeg stuff.

I agree that a better focus wouldn't hurt, but they didn't just say "here's an SVT good luck". More bass cabs, that I could go for.

Why would you think we don’t? Hartke is played by many a great funk, blues and groove players as well as a few rockers. I personally play Ampeg and EVH so I’m covered but there aren’t any GK amps/cabs which are popular as well. I suppose the issue is that for many decades the bass community were covered with a small handful of amps/cabs that most still want to this day. But now we have new genre’s and players that need more that just basic bass tone. I simultaneously play two amps myself to get that dUg Pinnick tone and a lot more bass players are bi-amping nowadays. For my needs the AFX III has me covered but I can guaranty you that more bass players would be buying one if there were more amps/cabs as well as bass specific effects that are popular. Compressors are a pretty huge market for bass that would be nice to have models of. With all that said, Fractal has done an AMAZING job at what they’ve provided for all of us stringed players and I don’t feel there’s another unit out there that comes close.
 
@RoketRdr well the only hartke stuff Ive ever seen is cheap crap. They rarely get mentioned online (only on a few forums, but 10+ years).

And no bassist I have met has really mentioned them.

Apparently theres a lot I dont know about the Hartke story.
 
@RoketRdr well the only hartke stuff Ive ever seen is cheap crap. They rarely get mentioned online (only on a few forums, but 10+ years).

And no bassist I have met has really mentioned them.

Apparently theres a lot I dont know about the Hartke story.

Cheap crap? Not hardly and never has been. I’m pretty sure guys like Victor Wooten and Eric Bass will say otherwise. Not to be an ass but are you new to bass guitar?
 
Funny, last night I was working on my bass preset and thought, "Man, I wish we had a couple more amps to choose from." That said, I'm partial to SVT's and have gotten a decent core-tone from what's in the III.

Now I'm just trying to get the distorted tone sorted out, using 2 different amps. When I've tracked bass in the past, I generally have one clean track and then copy it to a separate track that I throw some distortion on. Really, a Sansamp model in the drive block would be all I need to get what I'm going for. I believe it's already on a Wishlist. I was stoked to try out the B7K but found I don't dig it as much as I was expecting. Maybe I just to tweak it some more.

I would TOTALLY love to rip off Dug Pinnik's Dogman tone.

As for Hartke's, nearly every bass player I've ever played with has used one. I prefer Ampeg's, but Hartke's still sound great. I've just found Ampeg's have that balls to the wall rumble sitting inside them as where Hartke's are almost too clean. Still great bass amps, though.
 
Hartke definitely formidable! I remember when they became a trend in the 80’s and 90’s...In my circle.
 
Funny, last night I was working on my bass preset and thought, "Man, I wish we had a couple more amps to choose from." That said, I'm partial to SVT's and have gotten a decent core-tone from what's in the III.

Now I'm just trying to get the distorted tone sorted out, using 2 different amps. When I've tracked bass in the past, I generally have one clean track and then copy it to a separate track that I throw some distortion on. Really, a Sansamp model in the drive block would be all I need to get what I'm going for. I believe it's already on a Wishlist. I was stoked to try out the B7K but found I don't dig it as much as I was expecting. Maybe I just to tweak it some more.

I would TOTALLY love to rip off Dug Pinnik's Dogman tone.

As for Hartke's, nearly every bass player I've ever played with has used one. I prefer Ampeg's, but Hartke's still sound great. I've just found Ampeg's have that balls to the wall rumble sitting inside them as where Hartke's are almost too clean. Still great bass amps, though.

My brother!!! ;). We’re on the same page. Hartke is the cleanest of the clean. When you need a clean funk, blues or groove tone Hartke is king. Ampeg is the king of a slightly dirty tone. I’ve been a dUg Pinnick fans since the mid 80’s and I have spent a ton of money and time reproducing that tone that he changed the world f bass playing with. I finally found it but THEN I got introduced to Adam “Nolly” Getgood and everything changed. His tone takes the dUg tone to a more modern vibe. So what I’m doing now is running an Ampeg SVT-VR for the slightly dirty and clean tone alongside a EVH 5150 III blue channel for the distorted tone. Throw in some tight compression and you get that raw in your face super tight tone that Adam Getgood has. It’s a little more distorted and angry than the dUg tone.
 
Hartke definitely formidable! I remember when they became a trend in the 80’s and 90’s...In my circle.

Hartke is about the cleanest tone you can get from a bass amp and cab but had HUGE presence. There’s a good reason why most of the blues, funk and jazz guys love them. If you ever want to hear the True Tone coming from your bass plug into a Hartke. It will let you know what the wood, density, pickups, neck and strings are actually producing.
 
Cheap crap? Not hardly and never has been. I’m pretty sure guys like Victor Wooten and Eric Bass will say otherwise. Not to be an ass but are you new to bass guitar?

Look up their guitar amps.

New to bass but 20 years around guitars and musicians.

If all you know is MIM fender and 0 artist roster, you may not know about american originals, John 5 and brad paisley.
 
Look up their guitar amps.

New to bass but 20 years around guitars and musicians.

If all you know is MIM fender and 0 artist roster, you may not know about american originals, John 5 and brad paisley.

Hey brother...I didn’t ask the question to be a jerk. I was actually seriously asking because Hartke is a bass driven company and the products they produce are for bass players and very well known. I wasn’t trying to be an ass. They delved into guitar amps for a short period but that was short lived for all the obvious reasons. I wasn’t trying to undermine you or be offensive. I’ve been a musician for almost 40 years. “All I know”? I grew up on THE tones from guitar and bass players that defined rock, blues and country from the 60’s and 70’s. So I guess if you think that’s “all I know” then...create your own deduction. But damn man...when you call Hartke crap then YOURE the one that has no idea what the history of these products are and how they shaped, transformed and created modern music. Once again...wasn’t trying to be an ass but you went there so I’m gonna respond. Btw...don’t think you’re qualified to tell us bass players what instrument we should play and where it needs to be manufactured. While we’re at it I own 3 Warrior basses.
 
Hartke is about the cleanest tone you can get from a bass amp and cab but had HUGE presence. There’s a good reason why most of the blues, funk and jazz guys love them. If you ever want to hear the True Tone coming from your bass plug into a Hartke. It will let you know what the wood, density, pickups, neck and strings are actually producing.

Can you recommend a great new Hartke System for all around pop, funk and rock style?.....or non-Hartke System
 
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I'll just chime in to say that Hartke made some great bass amps and cabs.

Back in the late 80's and early '90s you were the shit if you had a Hartke rig!

Several bassists that played with me ran their cabs and/or amps and they were most excellent.

I think Stu Hamm was the first guy I remember being endorsed by Hartke.184A1DDB-A018-444A-82CF-216F093C2865.png
 
Hey brother...I didn’t ask the question to be a jerk. I was actually seriously asking because Hartke is a bass driven company and the products they produce are for bass players and very well known. I wasn’t trying to be an ass. They delved into guitar amps for a short period but that was short lived for all the obvious reasons. I wasn’t trying to undermine you or be offensive. I’ve been a musician for almost 40 years. “All I know”? I grew up on THE tones from guitar and bass players that defined rock, blues and country from the 60’s and 70’s. So I guess if you think that’s “all I know” then...create your own deduction. But damn man...when you call Hartke crap then YOURE the one that has no idea what the history of these products are and how they shaped, transformed and created modern music. Once again...wasn’t trying to be an ass but you went there so I’m gonna respond. Btw...don’t think you’re qualified to tell us bass players what instrument we should play and where it needs to be manufactured. While we’re at it I own 3 Warrior basses.

And I explained that all I knew was their guitar equipment lol. I have played a bit of bass before, but this year I'm aiming to take it a little more seriously. I expect to not know most things about bass equipment and styles - so far I'm correct!

I was saying "if all you know" is - I wasn't accusing you of not knowing things. Clearly you're a bassist with a lot of experience with different equipment. You completely misunderstood what I was trying to say. "If you've only seen cheap equipment and don't know their artists, what other opinion would you have of a company?" would have worked better.

I wasn't being an ass either, but you went there.

Where in my post did I tell any other musician what they should play? Relax, go play bass.
 
My brother!!! ;). We’re on the same page. Hartke is the cleanest of the clean. When you need a clean funk, blues or groove tone Hartke is king. Ampeg is the king of a slightly dirty tone. I’ve been a dUg Pinnick fans since the mid 80’s and I have spent a ton of money and time reproducing that tone that he changed the world f bass playing with. I finally found it but THEN I got introduced to Adam “Nolly” Getgood and everything changed. His tone takes the dUg tone to a more modern vibe. So what I’m doing now is running an Ampeg SVT-VR for the slightly dirty and clean tone alongside a EVH 5150 III blue channel for the distorted tone. Throw in some tight compression and you get that raw in your face super tight tone that Adam Getgood has. It’s a little more distorted and angry than the dUg tone.

Wow, same page indeed. Periphery’s P4 was the first album I got by them and almost immediately I started watching Nolly’s vids on getting his bass tone. Too funny. If you get a minute, would you mind sharing that preset? I’d LOVE to check it out.

I’ve been considering getting a fanned fret 5-string lately as I’ve had a hell of a time getting my low B (more so, low A when I drop it down) to actually have a usable tone to it. I’ve got a Warwick 5-string and went through 4-5 packs of strings in the last 2 months just trying different gauges out. Just this last weekend I decided to go in the opposite direction, I got some DR Lo-Riders 35-120, immediately my low B came to life. I switch between standard and drop-C tuning quite a bit, even though the strings are a lighter gauge, I’m guessing the hex-core is providing enough tension that I can actually tune the bass to ACGCF from standard and it still sounds killer.
 
Hey brother...I didn’t ask the question to be a jerk. I was actually seriously asking because Hartke is a bass driven company and the products they produce are for bass players and very well known. I wasn’t trying to be an ass. They delved into guitar amps for a short period but that was short lived for all the obvious reasons. I wasn’t trying to undermine you or be offensive. I’ve been a musician for almost 40 years. “All I know”? I grew up on THE tones from guitar and bass players that defined rock, blues and country from the 60’s and 70’s. So I guess if you think that’s “all I know” then...create your own deduction. But damn man...when you call Hartke crap then YOURE the one that has no idea what the history of these products are and how they shaped, transformed and created modern music. Once again...wasn’t trying to be an ass but you went there so I’m gonna respond. Btw...don’t think you’re qualified to tell us bass players what instrument we should play and where it needs to be manufactured. While we’re at it I own 3 Warrior basses.
And I explained that all I knew was their guitar equipment lol. I have played a bit of bass before, but this year I'm aiming to take it a little more seriously. I expect to not know most things about bass equipment and styles - so far I'm correct!

I was saying "if all you know" is - I wasn't accusing you of not knowing things. Clearly you're a bassist with a lot of experience with different equipment. You completely misunderstood what I was trying to say. "If you've only seen cheap equipment and don't know their artists, what other opinion would you have of a company?" would have worked better.

I wasn't being an ass either, but you went there.

Where in my post did I tell any other musician what they should play? Relax, go play bass.

Let’s all take a step back and hit the reset button.

I’ve known Budda from another forum for quite some time, he’s a great dude. I chalk all this up to not being able to hear the inflections in each other’s sentence structures. It’s easy to assume someone is being salty when all we have to go by are words on a forum.

I can see where Budda got the impression that Hartke’s are low-mid tier amps due to the guitar line they put out. I had the same feeling towards Schecters for years because all I ever saw were their mid-priced guitars and had no clue they actually put out some higher end models.
 
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