Hartke bass amp incorporates hybrid paper/aluminum cones

In an attempt to make their new bass amp more powerful and lighter Hartke has just unveiled their new HD500 Bass Combo featuring patented speakers whose driver’s cones are crafted from a unique blend of half paper, half aluminum.

The new model boasts a serious 500-watt Class D amplifier (500 watts peak / 250 watts RMS) along with a pair of 10-inch Hartke patented HyDrive drivers with the new cones that the company says produces both an exceptional blend of warmth and attack that can’t be attained simply by using traditional all-paper cones.

The warmth and depth of the sound, of course, comes from the paper and the attack (the time it takes to go from silent to maximum volume) comes from the aluminum materials, which also smoothly reproduces the mid-range frequencies.

To keep the new model lightweight without sacrificing sound quality, rare earth neodymium magnets are incorporated into the body of the speakers.

Shape EQ Control

The new HD500 Bass Combo features a top mounted control panel. This includes a cool selectable “Shape” switch that when activated, engages a specialized preset equalization (EQ) curve “ designed to improve tone through selective boosts and attenuations across the frequency range.” When it’s on, it applies a 20 dB filter to whatever frequency area you select (100-900Hz) using the Shape Control knob to the right.

If you prefer to go old school with a 3-band EQ, just to the right are your Bass, Midrange and Treble controls.

Also on-board, you’ll find a 1/8” stereo AUX input and 1/4” bass input and from output, you’ll find an XLR direct output along with a 1/4” headphone output.

All this is incorporated into a sleek enclosure that weighs a tad under 34.5 pounds (15.6 kg) and nicely finished with a perforated steel grille and a moulded strap carry handle.

The Hartke HD Series HD5002X10-inch 500-Watt Bass Guitar Combo Amplifier retails in the US for $599 and is shipping now. In Canada, it will be carried by Axe Musicand is listed at $849.99.

Photos courtesy Hartke USA.

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Greg Gazin is the Real Canadian Gadget Guy, Columnist, Speaker, Podcaster & Author.

Technology – Entrepreneurship – Communications

Follow me on Twitter @gadgetgreg

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Also published by Sun Media / Post Media: Canoe Tech Blog.

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