Hartke Review: B30 Bass Combo

History:

Purchase: I bought this amp to use as my very fist amp. I was basically looking for a beginers practice amp that had enough power to be used not only as a practice amp but to jam with my friends. I bought this amp at a local music dealer (Dave Phillips Music & Sound).I paid $160 for it.

What I Like About This Hartke B30 Bass Combo: This amp like others in the B series of hartke amps give the beginner or the advanced player with a variety of options. The B30 is probably the best beginner amp of this seriers because it give the player volume with its 10in. speaker and 30watts of power. It has a nice easy to control EQ settings too. It also comes with a quite a few sockets including, line out, headphone, an effects loop in, an effects loop out, and two input jacks (Passive and Active).

What I Do NOT Like About The Hartke B30 Bass Combo: This unit, despite its rather powerful amp will start to break up and lose good tone once you get past 8 on the volume control. The amp also only has the three basic EQ settings(bass, mid, high), which may be fine for some players. But for those who might use pedals, having that fourth EQ knob(shape), will help a lot to shape the sound you want.

Hartke B30 Bass Combo Quality Rating: The B30 is a fairly well made amp. Its rather light and makes easy travel with the exterior handle and tuck away cord. It can also take abuse well, having whacked it on a wall or two transporting it from place to place.

Review Summary: Since i've been playing the electric bass I've used the B30 for playing along to my favorite bands, and for just jamming in my friends' basements. It is not a hassel at all to move around and can take its share of nicks. Considering all this and the price at which I got this at, the B30 is a great deal for the beginner bass player.

Rating of this Hartke product: 4

This Hartke B30 Bass Combo Bass Guitar Amplifiers Review Submitted By: L. Malinconico

Review Date: 2001-08-15