Hartke

Hartke Systems is a brand of electronics best known for their bass guitar amplifiers and speaker cabinets. They also produce high quality amplifiers and speakers for electric guitar, keyboard, acoustic guitar, as well as effects pedals, strings, and other accessories.

Design features

Hartke revolutionized the sound of electric bass when they introduced their aluminum speaker cones into the world of bass amplification. The first Hartke bass cabinet was built for bass legend Jaco Pastorius in 1984. Before long Hartke was seen on almost every professional stage. Everybody was playing through Hartke amplifiers and speaker cabinets, Jack Bruce (Cream), Tom Hamilton (Aerosmith), Garry Tallent (E-Street Band), Stu Hamm (Joe Satriani)and many other well known artists.

Hartke aluminum cone speakers produce a wider frequency range producing more lows and more highs than paper cone speakers. Aluminum has a faster transient response than paper producing a quicker clearer tone.

They have been responsible for many innovations in the MI industry in addition to their aluminum cones speakers. Hartke designs are the most copied in the industry (Reference?). Their Kickback Combos have been widely copied by others as has the whole Hartke look with their distinctive metal grills that allow you to see the speakers and provide extra protection.

The Hartke 3500 bass amplifier is the largest selling bass amplifier of all time. (Reference?)

Range of amplifiers and speakers

Hartke makes a wide range of amplifier and speaker models with both paper and aluminum cone speakers (and hybrid combined versions of aluminum/paper speakers known as "HyDrive") for instrument amplification and they are distributed worldwide. Hartke products are genuinely and generally considered to be among the finest quality available anywhere. Today Hartke is one one the largest producers of bass amplification.

History

Starting in 2006 company founder Larry Hartke published his personal cell phone number in his Hartke ads in bass magazines and advertisements around the world making him the most accessible man ever in the history of the MI industry. Larry takes calls and answers questions from players and customers seven days a week 52 weeks a year.

Larry Hartke can be contacted directly on his cell number 201-680-8153 or at his MySpace page , where he answers all messages personally.

Larry Hartke can now also be seen in what he calls "sitcom-merical video shorts" on his MySpace page featuring Larry and his "guest star" bass playing friends in a reality/comedy show.

All Hartke products are exclusively distributed world-wide by the Samson Technologies Corporation.