112C
115C
210C
Hartke
Table of Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Hartke 112C 115C and 210C Combo Bass Amplifier Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 - 5
Guided Tour - Front Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Guided Tour - Rear Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Setting Up and Using Your Hartke Hydrive Combo Bass Amplifier. . . . . . . 9 - 11
The Effect of the Shape Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Using the Bass Attack Overdrive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Using Equalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 - 15
Hydrive Combo Sample Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 - 17
Hydrive Combo Setting Template. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 - 19
Specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Copyright 2007, Samson Technologies Corp.
Printed December, 2007 v1.0
Hartke
45 Gilpin Avenue
Hauppauge, New York 11788-8816
Phone: 1-800-3-SAMSON (1-800-372-6766)
Fax: 631-784-2201
Introduction
Thank you for purchasing the Hydrive Bass Combo Amplifier from Hartke! We know
you don’t like reading owners manuals, but you’ve just purchased one of the finest
bass amplifiers around, and we want to tell you about it. So, before you plug in and
start popping and slapping, we’d like to suggest you take just a few moments to scan
these pages. We’ll make it as painless as possible, we promise—and, who knows, you
might just pick up a tip or two.
The Hydrive series is new line up of 250-watt bass combo amplifiers featuring Hartke’s
Hydrive hybrid cone bass transducers. This manual covers three models, the 112C
featuring a 300 watt, 12-inch Hydrive speaker, the 115C with a 300, watt 15-inch
Hydrive speaker and the 210C with two, 150 watt, 10-inch Hydrive speakers. Hydrive
transducers are a radical change, and improvement, in bass speaker technology.
Hartke’s unique hybrid cone speaker is constructed using an outside paper cone
producing deep and warm low frequencies and an inside aluminum cone that
produces mids that cut, yet are still sweet. Hydrive speakers incorporate a cast frame
design, supporting robust motors constructed with large voice coils and neodymium
magnets providing increased power handling while being lightweight! To complete
the speakers systems, there’s a 1-inch titanium compression driver with level control,
producing the high frequency response that allows you to get a sweet tone that
cuts through the backline. All of the Hydrive combos feature 250 watts of true, clean,
robust linear power. The beefy power supply features a massive toroidal transformer
and oversize filter caps. Plus, there’s internal protection circuitry to help protect
the amplifier and speaker during power up and power down. The Hydrive combos’
front panel features a unique and powerful complement of signal processing and
tone shaping controls. The Hydrive’s input has been designed to handle the output
signal from virtually any bass - passive basses with low output pickups, to active
basses powered by dual car batteries will work fine. Next to the input is a variable
Compressor control that allows you to squeeze the signal just a little or quite a bit.
You can use the Compressor to help keep the signal clean or to dial up a sound. The
Hartke Shape control adds a pre-set equalization curve with a slight lift in the low
frequencies, a cut in the mids and then a slight lift again in the highs. The Shape
circuit has a backlit on/off switch to engage the Shape EQ circuit. As you turn the
Frequency control, you are adjusting the center frequency so the entire contour curve
is adjusted. For added control on stage, the Shape circuit can be controlled using
the optional Hartke FS2 footswitch. The Hydrive combos also feature Hartke’s Bass
Attack Overdrive. The Bass Attack Overdrive section has three controls: Harmonics-
which is used to set the amount of drive; Brite- to add highs that additionally excite
the harmonics; Mix- that blends the overdrive and the clean signal. You can add just
a touch, which is almost unnoticeable(until you turn it off), a modern overdrive,
or you can even dial up a creamy fuzz tone. On stage, the Overdrive circuit can be
controlled using the optional Hartke FS2 footswitch. For expanded tonal control, the
Hydrive combos feature a 7-band graphic EQ with, +/- 12 db cut and boost allowing
you tocontour a tone that’s perfect for your sound. Finally, the Bass and Treble
controls (with Bass providing a low frequency shelving EQ at 100 Hz and Treble, a high
frequency shelving EQ at 8 kHz). The Hydrive cabinets are constructed using high
quality plywood with extensive bracing and dado joinery, which makes them rigid
2
Introduction
and at the same time lightweight. The vinyl covering, steel grill and corners provide
added protection while moving the amplifier from gig to gig. The road tough, black
and chrome biker look says you're ready to rock! And of course, the Hydrive combos
feature the world famous, and the original, Kickback design allowing you to project
the sound directly at yourself while on stage. Hydrive combos are super clean and
natural with enough tone and signal processing to produce a radical range of sounds.
That versatility, together with Hartke’s famous reliability, make the Hydrive combos
the ideal amp for bassists playing jazz, funk, country, roots rock, death metal or for
whatever style you create.
In these pages, you’ll find a detailed description of the many features of your Hydrive
Combos Combo Bass Amplifier, as well as a guided tour through its front and rear
panels, step-by-step instructions for setting up and using the amp, additional
information about equalization, plus full specifications. You’ll also find a warranty
card enclosed—please don’t forget to fill it out and mail it so that you can receive
online technical support and so we can send you updated information about this
and other Hartke and Samson products in the future. Also, be sure to check out our
With proper care and adequate air circulation, your Hydrive combo will operate
trouble free for many years. We recommend you record your serial number in the
space provided below for future reference.
Serial number: ____________________________________________
Date of purchase: __________________________________________
SPECIAL NOTE: Should your Hartke Hydrive Combos Combo Bass Amplifier ever
require servicing, a Return Authorization (RA) number is necessary. Without this
number, the unit will not be accepted. If purchased in the United States, please call
Samson at 1-800-372-6766 for a Return Authorization number prior to shipping.
Please retain the original packing materials and, if possible, return the unit in its
original carton and packing materials. If purchased outside the United States, please
contact your local distributor for warranty information.
3
Hartke 112C,115C and 210C
Combo Bass Amplifier Features
The Hartke Hydrive Combos offer all the newest concepts in state-of-the-art hybrid
drive bass amplification in an extremely compact size and affordable price. Here are
some of their main features:
• The 112C delivers 250 Watts of power to its specially designed, 12-inch Hydrive bass
driver, while the 115C delivers 250 Watts to its specially designed, 15-inch Hydrive
bass driver and the 210C provides 250 Watts of power to the dual 10-inch Hydrive
bass drivers.
• Flexible input that can accommodate a broad range of input levels, so that you can
use the Hydrive Combos with pretty much any kind of bass, from passive models
to those with active circuitry. It is almost impossible to overload the input of an
Hydrive Combos bass amplifier!
• Bass and Treble plus a high-quality seven band Graphic Equalizer, allow you to
create a broad range of tonal colors for your bass instrument.
• In addition to the bass, treble and graphic equalizer, the Hydrive combos feature
the world famous Hartke Shape control. When engaged, the Shape control applies
a preset equalization curve providing a tone contour that’s sweet on most any bass.
The Shape control knob allows the equalization curve to shift over frequency for
even more tone control.
• Each combo also features Hartke’s Bass Attack Overdrive circuit, which provides
harmonics that can be adjusted to add a slight amount of tube-type warmth all the
way to killer distortion.
• Line-level effects loop send (Preamp Out) and return (Amp In) jacks that allow you
to connect to professional outboard effects processors.
• A dedicated AUX input is included allowing you to hook up a portable CD or MP3
player to practice along with.
4
4
Hartke 112C, 115C and 210C
Combo Bass Amplifier Features
• Specially designed cabinet which can be used either flat on the floor or on its
“kickback”position for increased high end clarity.
•
A rear panel, line-level direct output, with PRE/POST switch on standard XLR
connector is provided for interfacing with PA systems or recording mixing consoles.
• Bipolar circuit design ensures that every nuance of your bass performance is
reproduced faithfully.
• Rugged plywood construction makes the Hydrive Combos eminently road-worthy.
• The Hydrive combos are beautifully appointed in tough black vinyl with chrome
corners and matching steel grills, giving them a powerful appearance, and sound,
on stage.
• Hartke extended three-year warranty.
5
Guided Tour - Front Panel
1. Input (1/4-inch Jack) - Connect your bass guitar to this standard 1/4" unbalanced
jack. This Hydrive Combo Input has been designed to handle the signals from just
about any bass with either passive pickups or with hotter pickups if your bass has
active electronics (that is, if it has a battery).
2. LeveL (control knob) - This is the overall volume control. For best signal-to-
noise ratio, keep the output of your bass at or near maximum and adjust the Hydrive
Combos Volume to the desired level.
3. CompressIon (control knob) - This control determines the amount of
compression (peak signal reduction) by simultaneously adjusting both threshold
and compression ratio (which ranges from 2:1 to infinity [limiting]). At the fully
counterclockwise “Zero”position, the circuitry is bypassed and no compression is
applied. As the knob is raised clockwise (at settings from “1”to “10”), increasing
amounts of compression are applied.
4. CompressIon LED – The LED provides a visual indicator of the status of the
compression circuitry. When the LED is off (for example, when the Limiter knob
[see #3 above] is set to “Zero”), no compression is being applied. When flashing,
compression is being applied to the incoming signal at a ratio of approximately
2:1. When steadily blue, the compression ratio is approaching infinity (limiting is
being applied to peak signals). This LED “follows”the incoming signal, changing
continuously as different amounts of compression and/or limiting are being applied.
5. FrequenCy (control knob)– This control knob is used to set the center cut
frequency for the Shape circuit. The Shape control adds a pre-set equalization curve
with a slight lift in the low frequencies, a cut in the mids and then a slight lift again in
the highs depending on it's setting.
6. SHAPE (switch) – This switch is used to engage the Hartke Shape circuit which
adds a pre-set equalization curve with a slight lift in the low frequencies, a cut in
the mids and then a slight lift again in the highs. For additional control on stage, the
SHAPE switch can be controlled using a Hartke FS2 footswitch.
7. HarmonICs (control knob) – When the Bass Attack Overdrive switch is ON, the
control knob adjusts the amount of overdrive distortion.
6
Guided Tour - Front Panel
8. BrIte (control knob) – This knob set the amount of high frequency tone control
used to drive the harmonics in the Bass Attack Overdrive. The control is active when
the Bass Attack Overdrive switch is ON.
9. mIx (control knob) – When the Bass Attack Overdrive switch is ON, the control
knob is used to blend the dry and over driven signal. When set all the way to the left,
the signal is 100 percent dry. When set to all the way to the right, the signal is 100
percent through the overdrive effect. When using the overdrive effect, a good place
to start is right in the middle.
10. on- (switch) – A backlit push switch used to turn on the Bass Attack Overdrive
effect. For additional control on stage, the Bass Attack Overdrive ON switch can be
controlled using a Hartke FS2 footswitch.
11. GrapHIC equaLIzer - These sliders allow you to “draw”the tonal response of
the system by adding 12 dB of boost or attenuation to ten different narrow-band
frequency areas (30 Hz, 80 Hz, 160 Hz, 315 Hz, 630 Hz, 1.25 kHz, 2.5 kHz, and 5 kHz).
When a slider is at its center detented (“0”) position, the selected frequency area is
unaffected (it is said to be flat). When a slider is moved up (above the “0”position,
towards the “+12”position), the selected frequency area is boosted, and when it
is moved down (below the “0”position, towards the “-12”position), the selected
frequency area is attenuated. For more information, see the “Using Equalization”
section on page 14 in this manual.
12. Bass (control knob) - This control provides approximately 15 db of cut or boost
at 100 Hz, with a peak (bell) curve. When the knob is at the 12 o’clock (“0”) position,
there is no boost or attenuation (that is, flat response). As it is turned clockwise from
the “0”position, the frequency area is boosted; as it is turned counterclockwise from
the “0”position, the frequency area is attenuated. For more information, see the
“Using Equalization" section on page 14 in this manual.
13. treBLe (control knob) - This peaking control provides approximately 15 db of
cut or boost at 8 kHz. When the knob is at the 12 o’clock (“0”) position, there is no
boost or attenuation (that is, flat response). As it is turned clockwise from the “0”
position, the frequency area is boosted; as it is turned counterclockwise from the
“0”position, the frequency area is attenuated. For more information, see the “Using
Equalization" section on page 14 in this manual.
14. power (switch) - Use this to power the Hydrive Combos on or off. When
powered on, an LED inside this switch is lit.
7
Guided Tour - Rear Panel
A. AC POWER (inlet) - Use the supplied grounded AC power cord to connect your
Hydrive Combos amplifier to mains power. This cord comes supplied with the
appropriate plug for your geographic area. CAUTION: Do not use an adapter to defeat
the third grounding pin on this plug or severe electric shock may result!
B. Speaker Output (1/4-inch jack) – The jack is used to connect the internal 4-ohm
Hydrive hybrid cone bass speaker system.
C. FOOTSWITCH (1/4-inch jack) – Use this 1/4-inch jack to connect the optional FS2
footswitch to control SHAPE and BASS ATTACK OVERDRIVE on and off from the stage
floor.
D. GROUND LIFT (switch) – This switch disconnects the chassis ground from the
audio ground. If you experience a buzz in the PA system when using the Direct
Output, engage the Ground Lift switch.
E. Direct Output (XLR connector)- This standard, balanced male XLR connector
provides a Line-level output signal from the Hydrive Combos amplifier. You’ll usually
use this to connect the Hydrive Combos signal to a Line-level input when interfacing
with PA systems or recording mixing consoles.
F. PRE/POST (switch) – This switch selects the routing of Direct Output signal from
before or after the pre amp controls. If PRE is selected, the signal sent to the direct
output is directly from the Input. If POST is selected the signal that’s sent to the direct
output includes the Level, Compression, Shape and Overdrive plus the Bass Treble and
Equalizer.
G. Preamp Out / Send (1/4-inch jack) - Use this 1/4" unbalanced jack to send signal
to a professional outboard effects processor.* Output level is approximately 0 dB to
+4 dB and is post-EQ and post-Shape but unaffected by the setting of the Volume
control. The signal from this output is the same as that from the Direct Out on the rear
panel.
H. Amp In / Return (1/4-inch jack) - Use this 1/4" unbalanced jack to return signal
from a professional outboard effects processor.*
I. AUX INPUT - Your Hydrive Combo amplifier features an AUX INPUT on dual RCA
connectors, which you can use with a portable CD player, cassette, mini disk or MP3
player. You can use the CD input to jam with pre-recorded tracks or to learn a riff from
a favorite recording.
*In-line effects (such as foot pedals) intended for low signal levels should be placed
between your bass and the front panel Hydrive Combos amplifier Input and not
connected with the rear panel Effects Loop jacks.
8
Setting Up and Using Your Hartke Hydrive
Combo Bass Amplifier
Setting up your Hartke Hydrive Combo Bass Amplifier is a
simple procedure which takes only a few minutes:
1. Remove all packing materials (save them in case of need
for future service) and decide where the amplifier is to be
physically placed. You may decide to use the “kickback”posi-
tion for additional directionality and high frequency clarity.
To avoid potential overheating problems, make sure that the
rear panel is unobstructed and that there is good ventilation
around the entire unit.
2. Before you plug-in the power cable, be sure the Power
switch is in the off position. Connect the supplied power cable
to the AC inlet located on the rear panel. Then, plug-in the
3-pin AC plug into any grounded AC socket. Don’t turn the
Hydrive Combos on just yet, though.
3. Use a standard instrument cable to connect your bass to
the Input jack located on the Hydrive front panel. The Hydrive
combo’s Input has been designed to handle a wide range of
input signals. So, If your bass has passive electronics (that is, if
it has no battery), or if your bass has active electronics (that is,
if it has a battery), you’ll achieve a clean signal level.
4. On the front panel of the Hydrive Combos, turn the Level
and Compression control to their minimum (fully counter-
clockwise) position. Set the Bass, Treble and all seven graphic
EQ sliders to their “0”position.
5. Make sure the Bass Attack Overdrive ON switch is NOT
engaged. That is, the light is off. We’ll come back to the Bass
Attack Overdrive in a separate section later in this manual.
For more information, see the section Using the Bass Attack
Overdrive on page 13.
6. Press the front panel Power switch in order to turn on your
Hydrive combo amp; the LED in the switch will light up.
7. Set the output of your bass to maximum and then, while
playing, slowly turn the Hydrive Combos Level control up
until the desired volume is achieved. It’s nearly impossible to
overload the Hydrive combo amplifier, so if you hear distor-
tion even at low Level settings, check for a faulty cable (if it’s
good, simply back off the output of your bass).
9
Setting Up and Using Your Hartke Hydrive
Combo Bass Amplifier
8. Adjust the Bass, Treble and Graphic Equalizer
controls to taste. (When you get a great setting that
complement's your instrument and playing style, it’s
a good idea to write it down for future use.)
9. Press in the Shape switch and turn the Shape
knob both clockwise and counterclockwise to hear
the effect of the Shape curve and filter on the sound
of your bass. Leave the Shape knob at the point
where it best complements your particular instru-
ment and playing style. For more on SHAPE see the
section Using the Shape Circuit on page 12.
10. Now try out the Hydrive combo’s Compression
circuitry. Activate it by turning the Compression
knob clockwise from its “Zero”position. As you turn
the knob clockwise, the input signal from your bass
becomes more and more severely compressed—
you’ll hear peak signals (such as string slaps and
pulls) begin to sound increasingly “squashed,”rela-
tive to the lower-level signals produced by standard
playing. The result will be a decreased dynamic
range but an overall leveling of signal throughout
the full pitch range of your instrument. In the 112C,
115C and 210C, the Compression LED will be off
when no compression is being applied, will go on
whenever small amounts of compression are being
applied and will flash or light steadily blue when
limiting (severe compression) is being applied.
11. If you’re using a professional external signal
processor that has Line-level inputs and outputs,
turn your Hydrive Combo amp off momentarily
and then connect a standard audio cable between
the rear panel Preamp Out jack and your effects
processor input and another standard audio cable
between your effects processor output and the Amp
In jack. (If required, multiple effects processors can
be daisy-chained together, output to input). Then
turn the Hydrive Combos amp back on and play
your bass while adjusting the controls of your effects
processor(s). For best results, set both the input and
output gain of the connected effects processor(s)
to 0 dB (unity gain), so that there is no increase or
decrease in level whether the effects are switched in
or out.
10
Setting Up and Using Your Hartke Hydrive
Combo Bass Amplifier
12. If you need to connect the Hydrive Combo to a
PA system or a recording mixing console, connect
a cable between the rear-panel Direct Out and a
Line-level input on the mixer. (See E on page 8 in
this manual for more information on the use of the
Hydrive Combo Direct Out). The signal that is sent
from the Hydrive’s Direct Output can be configured
as directly off the input or after the pre-amp by using
the PRE / POST switch. If PRE is selected, the signal
sent to the direct output is directly from the Input. If
POST is selected, the signal that’s sent to the direct
output includes the Level, Compression, Shape and
Overdrive plus the Bass, Treble and Equalizer. If you
experience a ground loop hum when connecting
the Hydrive combo to a PA system, try setting the
Ground Lift switch to the Lift position.
13. The Aux Input can be used with a portable CD
player, cassette, mini disk or MP3 player to jam with
pre-recorded tracks or learn a riff from a favorite
tune. In fact, you can plug any line level signal into
the CD input including the signal from a keyboard
or drum machine. Connect the CD player or other
Line level device to the CD Input using standard RCA
cable. You will want to use the volume control on the
CD player or other Line level device to set the bal-
ance between the track and your bass. So, start with
the volume control all the way down and slowly raise
it until you reach a good balance with your bass.
14. The Hartke Hydrive combo has a footswitch
jack located on the rear chassis panel. Connect the
optional Hartke FS2 dual-button footswitch to the
rear panel Footswitch jack for increased control
when performing on stage. Switch #1 allows you to
switch between the Bass Attack Overdrive on and
off. Switch #2 on the FS2 will control the on and off
for the Shape control.
If you encounter difficulty with any aspect of setting
up or using your Hartke Hydrive bass combo ampli-
fier, you can call Hartke Technical Support (1-800-
372-6766) between 9 AM and 5 PM EST, or contact
your local distributor if you purchased your Hydrive
combo outside the United States.
11
The Effect of the Shape Control
The Hydrive's unique Shape control enables the
sound of your bass instrument to be enhanced at
the touch of a button. When the front panel Shape
switch is pressed in, a special equalization curve is
activated that is designed to improve the sound of
most electric bass instruments. This curve provides
moderate boost at certain frequency areas and
deep attenuation at other frequency areas. Further-
more, the front panel Shape control adds a filter to
a selected frequency area within the Shape curve.
As the Shape knob is turned clockwise, the filter is
imposed on higher frequency areas; as it is turned
counterclockwise, the filter is imposed on lower
frequency areas. At the fully clockwise position, the
filter is applied to the 1 kHz frequency area; at the
fully counterclockwise position, the filter is applied to
the 80 Hz frequency area.
Even when Shape is activated, the front-panel EQ
controls remain operational. When all EQ controls are
set to their “0”(flat) position, they add no boost or at-
tenuation to the preset Shape curve. However, when
any EQ controls are moved from their (“0”) position,
their boost or attenuation effect is superimposed
upon the preset Shape curve. In this way, you can
customize the sound of the Hybrid combo further
still to complement your particular bass instrument
and playing style.
Note that, when the Shape switch is out, the EQ con-
trols operate on the “flat”signal coming from your
bass (that is, there is no preset equalization curve
imposed).
For expanded control on stage, you can use the op-
tional FS2 footswitch to select the Shape on or off.
12
12
Using the Bass Attack Overdrive
The Hydrive combos feature Hartke’s Bass Attack
Overdrive circuit allowing you to add a little tube
type overdrive, some edgy dirt or all out fuzz.
The Bass Attack Overdrive operates with three
controls; the first is Harmonics, which is used to
set the amount of overdrive.
Next is BRITE, which is a high-frequency tone
control inserted before the Harmonics that drives,
or excites the Harmonics.
Finally, MIX allows you blend between the origi-
nal clean signal and the overdriven signal.
If you want to add a little tube tone, start with all
three knobs at the 12:00 position. Slowly move
the MIX to the right adding in more Harmonics.
Now experiment with the Brite control to add
more high-end distortion. Keep adjusting the
Harmonics for even more fuzz. Often a little bit
goes a long way. You may dial up a slight bit of
overdrive and not even notice it’s on, until you
switch it off.
For expanded control on stage, you can use the
optional Hartke FS2 footswitch to select the Bass
Attack Overdrive on or off.
13
Using Equalization
The Hartke Systems Hydrive Combos Bass Amplifier
gives you enormous control over shaping the sound
of your bass, using a process called equalization. To
understand how this works, it’s important to know
that every naturally occurring sound consists of a
broad range of pitches, or frequencies, combined
together in a unique way. This blend is what gives
every sound its distinctive tonal color. The Hydrive
Combos EQ controls allow you to alter a sound by
boosting or attenuating specific frequency areas—
they operate much like the bass and treble controls
on your hi-fi amp, but with much greater precision.
The 112C, 115C and 210Coffer standard Bass
and Treble controls, plus seven bands of graphic
equalization. This extended, dual stage equalization
circuit allows you to tailor the mid-band with precise
control and then boost and cut the bottom and top.
The Bass knob affects the low-frequency area at
100 Hz, and provides approximately 15 db of boost
and attenuation. The Treble knob affects the high-
frequency area at 8 kHz, and provides approximately
15 db of boost and attenuation. The Graphic Equalizer
points are at 80 Hz, 160 Hz, 315 Hz, 630 Hz, 1.25kHz,
2.5kHz and 5kHz and the sliders provide 12 db of
boost and attenuation. We carefully selected these
frequency areas because they have maximum impact
on bass signals. For example, the Bass (100 Hz)
control affects the very lowest audible frequencies (in
fact, most humans cannot hear below 20 Hz), while
the High (5 kHz) control affects the “twang”of a bass
string.
When a Bass or Treble knob is in its center detented
position (“0”), it is having no effect. When it is moved
right of center, the particular frequency area is
being boosted; when it is moved left of center, the
frequency area is being attenuated. When a Graphic
Equalizer slider is in its center detented position (“0”),
it is having no effect. When it is moved up above
center, the particular frequency area is being boosted;
when it is moved down below center, the frequency
area is being attenuated. Turning all EQ controls up
the same amount will have virtually the same effect
as simply turning up the Volume; conversely, turning
them all down the same amount will have virtually
the same effect as turning down the Volume. Both
approaches are pointless (after all, that’s why we gave
you a Level control!)
14
Using Equalization
In many instances, the best way to deal with equalization is to think in terms of which
frequency areas you need to attenuate, as opposed to which ones you need to boost.
Be aware that boosting a frequency area also has the effect of boosting the overall signal;
specifically, too much Low EQ boost can actually cause overload distortion or even harm
the connected speaker.
The specific EQ you will apply to your bass signal is very much dependent upon your
particular instrument and personal taste and playing style. However, here are a few
general suggestions:
• For that super-deep reggae or Motown sound, boost the Bass EQ moderately while
attenuating the Treble EQ.
• To remove boxiness and make your instrument sound more “hi-fi,”try attenuating the
Mid EQ control.
• For a twangy, cutting sound, try boosting the Treble EQ. (Putting new roundwound
strings on your bass will help a lot also!)
• Whenever you get a really good EQ setting for a particular instrument or song, write
it down (you’d be amazed how easy it is to forget these things!). Use the blank setting
templates on page 18-19 of this manual.
As you experiment with the EQ controls of the Hydrive Combos, don’t forget that your bass
also provides significant EQ control in the form of its pickup and tonal settings—this can
be particularly effective in instruments that have active circuitry.
15
Hydrive Combo Sample Settings
The Hydrive combos are powerful bass amps with a lot of personality. The amplifiers offer bassists
a wide range of sounds and after playing just a short time; you’ll find the tone that's perfectly
suited for your playing style and your sound. To get you started, try some of the samples settings
below. Remember, 112C, 115C and 210C use different speaker systems, plus different basses are
made of different wood and have different pick-ups, so the sound will vary a little bit on each
individual set-up. But still, the sample settings will get you close enough, so your can use you ear
to tweak up the sound that’s perfect for you.
On page 18 you'll find blank templates of the Hydrive amplifier section. Use these templates to
write down the settings for your favorite sounds. Feel free to photocopy or scan the template
page if needed.
16
Hydrive Combo Sample Settings
17
Hydrive Combo Setting Template
18
Hydrive Combo Setting Template
19
Specifications
rated output power (@ 1 kHz, 4 ohm, 1% THD)
250 watts
rated Input Level (@ 1 kHz)
-20 dBu
0.2%
total Harmonic Distortion (@ 1 dB below rated output, 1 kHz typical)
signal to noise ratio (re: 1 Wrms @ 1 kHz)
68 db
84 dB
Dynamic range (re: Rated output @ 1 kHz
equalizer
Bass (100 Hz)
Treble (8 kHz)
15 dB
15 dB
12 dB
Graphic (80 Hz, 160 Hz, 315 Hz, 630 Hz, 1.25kHz, 2.5kHz and 5kHz)
Fuse type
3AG slo-blo (US & Japan), TAL time delay (UK & European)
Fuse rating
US & Japan
UK & European
5.0A
2.5A
weight
112C
115C
57.2 lbs. (26 kg)
63.8 lbs. (29 kg)
61.6 lbs. (28 kg)
115C
Dimensions
112C
115C
18.52”(470.5 mm) H x 17.59”(447 mm) W x 15.75”(400 mm)D
21.67”(550.5 mm) H x 18.89”(480 mm) W x 15.75”(400 mm)D
16.27”(413.5 mm) H x 22.34.25”(593 mm) W x 14.96”(380 mm)D
210C
Specifications are subject to change without notice.
20
Hartke
45 Gilpin Avenue
Hauppauge, New York 11788-8816
Phone: 1-800-3-SAMSON (1-800-372-6766)
Fax: 631-784-2201
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