Compared to guitarists, it seems bassists
often get the short end of the stick
when it comes to the sheer numbers of gear
offerings. Granted, the past decade has seen
much more gear released for low-end rumble
than ever before, but the numbers still pale
in comparison to how many tone tools
guitarists have at their disposal. This isn’t
because bassists are afterthoughts to most
companies—it’s mainly because the average
bassist has fewer tone-palette needs than the
average guitarist. For evidence, all you have
to do is compare the number of bassists carting
around gargantuan pedalboards and rack
systems to the number of guitarists doing so.
However, a handful of effects and
tone-processing circuits are integral to a
significant number of discerning bassists,
and Hartke—a bass-focused company that’s
been serving some of the biggest names on
the scene since the early ’80s—took pretty
much all of those into consideration when
designing their monstrously powerful new
Kilo head. It features built-in compression,
overdrive, muting, a slew of EQ controls,
and multiple connection features.
Everything but the Kitchen Sink
The Kilo features an all-tube preamp driven
by a trio of 12AX7 tubes. After connecting
your bass to the amp’s input, your input
level is adjusted by a gain knob and a switch
that enables you to pad the input for active
pickups. Output is handled by a pair of solidstate
power amps, each running 500 watts at
2 Ω or a huge 1,000 watts at 4 Ω when in
bridged mono mode. In stereo mode, a balance
control varies volume between each side,
enabling you to have one cabinet louder than
the other if you wish. Tone shaping is handled
primarily by the tone-stack EQ’s bass,
midrange, and treble controls, but it can be
shaped further using a 10-band graphic EQ
with an independent volume control. If the
3- or 10-band EQs don’t offer enough range
for crafting your tone—and it would be
very surprising if they didn’t—the Kilo also
include three EQ-shaping push-buttons to
add 6 dB to the highs (brite), boost low end
(deep), and apply an adjustable EQ curve to
the entire tone (shape).
Overdrive can be brought in and out
of the circuit via a front-panel button or a
footswitch, and it ranges from light grit to
super-heavy fuzz. Compression is one of
the most essential effects for a wide swath
of bassists, and the Kilo’s inclusion of such
a circuit removes the need for a separate
pedal or rack. Seems like a lot of features so
far, huh? And this is only the front panel!
The back panel features three output
sections—two for stereo mode or a single
output for bridged-mono mode. The stereo
section has two 1/4" jacks with a speakON
output connector for each side of the stereo
signal, all wired in parallel. The bridgedmono
area has a single speakON connector,
making it the only connection option to
use when the amp’s power sections are combined.
Dual outs for the preamp and dual
ins for the power amp add to the Kilo’s versatility
as a standalone tone generator that
can be routed straight into a PA or a recording
console. There’s also a second dedicated
tuner output (the first is on the front panel),
and an XLR out. Capping everything off
is a pair of jacks for controlling the mute/
overdrive functions, as well as EQ and
effects switching. There are also three 1/4"
jacks for the stereo serial effects loop.
With Great Power Comes
Great Tone
To test the Kilo, I plugged in a Kramer USA
Striker bass and connected the head to two
Hartke HyDrive 410 cabinets, each of which
has four 250-watt, neodymium-hybrid-cone
speakers split between two sealed chambers.
Because the speakers are 40 percent lighter
than most 10" units, the cabs are surprisingly
lightweight and easy to carry.
Tonally, the Kilo is all about smoothness.
Its power section serves up clean, booming
bass, and the tube preamp keeps things
from sounding too processed and flat. Even
if you’re running it without any of the extra
bells and whistles engaged, it excels at clear,
powerful tone. With the 3-band EQ knobs at
noon (and the graphic EQ switched off), the
amp exhibited an impressively wide dynamic
range but had plenty of room left on each
control to modify the tone with more low
end, scooped or humped mids, or high-end
pop for slapping. The low end was thick and
buttery smooth, the mids facilitated excellent
articulation, and the highs were sweet
and rich but never harsh. In short, I was
able to coax a massive variety of tones out
of the Kilo—from classic Motown grooves
to slap-happy funk, dub-worthy tones, and
percussive sounds that would fit in with
the tightest of metal groups. In fact, even
if the Kilo didn’t have all the other impressive
accoutrements, the preamp alone would
make it a compelling head. When you add
in the graphic EQ, which has +/- 12 dB for
each band, you’ve got an even more precisely
seasoned and tasty smorgasbord of tones.
Beyond EQ curves, one of the Kilo’s
most drastic and fantastic ways to modify
your low end is its overdrive circuit—which
is capable of adding a considerable amount
of burly hairiness. With gain set around
11 o’clock, I conjured moderate grind by
hitting the strings hard, but the sound
still cleaned up when I backed off my
attack. Things got warm and fuzzy as gain
approached 3 o’clock, though the effect
wasn’t quite as punchy as, say, an Electro-
Harmonix Big Muff. However, it was easy
to control the amount of grit without getting
excessive feedback or having to cut bass
frequencies or overbearing mids.
The Verdict
The Hartke Kilo is versatile enough to satisfy
just about any bassist. Though its range
of features may initially appear daunting to
players who prefer simple rigs, it’s so easy
and intuitive to use that even these players
owe it to themselves to check out its fantastically
punchy and diverse tones—because
it cranks out enough volume to cover pretty
much any style of music imaginable.
Kilo Rating:
Buy if...
burly yet infinitely tweakable
tones are your bag.
Skip if...
you don’t need massive wattage or
you get option anxiety easily.
Rating...
HyDrive 410 Rating:
Buy if...
your back twinges at the mere
thought of traditional 4x10 cabs.
Skip if...
you need the sub frequencies that
only 12s or 15s can provide.
Rating...