Hartke LX8500 800-Watt Bass Amplifier Head

The LX8500 puts 800 watts at 4 ohms (525 W at 8 ohms) into a slim, rugged head that delivers full-rig tone without the setup. Its Class A preamp runs on a real 12AX7 tube ahead of a Class D power section, with Bass (+8/-14 dB at 80 Hz), Treble (+5/-20 dB at 6 kHz), a sweepable Frequency control from 200 Hz to 800 Hz, and a Shape voicing knob, plus a Brite switch and a footswitchable Drive circuit for grit on demand.

A fixed 2:1 compressor with adjustable threshold keeps the low end controlled, and I/O covers a balanced XLR direct out with a pre/post EQ switch, an effects loop, a tuner out, and both 1/4-inch and twist-and-lock speaker jacks. Two TRS footswitch jacks handle remote drive and mute, and an 1/8-inch aux input plus headphone out cover practice duty.