Hartke Hydrive 112C, Owner'S Manual

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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