Life With Larry

Larry Hartke has created a wild buzz through the music world with a form of marketing so innovative it’s brought him as much interest from the industry as it has from the players. Delivered via the social networking site myspace, “Life With Larry” is an unscripted “sitcommercial” that tells the fictional story of Larry’s struggles to bring the new HyDrive products from Hartke to the mainstream bass market.

Larry gained initial attention when he made his own cell phone number (201-680-8153) public information by means of international publications and his myspace page, inviting anyone to call him at anytime. What’s even more impressive is that Larry stuck to his offer, personally answering and returning every call he received, calls that totaled over 7,000 in the first 12 months.

Now Larry’s taken his inventive form of advertising to the next level, airing “Life With Larry” on his myspace page. Featuring Larry himself along with his friends and their misadventures at the Old Canal Inn in Nutley, New Jersey, the project has yielded five episodes in roughly two months with over 30,000 views between myspace, youtube and lifewithlarry.net, a site specifically devoted to the show. As a throwback to 1970s sitcoms like “All in the Family,” “Life With Larry” offers a comical, creative entertainment-based form of advertising that combines clever marketing with screwball antics.

In addition to Larry and his cohorts, the show features some of the greatest bass players in the business, such as J.D. DeServio of Black Label Society and consummate bass virtuoso Stu Hamm One episode even features legendary stick player Steve Adelson as the devil. As one could probably guess, soul stealing does ensue.

Check out Larry and the gang at lifewithlarry.net and feel free to give him a call.

Larry Hartke Announces Greatest Unsigned Bassists

Since Larry Hartke first published his cell number, over 5,000 players have sent their CDs, and MySpace websites to him. One of our goals was simply to find great players of all different types that we might otherwise never get to hear. And for the very best, give them some exposure in the industry and award them a Hartke artist equipment endorsement. Below are the first three, very talented winners.

Casey Spinit

Casey Spinit is a wonderfully original player from Chicago, now living in Florida. Casey a memorable and original artist! You can his music on his MySpace page at www.myspace.com/caseyspinit. He is also turning "unsigned" into a profession, working with Rolling Stone Magazine's Number One Unsigned Band "Klik" at www.myspace.com/klik.

Gary "Biscuit" Bennett

Gary "Biscuit" Bennett a great bass player and a family man from Essex England. His passion for the instrument is immediately apparent when listening to his music or when having a conversation with him. The guy eats sleeps and breaths the bass. Look for Biscuit's new CD of original tracks "All Or Nothing and check out his page at www.myspace.com/biscuitandbass4.

Peter Davyduck

Peter Davyduck is a very cool, humble guy and a tremendous bass player who is involved in many aspects of the bass game. Now living in Langley, British Columbia, Peter teaches bass, works in the musical instrument industry and stays busy touring and recording with many of Canada's top Christian acts. Check him out at www.myspace.com/psychicpet.

Hartke Unveils HyDrive: A Revolution in Bass Amplification

Moving beyond the parameters of traditional bass speaker technology, Hartke has introduced a new line of bass gear called HyDrive. HyDrive is a brand new speaker design with greater power handling that is the pinnacle of innovation for contemporary bass performance. After spending more than three years on development, Hartke has revolutionized speaker design with the fusion of paper and aluminum cones, providing the best of both worlds for today’s bass players.

Hartke’s revolutionary HyDrive technology offers the warmth of traditional paper, while incorporating the punch and attack of aluminum. The patented Hybrid Cone Technology uses an outer paper cone for low, deep frequencies and an inner aluminum cone that produces punchy, articulate mids and highs. Using neodymium magnets and a cast aluminum frame, each HyDrive speaker weighs 40% less than a traditional bass speaker but handles 250 watts of power for the best power-to-weight ratio of any speaker available.

“These days, musicians want versatility,” says Stu Hamm, Hartke endorsee. “Contemporary bassists are looking for products that won’t limit their style of music. We want power, we want tone, we want punch and we want control over all of it. The HyDrive speakers offer great sound and the amps provide complete control over your tone. From heavy-metal to jazz or anything in between, HyDrive has you covered.”

The Rule of Three

Hartke’s new HyDrive line comes in threes: 3 cabinets, 3 amps and 3 combos. Our HX115 offers one 15-inch, 500 watt HyDrive hybrid cone speaker. Our HX410 has four 10-inch, 250 watt HyDrive hybrid cone speakers with power handling of 1,000 watts and our HX810 cabinet has eight 10-inch, 250 watt HyDrive hybrid cone speakers for 2,000 watts of power handling. Each cabinet has a 1-inch titanium compression driver for extended range and is equipped with a high frequency attenuation switch as well as 1/4-inch and Speakon™ output connectors.

Hartke has also revealed a trio of amplifiers with phenomenal power and sound control to power these revolutionary speaker cabinets. The Kilo offers two separate power blocks that deliver a true 1,000 watts in bridged mono or 500 watts per side in either stereo or dual mono. The Kilo also boasts three 12AX7 tubes, 10-band graphic EQ, Tube EQ, 1/4-inch and Speakon™ output connectors, Shape Control, Bass Attack Overdrive and a host of other features for a combination of great power and complete tonal control.

In addition to the Kilo, Hartke has also announced the LH500 and the LH1000, providing 500 and 1000 watts respectively. Both amplifiers have a 12AX7 Class-A tube front-end design for warm tone with an edge, along with a two-rackspace metal frame chassis, steel faceplates and handles for easy toting from gig to gig.

Utilizing the classic design of the original KickBack™, Hartke also introduces three combos that are versatile and lightweight with enough power and tone for live performance needs. All three combos offer 250 watts of clean, linear power. The HyDrive 112c houses a single 12-inch hybrid cone speaker, the HyDrive 115c has a single 15-inch hybrid cone speaker and the HyDrive 210c has dual 10-inch hybrid cone speakers. All three have a 1-inch titanium compression driver, 7-band graphic EQ, bass and treble contour controls, Shape Control and Bass Attack Overdrive. An effects loop, footswitch jack and XLR balanced direct output are also onboard. All three have the same solid plywood construction and extensive bracing as the larger HyDrive cabinets.

The HyDrive cabinets and combos offer remarkable power and tone for any performance or recording application with any style of playing. The Kilo and LH amplifiers perfectly complement the HyDrive cabs, while offering the versatility to work with any cabinets on the market. With innovative thinking and groundbreaking design, the new HyDrive series will provide unrivaled sound and performance for any bassist.