Hartke VXL Bass Attack Pedal and Direct Box

No longer available at zZounds
Get the tone shaping tools and distinctive sound of Hartke, then send your signal straight to the mixing board with the Bass Attack Pedal and DI box.

Hartke amps are known for having just about the best bass shaping technology around and now you can get all the tone and versatility of Hartke's Exclusive Shape Circuitry in the Bass Attack professional bass pedal. Built into an all steel chassis with 2 stomp-proof switches and LED status indicators, the Bass Attack pedal features Hartke's Variable Notch Shape circuit with adjustable frequency, a 3-band EQ with bass tuned center frequencies, a variable harmonic control circuit that emulates the warmth of a tube driver, Mix and Output level controls, On/Off and Shape In/Out switching for switching sounds during a performance, Pre/Post direct out with a balanced gold-plated XLR output, and the Bass Attack will operate on either 9-volt battery, optional AC Adapter, or phantom power through the XLR. What took Hartke so long to design a bass pedal? Well, these things take time if you want to do it right!

The Hartke Bass Attack pedal is a tone-shaping pre-amp that doubles as a direct box, featuring the famous Hartke Shape circuitry. The two-button style stomp box has a three band EQ for adjustments of Bass, Treble, and Bright controls, plus a Harmonic control that emulates the warmth and drive of a tube so well that you'll never want to turn it off. The Hartke Bass Attack pedal gives you the ability to finally get the sound you want, and everything in between.

* VX tone shaping pre-amp / direct box

* Famous Hartke shape circuitry

* 3-band bass, treble and bright control

* Harmonic control for tube drive emulation

* Gold plated XLR direct output with selectable pre / post, and parallel 1/4 in. in/out

* Rugged extruded aluminum stomp-box style construction

For support or warranty questions, please contact the manufacturer:
Phone: 516-870-7200
Web: http://www.samsontech.com/contact/

Reviewers gave this product an overall rating of 5 out of 5 stars. (58 ratings)
Submitted February 4, 2009 by Jantes7

"The bass players best friend!"

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
This review has been selected by our experts as particularly helpful.
I expect to be using this pedal for rest of my career (in some way or another) or until they come out with one that has a built-in tuner. I doubt I'll ever ware this thing out. When you take into account an IMP-2 Direct Box will run you $40.00 and this pedal will only run you $70.00 (rounding up that is). It's a no brainer! This pedal is the best I've ever used. It meets all my needs and if it were ever lost I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one immeadatly. I only wish I new how good this pedal was before I bought it, I would have bought it a lot sooner. I like everything about it, except for the fact that it doesn't have a built-in tuner. But, that's just me.

Sound
I'd say that this product is the best processor/direct box I've ever used. When I first started playing professionally, I used an old Fender Bassman amp. Then moved up to an Acoustic 360 with an 18" reflex and a folded horn. These amps especially the 360 were extremely heavy to drag around from gig to gig. With this Hartke I can get any sound I want and I doubt this thing ways a pound. I play a Fender Americian Jazz bass and an old Rickenbacker 4001 bass I love the fact that I don't need to use an amp at all anymore, I just plug the two bass guitars into an ABY box and the ABY box into the Hartke and the Hartke directly into the board.

Features
This thing has all the features you could want except for maybe a built-in tuner. Really!! It read more has a 9 volt power source and a battery source so you can supply the power either way. It has a ground lift, phantom power on/off, TRS out, XLR out and parallel outputs. The harmonics will blow you away!

Ease of Use
This thing is so easy to use, all you have to do is plug in and start adjusting the dials. It even comes with a bunch of settings previously used by others. Now, I own a Hartke Kickback HS1200 120 watt bass amp. that I've been using for the past few years and a lot of the features are the same, but you don't have to be a rocket scientist to operate this thing. Truly!

Quality
It appears to be built to last. I haven't had any problems at all with this thing. The pods are excellent quality, the input/outputs are tight and the stomp switches are solid. The case is well built and the pods are placed below the stomp switches so you can't do them any harm while in use.

Value
I'll tell you. This thing is worth its weight in gold. I'd have paid a lot more for this pedal (after I tried it, that is). It is extremey rare to find a product of this quality at such a low price. Thank you sooooo much Hartke!

Manufacturer Support
I have never had any problems with any of the Hartke equipment I own. That's why I didn't hesitate to buy the pedal.

The Wow Factor
Nobody actually sees this thing and I'm not that into how a product looks. I'm all about the sound. But, this pedal is very nice looking and wonderfully designed.

Musical Background:
Active Musician & Recording Engineer

Musical Style:
Contemporary Christian, Rock and Jazz
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