Megadeth’s David Ellefson + Gigantour Bassists Share Love for Hartke Products

There's a lot of bonding going on during this year's Gigantour trek, and four of the bassists on the bill have found one common link amongst themselves -- their love of Hartke products. In a nearly 10-minute video seen above, Megadeth's David Ellefson, Black Label Society's John DeServio, Hellyeah's Bob Zilla and Death Division's Jerry Montano discuss their experiences with Hartke's amplifiers.

Ellefson reveals that he just recently made the change from LH-1000 to the Kilo bass amplifiers. He's joined in his passion toward the Kilo bass amps by DeServio, who explains, "For me it's just got more versatility. The LH's are great because it's very simple with mid, treble and lows … but the Kilo has pretty much the attack pedal built in."

DeServio adds that playing with guitarists as powerful as Black Label Society's Zakk Wylde and Nick Catanese, he has to find something that cuts through. He previously used the LH-1000, which he remains a fan of, and he adds, "It was really distorted and I needed something that cut through, so the LH-1000 was born and the HyDrives, it just kicked ass and I was able to use that stuff."

The bassists also revealed how they were introduced to Hartke's products, with Zilla sharing a story about getting to use Anthrax's Frank Bello's rig while on tour, which began his love affair with Hartke's products. For Montano, it was Megadeth leader and Gigantour founder Dave Mustaine who introduced him to Hartke.

The Death Division bassist talked about what a big decision it was to try something else as he felt very personal about his set up, but was finally convinced to give Hartke a try. He recalls, "I was nervous, and as soon as I got it rigged up, first of all it was easy, it was like, box, plug, done. It was simple and then it just kicked ass. I was completely surprised and blown away by it."

In related news, Hartke is giving away the rig that Megadeth's Dave Ellefson uses. Included is one HyDrive HX810 bass cabinet, a Kilo 1000 amplifier and plenty of cables. In addition, the back plate from an 810 cab will be removed so that Ellefson can sign it for the winner of the giveaway. The contest, which concludes Aug. 2, is being backed by Hartke in exchange for Facebook comments, likes and shares. For full details on the giveaway and to enter, check Hartke's Facebook page.

To learn more about Hartke's amplifiers, cabinets and combos, check out their website at this location. For the remaining dates on Gigantour where you can see each of the bassist's full rigs in action, check here.