Fender Rumble 350 head. Joke or serious?

thumpbass1 · #1 04-11-2011, 08:45 AM

Fender has me curious that their first foray into the world of Class D fly weight bass amp heads has come in their Rumble line. You would have thought if they wanted to get into this market, they would have featured something new in their Bassman or Pro series. They do offer a 150 watt fly weight version of this head in this series, but I'm not interested in that.

It looks like a basic enough amp at the usable level without much in bells and whistles, and they imply rather vaguely that it uses the same class D amp topology that they've rated at a conservative 350 watts, while the competition claims 500-600 watts for their offerings in this class. Make of it what you will. It's also under 6 pounds as far as weight goes.

Being priced at $399 street price, it's competitive in the market place, and I'll give them that. However, I'm not too keen on the foot switchable overdrive channel as a feature I really could care less about as a bass player to be honest. I do applaud what seems to be a basic semi-parametric style mid sweep e.q. section.

I will give them credit for at least offering something new I'd like to look at for myself just for the fun of it. Being that it's a new item that hasn't really hit the market place yet, no real world reviews have been objectively made in a meaningful number. So I'm asking you, my fellow TB'ers, as to what you make of this attempt by Fender to get into the fly-weight bass amp head game? Could it be the next no brainer bit of decent enough budget gear, that one could buy just to fit a special niche, or will it be a sad, not so well thought out attempt by Fender to enter this market?

glenb73 · #2 04-11-2011, 08:50 AM

The Rumble line seems to be for the beginner or hobbyist bass players and is priced as such. I think they are great for practicing at home or impromptu jam sessions, but if you need reliable gig-worthy gear, this is not the answer. I have the Rumble 350 and this is based on my experience with it.

madmatt · #3 04-11-2011, 08:52 AM

If you do not like it, it does not matter what we think.

thumpbass1 · #4 04-11-2011, 09:11 AM

I'm aware that the Rumble line from Fender is their budget line. I already have good, solid, pro level gear, and I'm really not in the market for low budget bass amp gear. However, I'm not above buying anything that is a bang for the buck deal if it offers serious performance for the money. I like a good deal like everyone else, and I could care less as to what other people have to say about what I use as a musician. If it plays and sounds good, it is good in my basic gear philosophy. I guess I was surprised that Fender decided to test the waters of the fly-weight bass amp head market; but instead of doing it at the upper tiers of their bass amp gear line, they decided to do it in the Rumble series. Fender has me curious, and I'll give them that. Until I get to play one, I won't know if it's a solid deal or the proverbial polished turd. You gotta admit it's interesting that Fender has decided to enter this market. It makes you wonder why they just didn't go ahead and offer up a more feature laden Bassman or Pro line version to get into things. Maybe they are already considering that as well. Anyways they got me curious and I have no definitive opinion as of yet, of what to make of this head.

Mattosaur · #5 04-23-2011, 06:29 PM

I played around on one of these today. Some jerk had it hooked to a 4 ohm and an 8 ohm cabinet. After hooking it up to just the 4 ohm 410, I played around with it for 20 minutes or so.

I'm a novice who has only owned a 25 watt practice combo in the past, so my opinion is basically worthless. That said, I liked the sound of this thing. It's targeted at me, and it worked.

The EQ sounded pretty good flat, and the Overdrive channel has a nice blend control. I could see myself using the 350 with the 4 ohm 410 for around town jams and my first year or two of band playing.

I briefly turned it up to 5, but even with the -6db pad turned on it was shaking the amp room.

After playing with the head/cab, it's made it's way onto the short list of options for my first "real" rig.

toneseeker · #6 05-01-2011, 08:04 PM

I got the Fender Rumble 350 head and so far I like it pretty well. As a semi pro weekend warrior, I never really considered getting a Fender Rumble because like many others I thought they were budget amps for beginers. I've been playing in local bar type bands for many years and have played thru lots of gear. I won't say this is the best, but it's not bad and better in my opinion than some of the higher priced light weight heads.
I was looking to try some of the new light weight stuff. I first got a GK MB210 combo and didn't feel it had a very versitile eq and the cab had howly mids when turned up.
Next I got the Ampeg PF 500 head. It looked great and had nice tone at low volume. Problem was it had a loud fan, too loud for home practice and it couldn't seem to cut thru when playing at a medium loud jam. I next tried a very expensive used Mesa Boogie Walkabout and despite rave reviews, I couldn't get a sound I liked from it. I was really disapointed and considered spending more big bucks on a Genz Benz or a Mark Bass, but decided to try the Fender. I was very pleasently surprised.
Nice size, weight, fit and finish. Quiet multi speed fan. It gets plenty loud and I like the sound flat or with just a few eq and gain tweeks (slight mid scoop, slight overdrive). It does have an automatic compressor that some people don't like, but I think it sounds good. To me it's not a very modern sounding amp, but I'm using it mostly for oldies soul and motown and think it captures that pretty well thru a single 15" cab. I haven't tried it yet with my main band which is mostly country and rock.
My only complaint so far is it doesnt have the depth and richness of my all tube head and I did have trouble with some harsh mids at one band practice. Truthfully I have to spend some more time with it before I can give it a complete endorsement. But so far so good. In fact my 45 day trial period will be up thursday and I have decided to keep it. Sorry I can't record sound clips or anything. Hope this is helpful

pudgychef · #7 05-01-2011, 09:23 PM

It deserves to be checked out if anyone is in the market for something in that price range and light (like a GK MB200/500.) imho the Rumble 350 head does a decent job

It isn't in the class of a Streamliner, Walkabout or Little Mark or small heads in that price range - but decent thick usable sound and quite loud...

1n3 · #8 05-01-2011, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thumpbass1

Fender has me curious that their first foray into the world of Class D fly weight bass amp heads has come in their Rumble line. You would have thought if they wanted to get into this market, they would have featured something new in their Bassman or Pro series.

The Bassman TV combos have class D power stages, and I think they were out before these Rumbles. But the first separate heads were Rumbles, AFAIK. Perhaps they wanted to verify reliability before committing to class D in their Pro line. ?

MikeBC · #9 05-01-2011, 10:52 PM

I bought a little Fender Rumble 25 as a practice amp for the apartment. It does well as that. Most of the Rumble line I saw then seemed mainly for that purpose.

Sometime last year I believe Fender changed their bass amp line-up. They gave Rumble some mild steroids. At the same time I believe they discontinued another bass amp line they had. So Rumble became a little more than just a small practice combo. Can't say how the new Rumble compares to the old ones or to some of their other bass amp line.

Duke21 · #10 05-01-2011, 11:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toneseeker

I got the Fender Rumble 350 head and so far I like it pretty well. As a semi pro weekend warrior, I never really considered getting a Fender Rumble because like many others I thought they were budget amps for beginers. I've been playing in local bar type bands for many years and have played thru lots of gear. I won't say this is the best, but it's not bad and better in my opinion than some of the higher priced light weight heads.
I was looking to try some of the new light weight stuff. I first got a GK MB210 combo and didn't feel it had a very versitile eq and the cab had howly mids when turned up.
Next I got the Ampeg PF 500 head. It looked great and had nice tone at low volume. Problem was it had a loud fan, too loud for home practice and it couldn't seem to cut thru when playing at a medium loud jam. I next tried a very expensive used Mesa Boogie Walkabout and despite rave reviews, I couldn't get a sound I liked from it. I was really disapointed and considered spending more big bucks on a Genz Benz or a Mark Bass, but decided to try the Fender. I was very pleasently surprised.
Nice size, weight, fit and finish. Quiet multi speed fan. It gets plenty loud and I like the sound flat or with just a few eq and gain tweeks (slight mid scoop, slight overdrive). It does have an automatic compressor that some people don't like, but I think it sounds good. To me it's not a very modern sounding amp, but I'm using it mostly for oldies soul and motown and think it captures that pretty well thru a single 15" cab. I haven't tried it yet with my main band which is mostly country and rock.
My only complaint so far is it doesnt have the depth and richness of my all tube head and I did have trouble with some harsh mids at one band practice. Truthfully I have to spend some more time with it before I can give it a complete endorsement. But so far so good. In fact my 45 day trial period will be up thursday and I have decided to keep it. Sorry I can't record sound clips or anything. Hope this is helpful

Sound strange to me that the PF500 didn't cut through. It should have the power compares to the Rumble.

toneseeker · #11 05-02-2011, 01:47 PM

"Sound strange to me that the PF500 didn't cut through. It should have the power compares to the Rumble."

I was so sure the PF500 was gonna be perfect for me since I love the Ampeg sound and have been into the motown thing lately. It's been a while since I tried that head and sent it back, but I recall when I tried to turn it up the clip light would come on frequently so I kept having to back the volume or bass down and increase the compression. It made for a very soft mellow sound that just didn't cut it.

"It deserves to be checked out if anyone is in the market for something in that price range and light (like a GK MB200/500.) imho the Rumble 350 head does a decent job
It isn't in the class of a Streamliner, Walkabout or Little Mark or small heads in that price range - but decent thick usable sound and quite loud..."

I was also sure from all the reviews that the Walkabout would be the richest fattest tubiest sounding of the light weight heads, but maybe I had a dud because it didn't sound rich or full. I tried all the suggested settings and a few of my own.

That's what has scared me away from trying the Streamliner. There are a few comparisons to the Walkabout, and the Walkabout is supposed to be the fatter warmer richer sounding of the two? Also the fact that the place I called for the best price on the Streamliner has a no return policy. So I think I'll be satisfied with the Rumble since for the most part, I seem to like it's sound and it's just one of several back up amps.
__________________

larrybassman · #12 09-02-2011, 02:27 PM

Fender rumble 350 head. Just got one, absolutely fantastic, great sound, loud. At half the price of simmilar small heads you cant go wrong. Originally bought as a back up amp it is now my main stay. Try one, you wont be disappointed.

Petros-J · #13 09-03-2011, 01:43 AM

and what about the rumble cabs?
im thinking 4x10 or 2x12

jelwood · #14 09-03-2011, 02:27 AM

The studio we use has one of those Rumble 350 210 combos. It is too clean for me. It lacks the nice thick harmonic content I get from my GK's. The EQ on it is very outdated, it is very similar to the EQ on the old SVTs and thus very limited (as in what frequencies you can control, not the actual circuitry). I can't boost my punchy low mids without taking away the high mids and I can't boost the high mids without taking away the low mids. Sigh. The overdrive channel is...junk. I will just be honest with you, it's junk. I played it once and swore I would never play it again. Then I played it again. Then I really never played it again. A standard Boss pedal will do better than what you have built in. And what's this? No separate master and gain control. Variable gain stages were added to preamps (first done by Bob Gallien, btw) for a REASON, that was so you could drive the preamp hard and get more snarl without having to tear the windows down. I take my 400RB to practice with me and have the effects send from the 400RB go to the effects return of the Rumble, my bandmates think I'm stupid but they seriously don't realize how much I dislike the preamp that 350 has.

toneseeker · #15 09-03-2011, 05:14 AM

The Rumble 350 head has become my main gigging bass amp. To me it has a much sweeter tone than my old but reliable Hartke 15 Kickback. In fact I usually drive the Hartke speaker with it and the Hartke amp comes along for the ride as a back up. I also have a few other amp and cabinet combinations I occasionally use, but this head really suprised me. I can definately say after several months of practices and giigging...It is not a joke.

thumpbass1 · #16 09-03-2011, 05:59 AM

I forgot I started this thread when I became aware of the new Rumble line. I've gone with the new Ampeg Portaflex line with a new PF500 head and PF210HE cab, and other than a couple of minor issues with my head, I'm more than happy with the new Ampeg Portaflex series. Anyways it's great others have chimed in about the new Rumble line from Fender and their experiences with this gear for good and bad. I will say I've no use for the built in overdrive stage, but would have loved to see Fender offer a better preamp and tone stack arrangement with a master volume set up. The Ampeg PF series is proving to be the latest craze in bassdom, so I can't imagine Fender not responding with a rethink of their fly weight bass amp line in order to compete in this market niche. Who knows?

toneseeker · #17 09-03-2011, 07:41 AM

Thumpbass1, I'm glad you had started this thread. I check on line every now and then, but haven't seen many reviews of the Rumble heads. We as bass players are lucky to have so many options. I've found so many things that are favored by many players that don't appeal to me (I hate when I'm forced to use conventional backline gear).
This little head is working so well for me, that I hope Fender does not change it at all in case I ever need to get another one. Ok, maybe they could change the name from Rumble to Bassman LOL!

thumpbass1 · #18 09-03-2011, 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toneseeker

Thumpbass1, I'm glad you had started this thread. I check on line every now and then, but haven't seen many reviews of the Rumble heads. We as bass players are lucky to have so many options. I've found so many things that are favored by many players that don't appeal to me (I hate when I'm forced to use conventional backline gear).
This little head is working so well for me, that I hope Fender does not change it at all in case I ever need to get another one. Ok, maybe they could change the name from Rumble to Bassman LOL!

Thanks toneseeker, and congrats on being happy with your Rumble amp. It's nice when one can find gear that pleases them. I'm glad we bass players have so many options these days, and across all price points. When I started out playing back in the early 70's there weren't nearly so many choices as there are these days. The good news is that the affordable stuff we have available now can prove to be quite decent and very gig worthy for the money.

larrybassman · #19 09-04-2011, 04:31 AM

Still in love with my Fender 350 rumble head. Dont care what its called even if they changed it to Mark or Bark.

pudgychef · #20 09-04-2011, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by larrybassman

Still in love with my Fender 350 rumble head. Dont care what its called even if they changed it to Mark or Bark.