Fender Rumble 75 Case Rattles & Buzzes

terryj47 · #1 12-26-2012, 08:04 AM

I bought a new Fender Rumble 75 a couple of months back. I use this just for practice. The amp has some pretty annoying rattles and buzzes at certain settings and at certain notes. I don't believe it is the speaker itself but rather a peaky sort of resonance in the case. I took the grille off and that had no effect. It took it back to GC and we compared it to some other identical units. They all had similar rattles and buzzes. GC offered to exchange it or take it back but since they all did it I decided to keep it and try to do something about it. I does sound pretty good with my basses other than the rattles. The volume is set at 9:00 o'clock. Not very high. I plug in my active bass to the active input (reduced gain).

My question is has anyone else experienced this? If so, were you able to do anything about it? Stuff it full of insulation, put some extra ports in it, plug the port, replace the speaker, etc.?

I don't need a lot of volume. Just for practice. But I would like a clean sound. I go direct for recording.

Thanks and Happy New Year.

shackled · #2 12-26-2012, 08:27 AM

Sorry to hear about your problem. Mine doesn't rattle.

DaveMurietta · #3 12-26-2012, 09:07 AM

I just got a Rumble 150 for Christmas. The D and E flat notes produce a buzz but no other notes do. I swapped out basses and the same thing. The one I played in GC didn't have this problem. But I did notice the more I played it the less prominent it became. I don't know if maybe the speaker needs to be broken in. I'm going to play it for a couple of weeks and see if it gets better or else I'm going to return it.

terryj47 · #4 12-26-2012, 06:53 PM

Thanks guys. Anyone else?

DaveMurietta · #5 01-05-2013, 08:57 PM

I found out what the problem is. Just take off the casters or lay the amp on its side. Eliminated the problem for me completely. It also made the amp sound more controlled and less boomy. It kind of sucks that I'll have to do this at shows, but it's not that big of a deal.

Linnin · #6 01-07-2013, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shackled

Sorry to hear about your problem. Mine doesn't rattle.

Neither does mine. I've had my Rumble 75 for 7 months and regularly play at half volume. Very solid; meaty & punchy sound. No buzzing or rattles at all. Handles the low B of my Yamaha 5-string well. Killer punch with my Precision. Best small bass combo amp I've ever played.

DaveMurietta · #7 01-08-2013, 10:30 AM

I actually ended up taking mine back to GC. The buzz would come back every once in a while and it started to bug me. It has to be a design flaw in the cab. I played it with different basses, cords, in different rooms, on it's side, etc. I suggest you do the same. The GC guys tried to convince me it was the casters causing the problem but I can promise you it isn't.

milkman-27 · #8 02-03-2013, 03:11 PM

I had the exact same problem with a Rumble 75. I took it back to where I got it and they tried to fix it, but it didn't work. It buzzed real bad when you had it tilted back and the bass boost switch was on, and only when you played Ab or Eb. Needless to say I walked out with a brand new Rumble 150 for a great deal. Must be a design flaw with the 75 version.

**Lowactnsatsfctn** · #9 02-03-2013, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveMurietta

I found out what the problem is. Just take off the casters or lay the amp on its side. Eliminated the problem for me completely. It also made the amp sound more controlled and less boomy. It kind of sucks that I'll have to do this at shows, but it's not that big of a deal.

If it stops rattle and "boom", Its probably insufficiently braced. I know the Rumble 100/210 I had was and was greatly improved with some bracing and lining.