Fender Rumble 75 or Fender Bronco 40?

Zamega · #1 01-12-2012, 05:41 PM

Hi guys, I have been thinking about which bass amp I should get. Can anyone tell me or convince me which one is better to get?

Zamega · #2 01-13-2012, 05:10 PM

Anyone?

stantonl · #3 01-13-2012, 06:05 PM

Haven't tried either, but I would think that it would depend on what you were going to use it for. The Bronco looks to be more of a stay at home and practice amp, or for use in the studio. It has a ton of features and seems like a decent little amp to practice with, but I doubt it would work in any type of a band setting, even for rehearsals. At 75 Watts the Rumble would give you more power and may work in a low volume band situation. It would probably be a great, no frills, practice amp as well. Like I said, it depends on what you are hoping to use it for. If you hope to jam with a drummer I'd look for something with more power, otherwise you'll end up pushing one of these too hard and will most likely be unhappy with the sound you get. Just my two cents, good luck!

ksandvik · #4 01-13-2012, 06:07 PM

You are not going to perform or play in a band with those, right? 40W or 75W is puny, unless you are doing restaurant gigs with a very quiet band, or then mic or DI to a PA and barely hear anything on stage from those amps...

Me thinks practice amps are just a waste of money.

RickenBoogie · #5 01-13-2012, 06:14 PM

+1 both a considered small practice amps. Anything less than 100 watts with at least a 15" spkr will not cut it if you plan on playing with a drummer, but either one would be suitable for at home solo practice. I don't personally care for any amps that try to do too much, or are loaded with extra features, but maybe that's exactly what you're looking for.

Zamega · #6 01-13-2012, 07:39 PM

Which one is better for recording?

Gearhead17 · #7 01-13-2012, 10:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zamega

Which one is better for recording?

You are better off plugging your bass straight into the mixer/interface and recording it cleanly. Download Guitar Rig or some other digital emulation setup and manipulate your tone from there. Spend the money on a decent input cable - 10' long and no longer. Get a good pair of headphones and go from there.

Do not bother getting a small combo for recording.

DerTeufel · #8 01-13-2012, 10:33 PM

I had a Rumble 75..wasn't bad. If your band isn't awfully loud, it might be enough. There is a line-out on it so you can plug into a mixer/pa.

atomicdog · #9 01-13-2012, 11:19 PM

The Rumble 75 . . . blew one (the speaker) within a week. Coughed up the extra change for a Rumble 350. Worth every dime.

Zamega · #10 01-14-2012, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gearhead17

You are better off plugging your bass straight into the mixer/interface and recording it cleanly. Download Guitar Rig or some other digital emulation setup and manipulate your tone from there. Spend the money on a decent input cable - 10' long and no longer. Get a good pair of headphones and go from there.

Do not bother getting a small combo for recording.

I think I will just go with what you said haha thanks

Gearhead17 · #11 01-14-2012, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zamega

I think I will just go with what you said haha thanks

I am glad I could help! For clean bass tones, digital emulation is quite good and very simple to use.

**LoTone** · #12 01-22-2012, 07:47 PM

I own a Bronco 40. I owned a Fender B-DEC in the past. The B-DEC was a Rumble 30 with a MIDI unit built-in. So, I have a clue about both devices.

What is nice about the Bronco is the versatility provided by the amp emulations. If you have a computer and you want to experiment with different amp sounds, different cabs, pedals, rack effects, etc... The Bronco is the way to go.

The Bronco is also decent for recording. It has an XLR out which works just fine.

Last but not least, the speaker is decent as well. It is only a 10-inch but IMHO the speaker in the Bronco is of better quality than the speakers in any of the Rumble combos.

So, with the understanding that you would never use that amp for gigging, the Bronco is the clear winner. For extra credit, the Bronco has the emulation for the Rumble 350 head if you really need to have the "Rumble sound".

As a side note, what I find the most impressive about the Bronco is the cab emulations. You can configure any heads with a whole array of cabs 1x10, 1x12, 1x15, 1x18, 2x10, 2x12, 2x15, 4x10, 4x12 and 8x10. Some configurations come in vintage, modern or hi-fi voicings. When you change the cab, it really changes the sound in a realistic way.

Over the years, I have dabbled with software emulation from:

- Line 6
- Native Instruments
- IK Multimedia
- Audiffex

The Bronco's cab emulation is more realistic than any of the products offered by any of these companies above.

Also, in this month's Bass Player magazine, Ed Friedland a.k.a. The Bass Whisperer, has a review of the Bronco 40. I suggest you give it a read before splurging money.

Good Luck.

-- LoTone