Fender vs Acoustic (I need help)

[Ron G]

I'm looking to replace my Ampeg BA-115HPT, nothing but problems from the start. Here are the two set-ups that I'm looking to get.

Fender Rumble 150 150W Bass Amp Head with Fender Rumble 410 4x10 Bass Speaker Cabinet or Acoustic B200H and B410 Stack. I can't compare them at the same time one store has the Fender and another has the Acoustic.

I mainly play R&B, Precision Bass with flatwound strings.

[zon6c-f]

Go Acoustic. Plenty of power; old school or modern tones. 6 bands of semi-parametric and contour-mid control with line-out to PA should suffice. Use either 1x15 w/tweeter or 4x10 now, add another cab as needed.

I own B200 Combo, [ same features as 200H ] ....no B-String farting, even at performance volume. Go Acoustic. Enjoy your journey and let us know which you chose.

[Ibanez Bassist]

Listen to zon6c-f ... I have a few different Acoustic Bass amps and they all rock, No problems here.. very versatile and great tones..

[rockscott]

I have a new rumble 150 head & 410 cab. I played the acoustic 200 set up @ gc when i was amp shopping. The acoustic has more power and looks nice, however, i thought the fender had much better sound and some nice features to boot. You can hear demmos of all fenders bass amps on their website, check them out! I played the fender 350 combo amp as well and she cranked!

[oldcatfish]

I play the 15 inch combos of each, regularly at a couple of churches that I play at. Both have plenty of volume, and are capable of a good tone. But they are very different. To me, the Acoustic has a bit more of a harder rock tone. You really need to try each, with your own bass. You don't need to try them side by side, just try them both--you'll know which one is for you.

[poorbassist15]

Acoustic. I've never found one that I couldn't get to sound good(even my broken 260 still has a working headphone output, sounds incredible for what I paid for it.)

[Ron G]

Thanks, I will check them out a few more times.

[HereIGoAgain]

I've demoed the Rumble 150 combo, and it sounds decent played lightly and at low volumes. Crank it and spank it and anything on your low E string goes to mud. I bought an Acoustic B200H/B115 half stack. Definitely giggable for budet price where the combo sounded like a glorified practice amp.

[tiger_rich]

I went to gc to buy the rumble 150, came home with the b200. Love it!

[rockscott]

Originally Posted by HereIGoAgain

I've demoed the Rumble 150 combo, and it sounds decent played lightly and at low volumes. Crank it and spank it and anything on your low E string goes to mud. I bought an Acoustic B200H/B115 half stack. Definitely giggable for budet price where the combo sounded like a glorified practice amp.

This is not the case with the 410 cab?

[HereIGoAgain]

Originally Posted by rockscott

This is not the case with the 410 cab?

I guess it depends where the blatty-ness is coming from. If the amp is sending a clipped signal to the speaker, the 410 cab would just be a tighter, more midrangy sound of blatty-ness. If the speaker in the combo is farting out, the 410 might improve that.

At any rate, I didn't like the Rumble 150.

[rockscott]

Originally Posted by HereIGoAgain

I guess it depends where the blatty-ness is coming from. If the amp is sending a clipped signal to the speaker, the 410 cab would just be a tighter, more midrangy sound of blatty-ness. If the speaker in the combo is farting out, the 410 might improve that.

At any rate, I didn't like the Rumble 150.

Thats fine, however you played the combo, not the head/cab. They are not the same amp at all!

[billgoodwin]

yet another hand up for Acoustic. I have the B200 I use for small gigs and practice and also a vintage 1973 150 head & 106 cabinet for larger show's that will peel the hide off of ya'.

To annoy my band mates, will sometime run the B200 into my 106 cabinet (make;s for 3-15"s) at practice.....they hate me

[deshi00]

I cant say much about the Fender line, no experience with them. But I have the Acoustic B200h with the Acoustic 410 and have gotten compliments on my tone, a friend with a ported ampeg 410 loved it and claimed it had more punch than his cab(was using his head through my cab). Ive been gigging this rig for close to 2 years now with no problems (knock on wood, gig tonight.) Ive recently added the 115 cab to this set up. The 115 gets a little muddy if you pump the volume too much with the stack but with the right eq and volume the full stack sounds very good imo.

[GBassNorth]

I was looking for an inexpensive combo a few months ago and tried the Fender Rumble 150 and the Acoustic 200. I liked the Acoustic a lot more, clarity and tone were better and no tendency to fart on loud low notes. I'm typically an ampeg guy and like that darker vintage p bass tone so YMMV.
All that said, I ended up going home with a used Ashdown MAG 300 EVO II 2x10 combo it just sounded better overall than either of them and it was significantly less money (used).
My advice, try every new amp within your budget that you can at the store (GC or Sam Ash usually have decent selections). Then once you find what you like see if you can find anything used that sounds as good or better for the same cost or less. If possible always A/B your choices and use a bass similar to the one you typically use at home/gigs.

[jwj1701]

I gotta pretty much agree with everybody in this thread. I have the acoustic B200H and 4x10 cab and even though I'm pretty much a fender guy it sounds better to me as well. If I could afford it I might take a hard look at ampeg's but there just not in my budget. I think the acoustics get a bad rap just for being a guitar center brand, (which I really dont get either because everybody shops at Walmart). I think if more folks walked into GC and tried them out they'd be pleasantly surprised and save a 100 bucks or more. BTW, has anyone been to the acoustic site and seen the new 360/361 models? I couldnt possibly afford one but I hope they're as good as the price.

[lazerbrains]

Another B200h and 410 user here. Very nice sounding and versatile rig.