Ampeg Ba110 vs Fender Rumble 40

[Aloe]

Rumble 100 is very nice, just a tad heavier and bigger than the 40 one. If you're after the solid low end in basic non-expensive combos, 12" speaker is better than the 10" one. And the 15" one will be even better.

As for Rumble vs Ampeg -- everyone has his own cup of tea. Try both.

 

[OldFunBass]

I tried both last year side by side at a GC, and I liked the Fender Rumble better. I felt it had better tone. Just cause it is a practice amp does not mean it can't sound good. The three tone shape buttons on the Rumble are helpful, but the EQ in general seemed to let me dial up more variety. At the time, the Rumble 40 was $20 more than the BA110, but I felt it was worth it. Also, when I first wanted to try the BA on the store, they could not get the floor model to turn on. Fuse was good, it was getting power, just no life. So they had to go on the back and get one still in the box for me to try. That one worked, and I tried to not let that influence my opinion of the two amps.
The DI is also a nice feature on the Rumble 40. If you ever need it you have it.

 

[darwin-bass]

Both are nice 40w practice amps, which one would you consider better and why?

*I have to buy a new practice amp, and I just wonder why no amps specs show what is the lowest note it can produce :O

Greetings

And Greetings to you. I was using a Rumble 100 at home and a Genz Benz plus 210 cab at church. Decided to downsize the church gear and took the Rumble 100 to church. Sold the Genz Benz & 210.

So I needed a new practice amp for home.

I tried the Rumble 40 and Ampeg 110 side by side and the Rumble just sounded better. I wanted to love the Ampeg because of the tilt back cab but the Rumble just sounded better. It is also much lighter. I bought the Rumble 40.

I've had it for a while now and find it sounds better than the Rumble 100. It has a less colored response and lets more of the bass' natural sound come through.

Rumble 40 vs 100 - V3 - My experience.

 

[JimmyM]

Yeah, also playing on a church, will give enough room for the waves to resonate.
For example, low E wavelength is around 8.5 meters

Bass note waves do not need room to "resonate." If they did, headphones wouldn't work.

 

[Bodeeni]

Do not discount Warwick. I have the smallest BC10, 10watts with a 8", I just did a jazz gig (no drums) with it. I use Genz for everything else and this thing never ceases to amaze me.
To Fender's credit, they are extremely light weight for the power.

 

[Old Blastard]

I have a 25 watt Ampeg and a Rumble 25 and I'll play either at our low-volume pub acoustic gigs. They have different voices but both are fine. I haven't decided which I prefer, so I'm no help.

Why did I post here?

PS: I bought the Rumble from @Linnin
PSS: The Ampeg has a line out to the PA that is post EQ, which adds some flexibility should the drummer bring his full kit.

 

[ReedyBass]

Bass note waves do not need room to "resonate." If they did, headphones wouldn't work.

More than that... you don't really want them to resonate! Otherwise they would dominate the sound, be too boomy and take a long time to decay.

Have you notice that many PA speakers these days do not have parallel sides so as to avoid resonant frequencies.

 

[ReedyBass]

I have no experience of the Ampeg but I do have a Rumble 40 and I love the way it sounds. There is great control over the tone; I've been really impressed by it. I also tried the Fender Bronco 40 with its many amp modelling setting, but it wasn't possible to fine-tune many of the settings or effects directly on the amp without plugging in a computer.

 

[RyanOh]

Both are nice 40w practice amps, which one would you consider better and why?

*I have to buy a new practice amp, and I just wonder why no amps specs show what is the lowest note it can produce :O

Greetings

My nephew wanted to trade in his Ampeg BA110 for a Rumble 40 based on better sound. He didn't have the money for a bigger amp and thought that was the best he could get. My advice was go bigger if he really wants a bigger better sound.

He saved up and got the Rumble 100. If you truly just need a practice amp, reproducing the lowest possible frequencies seems secondary. If you need an amp that you use to play for live performance or jamming with others, I'd go with a bigger amp. These little practice amps simply cannot produce the full bass range. It'll make a noise when you hit low E, but it'll fart out and sound poor at higher volume.

 

[GwenOnBass]

Hi there!

While I can't speak to both the Fender and the Ampeg, I can add my experience with my BA-108v2 practice amp.

To me, it's a knockout of a little amp and mine sees regular use. I love the kickback feature. The variable input on the Aux In makes it extremely useful as the signal level of all my devices (metronome, drum machine, and Tascam GB10) varies. I use the headphone out a great deal.

I have a "proper" rig for performance with many similar features, yet find myself using my Ampeg much more than one would guess. I love the Ampeg tone and find it easy to dial in a satisfactory EQ. Of course it's just bedroom tone. It's a practice amp.

My practice amp doesn't get moved around much, if at all, so weight really isn't a factor for me.

 

[londonbasshead]

I own a BA110, and I'll attest that the Rumble 40 is punchier, crunchier, perceptibly louder, and more articulate. My BA110 is going on sale tomorrow.

 

[ReedyBass]

You might just have de-valued your BA110 by about 10%

 

[shawshank72]

Played both, preferred the Rumble.
Had more EQ availability and sounded better to my ears.

 

[matante]

I haven't played through the Ampeg but I own the Rumble 40 and am very happy with it except for one thing: The headphone jack is in the back. I like to keep my amp under my desk, almost against the wall, so having to plug/unplug the headphones in the back is a bit of a pain.

I think the 40w 1x10 combos are basically a no man's land. They are overkill as a bedroom practice amp, and they're not loud enough to play with a band w/ a drummer. You can save yourself $100 by getting the 8" Fender if you really just want something for bedroom practice. It will suit your purpose just as well as the 10".

 

[darwin-bass]

Bass note waves do not need room to "resonate." If they did, headphones wouldn't work.

THANK YOU. This silly notion that an acoustic wave needs a full wavelength to develop is a falsehood that Just. Won't. Die.

 

[YosemiteSam]

I used my 40w Rumble at a gig Thursday night. No drummer, but I had no problem with volume. Used the amp as a monitor, direct out to the PA. I'm not advocating everyone use a 40w amp for performance, but all these "there's no sense getting a small amp" posts are kinda silly. My 40w weighs 18lbs and is a breeze to bring along.

My Rumble 500 2x10" is needed to compete with a drummer, and weighs twice as much. The 40 makes a perfectly good practice amp, and has the benefit of sounding pretty much just like its bigger brother.

Never been a huge fan of Ampeg combos, as I've never been able to get the sound I want out of them. They always seem too dark and inarticulate for my taste.

 

[darwin-bass]

I think the 40w 1x10 combos are basically a no man's land. They are overkill as a bedroom practice amp, and they're not loud enough to play with a band w/ a drummer. You can save yourself $100 by getting the 8" Fender if you really just want something for bedroom practice. It will suit your purpose just as well as the 10".

Yea, I think that is mostly true. But I've used the Rumble 40 to play acoustic gigs where the a-gtr and vocals are amplified and rhythm is via unamplified cajon. And the 40 watt amp was more than enough.

One benefit of the Rumble 40 over the 25 is that the EQ section is more capable and that the amp just sounds better.

 

[JimmyM]

I used my 40w Rumble at a gig Thursday night. No drummer, but I had no problem with volume. Used the amp as a monitor, direct out to the PA. I'm not advocating everyone use a 40w amp for performance, but all these "there's no sense getting a small amp" posts are kinda silly. My 40w weighs 18lbs and is a breeze to bring along.

My Rumble 500 2x10" is needed to compete with a drummer, and weighs twice as much. The 40 makes a perfectly good practice amp, and has the benefit of sounding pretty much just like its bigger brother.

Never been a huge fan of Ampeg combos, as I've never been able to get the sound I want out of them. They always seem too dark and inarticulate for my taste.

YMMV, but I totally disagree about that. With the knobs, you can get pretty much any sound you're looking for. And I just got a BA110 v2 recently and it's way better than the original IMHO.

 

[YosemiteSam]

YMMV, but I totally disagree about that. With the knobs, you can get pretty much any sound you're looking for. And I just got a BA110 v2 recently and it's way better than the original IMHO.

Glad you like them! As I said, "... for my taste."

 

[avvie]

I shopped for the Ampeg, and it totally farted out. Salesman said, "yeah, it sucks. Try the Rumble 40."
Sold.
A practice amp sounds like a practice amp, but if you stock it with a lousy speaker, no amount of Ampeg pedigree will make that doorstop sound good.