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Bass Amplifiers

#4
The majority find it excellent: great sounding , powerfull, lightweight, robust, expandable, and cheap. All the Fender Rumble combos offer one of the best "bang for the buck" of their category.

Some (including me) don't really like the sound, because it has a strong "mid-scoop" voicing. It means that when all the EQ knobs are at noon, it sound like if mids where cut, the lows and the highs boosted.
 
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#8
I own a Rumble 200. I preferred it over the 500, because the 2x10 configuration farted out on the lower notes when I played it, and the 200 even with noticeably less power, sounded fuller and more capable. It wasn't just the one on the showroom floor at Guitar Center... it was the same thing with one I played at a jam, and it was a brand new house amp. Ironically, I also own a Fender Rumble 2x10 cabinet, and I love it. It doesn't have that low end farting the combo did. I think it is due to the fact that some of the internal volume of the combo's cabinet, is taken up by the amplifier section, and it has a negative effect on the speaker response. That said- I do not know if this is an issue with the Rumble 800. These amps also have a non defeatable limiter, that increases in it's effect as you turn up the gain. I don't like that, my work around is to run the gain as low as possible, and use the master up as needed. There IS another thing to consider. These Rumble series amps are NOT 'cheap' as some suggest- almost a grand with tax, for the 800... That's a lot of money for some of us.
 
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#11
Markbass has some excellent combo's IE CMD Traverler 102p V and 58R 102 Pure

Rumbles have a purposely strong Voice but you got knobs to somewhat get around that also have read 800 has more neutral voice and weight, power, features and price definitely makes 800 competitive in 1K region
 
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#12
LHbassist said:
I own a Rumble 200. I preferred it over the 500, because the 2x10 configuration farted out on the lower notes when I played it, and the 200 even with noticeably less power, sounded fuller and more capable. It wasn't just the one on the showroom floor at Guitar Center... it was the same thing with one I played at a jam, and it was a brand new house amp. Ironically, I also own a Fender Rumble 2x10 cabinet, and I love it. It doesn't have that low end farting the combo did. I think it is due to the fact that some of the internal volume of the combo's cabinet, is taken up by the amplifier section, and it has a negative effect on the speaker response. That said- I do not know if this is an issue with the Rumble 800. These amps also have a non defeatable limiter, that increases in it's effect as you turn up the gain. I don't like that, my work around is to run the gain as low as possible, and use the master up as needed. There IS another thing to consider. These Rumble series amps are NOT 'cheap' as some suggest- almost a grand with tax, for the 800... That's a lot of money for some of us.
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I can speak to the Rumble 800 farting issue. Yes, it does it as well. I just sold one for exactly this reason. I think the lightweight construction makes them ore susceptible to sympathetic vibrations / mechanical resonance. I'm guessing if an extension cab was added, it would make this less likely since you might not need to crank it as much, as it was really only an issue at higher volumes (which is my happy place).

Regarding the scooped tone that always gets mentioned, yeah, it is like that. It was ok for some stuff, but a lot of what I am doing right now requires a more modern sound. I did "improve" the sound of the Rumble by putting a Darkglass Harmonic Booster in front of it. That helped "unscoop" it quite a bit. Overall, I'd say it's good for the money if you know what to expect, and it is amazing light.
 
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#13
bass player 65 said:
Is the Fender 800 combo bass a good amplifier.
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If you like how it sounds and if it's appropriate for your performance environment, then yes. Probably not the answer you want, but tone is subjective, you either like it or you don't. Best to try first if you can.

I think Fender amps tend to be pretty good quality for the money. You can easily do worse in that respect. However many of them have a baked-in tone that either works for you or you'll find yourself fighting it.
 
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#14
bass player 65 said:
Is the Fender 800 combo bass a good amplifier.
Click to expand...

There are a tremendous number of good combos available on the market, more these days than ever before.
Almost every bass amp/cabinet manufacturer offers a combo oriented approach to amplification.

Everyone will have several models they'll like and several they won't.

The only way for you to truly decide which manufacturers combos pre-amp voicing and cabinet tuning is right for you is to take your bass and any effects you may use and go to the brick and mortar music stores in your area and hear them in person.
 
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#15
mcnach said:
That's why you adjust the EQ with your ears, not your eyes ;)
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I usually adjust EQs with my eyes. Takes some getting used to.. I find chicken head knobs easiest to wrap my eyelids around. ( but don't get me started on Sliders..) :blackeye:



🤣

Anyway, regarding OP, I haven't played the 800, but it sounded fine when I heard someone else playing it. So, there's that.

When I was 'amp shopping', I had the money to spend on one, but I added more money to THAT money and bought something more expensive (that I had been wanting).

T$
 
#17
gtirard said:
The majority find it excellent: great sounding , powerfull, lightweight, robust, expandable, and cheap. All the Fender Rumble combos offer one of the best "bang for the buck" of their category.

Some (including me) don't really like the sound, because it has a strong "mid-scoop" voicing. It means that when all the EQ knobs are at noon, it sound like if mids where cut, the lows and the highs boosted.
Click to expand...
I suspect that’s what I like about it!
 
#18
Leisure Weaver said:
I can speak to the Rumble 800 farting issue. Yes, it does it as well. I just sold one for exactly this reason. I think the lightweight construction makes them ore susceptible to sympathetic vibrations / mechanical resonance. I'm guessing if an extension cab was added, it would make this less likely since you might not need to crank it as much, as it was really only an issue at higher volumes (which is my happy place).

Regarding the scooped tone that always gets mentioned, yeah, it is like that. It was ok for some stuff, but a lot of what I am doing right now requires a more modern sound. I did "improve" the sound of the Rumble by putting a Darkglass Harmonic Booster in front of it. That helped "unscoop" it quite a bit. Overall, I'd say it's good for the money if you know what to expect, and it is amazing light.
Click to expand...
I’ve had my 800 for about 6-8 months and never had an issue with low notes farting out. I also get a very modern sound using a non-traditional bass with active electronics. It can be done.
 
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#19
I love my 800. It ticked all the boxes - lightweight, loud, sounds good, decently priced. My band is LOUD and I find I have never turned the volume past halfway. There are also a couple of color variation buttons that help get a tone I like. Overall I’m thrilled with it. I’ve used it on about 25 gigs and looks like maybe another 50 this year…
 
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