I've had a heavy amp made by Thomas Eich before he started Eich amps. (Tech Para Amp) But I'm happy now with my Fender Rumble 500. same weight, but in a 2x10 combo package with possibility for an extension cab.
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Fender cabs and amp?
- Thread starter NYgiant
- Start date
If light weight on a budget is important, the Rumbles are a good choice.
Fender has progressed orders of magnitude since the Bassman AA165 (and the mislabeled guitar amps which came before) which for bass had absolutely no balls, no tone and sounded like a farting cow with a kazoo in her butt. And even worse, the solid state Frankenamplifiers! Used a Rumble 500 in a supplied backline at a venue, and then having flown with only a bass, a Bassman 300 while playing a few tunes with members of an old band recently, was quite impressed with both. And let's not forget the mighty PS400, a raw beast built on 1930's technology. Guitarist has a Fender modeling amp to use when his Boogie is overkill and it sounds quite realistic.
That's why I stick with Meat and Potatoes brands;
even if they're not as good in some way (I'll concede that), they totally deliver at reasonable costs.
True, very affordable to buy, selling however may be somewhat disappointing. Just keep in mind, it’s mainly weekender gear and resale down the road will not return as much as the aforementioned Mesa gear.
From a straight up performance standpoint they wouldn’t be selling as many of these as they are if they sounded like crap, but I found there for me a baked in sound that I don’t care for and there is no way to get rid of it. JMO.
I used a Hartke 410XL with an SWR Basic 350 for about ten years and got mor compliments on tone/sound with that than any other amp I’d used to date. These days I’ve got a couple of 126 boxes and a BX500, which also gets plenty of thumbs up reviews for tone/sound. I’ve also got a Rumble 500 combo I sometimes take and while no one comments on it, no band member gripes about so I’m happy with it.
Yes, those are the Bassman Neo cabs you're seeing at that price, and they are absolutely great, professional cabs. I've owned and steadily gigged with the Bassman 410 Neo for around 11 years now and rate it the bast cab I've ever owned, and matched with the Bassman 100T all tube amp, the best rig I've ever owned. I've had no experience with the Class D amps as I'm not a fan of Class D, but from what I've seen the Fenders are highly regarded.
My 1st 2 cabs were the Fender Rumble 15". They weigh 37 lbs each and you can buy vinyl covers for them cheap! They have in them 300 watt Eminence special design speakers made just for that cab. Features include a front port, neutrik & 1/4" inputs, removeable grill and included pop out casters. I love stacking them vertically. You can get a wide dispersion if you angle them slightly. When you get really close to them they can massage your back side while playing. I also have 2 2x12 cabs (TC Electronic) and a 3x10 cab (Epiphany) but my guaranteed go to cabs are the Rumbles. They have great SPL and no lack of volume with my Harkte orange amp head even when playing in an outdoor arena. I had a GK 2x10 but it wasn't nearly as clear as the Rumbles. Love the price too. That's how I could afford buying a pair.
I use my Rumble 500c and matching 210 for 99% of all my gigs nowadays and friggin' love that set up! BUT if I was doing any serious gigging or big casinos/shows I would have a Fender Super Bassman 300 and the Bassman neo 610 cab behind me.....love that rig!
I'm not trying to sell you on the Rumbles, just making a suggestion that might help. Since you're using them at practice and they are too muddy, have you tried the true flat settings? These are the 10, 2, 2, 10 clock settings on the tone knobs. Start with these settings and the BRIGHT, CONTOUR and VINTAGE buttons out/off and then tailor the tone controls from there. This should help clean things up a bit, but they will still have their "vintage-y" sound.
When I first got my Rumble 40 (all 40+ have the same preamp), I was having problems trying to find a sound I liked. Once I tired these as the starting point and fine tuned them from there, I was then sold on the Rumbles. I now have a Rumble 200 Head with Rumble 115 and 210 cabs, that I use very similar settings on.
Thanks. Yes, I know I had seen this advice somewhere, but I couldn't find it again when I needed, so I will bookmark it. Yes, next time I will be obliged to use a Rumble, I'll try that. Thanks.
Can't speak for Fender bass amps and cabs but I love their bass guitars. On the guitar amplification side, they have made some pretty awesome stuff. Mesa and GK is what I use for amplification. And GK and Markbass is what I use for cabs.
I have been playing out of a Fender Bassman 410 for almost 10 years now and it has never let me down. Sounds great, loud and easy to transport at 55lbs. Would definitely recommend taking a chance on one of them.
A 4x10 and 1x15 seems like a bad combination to me: it’s going to be way too much of a volume mismatch between the cabinets.
A Mesa WD 800 Class D, 800 watt hybrid head goes for $1,199 and the Mesa 4x10 also goes for $1,199 as well.
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I have a Rumble 200 which I lent to a friend as a practice amp. If we're lucky, we get what we pay for. I prefer Mesa Subway amps for most of my professional work, and have a GK MB800 Fusion for backup.
My impression is that it's decent gear for the price, but lower-tier, if you want clarity, versatility, and reliability. Others are of different opinion.
My impression is that it's decent gear for the price, but lower-tier, if you want clarity, versatility, and reliability. Others are of different opinion.
