The family is together. Just picked it up
Makes me worried when you mention the 800 not being fuller, punchier.
Makes me worried when you mention the 800 not being fuller, punchier.
Last edited:
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
At Sweetwater customer review, found a 800 head owner mentioned that vintage voice on it sound less notable "vintag-ist" than his 500 head. Do you find this different?
Last edited:
I just A/B'd the vintage button on both amps. They seemed to do the same thing to my ear. The only difference I hear is the same with the amp flat which I believe is solely the difference between neo and ceramic speakers. I'm no closer to deciding which I like better than I was earlier. I spent a solid hour jamming to some MP3's and going back and forth between the two amps. The 800 is clearer down low, a bit tighter, but not quite as warm and thick. I'm hoping to arrange a band practice in the next day or so to where I can really hear how the two amps compare in a live context which is the only setting I care about.
But on the low end can you still "feel" it the same? Is it still the same rattle in the bones, punch in the gut?
Thanks for the reply.
Beside those fresh driver vs settle in driver possibility , I do believe (or guess) there are factory minor tweak on Rumble 800 Voice. If yes, the cleaner tone from the combo could make B string sound better define/clarity , easier tone shaping (EQ tweak) and work better with effect pedal, especially at high volume.
Last edited:
I would say not quite. I'm going to do a good bit more playing today but unfortunately my drummer is out of town so no band playing, just MP3's.
Actually, my 500 is about 3 weeks old with not a lot of playing time. A sound company managed to fry my original 500 that was still under warranty. Fender replaced it with a new amp so it should be a decent comparison in terms of driver settle.
I'll be curious to see what you come up with. Even if the bass knob has to be tweaked a little to replicate a low end that you're used to I think that's a win. I didn't notice a difference in the store when I tried them back to back. I DID notice more definition and clarity, though, through the 800. I'm already looking at an extension to break through a loud rock band. But I'll mostly be playing with quiet, coffee house groups. So not needed at the moment. I will say, both the 500 and the 800 didn't have lows that wowed me. Does the old myth of 10s vs 15s hold true with these rumbles? I play pretty fast with lots of attack, so the guy at the shop talked me out of any amps with 15s. Said they were "too slow."
Some more observations: I had the obvious idea of using headphones to eliminate the difference the two speaker types could cause. The 800 is not as warm sounding as the 500. Additionally, there seems to be a little more weight to each note on the 500 but it's not a huge difference. In a mix you may not notice either difference but there's certainly a difference. Though the 800 weighs 7lbs less than the 500, and the weight difference is noticeable, in a carry test the 500 was slightly more comfortable to carry as it seemed more balanced. When you lift the 800, the bottom of the front of the cab kicks out whereas the 500 just lifts straight up and doesn't move. This would be caused by the difference in weight of the drivers I'd guess. At this point I'm undecided on whether I'll keep the 800 and sell the 500 or return the 800 and stick with the 500. If the 500 had pre EQ XLR out it would make for an easier decision. I could just use a direct box but that would be one more thing I'd have to bring.
I agree. The 800 is not as warm, but that's what I like about it. Would you say the depth of the low ends are the same on both the 800 and the 500?
I think they are similar but there seems to be a little more presence in the lower mids on the 500 that gives it the slight perception of being a little deeper sounding, or maybe slightly fuller. It's not night and day at all. I think both are fantastic amps. For reference I also have an Aguilar AG700 with the Aguilar SL410 and a Trickfish 1K with their 212. The Fender amp has been seeing a lot more gig time recently, they're just great amps. I'm planning to bring the 800 to my gigs next weekend and let that make my decision on whether I return it or not. I'm playing venues that I've played many times with the 500.
Well it was time to retire my trusty Fender Rumble 500 combo amp. Can’t say enough good things about, true workhorse, sounded great and never let me down. I definitely got my money’s worth out of it! But time to move on! Traded it in for this new Fender Rumble 800 combo! (Not the Stage 800). Provides more power, some additional features and is a good 10 lbs lighter then the 500 due to the neodymium speakers. A win win! Can’t wait to use it!
Got mine yesterday. Very impressive. I've always loved the Rumbles EQ across the board. A little more Hi-Fi sounding than the other Rumbles. I assume it's the Neo's.
I returned my 800c today. It's a very nice amp but I prefer the 500c. I played several gigs over the weekend with the 800 at venues I've played before with the 500. The 800 just did not have the presence and fullness of the 500. Something that was weird is that the amp sounds really good but any time I played a D note it just disappeared and was very compressed compared to other frequencies, especially the D on the A string, 5th fret. I think it comes down to the voicing of the amp and the difference between neo and ceramic magnets.
I'm debating taking mine back, too. I'm not impressed with the lack of fullness. There's better clarity, but I don't feel like that matters much in the end. Do you feel like the 500 gets equally as loud as the 800? Do you even notice any extra benefits at all? Extra headroom?
I didn't perceive any difference in volume. I'm sure it would be noticeable with an extension cab but if I need another cab for a gig I'll just bring one of my other amps, my Trickfish 1k and TF212, or my Aguilar AG700 and SL410. I bought the combo for the simpler set up vs a head and cab. Honestly, I bought the 500 more for practice and small acoustic gigs. I happened to take it to a full band show and was so impressed with the sound and volume it has become my main gigging amp.
I'm zeroing in on getting either the 500c or 800c. A key improvement in the 800c seems to be that the line out not only has a pre/post button, but also it appears (from comparing schematics) that on the 500c the line out is after the master volume control, whereas on the 800c it is before the master volume.
Has anyone else noticed this? Am I reading it right? Seems very useful to be able to adjust the volume coming out of the amp without affecting the level going to the PA, even when pre/post is set to 'post'. (So it's another selling point for the 800c over the 500c for me).
Anyway, thanks everyone for the great info you're putting on here and the general Rumble thread.
Has anyone else noticed this? Am I reading it right? Seems very useful to be able to adjust the volume coming out of the amp without affecting the level going to the PA, even when pre/post is set to 'post'. (So it's another selling point for the 800c over the 500c for me).
Anyway, thanks everyone for the great info you're putting on here and the general Rumble thread.
Yeah, Tony, the Rumble’s first appearance of the Pre/Post switch and Master after the XLR Out was on the Rumble 800 HD head back in 2019. Many bassists were glad to see that. 
But, prior to that, many Rumblers related their real life experiences and experiments with the post Master XLR Out of the older models. Turns out the effect is not always so noticeable or "deal breaking" as most people think.
But, prior to that, many Rumblers related their real life experiences and experiments with the post Master XLR Out of the older models. Turns out the effect is not always so noticeable or "deal breaking" as most people think.
Yep, you read the block diagrams correctly, Tony. That's what I was pointing out in the middle of my post earlier in this thread, long and rambling as it may be. And, as good as that is for some preferences, it has significant impacts on chaining together with other Rumble models from FX Send to Return and not having any volume control! 
.
.
Gig report: this was my rig for this weekend and tonight. First time gigging the 800c.
Yesterday, used this setup for morning service and sounded great. I really didn't need to crank the volume as I had in house set up in a very large venue.
Tonight, small acoustic (both guitars and vocals amped via Fishman) set in a small area probably no more than 2k sqft. Was able to play loud enough on just the 100w low setting, which I was happy with. Sounded great.
Practice with rock band still struggles to keep up with a drummer with a large set even at the 400w. Can cut through guitars and vocals okay (meh), but man, I don't know how people gig with this amp in a rock band setting in medium size venues. It's begging for the 210 extension, otherwise it's worthless.
Still curious about other people's experience with it. Just figured I'd report on my experience so far with the 800c.
