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Fender Rumble Bass SUB 4x10 cab?
- Thread starter barebones
- Start date
That's part of the original all-tube 300 watt Fender Rumble Bas Custom Shop model from the mid-1990s! Awesome progenitor to the current all-tube 300 watt Fender Super Bassman.
The Original Custom Shop Rumble Bass 300 amp, this one is a 1997 amp, don't know about the cabs yet. I will be emailing Fender either later tonight or on Monday.. about the cabs.. I will be asking about how my sets were made and what not..
Just looking at that puts a BIG smile on my face and makes my teeth feel like they're loosening up! Do they sound as good as they look??That's part of the original all-tube 300 watt Fender Rumble Bas Custom Shop model from the mid-1990s! Awesome progenitor to the current all-tube 300 watt Fender Super Bassman.
The Original Custom Shop Rumble Bass 300 amp, this one is a 1997 amp, don't know about the cabs yet. I will be emailing Fender either later tonight or on Monday.. about the cabs.. I will be asking about how my sets were made and what not..
Thanks a ton for tracking down that link! It’s rare that I run across a cab I’ve never seen before. I have no idea how it sounds yet, although I’ve played some sealed cabs in the past and have mixed feelings about them, but I’m tempted to snag this one just due to the rarity. And it’s dang good looking to boot!That's part of the original all-tube 300 watt Fender Rumble Bas Custom Shop model from the mid-1990s! Awesome progenitor to the current all-tube 300 watt Fender Super Bassman.
The Original Custom Shop Rumble Bass 300 amp, this one is a 1997 amp, don't know about the cabs yet. I will be emailing Fender either later tonight or on Monday.. about the cabs.. I will be asking about how my sets were made and what not..
- Feb 12, 2006
- 60,951
- 5
- 220,594
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
That was never a production cabinet, iirc there were a few prototypes cabinets built in the custom shop but never sold retail, they may have been part of an artist deal, along with the amps.
I have to see if I have a copy of the Manual. I’ve got the full stack that came out of LA Studio Rentals. Both cabs have horns.
Originally they listed three cabs actually.
4-10 with Foster Horn
4-10 without horn. Aka Sub.
1-15 Sub.
I have never seen a blonde Custom Amp Shop 1-15 ever. And I searched for years to find my Rumble.
The 4-10 cabs without the horn should be the same as the 4-10 cab with the horn. As far as I’m aware. The difference would be the lack of the horn and the lack of a horn switch on the rear plate. As far as I’m aware the drivers where all the same. Never had mine out. Supposed to be Eminence.
Angela Music had a few of the speakers for sale at one time.
But some of the original literature also listed a 1-15. I don’t think that ever saw the light of day.
For many years there wasn’t ANY pics on the web of an actual Rumble. In about 2008 when I got mine I posted a picture. And for Years that was literally the only picture of a Rumble in the web.
These are very rare.
The cosmetics fit the tone. More or less. Imagine a 1964 SVT that sounded like a brown era fender. Pre black face. Warmer.
I had a SVT CL at the time the Rumble arrived. I couldn’t justify both. The Rumble won the better sounding amp shoot out. And the SVT got sold.
A Gibson Thunderbird and an original tube Rumble stack will set off seismographs.
Cool find!
Originally they listed three cabs actually.
4-10 with Foster Horn
4-10 without horn. Aka Sub.
1-15 Sub.
I have never seen a blonde Custom Amp Shop 1-15 ever. And I searched for years to find my Rumble.
The 4-10 cabs without the horn should be the same as the 4-10 cab with the horn. As far as I’m aware. The difference would be the lack of the horn and the lack of a horn switch on the rear plate. As far as I’m aware the drivers where all the same. Never had mine out. Supposed to be Eminence.
Angela Music had a few of the speakers for sale at one time.
But some of the original literature also listed a 1-15. I don’t think that ever saw the light of day.
For many years there wasn’t ANY pics on the web of an actual Rumble. In about 2008 when I got mine I posted a picture. And for Years that was literally the only picture of a Rumble in the web.
These are very rare.
The cosmetics fit the tone. More or less. Imagine a 1964 SVT that sounded like a brown era fender. Pre black face. Warmer.
I had a SVT CL at the time the Rumble arrived. I couldn’t justify both. The Rumble won the better sounding amp shoot out. And the SVT got sold.
A Gibson Thunderbird and an original tube Rumble stack will set off seismographs.
Cool find!
Fender used to have the owners manual for the original Rumble available for download on their website.
- Feb 12, 2006
- 60,951
- 5
- 220,594
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
That doesn't mean that they were ever commercially produced other than a few one-offs.
I looked for mine from the time of the original announcement till I found it in 2008. They are extremely rare. Like the Fender Machete guitar amp.
The Rumble was pretty much my dream amp after the Bassman 100 fell shy of the mark. So I really was rather keen to try one. Never once saw one at retail. In person or online. I was looking the entire time.
Since that time I’ve seen maybe 15-20 come up in various listings. And yes often in Europe. By many accounts the amp was quite troublesome and not terribly reliable and gave techs fits. That and the extremely high MSRP probably killed the amp as any type of regular production amp.
You worked at Fender and with Bill Hughes. So I really don’t want to come across as argumentative. And I’m not tracking serials. But it would seem there were more than a few one offs. How many? No one seems to know actual figures. And chances are good a fair amount went to a few high profile players with visibility. Probably gratis or as endorsers. Neil Young’s bassist had one.
Mine never gave any of the beat related issues involving burnt power resistors or caps. The only problem I encountered was some crackles that traced back to the insane number of Faston connectors they used to connect the main boards. Cleaning and reseating each one kept the amp quiet for years.
But there were a lot of horror stories involving fried resistors and caps and the like. For many they were troublesome. It’s an amp that didn’t really survive its maiden voyage.
All that said. They sound amazing.
Warm. Vintage. Like a pre black face Fender. Definitely Fender sounding but with SVT power.
They are rare. There’s few out there. But in the years since I bought mine I’ve seen a few come up for sale. Enough that it seems like more than a few that escaped the lab. Few can mean a lot of things to different people. To me a few is more than three but less than 10. More than a couple. Less than a handful.
I’ve heard less than seventy. Given the scarcity that fits. It would seem to me that there’s at least 15. But that’s strictly a WAG or Wild Ass Guess. Bruce Zinky might know. Fender has never been willing to discuss the amp. I suspect they would rather not be reminded of the issues.
Again I’m not trying to be argumentative. But I’ve seen more than a few. That’s all I’m really trying to say.
It’s actually a shame you weren’t involved with that. I suspect it would have come out better. Still they had Bill Huges and Bruce Zinky there’s no real reason for the so called issues. None of the other Custom Amp Shop models have dire faults. There’s the issue with the short lived EL84 in the Vibroking burning out until was replaced with a 6V6. Popping foot switches on Prosonics which were half Custom Amp Shop products but regular production. The rest of the stuff like the ToneMaster and Dual Professional lived up to expectations.
The whole Custom Amp Shop idea was actually neat. Take Fenders existing historic amp circuit DNA and combine it in new ways. Reimagine it.
Mines been good. I feel very lucky to have it.
They got as far as assigning a part number to the 1-15 enclosure.
I do not beleive any of those saw the light of day. And again a listing in the owners manual only shows intent. Not production. But they did get as far as assigning a part number.
If the Rumble is rare than the 1-15 seems to be vaporware.
I do not beleive any of those saw the light of day. And again a listing in the owners manual only shows intent. Not production. But they did get as far as assigning a part number.
If the Rumble is rare than the 1-15 seems to be vaporware.
Attachments
Fender manuals are usually available on their website at:
support.fender.com/en-US/knowledgebase/category/?id=CAT-01005
, but that link says, "Website Under Maintenance" right now.
Aha! Here's a direct link to the manual for the Rumble Custom Shop amp (not the cabs, though): https://www.fmicassets.com/Damroot/Original/10004/Rumble Bass.pdf
Again, the Who Here Wants To RUMBLE! Fender Custom Shop thread has a wealth of information about this unicorn.
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Whoa! sunny!! @sunburst79, you are now member #1876 in the Fender Rumble Club. Congratulations and welcome. Please put that number in your TalkBass Signature for safe keeping. Then make yourself at home here and on your Rumble Club Wiki page, the repository of all Rumbling wisdom and knowledge.
Im and I'm many other Rumblers here, look forward to hearing more about your Custom Shop Rumble here. It holds a very special place in Fender history and the hearts of most Rumblers.
How about telling us more about yourself, sun-man, such as your bass experience in general and your Rumble journey in particular? You'll fit right in here since we have all kinds. But we all love to ... ... ...
Rumble On!
- Feb 12, 2006
- 60,951
- 5
- 220,594
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
The idea was to test the waters to see if a custom shop amp/cabinet thing would even work out. Sometimes these seen like great ideas until it hits the market, this family may have been one of them.
This sort of thing is also offered as "specials" to foreign distributors, to incentive-ize the brand in the export markets. This may be part of why there may be more overseas than here in the states. They may also have been given or placed with endorsers, or given to high profile players to gauge viability and a retail product.
I have very limited info on this, but it was one of Dave Lewis's projects (using most of Bill's power amp design) and he's still at Fender (Jeff, Scott and I worked with him). I don't recall Bruce Zinky designing anything with this amp... in spite of the internet rumors. We also built some of Fender's short run and prototype cabinets at our Genz Benz facility since we were local the Fender. I don't recall ever seeing these however. Jeff's relationship with Fender goes back a long time.
For a big company, a "one-off" can be anything from say 10 to a couple hundred units (kind of a very limited run like what we did on the new Mark C II++, which was limited to 200 units). I'm confident that there are well less than 200 units of any of these pieces that were produced. I would be surprised if more than a hundred of any of these were built, but at the time these speakers could have also been used or marketed with other custom shop projects. Regular production volume over the lifespan of a product is typically in the "many thousands", so for a big company, "one-off" has a different meaning than for a small company.
The sub cabinet was odd in that used a foam surround, high compliance driver in a sealed cabinet... something that I can't recall Fender using in any other bass cabinet.
Here's the owner's manual, you will notice that it's more or less a draft and not like a production owner's manual: https://www.fmicassets.com/Damroot/Original/10004/Rumble Bass.pdf
What's interesting is that I'm pretty sure that was Dave's project, but Mike Cozza'a name is noted on the schematic as the engineer. Maybe Dave managed the project and did the initial design, but Mike did mostly guitar amps IIRC. Bill's name isn't on the power amp schematic either, but it's absolutely based on Bill's previous designs (buffered LTP PI/driver) of which I am VERY familiar.
Regardless, it's a cool look... but the Rumble concept went a very different way ultimately. Dave designed a lot of the Rumble products after this as well.
This sort of thing is also offered as "specials" to foreign distributors, to incentive-ize the brand in the export markets. This may be part of why there may be more overseas than here in the states. They may also have been given or placed with endorsers, or given to high profile players to gauge viability and a retail product.
I have very limited info on this, but it was one of Dave Lewis's projects (using most of Bill's power amp design) and he's still at Fender (Jeff, Scott and I worked with him). I don't recall Bruce Zinky designing anything with this amp... in spite of the internet rumors. We also built some of Fender's short run and prototype cabinets at our Genz Benz facility since we were local the Fender. I don't recall ever seeing these however. Jeff's relationship with Fender goes back a long time.
For a big company, a "one-off" can be anything from say 10 to a couple hundred units (kind of a very limited run like what we did on the new Mark C II++, which was limited to 200 units). I'm confident that there are well less than 200 units of any of these pieces that were produced. I would be surprised if more than a hundred of any of these were built, but at the time these speakers could have also been used or marketed with other custom shop projects. Regular production volume over the lifespan of a product is typically in the "many thousands", so for a big company, "one-off" has a different meaning than for a small company.
The sub cabinet was odd in that used a foam surround, high compliance driver in a sealed cabinet... something that I can't recall Fender using in any other bass cabinet.
Here's the owner's manual, you will notice that it's more or less a draft and not like a production owner's manual: https://www.fmicassets.com/Damroot/Original/10004/Rumble Bass.pdf
What's interesting is that I'm pretty sure that was Dave's project, but Mike Cozza'a name is noted on the schematic as the engineer. Maybe Dave managed the project and did the initial design, but Mike did mostly guitar amps IIRC. Bill's name isn't on the power amp schematic either, but it's absolutely based on Bill's previous designs (buffered LTP PI/driver) of which I am VERY familiar.
Regardless, it's a cool look... but the Rumble concept went a very different way ultimately. Dave designed a lot of the Rumble products after this as well.
- Feb 12, 2006
- 60,951
- 5
- 220,594
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
Well that's interesting, those are pretty small numbers but more speakers built than I would have expected.
60 amps is roughly the combination of the CSA test samples, beta run and a pilot run. Even a small production runs are much higher than that for Fender.
Something else that guarantees this was not a production amp is that it does not contain the UL or CSA certifications marks for safety(UL 60065 was in effect at that time). These would have been tested in the on-site test lab (not an NRTL lab) for basic safety compliance. Every production amp from that era forward would have had an NRTL safety mark. The Fender in-house label and the LA county safety label (only valid for products sold in LA county) is visible, but no NRTL mark.
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A lot to reply to.
I’ve never seen the production numbers before. And yeah that’s a lot of cabinets for 60 amps. The first I’d heard of Zinky being involved with this was here in the Rumble thread. The internet is a great place for information and disinformation. I have an interest in the Custom Amp Shop line that stems in part from owning a BF Super and this whole series of silver panel Fender Bass amps culminating with the Bassman 100. And a number of SP guitar amps. I found the Custom Amp Shop (I’m going to refer to that as CAS) amps to be rather interesting. Most took a model I was familiar with and had owned and created something new but familier. I realize the VibroKing is more 3 10 Bandmaster but for me it was SuperReverb>VibroKing. Bassman 100>RumbleBass. UL Twin Reverb>Dual Professional. ToneMaster is a Showman with a switchable gain channel into a sealed cabinet. The ProSonic being an oddity in that it was a very high gain Zinky design and started in the CAS shop design wise but moved to regular production. The same might be said of the VibroKing and its long run. There’s no prior analog for the ProSonic. All are great amps that offer something completely different from the normal Fender line but are familiar enough that many can figure it out or find their tone quickly.
Dave said he was inspired by the cosmetics seeing GE Smith play an older blonde amp on late night TV. And they were a great choice. Nothing wrong with any era but the CAS proved they could build unique amps the old way. And the earlier “Professional” piggy back cosmetics helped that a lot.
I’ve never read anything about Zinky claiming any part of the Rumble design. He seemed to stick to guitar amps. Plus they had Bill Hughes. To me the Rumble seemed like an offshoot of the main CAS program. But hey. They had Bill Hughes
. Let him design a bass amp.
Someone mentioned Zinky designing the Studio Bass. I may be wrong but if that’s the amp I’m thinking off it was years before they hired Zinky. My guess would be Bill Hughes. Ed Jahns did a number of zany and complicated designs like the Super Twin. The Studio Bass seems almost to simple to be Ed Jahns. But I have no idea.
All or most of the CAS owners manuals seem about the same to me. The part about the Flying Dutchman cabinet meaning the 1 15 struck me as odd/not odd. I have never seen a picture of one in the wild. I don’t think it was ever made other than maybe a few in house test cabs. It’s not difficult to maybe see a bit of Eden/SWR in the regular 4 10 + Horn Rumble Cab right down to the Foster Horn. There’s no way the Goliath wouldn’t influence anyone designing a 4 10 in 1995 or so. And a 8-10 Fridge style cab would have screamed derivative! So you incorporate a horn and stack your 4-10’s. And viola! 8-10’s plus horns for someone wanting a more modern sound. Everything a Fridge brings but more and a whole lot easier to tote around.
The MSRP on a Rumble stack was extremely high. Very high dollar. Custom Shop Prices way out of the range of the average player. So that would greatly inhibit take up. None of the CAS amps were cheap. Fenders forte was always pro level gear that you could afford. Custom Shop amps where for the well heeled or very serious player
I could never have afforded any of these amps new. But the Rumble did inspire me to seek them out. Used obviously.
I guess I’m in the Rumble Club now. Well I wanted to be since the initial announcement. lol
I’ve never seen the production numbers before. And yeah that’s a lot of cabinets for 60 amps. The first I’d heard of Zinky being involved with this was here in the Rumble thread. The internet is a great place for information and disinformation. I have an interest in the Custom Amp Shop line that stems in part from owning a BF Super and this whole series of silver panel Fender Bass amps culminating with the Bassman 100. And a number of SP guitar amps. I found the Custom Amp Shop (I’m going to refer to that as CAS) amps to be rather interesting. Most took a model I was familiar with and had owned and created something new but familier. I realize the VibroKing is more 3 10 Bandmaster but for me it was SuperReverb>VibroKing. Bassman 100>RumbleBass. UL Twin Reverb>Dual Professional. ToneMaster is a Showman with a switchable gain channel into a sealed cabinet. The ProSonic being an oddity in that it was a very high gain Zinky design and started in the CAS shop design wise but moved to regular production. The same might be said of the VibroKing and its long run. There’s no prior analog for the ProSonic. All are great amps that offer something completely different from the normal Fender line but are familiar enough that many can figure it out or find their tone quickly.
Dave said he was inspired by the cosmetics seeing GE Smith play an older blonde amp on late night TV. And they were a great choice. Nothing wrong with any era but the CAS proved they could build unique amps the old way. And the earlier “Professional” piggy back cosmetics helped that a lot.
I’ve never read anything about Zinky claiming any part of the Rumble design. He seemed to stick to guitar amps. Plus they had Bill Hughes. To me the Rumble seemed like an offshoot of the main CAS program. But hey. They had Bill Hughes
. Let him design a bass amp. Someone mentioned Zinky designing the Studio Bass. I may be wrong but if that’s the amp I’m thinking off it was years before they hired Zinky. My guess would be Bill Hughes. Ed Jahns did a number of zany and complicated designs like the Super Twin. The Studio Bass seems almost to simple to be Ed Jahns. But I have no idea.
All or most of the CAS owners manuals seem about the same to me. The part about the Flying Dutchman cabinet meaning the 1 15 struck me as odd/not odd. I have never seen a picture of one in the wild. I don’t think it was ever made other than maybe a few in house test cabs. It’s not difficult to maybe see a bit of Eden/SWR in the regular 4 10 + Horn Rumble Cab right down to the Foster Horn. There’s no way the Goliath wouldn’t influence anyone designing a 4 10 in 1995 or so. And a 8-10 Fridge style cab would have screamed derivative! So you incorporate a horn and stack your 4-10’s. And viola! 8-10’s plus horns for someone wanting a more modern sound. Everything a Fridge brings but more and a whole lot easier to tote around.
The MSRP on a Rumble stack was extremely high. Very high dollar. Custom Shop Prices way out of the range of the average player. So that would greatly inhibit take up. None of the CAS amps were cheap. Fenders forte was always pro level gear that you could afford. Custom Shop amps where for the well heeled or very serious player
I could never have afforded any of these amps new. But the Rumble did inspire me to seek them out. Used obviously.
I guess I’m in the Rumble Club now. Well I wanted to be since the initial announcement. lol
Search results for query: Zinky
www.talkbass.com
Apparently he not only designed the preamp but hand built every one himself?!?
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- Feb 12, 2006
- 60,951
- 5
- 220,594
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
The LA County lab was because any sales in LA county needed either this or an NRTL mark. It was used on custom-ish products as well as for kind of a pre-screening before submitting to CSA (or UL) which is very expensive. I don't know when they stopped using the LA County mark, but it was before my time (I think).
Yeah, isn't that remarkable... plenty of bad information out there.Search results for query: Zinky
Apparently he not only designed the preamp but hand built every one himself?!?
My ToneMaster head was hardwired by someone. Not Zinky. But however wired it glued an engraved stainless pick with his name or initials onto the chassis. After years of seeing PC boards that amount of pride was refreshing.
Sadly that was the only one.
A lot of the CAS stuff was marked LO for Lake Oswego. AKA the old Sunn factory I guess. There’s a fairly fierce debate among ProSonic owners as to what constitutes a Custom Shop version since they switched production to Corona at some point. I think most of the guitar amps were LO. At least mine. How that figured in I don’t know but my guess would be low production vs regular production in Corona.
I think my Rumble is also LO.
Just another plot twist.
Sadly that was the only one.
A lot of the CAS stuff was marked LO for Lake Oswego. AKA the old Sunn factory I guess. There’s a fairly fierce debate among ProSonic owners as to what constitutes a Custom Shop version since they switched production to Corona at some point. I think most of the guitar amps were LO. At least mine. How that figured in I don’t know but my guess would be low production vs regular production in Corona.
I think my Rumble is also LO.
Just another plot twist.
Ahahaha.
Remember when I said you couldn’t find a single picture of a Rumble on the web till I uploaded one?
Guess whose Rumble is the Custom Shop Poster child in the Rumble Wiki.
That’s mine!
And for several years that really was the only Google image of a Rumble out there.
That’s funny AF. I went to post a picture and it’s already there.
Remember when I said you couldn’t find a single picture of a Rumble on the web till I uploaded one?
Guess whose Rumble is the Custom Shop Poster child in the Rumble Wiki.
That’s mine!
And for several years that really was the only Google image of a Rumble out there.
That’s funny AF. I went to post a picture and it’s already there.
