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Fender Rumble Club

#26,441
You're going to be in a hard place if you're not willing to use an amp that may give out at any time because any amp may give out at any time. Historically speaking the rumble Series has been very reliable far more so than the first couple of years of the Ampeg pf-500 and pf-800 for example. Although I understand Ampeg assorted those out now. Things happen quality control isn't always what it should be but considering the failure rate on these it's actually quite good. It is always good to have a backup amp. For what it's worth my Rumble 500 combo has been in use albeit admittedly somewhat lightly for the last once it's been there for years? Hasn't let me down yet but I'm prepared.
jastacey said:
Well .... My affair with my Rumble 500 head has ended, this Sunday, we were doing a benefit/open mic, which was a bit long, 1-8 pm, out on an open stage, with good reliable house power, ( voltage was 121volts, I checked with my Flukie multi meter, and good ground ) after about 5 hours it just plain quit, wouldn't power up, air vents unobstructed, checked/swapped the power cords, brought out my back up amp and finished the gig, while packing/ tear-down, I tried it again, on another known circuit, same issue, won't power up, well this morning, it Powers up, but there is a one one thousand, two one thousand wait for it to power up, called Sweetwater, they had me go through a couple of ask and answeared questions, end result, is I got a RMA# and this amp is going back, just can't have an amp that may go out, granted any amp can go out, at a moment's notice, but an amp that's a couple of months old shouldn't do this, the back up amp was my other Rumble, Rumble 350, it really wasn't that hot, granted my definition of hot is somewhat different, as I'm in the Houston, Tx area ... Oh well, let's see what happens next
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#26,442
Given that Fender have sold many container-loads of Rumble globally, its not surprising to hear about 'technical issues'. Especially as most satisfied customers don't necessarily go on a bass forum to tell everyone the good news that their gear is working fine. It's much more likely that people will use a forum when things don't go quite so well. In this way it's possible to get a skewed idea of just how prevalent failures are. The real figure is quite likely to be within nominal parameters.

However, this means little if you've had the misfortune to be on the receiving end of a malfunction. Thus we discover that nothing is perfect and there's no such thing as a 100% satisfaction rate. For any brand.
 
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#26,443
jastacey said:
Well .... My affair with my Rumble 500 head has ended, this Sunday, we were doing a benefit/open mic, which was a bit long, 1-8 pm, out on an open stage, with good reliable house power, ( voltage was 121volts, I checked with my Flukie multi meter, and good ground ) after about 5 hours it just plain quit, wouldn't power up, air vents unobstructed, checked/swapped the power cords, brought out my back up amp and finished the gig, while packing/ tear-down, I tried it again, on another known circuit, same issue, won't power up, well this morning, it Powers up, but there is a one one thousand, two one thousand wait for it to power up, called Sweetwater, they had me go through a couple of ask and answeared questions, end result, is I got a RMA# and this amp is going back, just can't have an amp that may go out, granted any amp can go out, at a moment's notice, but an amp that's a couple of months old shouldn't do this, the back up amp was my other Rumble, Rumble 350, it really wasn't that hot, granted my definition of hot is somewhat different, as I'm in the Houston, Tx area ... Oh well, let's see what happens next
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Just curious what cab(s) you were you using?
 
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#26,445
Big Hoss said:
You're going to be in a hard place if you're not willing to use an amp that may give out at any time because any amp may give out at any time. Historically speaking the rumble Series has been very reliable far more so than the first couple of years of the Ampeg pf-500 and pf-800 for example. Although I understand Ampeg assorted those out now. Things happen quality control isn't always what it should be but considering the failure rate on these it's actually quite good. It is always good to have a backup amp. For what it's worth my Rumble 500 combo has been in use albeit admittedly somewhat lightly for the last once it's been there for years? Hasn't let me down yet but I'm prepared.
Click to expand...

What you said is very very true about taking risks, with equipment, and it's a numbers game in the grand scheme of things, in the view of manufacturers, my take is, I tried something new, I liked it, like the price, liked the tone/sound, took the risk, and as luck had it mine was in the error parameters, would I try another new amp, yes ..... A couple of take aways from this experience, is allways have a backup amp, and purchase from a retailer who's customer oriented
 
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#26,446
discreet said:
Given that Fender have sold many container-loads of Rumble globally, its not surprising to hear about 'technical issues'. Especially as most satisfied customers don't necessarily go on a bass forum to tell everyone the good news that their gear is working fine. It's much more likely that people will use a forum when things don't go quite so well. In this way it's possible to get a skewed idea of just how prevalent failures are. The real figure is quite likely to be within nominal parameters.

However, this means little if you've had the misfortune to be on the receiving end of a malfunction. Thus we discover that nothing is perfect and there's no such thing as a 100% satisfaction rate. For any brand.
Click to expand...

I agree with you for the most part, and I might add, I've had several Fender Bass amps over the years, and they gave me good service over the years
 
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#26,449
discreet said:
That is true. I wonder what percentage of all Rumble customers are made up of TB members..?
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That is going to be a very small number. Talkbass most certainly is not representative of the entire population of the world's bass players. Fender Rumbles are the world's best selling bass amps and have been since 2008. The new Stage 800 and Studio 40 are about to dramatically increase Fender's global bass amp market share.
 
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#26,455
discreet said:
Given that Fender have sold many container-loads of Rumble globally, its not surprising to hear about 'technical issues'. Especially as most satisfied customers don't necessarily go on a bass forum to tell everyone the good news that their gear is working fine.
Click to expand...
Just wanted to tell everyone that Ive been gigging steadily for nearly 2 years with my Rumble 500 head/210 cab rig and have had no issues whats so ever. I have gigs ranging from classic rock, chicago blues and classic country..the Rumble handles it all. :)
 
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#26,457
FirewalZ said:
Just wanted to tell everyone that Ive been gigging steadily for nearly 2 years with my Rumble 500 head/210 cab rig and have had no issues whats so ever. I have gigs ranging from classic rock, chicago blues and classic country..the Rumble handles it all. :)
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I realized I've had my R200c since mid November 2015. No(knock wood)problems:D
 
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#26,459
discreet said:
Ate you mad? Then the logos would be 90 degrees adrift!! Nooooooo! :eek:

I'd have to buy the matching 210 cab. Just for harmony and good geometry in all things. Luckily I've not yet needed more than the combo alone can provide. :)
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You can move the logos. Been done, but I don't remember who. You may not really "need" an extension, but what it adds to the sound is well worth it. I used a 2x10 extension and it really sounded great, but were I to be doing it over, I'd go for a 15.
 
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#26,460
discreet said:
I would like to hear that pairing, but would I be right in thinking the 15 cab is wider than the combo? If so it would play merry hell with my OCD. ;)
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I thought it would too. but i also got the 15 cab bc i would like to use it with my fender tb1200 head should i want to use a head cab setup. The 4" with the combo on top isnt bad. If your OCD was that bad, you could always add rubber feet to the side. Tip it on its side and rotate the badge. Then itd only be 1.5" wider. However, I can look past the 4".
These 115s are lightweight IMO. I can easily 1 arm lift it up into my truck. I am definitely impressed with the value in the V3 rumble line. The pop out casters is definitely an added bonus.
 
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