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I really liked Jack's extreme distortion on Frank Zappa's Apostrophe. This is on a V2 Rumble 350, but as silly as this may sound, point both the Drive and Level controls at the red LED. Be sure to pull your gain all the way down and then add to taste. I believe you'll find what you're looking for right in that area.
Im so happy with my rumble 200 but i havent used d drive yet. Any of you hav used it?
And heck, I'm thinking of scuttling the whole head + cab scheisse for now and go with the bigger Rumbles. I demoed a 25 just to see if I wanted one in a "practice amp" size and weighs less than my current combo. I A/B'ed the 25 and 40 - and damn impressed with both. The 25 can crank pretty well and handles a low B. Now, I love my "el cheapo" Bassman 25, as much of an anchor as it is, but I care very little about 32 lbs. versus ~20 lbs. I also don't like fixing what isn't broken, but the Bassman is my practice amp; it needs a bigger counterpart. Still keeping mind, eyes and ears wide open!
Didn't get a pic, but I had my first gig with the Rumble 500 on Friday, putting it through a pair of Ampeg 210AVs. This amp is ridiculous. With gain at around 11 o'clock and master at 9 o'clock I was carrying the whole place and kept having to back off the volume. Master at 9 o'clock. Loudest 500w head I've played. The voicing is exactly as described here: punches right through any mix...and I play with some dense guitars and a loudish drummer. I think I may like some tube compression in front to have a bit more give (or maybe try the drive for this), but I can see this being my workhorse for a while. I probably could have even gotten away with the 200w version with the cabs I have. Clean headroom is NOT an issue with these Rumbles.
I don't even own a Rumble, but anyone who's read this thread at all knows that your experience is pretty atypical. Have you tried adjusting the EQ section as advised by Linnin and others? Also, a Rumble 60?
sleepy
any fool knows how to use a 4band eq. you respond while you dont even know about this siphon's existence? here you go: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]I don't even own a Rumble, but anyone who's read this thread at all knows that your experience is pretty atypical. Have you tried adjusting the EQ section as advised by Linnin and others? Also, a Rumble 60?
sleepy
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:shrug: Okay, then. Obviously you need more assistance than I can provide, so I'll let Linnin or one of the others take it from here.
Ah, that makes more sense, thanks...the 60 is part of the V1 Rumble line. I thought we were talking about the V3 line.
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My personal experience with the original first generation Fender Rumbles has been limited, but positive. A friend of mine owns a V1 Rumble 60 1x12 combo and uses it to play synth bass lines through. I've heard him live on several occasions and the Rumble 60 was plenty loud and sounded very good with a wide full range of tone. It has the very same 4 band active EQ front end as the V1 Rumble 100. They ushered in the modern 4 band EQ that is now (with ongoing freq tweaks in V2 & V3) the standard bearer of the Rumble line. The V1 Rumbles are stalwart workhorses that last, and sold very well for 7 years until they were replaced by the V2 Rumbles in 2010. Fender Rumbles have always had great tone and were specifically designed to sound good with Fender's iconic electric bass guitars; the Precision, and the Jazz. 
Rumble On!
Rumble On!
Absolutely amazed at how awesome the 2013 Am Std j sounds through the 500 head. Couldn't be more pleased
Oh So Groove Ahhh-Licious! My 2012 American Standard Jazz Rocks Like None Other ( except yours of course) The secret is those custom shop p'ups. Love 'Em! 
Fender Forever! Rumble On! 
I think its the extra wattage
The CS pups are fantastic
What messed me up was early this year, I injured my old amp and was in need of new, the same time the new Rumbles came out
Unfortunately, the lead time was about 3 months for the 500w head, so I bought a different head.
All was well until I wanted to try a 2014 SG at the bass store. Normally I used the same amp I have at home, to remove variables.
Without the same amp, I decided to play through a 200 combo (Twas the biggest Rumble in the store that day).
The bass came home with me, but the tone I got out of the SG & Rumble was not to be had at mi casa.
Problem solved now...
I share your pain.
I played through a V1 Rumble 60 when they first came out. Horrible-sounding little object, at least IMO. In fact, the only V1 Rumble that made sense to me was the 25, a pretty good low-B capable small combo for home practice and "unplugged" coffee-shop gigs.
The larger V2's sounded better to me, but seemed oversized and way overweight for what they could do.
At least for my taste, the V3's are where the Rumbles really hit the sweet spot. The 40 and 100 are great practice/coffee shop amps, depending on how much low-end booty you want, and the 200/500 combos give G-K a run for the money if you're looking for an affordable, lightweight alternative to the larger Markbass and Ampeg combos.
