This set up now "forces " me to leave my cherished amp and 4x10 at home. 
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All right fellow rumbler's...
I have the v2 Rumble 150 combo and love the way my bass sounds through it, but it is still a bit loud for home practice. I know, it has a volume knob, but when I turn down to bedroom levels you can barely hear it and it gets loud very quickly as it gets turned up. I am thinking of getting the new v3 40 watt for a practice amp. My concern is will my bass actually sound like a bass through the 40 watt or will it sound like another crappy practice amp? I have an older Crate 15 watt practice amp that I let my son have because it just sounds tinny and crappy for actual practice. I do not need to gig with it, my only gig is the praise band at church and I use my Tonehammer DI for FOH and Avioms for monitoring. I just need a "quiet" practice amp for home but I want it to sound like a bass when I play through it. I am thinking the 40 should do a decent job as the front end is the same as the newer larger rumbles. I have demoed the 100 and 500 and liked the sound of those but I have not been able to demo a 40 yet. Those with actual experience with the new 40 watt, will it handle the lows like a "real" bass amp or should I just keep my 150 at low volumes?
I have the v2 Rumble 150 combo and love the way my bass sounds through it, but it is still a bit loud for home practice. I know, it has a volume knob, but when I turn down to bedroom levels you can barely hear it and it gets loud very quickly as it gets turned up. I am thinking of getting the new v3 40 watt for a practice amp. My concern is will my bass actually sound like a bass through the 40 watt or will it sound like another crappy practice amp? I have an older Crate 15 watt practice amp that I let my son have because it just sounds tinny and crappy for actual practice. I do not need to gig with it, my only gig is the praise band at church and I use my Tonehammer DI for FOH and Avioms for monitoring. I just need a "quiet" practice amp for home but I want it to sound like a bass when I play through it. I am thinking the 40 should do a decent job as the front end is the same as the newer larger rumbles. I have demoed the 100 and 500 and liked the sound of those but I have not been able to demo a 40 yet. Those with actual experience with the new 40 watt, will it handle the lows like a "real" bass amp or should I just keep my 150 at low volumes?
I had best luck with the 150 using a lot of low mid at home to help warm the sound.
I think in some aspects the smaller cone of the 40w will "bloom" at lower volume more than the 15.
I Personally never liked any amp below about 1.5 on the volume, sounds like that's where the presence starts
Just go audition a Rumble 40, furym, and see what you think. If the $100 difference isn't a big deal, try out the Rumble 100 also. I A/B'd them some 6 months ago and liked the 100 better. This is one of those instances where you just can't go wrong.
I bought a v3 Rumble 40 for practice and think it sounds great! So do other musicians who have heard it, some of whom were quite surprised! For when I need more oomph I use my v2 Rumble 350.
Rumble 40 might be a perfect choice. You can also try something with level knob in the fx loop (presuming there is one in the v2 series). It works for me with tube guitar amps. EQ with level adjustment is best for this purpose. You can make the volume lower and also equalize the sound as you wish.
Any audition is a drive, I was hoping to have an idea before I went and see if I needed to pack for a possible v3 100. I am really just hoping that is has some "boom" like a bass amp should. I am not expecting miracles as I know it is only a 40 watt but we all know what those cheapy practice amps sound like. I am just hoping it does not sound like that. The 40 is within budget, to get higher I would have to bring some trade items. I really only need bedroom with mp3 practice levels but I hate my little practice amp because I can't really tell what the bass should sound like through it. I will try and get up to the the big city this weekend to demo some stuff.
Hey guys! I just picked up a new Rumble V3 25w for quiet practice (I cant even use my SVT stack without rumbling the house) and the jam/work on tunes with guitarists. Very happy with it! I really was surprised by the amount of punch and clarity! Even my band's guitarist, who obsesses over tone (owns a '74 Marshall Stack and an original '59 bassman) really liked its sound. Great looking little amp too! Can I has a number?
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Such excitement! The good ol' New Rumble on my front porch, but I'm still at work blues
Welcome to the Fender Rumble Club, Matt McGriff!
You are member # 317 
Rumbles Rock Baby! Yeah! 
I liked both the 40 and the 100. Both sound much fuller than any smaller practice amp, even the Ampeg BA108, which I regard as the best of the "minis".
If this helps, the 40 sounds a little less "flabby" in the low mids than the 100, but does sound just a little boxy and small compared to regular "big rigs".
The 100 meets my practice amp ideal a little better (same weight and heft as larger rigs, just at lower volume levels), and the twelve in the 100 V3 actually has a sllghtly sweeter and crisper treble response than the 10" driver in the 40.
OTOH, a couple of guys have preferred the 40 because it has less of the resonant "boom" in the low mids that drove me to mod my 100 with extra damping, bracing, and sealed ports.
In other interesting news, I had a chance to A/B a stock 100 V3 combo against the more expensive TC Electronic BG250-208 yesterday.
As expected, the TC's form factor is better. It's easier to manipulate with one hand, even though it feels much heavier than the 4lb published weight disadvantage would indicate.
Anyone who is used to 8" drivers farting out in small practice amps would be blown away by the TC- the uber-B on my 37" Dingwall sounded clean and full, even with the volume maxed.
The extra features on the 208 (tuner, Tone Print, mute button, proper pre-EQ DI out) are nice, but they ought to be, given the price difference. The TC's tone was a little more "pro" sounding in terms of the tight, controlled yet forceful low end. It seemed more immediate, with a better punch at low volumes. However, it sounded a little boxy compared to the warmer and more open-sounding Fender.
The big surprise was how much louder the Fender was. The 250-watt TC ran out of steam way early, especially with the medium output pickups on my passive Dingwall. The TC would work as a personal monitor with a restrained drummer and PA support, but wouldn't carry the room in most situations. Proof that you can't have low, loud and small in the same box.
The TC might keep up with a Rumble 100 V3 if you plugged it into an extension cab, but then you would lose the portability advantage, and the weight disadvantage would be even more apparent compared to the featherweight Fender.
For my purposes, a modded 100 crushes the TC, since it has a tighter low end, but still retains the warmth and volume advantages of the stock Fender.
As expected, the TC's form factor is better. It's easier to manipulate with one hand, even though it feels much heavier than the 4lb published weight disadvantage would indicate.
Anyone who is used to 8" drivers farting out in small practice amps would be blown away by the TC- the uber-B on my 37" Dingwall sounded clean and full, even with the volume maxed.
The extra features on the 208 (tuner, Tone Print, mute button, proper pre-EQ DI out) are nice, but they ought to be, given the price difference. The TC's tone was a little more "pro" sounding in terms of the tight, controlled yet forceful low end. It seemed more immediate, with a better punch at low volumes. However, it sounded a little boxy compared to the warmer and more open-sounding Fender.
The big surprise was how much louder the Fender was. The 250-watt TC ran out of steam way early, especially with the medium output pickups on my passive Dingwall. The TC would work as a personal monitor with a restrained drummer and PA support, but wouldn't carry the room in most situations. Proof that you can't have low, loud and small in the same box.
The TC might keep up with a Rumble 100 V3 if you plugged it into an extension cab, but then you would lose the portability advantage, and the weight disadvantage would be even more apparent compared to the featherweight Fender.
For my purposes, a modded 100 crushes the TC, since it has a tighter low end, but still retains the warmth and volume advantages of the stock Fender.
I'm actually on a plane flying home. But, yes, from work.Such excitement! The good ol' New Rumble on my front porch, but I'm still at work blues
Welcome to the Fender Rumble Club, Matt McGriff!
I spent some time with both in a local GC, and was really impressed with the warmth of the TC and the nice tube-like qualities that the Toneprint preset gave it. For general bass tone, I thought it sounded better than the Rumble, which was a little clean in comparison. Then I went back to the Rumble and realized how much I liked the clarity and punch for practical purposes. And yeah, definitely way louder. I'm looking at picking up a TC BH250 head to try out for certain rock gigs, mainly because I like to push a head to its rails in those situations. And there's no earthly way I'll ever get that with the Rumble 500 without doing some molecular damage to everyone in a 2 block radius.
Hey guys - I've been a member on here for a long time but have been mainly lurking the last couple of years.
I want to say thanks to everyone for all the useful info on these combos and have just ordered myself a 500 combo for my new wedding/function band.
It is replacing my incredibly loud rock band rig of Hartke LH1000 into Laney NX410 & NX115 cabs. I have quit the rock band so don't need as much gear now. I've kept a hold of the 1x15" for any louder gigs I do but we have a full pa so shouldn't need to use it too often.
I want to say thanks to everyone for all the useful info on these combos and have just ordered myself a 500 combo for my new wedding/function band.
It is replacing my incredibly loud rock band rig of Hartke LH1000 into Laney NX410 & NX115 cabs. I have quit the rock band so don't need as much gear now. I've kept a hold of the 1x15" for any louder gigs I do but we have a full pa so shouldn't need to use it too often.
This scenario you speak of is similar to mine, including same exact head.
I am using the 410 Ak Hartke cab still with the 500 head, and can say I am nothing short of pleased with the tone.
Sorry to hear about your band, but unless you are paired up with a John Bonham clone, the new amp setup should do wonderful for you
Welcome to the Fender Rumble Club, Delberthot!
You are member #318 I know you are going to love your Rumble 500 combo. Pop it on top of your Laney 115 and see how they work together.
Rumbles Rock!
I had been playing in a wedding/function band for 17 years before we decided to part company so after a lot of searching I joined a really good rock band. A really great group of guys but a chance meeting with the drummer from the old band, we all realised that we missed playing together as there was always a great spark between us.
Short story is that myself, the keyboard player and drummer from the old wedding band, the guitarist from a previous rock band and a fantastic female singer have teamed up to form a new wedding band
There wasn't anything wrong with the rock band - i was still really enjoying it but this was a chance that i couldn't let pass me by and if the new band didn't have so much work I'd have stayed in both bands.
This will be my monitor and as I don't need bowel moving bass, just to be able to hear myself, I bought one of Invalid Link Removed to sit it on. I'll let the pa do all of the work.
I am planning on removing the metal grill from the Laney to help cut down on weight of that and make myself a wooden frame which I will attach some Fender grill cloth so that they both match. Fender don't do a matching cab for this combo but the Laney is just slightly wider than the combo so it will be a close match
Cool, always good to hear the story behind the scenes.
I would like to see your new set up when it's all said and done
