I placed an order for a Rumble 500 V3 combo last night. I have to wait a bit, don't think it will ship until mid-February. Can't wait! 
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Well, there'll be no waiting around required to join!I placed an order for a Rumble 500 V3 combo last night. I have to wait a bit, don't think it will ship until mid-February. Can't wait!
Welcome to the Fender Rumble Club, crucislancer! 
You are member #335 
Rumbles Rule! 
Well, there'll be no waiting around required to join!
Right on! Thank you Linnin
Well I've had the chance to test it out with and without PA support and it's certainly done its job very well indeed.
This is a pic from last night's gig at a University drinking session event. No pa and a room that holds 200 people
I was kinda apprehensive before the gig but it was fantastic. I took advantage of the boundary effect by situating the combo and cab in the corner of the room.
No flapping when playing the low B, really loud and could've went louder.
The cab below it is my trusty Laney NX115 which is rated at 400w
This is a pic from last night's gig at a University drinking session event. No pa and a room that holds 200 people
I was kinda apprehensive before the gig but it was fantastic. I took advantage of the boundary effect by situating the combo and cab in the corner of the room.
No flapping when playing the low B, really loud and could've went louder.
The cab below it is my trusty Laney NX115 which is rated at 400w
Part of the attraction of the new Rumble series is their light weight, so I thought I'd weigh my Rumbles on a postal scale to see how accurate Fender's spec was (at least vs. my rumbles, a sample of one!).
Rumble v3 100 combo: Fender spec = 22 lbs, mine weighs 21 lbs 3 oz.
Rumble v3 500 combo: Fender spec = 36.5 lbs, mine weighs 35 lbs 13 oz.
Rumble v3 115 cabinet; Fender spec = 39 lbs, mine weighs 36 lbs 13 oz.
Not bad, hopefully the weights of the new 112 and 210 cabinets come in below spec. Regardless, one of each will be coming to my house.
Bob
Rumble v3 100 combo: Fender spec = 22 lbs, mine weighs 21 lbs 3 oz.
Rumble v3 500 combo: Fender spec = 36.5 lbs, mine weighs 35 lbs 13 oz.
Rumble v3 115 cabinet; Fender spec = 39 lbs, mine weighs 36 lbs 13 oz.
Not bad, hopefully the weights of the new 112 and 210 cabinets come in below spec. Regardless, one of each will be coming to my house.
Bob
Finally stretched the legs of my Rumble V3 500 head last night. 6-piece band with horn, keys and acoustic all going through the PA, a setting I've struggled with in the past because a) it's very different from my usual 4-piece rock gigs and b) I usually have to carry the room on my own. Diagnosis: deeelicious.
Started the evening with a TC BH250 head just to test its limits, and I kept the Rumble handy in case the little amp hit a wall. It eventually did, and I swapped. Instantly the bass sound I'd been fighting a bit all night was right where I wanted it, with no EQ presets and every EQ dial at noon. This "default" setting usually sounds a bit sterile for my taste, both at home and at the last gig through my sealed Ampeg 210s (where the Vintage preset may have sounded much better). But in a big mix carrying a room with a pair of Baer ML112s it sat perfectly in the mix, with evenness across all the frequencies I personally care about. The Baers aren't exactly transparent, but they don't hide anything, and the Rumble ruled. No booming stage, no flabbiness in the mids, not too much treble. Gain at 9 o'clock and Volume about 11 o'clock. Carrying the room with all of those instruments. It doesn't get the tube tone I'm usually after quite as much as some of my other stuff, but when I need something that just plain works, the Rumble is it.
Started the evening with a TC BH250 head just to test its limits, and I kept the Rumble handy in case the little amp hit a wall. It eventually did, and I swapped. Instantly the bass sound I'd been fighting a bit all night was right where I wanted it, with no EQ presets and every EQ dial at noon. This "default" setting usually sounds a bit sterile for my taste, both at home and at the last gig through my sealed Ampeg 210s (where the Vintage preset may have sounded much better). But in a big mix carrying a room with a pair of Baer ML112s it sat perfectly in the mix, with evenness across all the frequencies I personally care about. The Baers aren't exactly transparent, but they don't hide anything, and the Rumble ruled. No booming stage, no flabbiness in the mids, not too much treble. Gain at 9 o'clock and Volume about 11 o'clock. Carrying the room with all of those instruments. It doesn't get the tube tone I'm usually after quite as much as some of my other stuff, but when I need something that just plain works, the Rumble is it.
In addition to being able to build enough, I was thinking that Fender is more than likely having supply chain issues related to the west coast port congestion, which has been going on since late October. I won't go into the specifics of why, but I will say that anything coming into west coast container ports is delayed and there's a huge backlog of import containers waiting to be moved out of the yards, among other things.
Since Fender amps & cabs are made in Indonesia and China, they would most likely come into LA/Long Beach terminals, which is a disaster right now. Most of the online vendors are saying early to mid February for the 500 combo but if those dates are based off of when vessels are arriving with containers full of goodies, then I wouldn't take much stock in the posted dates. I hope I'm wrong, though. I don't want to wait LOL
That is interesting, as I did not know that. Fender's warehouse/distribution center is in Ontario, California. That is a bite if there are containers full of Rumbles just sitting around!
And Champions ... And Squiers ... And a whole bunch of other stuff too!
Yeah, it's not a big news story, despite the fact that it's having an impact on produce exports from the central valley, among other things. I saw a news segment on CBS a couple of weeks ago, but that's it. Most of what I know is because I'm in shipping/logistics and I deal with it every day.
It's possible that Fender already has some Rumbles in their warehouse, and plan to ship next week to retailers. That's my hope, at least.
I recently bought a Rumble 200 combo off of a keyboard friend, this thing is amazing. As with most gear I've found a great "bedroom" sound, but then on the gig it might take a while to find what works in a certain room, and have found this combo to be pretty easy to quickly dial in. Fri night gig I needed a bit more punch, turned the od on, lowest setting, wow, thats it to cut right through. Last night I added the vintage voicing with the same low od sound, just seemed to work in that room (mind you standing next to a hammond and leslie going full tilt). Anyone use the vintage voicing and high boost at same time, or is this self defeating (i liked the effect)?
Big Hoss
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This hadn't made the news in Texas. Sort of odd though. It sounds like kind of a big deal with the potential to impact business nationwide... This also explains why so many Fender and Squier import products are back ordered...
I think it is a big deal, but the story tends to be told in trade & business publications and websites. Do a google search for "port congestion west coast" and you will see what I mean.
My fingers are crossed that I'll be playing through a brand new Rumble 500 combo in a couple of weeks.
I got my Rumble 500 about two weeks ago. I've been playing around with it and I have to say that I love it.
In the school's rehearsal space, the only bass option available is a crummy old Laney 50W combo that is easily drowned by the drums. Considering all the acoustic charm of a bunker room (many, many buildings in Switzerland have air raid shelters, used to be the law), the only way I got to hear it at all was by cranking up the mids and highs fairly high. Which is a sound not really suited to reggae.
Taking my Rumble 500 there really put it on another level, though. Of course, the rooms still echoes like hell, it's mostly bare concrete.
However, I don't even have to touch the (high) mid and treble knobs anymore - or if I do, it's to turn them down. It's just fat bass all the way
Also, I am pretty sure the old Laney is about as heavy, if not even a tiny bit heavier than the Rumble - and it's hasn't even got two speakers! Looks like a single 10" to me.
That being said, I don't really know how loud this thing can go. Playing, as I mentioned, Reggae, the bass knob is of course going to be the one turned up in the most aggressive manner, and I think that I have gotten pretty close to distorting the sound. Gain was at about 9:00, bass at 3-4 ish and master close to noon. Does that sound like a reasonable turning point? If so, I've to say I would've liked it to be louder, but I suppose PA is a thing for a reason. If not, could it just be some rattling/room "vibration" that produces a similar sound? People always say that you'll definitely hear when it's distorting, so should I just carry on and trust my ears when it starts to sound *really* wrong?
The sheer thud it puts out is still a thing to behold, though.
Finally - I thought that it would be a really cool touch if I could paint the cab green, but I am entirely unsure as to what kind of paint I'd need for that, whether I would have to strip the Tolex (it's Tolex, right?) and how much it would cost me - advice?
In the school's rehearsal space, the only bass option available is a crummy old Laney 50W combo that is easily drowned by the drums. Considering all the acoustic charm of a bunker room (many, many buildings in Switzerland have air raid shelters, used to be the law), the only way I got to hear it at all was by cranking up the mids and highs fairly high. Which is a sound not really suited to reggae.
Taking my Rumble 500 there really put it on another level, though. Of course, the rooms still echoes like hell, it's mostly bare concrete.
However, I don't even have to touch the (high) mid and treble knobs anymore - or if I do, it's to turn them down. It's just fat bass all the way
Also, I am pretty sure the old Laney is about as heavy, if not even a tiny bit heavier than the Rumble - and it's hasn't even got two speakers! Looks like a single 10" to me.
That being said, I don't really know how loud this thing can go. Playing, as I mentioned, Reggae, the bass knob is of course going to be the one turned up in the most aggressive manner, and I think that I have gotten pretty close to distorting the sound. Gain was at about 9:00, bass at 3-4 ish and master close to noon. Does that sound like a reasonable turning point? If so, I've to say I would've liked it to be louder, but I suppose PA is a thing for a reason. If not, could it just be some rattling/room "vibration" that produces a similar sound? People always say that you'll definitely hear when it's distorting, so should I just carry on and trust my ears when it starts to sound *really* wrong?
The sheer thud it puts out is still a thing to behold, though.
Finally - I thought that it would be a really cool touch if I could paint the cab green, but I am entirely unsure as to what kind of paint I'd need for that, whether I would have to strip the Tolex (it's Tolex, right?) and how much it would cost me - advice?
Congratulations crust_cheese!
Huge step up from a Rumble 30. Glad it hear you're loving it! Rumbles Rule!
Definitely trust your ears. Lows take more wattage to put out, so you can hit an amp's comfortable limits sooner with the bass control cranked. Some rooms are really wacky and will eat up certain frequencies, which is probably another factor in your situation (for me, rooms are the biggest dragon to slay at every gig). You are probably asking too much of that combo's small box and two speakers. You need another cab.
Yeah, don't do that.
If you really wanted a green setup, trade in your combo for a Rumble head and paint up an old cab that already needs some sort of update. Tolex doesn't just come off, you have to scrape lots of glue and do a bunch of sanding. You can use any paint and add polyurethane coats after you get it to bare wood. Or you can see if roll-on Duratex comes in a good green.
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Playing reggae at high volume through 10" speakers, no matter how good they be, might not be the most advisable thing. I guess it's a testament to the 500 combo that it does it, but my suggestion would be to add another cab, one that's bass-heavy. As for your 210s in the combo, you might hear probs, you might not. The worry would be overheating voice coils. That can happen without "farting" the speakers. When you drive the speakers hard without giving them an opportunity to cool down - which is exactly what happens when playing with a lot of low end, they overheat. And when they're burnt, that's it. and I think uncovered by warranty. So add a cab. a green one. and about that...
Painting Tolex is also not the wisest thing, because it's plastic and paint just won't stick. You might find some automotive seat color dye that will get the job done, I dunno. However, saying that, reggae is not a music known for fineness of presentation, so a beat-up green cab might be the perfect look. For you, that is.
I'd avoid stripping off the Tolex like the plague.Latest posts
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