Fender Rumble Club

[Inky13]

Here’s the innards of a 500H if anyone’s interested.

 

[lizardking837]

Here’s the innards of a 500H if anyone’s interested.

Cool!.....I have no idea what to make of it...

 

[Inky13]

Cool!.....I have no idea what to make of it...

You could make a hat, or a broach, or a Pterodactyl.

 

[Inky13]

Looks like I’m going to have to source out an input jack.
And, as expected, it’s soldered directly to the board.
Yay.

 

[SRVoodoo]

You could make a hat, or a broach, or a Pterodactyl.

Love Airplane references! lol

 

[lizardking837]

Love Airplane references! lol

Surely you can't be serious!

 

[Kipp Harrington]

Surely you can't be serious!

I am serious. And please, stop calling me Shirley!

 

[Durchii]

Welcome Rumbler # 1094! Let's see if I can answer some of your questions. First, "good tone" is the one you like. Different people like different tones and many, including me, will use different tones for different songs. So the idea is to toy with settings and see what sounds good to your. If you have a bass player you really like, listen to how he sounds and try to get a similar tone.
Here I need to tell you a bit about how we refer to the knobs (potentiometers) on the amp. Since they don't have numbers 1 to 10 (or 11 if you're playing with Spinal Tap), we use a clock reference. straight toward the back of the amp is 12, pointed straight to the left is 9, and straight to the right is 3. You will find the know works from about 7 to about 5. That will help when you are reading about or discussing settings.
Now set the gain and master at 9 and everything else at 12. Ignore the Overdrive for now. See what that sounds like. Play with the knobs until you like how it sounds. Now, try putting the buttons in to see how they affect the tone and how you like them. You will find many of us really like the Vintage button. It emulates the old tube amp sound some of us older types grew up with. Again, ignore Overdrive. Save it for last. It can do some cool stuff, but it is a bit tricky to tame.
So, one more thing. Gain and Master. Gain controls the level of the signal from your bass the preamp section sends to the power amp section. Master controls the volume. When you turn the gain up, it sounds like it is increasing volume. It is because the power amp is boosting a stronger signal from the preamp. Increasing the Gain add more "grit" to your tone as your turn it up. You can dial on how mch you want, then set the master to the volume you want.
And finally, peruse the Fender Rumber Wiki Pages @G-Dog has so graciously put together for us and while there you will find the "Tone Pool" that other members have posted. That should give you enough to get started so you can Rumble On!

#1094, eh? Nice, that's totally my debit card PIN number!

Man, great reply, thanks a ton. So, something in regards to the Gain and Master controls that I was told was that having the Gain set to less than the Master will result in a more clean tone, whereas setting it higher than the Master will give the tone more grittiness. Is there any truth in this?

Also, once I can kick our kid off the computer and I get some space in my "studio," I'm going to mess around with everything you told me. I honestly haven't even gotten this thing's volume much higher off of 0 (or 7 o'clock, as it were) than it took to get a sound I could hear, as I've messed with it later in the day and we have downstairs neighbors. However, I can technically make as much noise as I want until 10 PM before noise complaints can be filed, so I should really just stop being overly courteous and realize plucking away at 3 in the afternoon at a decent volume is well within my rights considering I pay rent here, too. Heh.

Welcome to TalkBass and the Rumble Club, Durchii! Congrats on having such a great missus!!! And she got you a great rig! So, here's what you do:

1. Post a pic here of your rig. Yeah, we've seen 'em all before, but we still love seeing 'em again! (Who knows, yours may be added to the Artwork section of the wiki!) It also helps @Gravedigger Dav know who to give new Club numbers to!

Man, I truly don't deserve her! It was our first Christmas together and we each went a wee bit crazy on buying each other gifts. She definitely knocked this one out of the park.

Also, ask and ye shall receive! Here is the setup in all her glory. Our apartment is pretty cramped at the moment, between animals and a nine year old, so I had to resort to setting the amp up in front of the (unused!) fireplace in spite of people telling me that up against a wall would be a much better idea. Something about bass frequencies being omni-directional, but... gotta do what you gotta do! It's also right next to my desk, which makes it easy to play along with either online lessons or a backing track.

 

[Jephmo]

Welcome to TalkBass and the Rumble Club, Durchii! Congrats on having such a great missus!!! And she got you a great rig! So, here's what you do:

1. Post a pic here of your rig. Yeah, we've seen 'em all before, but we still love seeing 'em again! (Who knows, yours may be added to the Artwork section of the wiki!) It also helps @Gravedigger Dav know who to give new Club numbers to!

B. At your own pace, you should peruse both the Rumble Club TONE POOL of settings and the Rumble Talks, especially the tone tips, tone terms, gain structure, and adjusting gain & drive.

iii. Enjoy your Rumble and post here frequently to let us know what you're up to. ​

.



Welcome, Jephmo! For being new here, you sound like an experienced bassist, or at least a free thinker!! I like that, very much. And we need your levelheaded helpfulness. Please, post a pic and join The Club!
.



@Frankula! Not from Transylvania, by any chance, are you? Welcome, anyway.

Now that's how it's done! Straight to the point! Boom!! Here I am, this is me!! Yeah, customized Rumble V1 and all!!! Could you share a pic with the red light in the bottom port on? It would set off the red corners! Yowza!!! I like your style.

But hold your horses, @Gravedigger Dav will be along soon to give you the appropriate membership number. Welcome, again!
.

Thanks for the kind words. Here's a pic of my rig, looking forward to joining The Club and getting to know everyone!

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

#1094, eh? Nice, that's totally my debit card PIN number!

Man, great reply, thanks a ton. So, something in regards to the Gain and Master controls that I was told was that having the Gain set to less than the Master will result in a more clean tone, whereas setting it higher than the Master will give the tone more grittiness. Is there any truth in this?

Also, once I can kick our kid off the computer and I get some space in my "studio," I'm going to mess around with everything you told me. I honestly haven't even gotten this thing's volume much higher off of 0 (or 7 o'clock, as it were) than it took to get a sound I could hear, as I've messed with it later in the day and we have downstairs neighbors. However, I can technically make as much noise as I want until 10 PM before noise complaints can be filed, so I should really just stop being overly courteous and realize plucking away at 3 in the afternoon at a decent volume is well within my rights considering I pay rent here, too. Heh.



Man, I truly don't deserve her! It was our first Christmas together and we each went a wee bit crazy on buying each other gifts. She definitely knocked this one out of the park.

Also, ask and ye shall receive! Here is the setup in all her glory. Our apartment is pretty cramped at the moment, between animals and a nine year old, so I had to resort to setting the amp up in front of the (unused!) fireplace in spite of people telling me that up against a wall would be a much better idea. Something about bass frequencies being omni-directional, but... gotta do what you gotta do! It's also right next to my desk, which makes it easy to play along with either online lessons or a backing track.

Well, there is some truth to that, but it isn't fully correct. There is no electronic connection between the two. You can have the master higher than the gain and still get some grit. The easy way to test it is to go to extremes with the gain. Set the volume at a comfortable level, then crank the gain. You will see what I mean.
I like the color of that Jag.

 

[smeet]

Hey all, so I haven't had time to read though the thread but I need some quick feedback here.
My guitarist wants to buy a bass rig (which I will be using for practice at her house).
Her stated requirements are:
- $300-$500
- Combo or small stack
- Loud enough for a small/medium gig
- To be used for rock and some metal (old school not Periphery etc.)

I immediately thought the best option in that price range might be a rumble.
So, I started searching for combos and got a bit confused.
I saw these, which all looked pretty good:
Fender Rumble 500 2x10" 500-Watt Bass Combo for $599
Fender Rumble 210 2x10" 700-Watt Bass Cabinet - Silver Grille for $399
Fender Rumble 410 - 4x10" 500-Watt Bass Cabinet w/Horn for $399

But the price of the first one is much higher, so maybe a newer model?
So anyway, is one of these a good choice? Or is there another rumble that might be better?
Or is there a non-Fender option that might be the best option?
I'm not stuck on combo, sweetwater, or Fender, so please recommend me your thoughts...

Thanks!

 

[ak56]

Hey all, so I haven't had time to read though the thread but I need some quick feedback here.
My guitarist wants to buy a bass rig (which I will be using for practice at her house).
Her stated requirements are:
- $300-$500
- Combo or small stack
- Loud enough for a small/medium gig
- To be used for rock and some metal (old school not Periphery etc.)

I immediately thought the best option in that price range might be a rumble.
So, I started searching for combos and got a bit confused.
I saw these, which all looked pretty good:
Fender Rumble 500 2x10" 500-Watt Bass Combo for $599
Fender Rumble 210 2x10" 700-Watt Bass Cabinet - Silver Grille for $399
Fender Rumble 410 - 4x10" 500-Watt Bass Cabinet w/Horn for $399

But the price of the first one is much higher, so maybe a newer model?
So anyway, is one of these a good choice? Or is there another rumble that might be better?
Or is there a non-Fender option that might be the best option?
I'm not stuck on combo, sweetwater, or Fender, so please recommend me your thoughts...

Thanks!

The first of those is a combo, amp and speaker cabinet in one. The other two are only speaker cabinets, no amplifier.

 

[GonePlaid]

Hey all, so I haven't had time to read though the thread but I need some quick feedback here.
My guitarist wants to buy a bass rig (which I will be using for practice at her house).
Her stated requirements are:
- $300-$500
- Combo or small stack
- Loud enough for a small/medium gig
- To be used for rock and some metal (old school not Periphery etc.)

I immediately thought the best option in that price range might be a rumble.
So, I started searching for combos and got a bit confused.
I saw these, which all looked pretty good:
Fender Rumble 500 2x10" 500-Watt Bass Combo for $599
Fender Rumble 210 2x10" 700-Watt Bass Cabinet - Silver Grille for $399
Fender Rumble 410 - 4x10" 500-Watt Bass Cabinet w/Horn for $399

But the price of the first one is much higher, so maybe a newer model?
So anyway, is one of these a good choice? Or is there another rumble that might be better?
Or is there a non-Fender option that might be the best option?
I'm not stuck on combo, sweetwater, or Fender, so please recommend me your thoughts...

Thanks!

Well, the first is a combo amp, the other 2 are just cabs so you'd need a head. I have a Rumble 200c[combo], 200W, 1x15 that I use for many of our gigs-and used it outside yesterday. Currently $500. at Sweetwater, etc. Unless you're rehearsing at wall shaking volumes, it-or the R500c-would be plenty.

 

[bordinco90]

I just bought me a fender rumble 100. It sounds really good, better than anything I've had before.

 

[LazerCrazer]

I just bought me a fender rumble 100. It sounds really good, better than anything I've had before.

Ya know, that thing has this Vintage switch...

 

[G-Dog]

Hey, folks!
New member, new bassist, new gear, new... well, you get the idea. Heh. Gonna set up my profile here soon.
Anyway, I was recently purchased my first bass by the missus over Christmas and have finally gotten a hold of a proper amp (was using a Vox Amplug before, which... I mean, it was better than nothing?), a Fender Rumble 100w v3.

So, without wading through 1807 pages of material, I figured I'd throw out there that I am total tone newbie. I have no idea outside of the extreme basics what these magical little dials do, how to lock in even a decent tone, what to listen for, what to do on my bass alongside those settings, etc.

Actually, if I'm being honest, I have no idea what a "good" tone is even supposed to sound like.

Via Reddit's bassist community, I've read that it really depends on the bass, as no two are alike. I am using a Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar, so I have the option of P or J pickups, plus an active bass boost.

I was told that there are a lot of people who've posted some really good settings in here, but before I go searching for them, is there anything I should be doing just to start with?

Welcome Rumbler # 1094! Let's see if I can answer some of your questions. First, "good tone" is the one you like. Different people like different tones and many, including me, will use different tones for different songs. So the idea is to toy with settings and see what sounds good to your. If you have a bass player you really like, listen to how he sounds and try to get a similar tone.
Here I need to tell you a bit about how we refer to the knobs (potentiometers) on the amp. Since they don't have numbers 1 to 10 (or 11 if you're playing with Spinal Tap), we use a clock reference. straight toward the back of the amp is 12, pointed straight to the left is 9, and straight to the right is 3. You will find the know works from about 7 to about 5. That will help when you are reading about or discussing settings.
Now set the gain and master at 9 and everything else at 12. Ignore the Overdrive for now. See what that sounds like. Play with the knobs until you like how it sounds. Now, try putting the buttons in to see how they affect the tone and how you like them. You will find many of us really like the Vintage button. It emulates the old tube amp sound some of us older types grew up with. Again, ignore Overdrive. Save it for last. It can do some cool stuff, but it is a bit tricky to tame.
So, one more thing. Gain and Master. Gain controls the level of the signal from your bass the preamp section sends to the power amp section. Master controls the volume. When you turn the gain up, it sounds like it is increasing volume. It is because the power amp is boosting a stronger signal from the preamp. Increasing the Gain add more "grit" to your tone as your turn it up. You can dial on how mch you want, then set the master to the volume you want.
And finally, peruse the Fender Rumber Wiki Pages @G-Dog has so graciously put together for us and while there you will find the "Tone Pool" that other members have posted. That should give you enough to get started so you can Rumble On!

Lotsa good advice there There's also a link to the Clock Knob Reading wiki page on the Rumble Club wiki to help clarify that topic.
.

#1094, eh? Nice, that's totally my debit card PIN number! ... ...

heh, heh, ... Aack! Time to change your PIN!!!
.

... ... Man, great reply, thanks a ton. So, something in regards to the Gain and Master controls that I was told was that having the Gain set to less than the Master will result in a more clean tone, whereas setting it higher than the Master will give the tone more grittiness. Is there any truth in this? ... ...

Well, most, if not all, the Rumble controls are interactive but, you didn't get that from the main descriptions of the Gain & Master.
And the Rumble Talk on Gain Structure doesn't say that, either. In fact, I don't remember reading anything about the relative settings of Gain and Master (not that that means anything). I'd be very interested in seeing it, if you recall it, please. I'm still learning, too. No expert am I.
.

... ... Man, I truly don't deserve her [wife]! It was our first Christmas together and we each went a wee bit crazy on buying each other gifts. She definitely knocked this one out of the park. ... ...

Ah! Honeymooners! Now, if you can cultivate that relationship into another 50 - 70 years, you'll really have something!!! Heck, even just another 15-20 years would be great! But, plan on "going long."
.

... ... Here is the setup in all her glory. .

It's a beautiful rig, Durch. Thanks for sharing. And keep us informed of your tone quest. We've all been there, if not still there.
.

Thanks for the kind words. Here's a pic of my rig, looking forward to joining The Club and getting to know everyone!View attachment 3462599

Looking good, @Jephmo! Thanks to you, @Durchii and @Frankula for the latest exhibits in the Artwork and Artwork-continued sections of the Rumble Wiki page. (And pay no serious attention to the doodles between those sections, just someone's ideas of a joke. Or is it?)
.

 

[bordinco90]

Ya know, that thing has this Vintage switch...

Yeah. I use it all the time. It sounds the best with it on IMO.

 

[GonePlaid]

Yeah. I use it all the time. It sounds the best with it on IMO.

 

[bordinco90]

Well I put mine on stilts!!!

 

[Hawaii Islander]

I searched, but can't seem to find a club for those of us who use and love the Fender Rumble series of amps. Any interest?

I've been playing at home with my Rumble 30 since late January and it seems to me like this amp puts out a good share for being so small! Originally I was looking at the Rumble 15 but went with the 30 because of the extra input jack, more wattage, and I read online reviews which said the 30 would be good enough to play with a band in a small venue even versus the 15 which didn't have as much bang.

Hope to hear form some fellow Rumble fans soon!

So this makes me the founding member, #1? I feel this is a big honor for someone so new on the forum!

I just got a Fender Rumble 800 head. Can I get a number?