Fender Rumble Club

[chupacerveza]

Glad they're willing to check into it. Would be great if you could report back, once you know the cause. Good luck with it.

Sweetwater techs have given me great support over the years.

 

[G-Dog]

Hi fellow Rumblers
Apologies if this has come up before...
I have a 500w Combo, and want to fit a 1/4" jack socket on the back, wired to intercept the two wires to the speakers, so I can have another small amp (e.g.TE Elf) on standby to plug in at a gig in case the Rumble amp fails - thus utilising the Rumble speakers (unlikely to fail).
I don't use the tweeter, so I'm not bothered about this being a part of the modification.
Before I get cracking, has anyone done this and are there any pitfalls I should be aware of?
best wishes from sunny but cold Kent, UK.

Yes, Mr. M. May I call you N?

If your R500c is out of warranty, see the Rumble Modifications section of the Rumble Club Wiki page, linked in my signature, for "Separating Combo's Amp and Speaker(s)". Of course, if your combo isn't out of warranty, such mods will void it.

Many have done this to their Rumbles. The horn, or tweeter, of the 500 does present a bit of a special consideration, but I believe at least one or more of the posts in some of those links addresses that. Please let us know how your project goes.

Good luck.
.

 

[G-Dog]

Hi TB
View attachment 3357391
Here's a pic of my Rumble 500 and '71 Musicmaster enjoying a spring morning together in the garden. This is my regular gigging rig. Can this combo be bettered

for under £1000​

? - it sounds amazing, a single journey from the car, and real mojo - a partnership made in heaven, even if there's a

bit of an age gap​

!
My only gripe with the Rumble is the naff plastic badge it comes with, replaced here with a slightly more acceptable plastic badge.
May I join the club?

Of course you may join The Club, NHM! That's a marvelous Fender-on-Fender rig there, age gap notwithstanding.

Please pardon my most grossly belated response to your request. I can only plead ol'timer's and most humbly beg your forgiveness. @NHM, you are now member #1188 in the Fender Rumble Club. Thank you for your patience and perseverance with us. I suspect you know your way around, already. And you have been quite graciously sharing since your arrival.

Keep up the good work! And, of course, we shall all . . . .

Rumble On!
.​

 

[NHM]

thanks for the belated membership G-Dog, and for the link to the modification page. So it looks like a green light to get out the soldering iron...

 

[G-Dog]

thanks for the belated membership G-Dog, and for the link to the modification page. So it looks like a green light to get out the soldering iron...

Go for it, N. My Bassman 150 & 250 combos came with such connections built-in and I've never had to use them. So, I haven't added it to my R500c, though it might someday come in handy.
.

 

[munkeyfish]

I recently purchased a new fender rumble 800 hd and rumble 410 cab and have noticed a constant buzz through the speakers and will only go away when I turn the tone knob off on my bass. Its not the bass or cable. Happens using my Aerodyne and Mustang and different cables. Tried plugging into a different outlet and switched plug strips and no luck. I am a novice when it comes to gear. No change when pressing ground button on or off. Any suggestions?

Have you tried the set up in a different room? Sometimes lights, cell phones and other electrical can cause noise, especially with the tone knob fully up. As the tone knob is treble cut in most passive basses. It simply could be a frequency that the amp happens to really boost and it your environment, it happens to be noisy. Sometimes EQ tweaks can fix it too. I have that issue at one venue we play often because of dirty power for starters and then they have all kinds of cheap lighting around the works sometimes. I end up rolling my tone back a hair and the volume knob on my P a wee bit too and it cuts it or makes it less noticable. But at full gigging volume, no one hears it.

 

[munkeyfish]

I will look through your checklist and perform a process of elimination. The buzz does go away when touching a string, turning the tone knob off or even touching the tone knob the buzz goes away. Does not change when adjusting the gain level up or down.

Grounding/shielding issue, most likely in the basses themselves.

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

ground tone pot?

You can buy it already ground? How cool is that.

 

[Pulverizor]

Hi fellow Rumblers
Apologies if this has come up before...
I have a 500w Combo, and want to fit a 1/4" jack socket on the back, wired to intercept the two wires to the speakers, so I can have another small amp (e.g.TE Elf) on standby to plug in at a gig in case the Rumble amp fails - thus utilising the Rumble speakers (unlikely to fail).
I don't use the tweeter, so I'm not bothered about this being a part of the modification.
Before I get cracking, has anyone done this and are there any pitfalls I should be aware of?
best wishes from sunny but cold Kent, UK.

Might be better to take the wire from the speaker to it's own jack and install a second jack back to the speaker with a jumper cable to connect them.
Then the amp is isolated from the speaker when using the backup amp?
Not as elegant as your way but are you sure the Rumble amp will be totally disconnected?

 

[DeltaTango]

I just bought my first proper amp today, the 500 watt V3 Combo. I had been using the Rumble 15 watt for practice. I don’t play out but I hope to one day. I wanted to be prepared if the opportunity presents. After reading many reviews and posts here on TB I chose the Rumble.

 

[GonePlaid]

For my fellow Floridonians-or anyone thinking of coming here:

 

[John Stephen]

The 56, 44 and 27 are the overnight lows, right??? I was gonna say "well, at least it ain't freezing", until I saw the 27.

 

[dORSY]

I’ll be curious about this answer... it seems to me that your “power amp in” jack would need to be fully isolated from the Rumble amp circuitry or else you would energize it from the speaker connection... which smells like a puff of smoke to my ears.

I geuss this would be a solution for You!
Fender Rumble V3 mod: separating amp and speaker

 

[Bottom Octave]

Grounding/shielding issue, most likely in the basses themselves.

Agreed, in view of the report that touching the strings cures the problem temporarily. Sounds like a loose shield somewhere in the instrument—usually at the tailpiece. Good shielding reduces electrostatic interference (ESI), which sounds like higher frequency static buzz as opposed to hum.

 

[JakobT]

I just bought my first proper amp today, the 500 watt V3 Combo. I had been using the Rumble 15 watt for practice. I don’t play out but I hope to one day. I wanted to be prepared if the opportunity presents. After reading many reviews and posts here on TB I chose the Rumble.

You have chosen wisely, @DeltaTango! The Rumble 500c is one of the best-sounding, best-looking and lightest all-in-one rigs out there! Rumble on!

 

[13bass]

I just bought my first proper amp today, the 500 watt V3 Combo. I had been using the Rumble 15 watt for practice. I don’t play out but I hope to one day. I wanted to be prepared if the opportunity presents. After reading many reviews and posts here on TB I chose the Rumble.

Nice! That is my choice when and if I reach a point where my R100 isn't enough. Enjoy!!!
.....and yea I'm a bit jealous

 

[GonePlaid]

Nice! That is my choice when and if I reach a point where my R100 isn't enough. Enjoy!!!
.....and yea I'm a bit jealous

I love the sound of my 200c. I LOVE the sound/weight of my 100.

 

[Kipp Harrington]

Anyone run one of these with your Rumble rig? Wow! I have the 500 head with R410 and 115 cabs. Unbelievable power and tone! Plus, you have the option to run your signal to FOH.

 

[J-Mags]

I got a 2x10 to go with my 200 Combo. I'd been wondering why people had been saying that Rumbles were so bassy. Now I know! Sounds good and loud.

 

[stonetone7]

Taking my 500c (plus Ray 4) to a family jam tomorrow. Second time with those guys for the amp but first for the bass.

I’ll be the only bass player, but hopefully I’ll remember to get someone to take pics and vid.