Fender Rumble Club

[John B jr]

I got together with my drummer for the first time since, what (?) February. I left my Darkglass rig over there and brought most of my ad hoc stack home.

Let me explain "ad hoc". After doing the Eminence Bass Lite driver upgrade to my Rumbles, I ordered two sub-woofer cabs (a 10" and a 12") and installed the fender drivers. I topped those off with a TC Electronic 250W head for the tone print options. The cabinet for the 12" speaker was the exact width of the D/G 2x12 cab so it became a riser.

Driving home with the rest of the stack, I wondered if the 10" box would be a fit for jacking up the little Rumbles. Perfect fit but now it's three amps instead of two. I had mothballed my VT Deluxe pedal so I dusted it off and plugged the bass into it. I took the parallel out and plugged that into the TC amp which is wired to the homemade cab.

Then I ran the effected (or bypassed) signal to my pedal board that has a Mesa Pre-DI where the signal gets split yet again. One side runs through more dirt heading for the R40 which rides on top of the stack. The other line goes into chorus and reverb pedals before being routed to the R100.

It's sort of like tri-amping but I'm not using the crossover because it's needed in the PA rack. The Fender 10" in a sub-cab is good and dark and has a choice of effects from a foot-switch with the tone-print head The center-stack R100 is EQ'd for a strong mid with the time based effects. Finally, a Rat pedal and the R40's OD section can be stacked or used individually. The VT Pedal also gives me six presets for character to both Rumbles.

It doesn't perfectly recreate the Darkglass 900 watts and tone but goes a little further in putting the speakers up near ear-level and filling out the bottom end.

 

[Tex Bass]

Getting in a little practice this evening with one of my girls.

 

[a-37]

While I'm here: Has anyone else had to fix the jack on one of their combos? I'm looking around the boards and only see one mention of it. If I had bought it new I'd take it to a Fender service center or just return it, but I bought this used knowing the jack was faulty. Figured "Eh, that'll be an easy fix," but now that I'm looking into it I dunno how "easy" it's going to be!

You need to remove the amp from the cabinet for this job. I did not find a pic of the insides but here's a thread that might help you with the disassembly: Disassembly of Fender Rumble 40 v3 combo.

EDIT: post #9 in particular. Also do note you might need to see if the original jack can be fixed because there might not be room for a standard replacement jack.

 

[G-Dog]

Was told to head over here from my NAD post. Got a Rumble 200 for $315 shipped off of Reverb, which I thought was a steal. I was a bit hesitant because the dude only included four pics, but Reverb's return policy is pretty swell, so I jumped on it!

It has a loose input jack (that the seller disclosed), which has been annoying but not unbearable. I'll probably bring it down with me next time I visit my parents and replace it with a Switchcraft jack (my dad has the right tools for the job, I do not). Really digging the sound of it, and was wondering what settings y'all were favoring. I'm hopefully going to invest in some pedals soon, so stoked for that as well.

View attachment 3868594

Welcome, namely, that's a very cool rig ya got there. @verycoolname, you are now member #1225 in the Fender Rumble Club. Congratulations on your good taste, and make yourself at home here and on the Rumble Club Wiki page, linked in my signature, with lots and lots of helpful info links. In fact, the bottom link in the Rumble Modifications section has a video showing the opening of a Rumble 25 that may be helpful to your jack repair.

Please tell us more of your Rumble journey, coolio. What led you to the Rumble 15 and then this 100? Have you been playing bass since getting the Rumble 15 about 15 years ago, or longer? We hope you enjoy The Club and perhaps you can also help others as we try to help you. Then we all must . . . .

Rumble On!
.​

 

[Wambemando]

I've been enjoying my new Rumble 500 and Ultra Jazz. Got both of them a little over a month ago.

 

[tb4sbp]

So excited! My Stage 800 is arriving today! I know what I am doing after work!!!

 

[verycoolname]

You need to remove the amp from the cabinet for this job. I did not find a pic of the insides but here's a thread that might help you with the disassembly: Disassembly of Fender Rumble 40 v3 combo.

EDIT: post #9 in particular. Also do note you might need to see if the original jack can be fixed because there might not be room for a standard replacement jack.

Yeah, I figured I'd have to separate the head out, but didn't want to go into the disassembly blind — that looks very helpful!

And I decided I'm going to just tighten this one up before buying another, but if it persists I may replace it down the line.

 

[verycoolname]

Please tell us more of your Rumble journey, coolio. What led you to the Rumble 15 and then this *200*?

I got my Rumble 15 when I was about 10 (14, almost 15 years ago) — it was part of those Squier Affinity starter packs that game with a kind of crappy bass, a Rumble 15, a cable, etc. "Everything you need" to get started. Throughout the years, I've acquired/sold a few basses (including my first one), but the Rumble 15 always stuck around. When I needed something bigger, I'd just use someone else's amp or go direct to PA.

I didn't have the amp with me throughout college because, you know, dorms are small. Post-grad I got a "real job" and moved into a house with a few friends. Treated myself to a bass I had been wanting for awhile (the Mustang pictured above), and then decided it was finally time to upgrade my amp. So maybe a year ago (I keep saying a "couple months" but now that I think about it...it's been awhile) I sold the 15 with the intention of buying a 40 or 100 for recording, smaller shows around me. But then I had to move again, and then life got really busy, and I went AWHILE without any amp at all. Kept browsing, but did't see anything that stuck with me. I also had a pretty tight budget, and no amp I was looking for had everything I wanted. I actually wasn't looking at Rumbles to begin with (was leaning toward a used Ampeg 115 or 210), but then I realized the Rumble 200 had everything I wanted — namely the option to add an external speaker if I need it. When this one popped up online for just a little over my $300 budget, I sprung on it.

Have you been playing bass since getting the Rumble 15 about 15 years ago, or longer?

On and off, yeah. I don't like saying that I've played bass for 14 years...but I've owned basses for 14 years. There were periods of time where I was too busy to play, periods of time where I couldn't have my basses with me, periods of time where I just didn't feel like it. This past year in particular I've had to deal with a lot of personal hardship that's distracted me from doing anything productive. Let's just say: My amount of skill would not indicate that I've owned basses for that long.

Since I moved into an apartment closer to my workplace (alone) I've found that I have a little more time to devote to playing. I wasn't allowed to work from home these past few months, but I was still going out a lot less...divided a lot of time between video games and bass playing. I've made a soft goal to learn at least one new song a week, and I'm going through online resources and doing lessons (even if it's stuff I already know about). Figured getting a new toy would incentivize me to keep that up — I've definitely become a better bassist in the past couple of months, and the new amp is really getting me excited about playing again.

 

[mcclurer16]

I got my Rumble 15 when I was about 10 (14, almost 15 years ago) — it was part of those Squier Affinity starter packs that game with a kind of crappy bass, a Rumble 15, a cable, etc. "Everything you need" to get started. Throughout the years, I've acquired/sold a few basses (including my first one), but the Rumble 15 always stuck around. When I needed something bigger, I'd just use someone else's amp or go direct to PA.

I didn't have the amp with me throughout college because, you know, dorms are small. Post-grad I got a "real job" and moved into a house with a few friends. Treated myself to a bass I had been wanting for awhile (the Mustang pictured above), and then decided it was finally time to upgrade my amp. So maybe a year ago (I keep saying a "couple months" but now that I think about it...it's been awhile) I sold the 15 with the intention of buying a 40 or 100 for recording, smaller shows around me. But then I had to move again, and then life got really busy, and I went AWHILE without any amp at all. Kept browsing, but did't see anything that stuck with me. I also had a pretty tight budget, and no amp I was looking for had everything I wanted. I actually wasn't looking at Rumbles to begin with (was leaning toward a used Ampeg 115 or 210), but then I realized the Rumble 200 had everything I wanted — namely the option to add an external speaker if I need it. When this one popped up online for just a little over my $300 budget, I sprung on it.



On and off, yeah. I don't like saying that I've played bass for 14 years...but I've owned basses for 14 years. There were periods of time where I was too busy to play, periods of time where I couldn't have my basses with me, periods of time where I just didn't feel like it. This past year in particular I've had to deal with a lot of personal hardship that's distracted me from doing anything productive. Let's just say: My amount of skill would not indicate that I've owned basses for that long.

Since I moved into an apartment closer to my workplace (alone) I've found that I have a little more time to devote to playing. I wasn't allowed to work from home these past few months, but I was still going out a lot less...divided a lot of time between video games and bass playing. I've made a soft goal to learn at least one new song a week, and I'm going through online resources and doing lessons (even if it's stuff I already know about). Figured getting a new toy would incentivize me to keep that up — I've definitely become a better bassist in the past couple of months, and the new amp is really getting me excited about playing again.

I acquired my Rumble 15 in just the same way, with a Squier Affinity. My first bass and first amp. That was 15 years ago!

Rumble on!

 

[G-Dog]

I've been enjoying my new Rumble 500 and Ultra Jazz. Got both of them a little over a month ago. View attachment 3869216

Welcome to TalkBass in general and to the Rumble Club in particular, Wammy! That's certainly a beautiful Ultra Jazz and R500c. @Wambemando, you are now member #1226 in The Fender Rumble Club. Congratulations and welcome, again. Please feel free to post questions, answers, discussions, whatever Rumbleness that crosses your mind. And browse through the Rumble Club Wiki page, linked in my signature, to find pics, posts, reviews, tios, tricks and much more than you'll ever wanna know about our Rumbles!

And tell us a bit about yourself, mando, so we'll have an idea about your interests. We've got a wide range of ages, experiences, genres and interests on here. Not everyone has been playing for around 50 years and likes all kinda music, like me, but many are! And I love to learn new stuff from the youngsters. But, whatever else we may do, we all do . . . .

Rumble On!
.​

 

[G-Dog]

.
Oh, and by the way, @verycoolname and @Wambemando, if you'll enter your Rumble Club number into your signatures it'll help everyone here recognize you as one of us, one of us, one of us, one of us ... whenever you post. Thanks.

And welcome, again!
.

 

[G-Dog]

Getting in a little practice this evening with one of my girls.

Is it just me, or that more of a painting than a photo? Nice!
.

 

[JakobT]

Rumble resurrected?

Some of you may remember a while back that my trusty Rumble 40 was plagued by strong intermittent distortion, and that the music chain that I bought it from went into receivership, preventing me from having it fixed. It was out of warranty anyway, so I resigned myself to replacing it, eventually winding up with a Studio 40.

Since then it’s just been sitting in my office, and this week I thought I’d finally rifle it for parts and throw the rest away. I wanted to hang on to the speaker, so I removed it from the enclosure, but had second thoughts and put it back in for a final spin around the block.

I powered it up, plugged in my P-bass, and played for a while, trying out every setting I could think of, but was completely unable to reproduce the problem. After half an hour I gave up. The Rumble sounded as good as ever, not a hint of distortion anywhere. Did I fix it unwittingly?

 

[John Stephen]

Sounds like you did. Congrats on your new (old) Rumble 40!

 

[GonePlaid]

Rumble resurrected?

Some of you may remember a while back that my trusty Rumble 40 was plagued by strong intermittent distortion, and that the music chain that I bought it from went into receivership, preventing me from having it fixed. It was out of warranty anyway, so I resigned myself to replacing it, eventually winding up with a Studio 40.

Since then it’s just been sitting in my office, and this week I thought I’d finally rifle it for parts and throw the rest away. I wanted to hang on to the speaker, so I removed it from the enclosure, but had second thoughts and put it back in for a final spin around the block.

I powered it up, plugged in my P-bass, and played for a while, trying out every setting I could think of, but was completely unable to reproduce the problem. After half an hour I gave up. The Rumble sounded as good as ever, not a hint of distortion anywhere. Did I fix it unwittingly?

It was hibernating ?

 

[Expendable]

First post to the forums and to this thread. Here's my Rumble 40 that I got just before Christmas last year along with my new Yamaha TRBX 604 that I bought just before Australia shut down for covid-19. I'm just a home player by myself or with the kids so the 40 is a nice size for me. I like most things about the Rumble 40 apart from the DI changing volume when you adjust the master volume. Mostly I keep it clean and the EQ pretty flat apart from a slightly cut Bass and Low Mids to stop the glass rattling in my old house.

 

[Stumbo]

Rumble resurrected?

Some of you may remember a while back that my trusty Rumble 40 was plagued by strong intermittent distortion, and that the music chain that I bought it from went into receivership, preventing me from having it fixed. It was out of warranty anyway, so I resigned myself to replacing it, eventually winding up with a Studio 40.

Since then it’s just been sitting in my office, and this week I thought I’d finally rifle it for parts and throw the rest away. I wanted to hang on to the speaker, so I removed it from the enclosure, but had second thoughts and put it back in for a final spin around the block.

I powered it up, plugged in my P-bass, and played for a while, trying out every setting I could think of, but was completely unable to reproduce the problem. After half an hour I gave up. The Rumble sounded as good as ever, not a hint of distortion anywhere. Did I fix it unwittingly?

Loose speaker nuts?

 

[JakobT]

Loose speaker nuts?

No, all the screws were tight.

 

[G-Dog]

First post to the forums and to this thread. Here's my Rumble 40 that I got just before Christmas last year along with my new Yamaha TRBX 604 that I bought just before Australia shut down for covid-19. I'm just a home player by myself or with the kids so the 40 is a nice size for me. I like most things about the Rumble 40 apart from the DI changing volume when you adjust the master volume. Mostly I keep it clean and the EQ pretty flat apart from a slightly cut Bass and Low Mids to stop the glass rattling in my old house. View attachment 3871708

That's a great little rig ya got there, Exppie! @Expendable, you are now member #1227 in The Fender Rumble Club. Congratulations and welcome to TalkBass in general and to The Club in particular! Enter your Club number into your signature for instant recognition as a bassist of distinction. And make yourself at home here with questions, answers and discussions of all manner of Rumbleness and on the Rumble Club Wiki page, linked in my signature, for all kinds of Rumble info.

Please tell us more of your Rumble journey and, indeed, your bass history and experience(s). As a home player, or with the kids, do you use the XLR output a lot? It's really just a more efficient substitute for micing your amp to put the tone you've crafted into the PA or recording. See the Rumble XLR Out Volume Levels section of the Rumble Club Wiki page for real life tests and gig experience with it to see why it should not be a big concern.

Welcome again! Glad you could join us as we continue to . . . .

Rumble On!
.​

 

[Expendable]

That's a great little rig ya got there, Exppie! @Expendable, you are now member #1227 in The Fender Rumble Club. Congratulations and welcome to TalkBass in general and to The Club in particular! Enter your Club number into your signature for instant recognition as a bassist of distinction. And make yourself at home here with questions, answers and discussions of all manner of Rumbleness and on the Rumble Club Wiki page, linked in my signature, for all kinds of Rumble info.

Please tell us more of your Rumble journey and, indeed, your bass history and experience(s). As a home player, or with the kids, do you use the XLR output a lot? It's really just a more efficient substitute for micing your amp to put the tone you've crafted into the PA or recording. See the Rumble XLR Out Volume Levels section of the Rumble Club Wiki page for real life tests and gig experience with it to see why it should not be a big concern.

Welcome again! Glad you could join us as we continue to . . . .

Rumble On!
.​

Thank you @G-Dog. I've been a guitarist for 25 years and at Uni was always the guy who was quite happy to play the bass badly when there were too many guitarists around. So I've always had basses around but not really played them well. A couple of years back my kids started playing guitar, piano and violin and so I started my move to the bottom end just to find some relevance (they have more musical talent than me). Since then I've been taking it more seriously and getting a better feel for the bass than I ever had. At the end of last year I decided to upgrade my kit and saved my pennies for the Rumble 40 after trying it out at a local store next to an Orange 50W combo, everything else they had was either too big or too small for me. The Rumble had me hands down even before I picked it up and realised how light it was. So I've only had it for 6-7 months but I love it. It doesn't let me get away with sloppy technique like my old 20W 1x8 amp did.

My frustration with the DI is because my eldest daughter likes to record songs with me and when we set ourselves up in her tiny room and she's playing the acoustic guitar and singing I can't turn the amp up. When this is plugged in to my cheap audio interface the level isn't really high enough and I had to boost it a lot in the DAW. I solved this by now always setting up with something plugged in to the headphone socket in the Rumble while we use the monitors to hear the bass when recording it (or the headphones when recording other tracks through mics). There's always a way around it.