If someone could make some clips of the di out, that would be great. Im an hour away from any of these amps.
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Growl starts with your bass & strings. What are you playing? Tube amps have their own natural compression and growl, which the V3 Rumbles 40 and up do an excellent job of mimicking. Better than any other solid state amp as a matter of fact because they were designed that way. I've found low growl to be in 150-300 Hz area, and hi-mid snarl to be in 1,000 - 1,400 Hz area. You've got a 280 Hz centered low-mid voicing and a 1,200 Hz hi-mid centered controls. That's growl central station right there. You have to experiment with your settings dependent upon your: bass & strings, total volume, and room you're in.
Back off your gain and use your master for your desired volume to start. Kick in the vintage control. Add a smidge of overdrive to accentuate a tube like low grind. Just a little. Like 8 o'clock & 8 o'clock to start. Yes that low.
Add gain to taste. This is not a channel volume, but rather clean boost. Gain is just that. Gain. It is not a volume control.
Note that the treble control is voiced at 10kHz! That's high. Very Very High. Think of it more like a Presence control. I run mine at 9 o'clock for about a -7dB cut.
I always run the bass at noon, or If I'm playing very loud in a boomy room then I cut accordingly, but never boost.
This thread didn't go over too well, but does contain a lot to think about. I stepped on a few toes, but I've always found that sacred cows make the best hamburger.
String Growl | TalkBass.com
String Growl | TalkBass.com
Big Hoss
Up note, down note, blue note, brown note...
- Sep 5, 2014
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For Growl, I tend to use my EMG equipped bass, turn the J pickup up all the way, cut the P, hit a touch, oh so slight of overdrive, and just start playing with everything but the lows which are down to about 10 o clock... Just fiddle with it until I like it....
In my VERY limited experience, growl seems to come more from the strings / pickups than the amp itself although the amp does help it along...
In my VERY limited experience, growl seems to come more from the strings / pickups than the amp itself although the amp does help it along...
Whoop There It is!
If your bass signal isn't growly, then there isn't any growl to amplify. 
Big Hoss
Up note, down note, blue note, brown note...
- Sep 5, 2014
- 5,455
- 4,234
- Disclosures
- None
Whoop There It is!
Yeah, my SR480 doesn't have the angry dog grown of the SR500, and neither of them growl anywhere near as much as a Fender or Squier Jazz will... The SR480 kicks it doing smooth stuff, bluesy / country stuff, where I want a little bit of growl doing more rockish stuff I use the 500... Growl and looks are the oly reasons I have GAS for a Jazz bass right now... The 500 gets close, so I haven't given in... Got some bills to pay off first. Probably see if I can't get a Squier Jameson CV Jazz in my stocking this year from Santa...
Strings may be the technical source of a so called growl, but I'll continue to believe it's mostly in the player's technique and the amp's sonic characteristics in combination. The amp is equal to the bass in that it must also be played with specific skills for desired result. I've found the v3 Rumbles to be great at pronouncing the frequencies often described as growl.
Instead of a Rumble Talk let's just have a Tone Talk. By all means do chime right on in with your thoughts on the matter to include any of your favorite settings. This is your club for your benefit.
TONE TIPS
This is very elementary. I don't intend to insult anyone's intelligence, or come off patronizing or condescending.
1) Start Off Flat. Simple enough. Set all tone controls to zero cut or boost. No Tone shaping buttons engaged. Overdrive Off. Choose a sane volume level (and not too low either) something around 1/3rd volume is good. And just play. Notice the tone - how it sounds. This is your starting point.
2) Pick A Tone Control. I would start with the Hi-Mids as they are the easiest to hear. Play a wide range of notes all over the fretboard. Back the control off slowly and cut it all the way down. Listen carefully and notice what it does to your overall tone. Now turn it up, boosting the mids all the way, and again listening carefully notice what it does to your overall tone. Then return it to flat.
3) Operate every tone control in the same manner as described above in step 2. This way you'll learn which frequencies a tone control effects in which manner and to what degree. This helps train your ear to dial in good tone.
4) Learn What The Tone Shaping Buttons Do. Place all tone controls flat, and engage each button. Play and notice how it effects your lows; highs, and mids.
5) Overdrive. Play with it. It's fun. In general parents; neighbors, and landlords don't like the 'O'.
6) Zero in on a tone setting that compliments you, your music style & your bass. This takes time just like learning to play. So don't get discouraged - just keep at it. Pick a bass player that you really like. Try to emulate their tone as closely as possible. Keep in mind their multi-thousand dollar rig and/or highly customized bass. As in everything, do the very best you can.
Now get out there and be a ROCK STAR!
TONE TIPS
1) Start Off Flat. Simple enough. Set all tone controls to zero cut or boost. No Tone shaping buttons engaged. Overdrive Off. Choose a sane volume level (and not too low either) something around 1/3rd volume is good. And just play. Notice the tone - how it sounds. This is your starting point.
2) Pick A Tone Control. I would start with the Hi-Mids as they are the easiest to hear. Play a wide range of notes all over the fretboard. Back the control off slowly and cut it all the way down. Listen carefully and notice what it does to your overall tone. Now turn it up, boosting the mids all the way, and again listening carefully notice what it does to your overall tone. Then return it to flat.
3) Operate every tone control in the same manner as described above in step 2. This way you'll learn which frequencies a tone control effects in which manner and to what degree. This helps train your ear to dial in good tone.
4) Learn What The Tone Shaping Buttons Do. Place all tone controls flat, and engage each button. Play and notice how it effects your lows; highs, and mids.
5) Overdrive. Play with it. It's fun. In general parents; neighbors, and landlords don't like the 'O'.
6) Zero in on a tone setting that compliments you, your music style & your bass. This takes time just like learning to play. So don't get discouraged - just keep at it. Pick a bass player that you really like. Try to emulate their tone as closely as possible. Keep in mind their multi-thousand dollar rig and/or highly customized bass. As in everything, do the very best you can.
Now get out there and be a ROCK STAR!
Tone Palette & Tone Terms
We often express tone in artistic terms such as an artist's palette. If something sounds hot or is warm it is red, or if it is cool or cold then it is blue. So here we have some temperature descriptors also. If it sounds green it is sick or bad. The colloquialisms of the day can be confusing where if something sounds sick or nasty that means it sounds great. Sometimes if something is said to be bad, it is actually good. In the 1950's if something sounded good, it was said to be 'Boss'. In the mid 1960's we became 'Groovy'. It is little wonder we have a difficult time describing tone in terms we can all understand.
Sometimes we use terms of violence like 'Punch', and 'Attack'. I love my hot rod Precision because it has extreme percussive attack and punch like a heavyweight champ. Your highs may have some 'spank'.
Animal terms are also used, especially in describing jazz bass tone such as 'snarl' in the high-mids and 'growl' in the low-mids. Precisions can also exhibit outrageously great growl. A good sounding jazz bass bridge pick-up will 'bark' out the notes and exhibit highs that spank, or have good 'bite'. My jazz bass custom shop bridge pick-up has all three at once and very well balanced too.
We also use sexual terms to describe the low or 'bottom' end of our tone. I happen to like my lows to be: full, round, and tight. Never flabby. We may like our tone to be thick and rich. Thin may be in for guitars, but most bass players like fat bottom tone. If you have huge aggressive tone, you have 'balls'. Your total tone package may present itself with a lot of 'thrust' and be 'in-your-face'.
Most like clarity and definition. Clear tone - never muddy. Well defined - never ambiguous. Although there are some bass players that do like muddy indistinct sludge.
Sometimes we use other sounds to describe tone. A hallmark of stock Fender split Precision pick-ups is a pronounced mid-range 'honk'. Also 15" woofers can be very 'honky' if the cabinets are unlined. This has led to the 'scooping' of the mid-range to reduce or eliminate 'honkiness'. It has also become way way overdone.
We also describe tone in terms of light. GHS Precision Flats are 'dark' sounding. Your tone may be light and airy. Your highs may be 'crystalline', and 'sparkle'.
We often express tone in artistic terms such as an artist's palette. If something sounds hot or is warm it is red, or if it is cool or cold then it is blue. So here we have some temperature descriptors also. If it sounds green it is sick or bad. The colloquialisms of the day can be confusing where if something sounds sick or nasty that means it sounds great. Sometimes if something is said to be bad, it is actually good. In the 1950's if something sounded good, it was said to be 'Boss'. In the mid 1960's we became 'Groovy'. It is little wonder we have a difficult time describing tone in terms we can all understand.
Sometimes we use terms of violence like 'Punch', and 'Attack'. I love my hot rod Precision because it has extreme percussive attack and punch like a heavyweight champ. Your highs may have some 'spank'.
Animal terms are also used, especially in describing jazz bass tone such as 'snarl' in the high-mids and 'growl' in the low-mids. Precisions can also exhibit outrageously great growl. A good sounding jazz bass bridge pick-up will 'bark' out the notes and exhibit highs that spank, or have good 'bite'. My jazz bass custom shop bridge pick-up has all three at once and very well balanced too.
We also use sexual terms to describe the low or 'bottom' end of our tone. I happen to like my lows to be: full, round, and tight. Never flabby. We may like our tone to be thick and rich. Thin may be in for guitars, but most bass players like fat bottom tone. If you have huge aggressive tone, you have 'balls'. Your total tone package may present itself with a lot of 'thrust' and be 'in-your-face'.
Most like clarity and definition. Clear tone - never muddy. Well defined - never ambiguous. Although there are some bass players that do like muddy indistinct sludge.
Sometimes we use other sounds to describe tone. A hallmark of stock Fender split Precision pick-ups is a pronounced mid-range 'honk'. Also 15" woofers can be very 'honky' if the cabinets are unlined. This has led to the 'scooping' of the mid-range to reduce or eliminate 'honkiness'. It has also become way way overdone.
We also describe tone in terms of light. GHS Precision Flats are 'dark' sounding. Your tone may be light and airy. Your highs may be 'crystalline', and 'sparkle'.
Big Hoss
Up note, down note, blue note, brown note...
- Sep 5, 2014
- 5,455
- 4,234
- Disclosures
- None
I admit flatly I don't know enough to be considered expert in anything musical. I can only speak from MY experience, and my experience is that the instrument and EQ settings are where the growl comes from. I can play the SR480 and SR500 exactly the same, and get 2 completely different results. The 500 with those EMG pickups and Maple body has a distinctly more growly sound to it.
I would suspect that a P bass without any bridge pickup would likely not growl very well at all...
Can't discount that possibility. It would have been better stated that I'm looking for the best means of amplifying the inherent growl my ESP LTD B-500 with Ernie Ball nickel wound regular slinky strings, with EMG's - best. I just noticed that you've been kind enough to take time and post "Tone Tips" Thank You much. I liken your Tone tip's to teaching me to fish, which will serve me better than giving me a sea food salad.Whoop There It is!
Thanks for all of the advice guy's. It's good to know that the rumble is as eager to growl as I.
Can't wait to apply all of this great info, Thank's again to all of your replies.
Oh you're welcome, dbbltime! You've got a growly bass and strings to match, so you should have no problem getting plenty of great growl out of your Rumble 500. The thing is I can never tell a player's level of expertise from a simple post, so I try to be kind and offer up what simple knowledge I've managed to acquire over the years.
Sorry kringle77, you may have gotten lost in the shuffle. Just buy the Rumble that suits your needs. You'll be more than happy. The line out sounds as close as you are going to get to mic'ing your cab without mic'ing your cab. Saves you about $200 for the mic. The mic cable you have to buy anyway.
Happy Rumblin' 
If a picture paints (or is worth) a thousand words, then so is music as it is sonic imagery. Just as I cannot describe the color blue, or the sent of a rose no matter how many words I use, I cannot truly describe tone. We can and do talk an awful lot about it, but its always better to view the painting, stop and smell the roses, and dance to the music.
I've got 3 of them that do. In a P-bass, it's about having the right wood , the right pickups, the right bass setting, and your hand in the right place. My most growly P is a used $100 Squier with a Bart vintage pickup. And a whole lot of experimentation.
A few things about growl IMO:
1. Growl is a relationship between bass and mids. The balance has to be right. Too much bass, it's dull, occluded and boomy. Too little, and it just sounds weak. Too little mid, and there's little articulation and will never be growl. Too much, and you're in Jaco-land.
2. Strings: If you have dead strings the bass will never growl. Flatwounds - it's rare for them to growl. The are made to "thud."
3. Right hand placement: You have to pluck the string in a sweet spot. Too near the neck - you get a lot of bass and a more Upright bass kind of sound. Too near the bridge - you're back in Jaco-land.
4. Instrument pickup placement: If you have a bass with single pickup near the neck, ala original P-bass's (like Sting's), it ain't going to happen. IME best growl is with a 2-pickup instrument with the right balance between neck and bridge pickup signals. However, you can get awesome growl from a single pickup if'n it's in the "sweet spot. Music man basses are this.
5. Learn to turn down EQ knobs rather than turn them up. for example, if you want to enhance the mids, rather than turning up the midrange, turn down the bass and treble. Different things happen in either direction of an EQ knob; you might cut or boost adjacent frequencies that make or break the tone you're after.
About growl and Rumble 500 Combo's: I've found them to be something of a Perfect Storm for growl. First, two 10's isn't going to be the deepest sounding setup. The combo can get pretty deep, but if you're looking to rock 40 Hz, look elsewhere. The amp and speakers have very quick response, making it punchy as well as growly. Third, play a LOT with the bass, low mid and high mid control. sometimes a slight adjustment makes a big difference.
And again, remember to have relatively fresh roundwound strings. I use nickel, because they're more mid-friendly than steel. But when any of them go dead, they're even more useless than flats.
If you sum up everything above, it's mostly about having the right amount of low end while maintaining midrange. High end just becomes icing after that.
Lastly: That scooped-mid sound that sounded so great in the store? Dump it. It won't growl and gets lost in the mix.
When I first heard this song all those years ago, I thought it was a synth doing the bass part.
But now it almosts sound fretless in a way. Especially those triplet fills.
