IMO a lotta guitarists(NOT the 2 I work with)wanna be able to have one modeling amp that can 'sound like' other brand amps, then they use so much OD that it all sounds the same distorted mish-mash so why bother. <end rant>
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New-ish Rumble Owner
Hey all. I’m fairly new to the forum and just found out about this. I have a Rumble 100 V3. I love the weight, the sound, and the price! It’s amazing what you can get for $300 these days! My only wish is that it was made in the USA (and am generally disappointed with the offshoring of all my favorite drum/guitar/bass brands from the US and UK), but then it probably would have been twice the price! A tuner output would have been nice, as well.
I play a CIJ 60s Mustang Bass RI into a Korg DT-10 into the Rumble with Bright and Vintage engaged, gain maxed, and EQ around 11:00/11:00/1:00/1:00. This allows me to go from a Jamerson tone to an edgier, modern tone just by riding the tone knob on my bass.
Future Plans - I’m looking to add an Acme Motown DI at some point for “the Motown sound”. I also want to add a compressor in the FX loop. I’m still making up my mind between a Keeley Pro, 160a, or one of the older Joe Meek optical comps. I’d also like to get the tuner off the floor and always on. Has anyone tried modding the footswitch jack to be a tuner output instead, maybe jumpered off the input?
Do I get my fancy number yet?
M-Man, you sound like you're pretty handy, electronically speaking, so you may not be interested in this but also as a noob on bass, I put the Fender Downtown Express bass pedal thru the fx loop on my Rumble. The DTE has a compressor, overdrive and eq all in one. It's a bit pricey but it is 3 pedals in one, all independently selectable. From my untrained and inexperienced ear, it is great. Not too hard to look at either. It provides way more OD than the resident Rumble OD and can be stacked with the onboard OD for some killer fuzz.
Tim
"end rant" seems to be very popular these days. Maybe we shouldn't bother with ranting and just "end buying". Just a thought...
My Rumble 40 arrived today and it doesn't disappoint. Sounds pretty much like the 200 with less low end. I have an indoor rehearsal tomorrow evening so I'll put it through it's paces then. I know the R200 isn't heavy but it is a bit bulky. I'm 65 with arthritis in my shoulders and right hand. My music room is down in the basement so I'll appreciate the little 18 pound tone monster going to rehearsals and small gigs, Got an outdoor church gig sunday so I'll bring the R200 for that. Added bonus, both the R40 and R200 sound great with my lap steel also.
I prefer not to have a bunch of bells and whistle on my gear. If I can plug into an amp with everything set at 12 o'clock with no filters on and it sounds good then it's a good amp. Slight tweek to the EQ knobs to fine tune it to the room and I'm ready to go.
I guess you can say that I'm impressed with the Rumble series amps since I now own two of them.
These next two are for G-DOG
I prefer not to have a bunch of bells and whistle on my gear. If I can plug into an amp with everything set at 12 o'clock with no filters on and it sounds good then it's a good amp. Slight tweek to the EQ knobs to fine tune it to the room and I'm ready to go.
I guess you can say that I'm impressed with the Rumble series amps since I now own two of them.
These next two are for G-DOG
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I think there's nothing wrong with a good modeling amp. As long as the guitarist knows how to use it without spending more time fiddling than playing. The Boss Katanas, and Fender Mustangs both sound great. Worlds ahead of the Peavey Vypers and Line6 Spiders I remember hating back in the day. And the Rumble Studio really impressed me the hour or so I've spent with one. So I don't doubt the Stage is excellent as well.
Do they beat tubes? Nah. A Kemper to my ears can keep up with tubes but I don't know what it's like to live with one. I for one am looking forward to bowing down to our modeling amp overlords. But I don't think digital will ever sound or feel better than analog, just that the difference is going to becoming unnoticeable.
On the note of guitarists using too much OD and turning beautiful sounding amps into
I totally get that! I watched a YouTube video intending to learn but instead was entertained. This was a pedal maker showing the difference between different distortion and overdrive circuits. Claiming there was clear differences between them all.
He was of course doing this between samples that all sounded 95% similar at best and identical at worst. And honestly I've never, not once heard an OD/distortion pedal for guitar that I've liked. And there's very few on Bass I like too. Amp distortions are just better, at least in good amps. Pedals just don't have much variety a lot of the time. And when you do find something really out there like the Sound Audio Bass Multiwave Distortion they're digital.
Oh yeah and my bands guitarist managed to make a Fender DeVille go from that beautiful jangly Fender tone to sounding exactly like his old SS Crate. Guitarists are a strange breed.
Now excuse me while I go hide all the evidence proving I learned guitar first.
Do they beat tubes? Nah. A Kemper to my ears can keep up with tubes but I don't know what it's like to live with one. I for one am looking forward to bowing down to our modeling amp overlords. But I don't think digital will ever sound or feel better than analog, just that the difference is going to becoming unnoticeable.
On the note of guitarists using too much OD and turning beautiful sounding amps into
I totally get that! I watched a YouTube video intending to learn but instead was entertained. This was a pedal maker showing the difference between different distortion and overdrive circuits. Claiming there was clear differences between them all. He was of course doing this between samples that all sounded 95% similar at best and identical at worst. And honestly I've never, not once heard an OD/distortion pedal for guitar that I've liked. And there's very few on Bass I like too. Amp distortions are just better, at least in good amps. Pedals just don't have much variety a lot of the time. And when you do find something really out there like the Sound Audio Bass Multiwave Distortion they're digital.
Oh yeah and my bands guitarist managed to make a Fender DeVille go from that beautiful jangly Fender tone to sounding exactly like his old SS Crate. Guitarists are a strange breed.
Now excuse me while I go hide all the evidence proving I learned guitar first.
You sound like a really cool person! Welcome to the club!
If you do mod your Rumble I look forward to seeing the progress here. It sounds like you have the expertise to do some really cool things, and I just genuinely enjoy seeing peoples projects.
I was wondering if anyone had real world experience with those and the Rumble. I checked out the vid on Fender’s site the other day and it does sound like it can get some decent tones. My only real gripe was the compressor doesn’t have attack and release adjustments. That, and I feel like another EQ and drive section is just one more place to screw up your tone. That’s the same reason I passed on the EBS MicroBass III (now THAT is a chunk of change).
My ideal bass pedal would be a full-featured compressor, something like the EBS Bass Filter, and a noise gate like the ISP decimator 2 or a selectable corner frequency low pass filter. Those all-in-one jobs are great, but I feel like they’re best reserved for going into a power amp, into only the return of a combo, or straight to a mixing desk.
My Rumble 40 arrived today and it doesn't disappoint. Sounds pretty much like the 200 ... ... View attachment 4235646 View attachment 4235645
These next two are for G-DOG
cb, did you take my request to recent new V1 Rumble members to take pix with the red lights on to mean that I just like red lights?!? 
Actually, it's the V1 Rumbles' red lights in their ports that pulsate to the music which has gotten my attention in recent years. One of the things I used to think screamed "TOY!" before I became a Rumble convert by my R500c now draws me "like a moth to a flame."
Wait! Do your V3 Rumbles' red lights pulsate to the music???
That and the "Nice close up" comment on my first posted picture.
All in good fun of course.
All in good fun of course.
I have an original design I’m working on with assymetrical LED diode clipping that I bet would change your mind
!As far as the Rumble’s built-in overdrive, that’s the one thing I can say I’m not really a fan of. Maybe I just haven’t found the sweet spot yet, but it just sounds too fizzy and sterile to my ears, even at the lowest drive setting. Maybe I just haven’t found the right balance between the gain and drive controls? Anyone have suggestions for copping that “tubey” sounding drive ala Ampeg SVT? I think you really just need a tube preamp to get “that sound”. It’s more of a grind than overdrive or distortion methinks.
I've been wondering if there's a way to light up the grill with lighting around that cab without it looking bad. But a tad of light to try and get some extra sparkle going might look cool!
Actually, it's the V1 Rumbles' red lights in their ports that pulsate to the music which has gotten my attention in recent years. One of the things I used to think screamed "TOY!" before I became a Rumble convert by my R500c now draws me "like a moth to a flame."
Wait! Do your V3 Rumbles' red lights pulsate to the music???
Alternatively I have thought of just pointing a lightbulb at it, but it lacks the elegance of a built in solution.
Ah! Pokin' fun, eh? Look at you, fittin' right in here!
Keep up the fun work.Hmmm ... , perhaps a lighter color of paint on the speaker baffle might highlight the black metal grille? Or maybe a sparkly lighter color metal grille, itself? Huh?
.
I would love to have my mind changed!I have an original design I’m working on with assymetrical LED diode clipping that I bet would change your mind
As far as the Rumble’s built-in overdrive, that’s the one thing I can say I’m not really a fan of. Maybe I just haven’t found the sweet spot yet, but it just sounds too fizzy and sterile to my ears, even at the lowest drive setting. Maybe I just haven’t found the right balance between the gain and drive controls? Anyone have suggestions for copping that “tubey” sounding drive ala Ampeg SVT? I think you really just need a tube preamp to get “that sound”. It’s more of a grind than overdrive or distortion methinks.
There's a lot of ways to play with the Rumbles OD but you've gotta get creative about it because it's essentially a 2 knob deal. The way I'm getting mine to be kind of tubey is by using the vintage and having gain and drive at 0. But if my output gets too hot or too bright it turns back into a more grindy sound.
Sterile isn't how I've found the OD to sound but it does seem to cut a bit of bottom end and boost the high-mids. Which really works well with the vintage setting because it counters the tubiness of that setting but gives you the character of both.
When it comes to getting a heavier distorted tone out of it I prefer to use my Aguilar Agro. It sounds very similar to the Rumbles OD but has EQ for 900Hz and 4.6(or is it 6.4?)kHz and the gain is independent of the Rumbles. And this OD is meant to grind even though it can go way overboard with the gain. So I'm assuming that's the general idea with the Rumble OD.
I meant with the v3, sorry for the confusion!Ah! Pokin' fun, eh? Look at you, fittin' right in here!
Hmmm ... , perhaps a lighter color of paint on the speaker baffle might highlight the black metal grille? Or maybe a sparkly lighter color metal grille, itself? Huh?
.
If I had a v1/2 I would absolutely have repainted the grille.
I would love to have my mind changed!
There's a lot of ways to play with the Rumbles OD but you've gotta get creative about it because it's essentially a 2 knob deal. The way I'm getting mine to be kind of tubey is by using the vintage and having gain and drive at 0. But if my output gets too hot or too bright it turns back into a more grindy sound.
Sterile isn't how I've found the OD to sound but it does seem to cut a bit of bottom end and boost the high-mids. Which really works well with the vintage setting because it counters the tubiness of that setting but gives you the character of both.
When it comes to getting a heavier distorted tone out of it I prefer to use my Aguilar Agro. It sounds very similar to the Rumbles OD but has EQ for 900Hz and 4.6(or is it 6.4?)kHz and the gain is independent of the Rumbles. And this OD is meant to grind even though it can go way overboard with the gain. So I'm assuming that's the general idea with the Rumble OD.
I’ll have to try that. I’ve been running the Gain full or near full then running the Drive at 0 with Vintage and Bright both engaged, thinking that would get me close. It seems that the Drive is much more interactive with Gain than I initially thought! I’m trying to get to get as close to that crunchy Geddy/Squire kind of vibe as I can without a J-Bass or Ric.
The gain is surprisingly interactive on the Rumbles! I'm guessing and probably incorrect but it seems to create compression when it's pushed really high, and it does provide your input level into the OD circuit so more gain = more distortion for sure.
I don't think I've used my bright button since the first time back when my amp was new, so I've got nothing there. Same with contour. Who wants less mids? lol
The Geddy tone is such an interesting one to try to get, it's like its own version of a V-shaped sound curve. I think a great deal of that is actually coming from his attack rather than any specific amp settings. Dude sounds pretty similar no matter what he plays.
The closest I can ever get to that tone is when instead of plucking the strings I more or less attack them with the very tip of my fingers. Almost like I'm trying to shove them into the fretboard. Gives a real satisfying attack when done right, but it's tricky to do both right and without much force.
Compression helps too. My Boss LMB-3 doesn't do anything to the tone but because it evens things out more the higher overtones get brought out better. Makes everything come more alive and allows the difference in attack to become more prominent.
There's a lotta really helpful hints in the Rumble Club Wiki AFA EQ'ing for close to flat or for tones similar to other amps and also OD settings. To me the most useful one is DRIVE and LEVEL at 0, then the footswitch functions as a remote mute.(I never use OD, as you might surmise)
Most of the places we play(ed) are very tight on band 'space', so I normally use no more than 1 pedal-almost no room between me and my mic stand. AFA BRIGHT, I use it if the room is particularly 'boomy'. It functions similarly to the PRESENCE knob on old 7ender tube amps.
I have the luxury of not having to worry too much about space. Good to know about the bright switch though. Who knows maybe I'll need it someday!
