Fender Rumble Club

[G-Dog]

Hello I just joined TalkBass because I need some help with a Rumble 200 amp I just bought (used). The amp wasn't working, but I bought it anyway, cheaply, in the hope that I can repair it. The previous owner didn't know much about it, but it has obviously been tinkered with.

It powers up when plugged in. The LED and fan come on. But no sound from my bass. We opened up the Rumble. Duh, someone has removed the cable that attaches to the main driver and the horn. Why would someone do that?

At this point I paid for it and brought it home to investigate further.

I powered up the amp again, and tested just the headphone output. It works! All the knobs and buttons work too. So the Control board seems fine.

I quickly checked the woofer: around 5 ohms, and I can hear a faint pop sound when I test it with my ohmmeter's LED check feature. So I think the woofer's okay. I won't worry about the horn for now.

I've found the 4-pin connector (P106 on the schematic) on the I/O board that connects to the woofer and horn. I can solder directly to the connector, or I might have the right connector somewhere. So it'll be easy to test whether the I/O board is working.

Then I noticed that it's a 230 V version (I'm in Canada, with 115 V). Oops. I have a small 115/230 transformer I can use for testing, but I also noticed that a jumper on the ICE power board has been placed in the 115 position. So I was thinking either:

a) Move the jumper back to the 230 position and use my transformer. Is there anything else I should know about before doing this? I don't see anything else on the schematics that I'd have to swap when using 230 V instead of 115 V, but the schematic I have doesn't show any detail for the ICE power board.

or

b) is it possible that that one jumper is the only thing that converts the ICE power board from 230 V to 115 V? If so, that would be fantastic.

I'm assuming that the control board and I/O board are not dependent on the AC input voltage.

Howdy, Pete! @Peter Yuen, you are now member #1428 in the Fender Rumble Club. Congratulations and welcome to TalkBass in general and The Club in particular. Please put that number in your TalkBass Signature for safe keeping. Then make yourself at home here and on your Rumble Club Wiki page, the repository of all Rumbling wisdom and knowledge.

We'd sure like to see a photo of your Rumble, when you get a chance. Sorry, I don't have any detailed tech expertise to share.

Please let us know a bit about yourself, such as your bass experience in general and your Rumble journey in particular. Whatever your situation you're going to fit right in here since we have all kinds. But we all love to ... ...

Rumble On!
.​

 

[G-Dog]

Anyone care to explain the four volume knobs on a Rumble? How they interact? (With the drive channel pushed on).

I was getting overly buzzy drive tones and found that just having the level higher than the master creates overdrive, even if the drive is rather low; it was hard to get a mild overdrive. On the other hand, was wanting a full fuzz tone, and not getting it, apparently the master was too high to allow much, with the overall volume controlled by the low gain.

It seems best to think of them as four volume knobs in series, left to right. Gain, drive, level, master. I’m used to amps with two knobs, with of course, if the pre is higher than the master you get overdrive happening. So, OK, four volumes knobs here, left ones higher than the master to get drive. However it’s a little puzzling, how they interact.

A couple odd things. With the gain all the way down, you still get some volume. And with the gain all the way up, and drive section off, you still don’t get overdrive. It’s like the actual range on the gain knob is kind of narrow.

Hi, Doug! @Doug4321, you are now member #1429 in the Fender Rumble Club. Congratulations and welcome. Please put that number in your TalkBass Signature for safe keeping. Then make yourself at home here and on your Rumble Club Wiki page, the repository of all Rumbling wisdom and knowledge.

Besides reading the manual, linked on your Wiki, you could refer to several Rumble Talks there, too. They also explain the unusual, but very straightforward, workings of the controls to get great tone.

Please let us know a bit about yourself, Doug, such as your bass experience in general and your Rumble journey in particular. Whatever your situation you're going to fit right in here since we have all kinds here. But we all love to ... ...

Rumble On!
.​

 

[JPDsma]

Anyone care to explain the four volume knobs on a Rumble? How they interact? (With the drive channel pushed on).

I was getting overly buzzy drive tones and found that just having the level higher than the master creates overdrive, even if the drive is rather low; it was hard to get a mild overdrive. On the other hand, was wanting a full fuzz tone, and not getting it, apparently the master was too high to allow much, with the overall volume controlled by the low gain.

It seems best to think of them as four volume knobs in series, left to right. Gain, drive, level, master. I’m used to amps with two knobs, with of course, if the pre is higher than the master you get overdrive happening. So, OK, four volumes knobs here, left ones higher than the master to get drive. However it’s a little puzzling, how they interact.

A couple odd things. With the gain all the way down, you still get some volume. And with the gain all the way up, and drive section off, you still don’t get overdrive. It’s like the actual range on the gain knob is kind of narrow.

And for many of us, R200c V3 here, we generally keep the two overdrive knobs all the way off and use the footswitch with it so it functions as a Mute.

 

[GonePlaid]

And for many of us, R200c V3 here, we generally keep the two overdrive knobs all the way off and use the footswitch with it so it functions as a Mute.

Yup.

 

[Griendrr]

I just did it and I don't care !!!!!!!

Recently bought a new 500 rumble combo with a 2x10 rumble cab with a lot of help from you guys. Perfectly happy with it.

I can't stop thinking about that sweet 800 watt head. It's haunting me. I won't let it go. I can't.

I got on musician's friend just now, found a used 800 head and a used 4x10 rumble cab. Both being sold by guitar center. I ordered them both, they are shipping to my local guitar center. Still has the 45 day return policy in case they aren't as advertised.

I got them both for roughly half what I'd pay new so that's my only justification. It's a weak one but I guess I don't need much

Now I can run either the 2x10 0r 4x10 from my 500 combo, I can run the same through the 800 watt head, or both through the head.

I don't need it, I WANT IT, there was just no escaping. I'm stoked and I can't wait to try the different configurations that will be available to me !!!!

 

[Black Out Jazz]

I just did it and I don't care !!!!!!!

Recently bought a new 500 rumble combo with a 2x10 rumble cab with a lot of help from you guys. Perfectly happy with it.

I can't stop thinking about that sweet 800 watt head. It's haunting me. I won't let it go. I can't.

I got on musician's friend just now, found a used 800 head and a used 4x10 rumble cab. Both being sold by guitar center. I ordered them both, they are shipping to my local guitar center. Still has the 45 day return policy in case they aren't as advertised.

I got them both for roughly half what I'd pay new so that's my only justification. It's a weak one but I guess I don't need much

Now I can run either the 2x10 0r 4x10 from my 500 combo, I can run the same through the 800 watt head, or both through the head.

I don't need it, I WANT IT, there was just no escaping. I'm stoked and I can't wait to try the different configurations that will be available to me !!!!

Hell yeah, man.

 

[Billyears IV]

I'll audit The Club treasury then draft a cheque for some really snazzy awards for the first correct guesses in each category, and a super-duper Grand Prize to whoever hits the tri-fecta first!

If it's not a dumb question.... How are you going to select who is 'first'?

 

[Black Out Jazz]

If it's not a dumb question.... How are you going to select who is 'first'?

Post number #48693 is first and will be the winner.

 

[JPDsma]

It’s Dave Grolsch. lol
Foo tribute band.

Too Fighters Chicago

Good eye.

FTE, just had your Band’s 12/18 FB post show up in my feed (no idea why…)...looks like a great show. Barely get to see you in only one of the picks, though. Rumble On

 

[GonePlaid]

If it's not a dumb question.... How are you going to select who is 'first'?

I don't know(third base).

 

[Black Out Jazz]

Hello I just joined TalkBass because I need some help with a Rumble 200 amp I just bought (used). The amp wasn't working, but I bought it anyway, cheaply, in the hope that I can repair it. The previous owner didn't know much about it, but it has obviously been tinkered with.

It powers up when plugged in. The LED and fan come on. But no sound from my bass. We opened up the Rumble. Duh, someone has removed the cable that attaches to the main driver and the horn. Why would someone do that?

At this point I paid for it and brought it home to investigate further.

I powered up the amp again, and tested just the headphone output. It works! All the knobs and buttons work too. So the Control board seems fine.

I quickly checked the woofer: around 5 ohms, and I can hear a faint pop sound when I test it with my ohmmeter's LED check feature. So I think the woofer's okay. I won't worry about the horn for now.

I've found the 4-pin connector (P106 on the schematic) on the I/O board that connects to the woofer and horn. I can solder directly to the connector, or I might have the right connector somewhere. So it'll be easy to test whether the I/O board is working.

Then I noticed that it's a 230 V version (I'm in Canada, with 115 V). Oops. I have a small 115/230 transformer I can use for testing, but I also noticed that a jumper on the ICE power board has been placed in the 115 position. So I was thinking either:

a) Move the jumper back to the 230 position and use my transformer. Is there anything else I should know about before doing this? I don't see anything else on the schematics that I'd have to swap when using 230 V instead of 115 V, but the schematic I have doesn't show any detail for the ICE power board.

or

b) is it possible that that one jumper is the only thing that converts the ICE power board from 230 V to 115 V? If so, that would be fantastic.

I'm assuming that the control board and I/O board are not dependent on the AC input voltage.

Seems to me, step 1 is to reconnect the driver and try it. Chances are it is fine.

The 230/115 switch moves the transformer tap. Leave it be, you're fine.

 

[FronTowardEnemy]

FTE, just had your Band’s 12/18 FB post show up in my feed (no idea why…)...looks like a great show. Barely get to see you in only one of the picks, though. Rumble On

It was a great show, but alas the bass player gets no spot light. On the brighter side, my Fender Rumble 500C cut through the mix perfectly once again. I was heard!! lol

 

[JakobT]

I just did it and I don't care !!!!!!!

Recently bought a new 500 rumble combo with a 2x10 rumble cab with a lot of help from you guys. Perfectly happy with it.

I can't stop thinking about that sweet 800 watt head. It's haunting me. I won't let it go. I can't.

I got on musician's friend just now, found a used 800 head and a used 4x10 rumble cab. Both being sold by guitar center. I ordered them both, they are shipping to my local guitar center. Still has the 45 day return policy in case they aren't as advertised.

I got them both for roughly half what I'd pay new so that's my only justification. It's a weak one but I guess I don't need much

Now I can run either the 2x10 0r 4x10 from my 500 combo, I can run the same through the 800 watt head, or both through the head.

I don't need it, I WANT IT, there was just no escaping. I'm stoked and I can't wait to try the different configurations that will be available to me !!!!

Exactly the reason why I got most of my own gear, Rumbles included.

 

[405BassGuy]

I decided to replace my 10-12 y/o Fender Rumble 100 1x15 practice amp with a newer, lighter model. So, with the holiday sale price of 15% off, I picked up the Fender Rumble 100 1x12 and I can't believe the power and sound this little amp cranks out. I'm very impressed with this lightweight Rumble!

View attachment 4324111

Kudos to Fender!

Back in July I posted about my new Rumble 100 1x12 practice amp. Since that time, I've been very impressed with the little amp; however, it recently began making random crackling noises. To ensure that the issue was the with the amp, I unplugged my bass and left the amp on with the volume turned up and sure enough, it's the amp. I then took a short video before calling Musician's Friend (MF), since this is where I purchased the amp. However, when I called and spoke with a rep from MF, he politely explained that I must call Fender and he provided me with their number. (As an FYI, I think MF is now outsourcing their call center.) I then called Fender and spoke with a rep named Bella, who was amazing in helping me resolve the issue. She asked me to email her the video and proof of purchase, which I did. And within a few minutes, she said that she could send me a new amp or refund my money. She also stated that I can keep the amp that I currently own. Unfortunately, a new amp won't be available until May or June of 2022! Fortunately, I still have my Rumble 100 1x15 amp that I can use until that time. Also, I got 15% off of the old price of $300 and the Rumble 100 1x12 now has a $350 price tag.

In conclusion; although I do use another amp for rehearsing and gigging, I've been playing Rumble amps for many years and never had any issues. So, I'm a little disappointed that my new Rumble 100 practice amp is having issues and it's only a few months old. However, I'm very impressed with Fender's customer service and their warranty!

 

[Griendrr]

Kudos to Fender!

Back in July I posted about my new Rumble 100 1x12 practice amp. Since that time, I've been very impressed with the little amp; however, it recently began making random crackling noises. To ensure that the issue was the with the amp, I unplugged my bass and left the amp on with the volume turned up and sure enough, it's the amp. I then took a short video before calling Musician's Friend (MF), since this is where I purchased the amp. However, when I called and spoke with a rep from MF, he politely explained that I must call Fender and he provided me with their number. (As an FYI, I think MF is now outsourcing their call center.) I then called Fender and spoke with a rep named Bella, who was amazing in helping me resolve the issue. She asked me to email her the video and proof of purchase, which I did. And within a few minutes, she said that she could send me a new amp or refund my money. She also stated that I can keep the amp that I currently own. Unfortunately, a new amp won't be available until May or June of 2022! Fortunately, I still have my Rumble 100 1x15 amp that I can use until that time. Also, I got 15% off of the old price of $300 and the Rumble 100 1x12 now has a $350 price tag.

In conclusion; although I do use another amp for rehearsing and gigging, I've been playing Rumble amps for many years and never had any issues. So, I'm a little disappointed that my new Rumble 100 practice amp is having issues and it's only a few months old. However, I'm very impressed with Fender's customer service and their warranty!

It IS disappointing when something you have faith in performs sub-par or in this case, is kind of useless as it is. It happens with all everything occasionally. I've found the more reputable ones aren't going to let even one person down if they can help it, and even the good stuff has an occasional hiccup. Hopefully it's not a pattern or the start of one. They made it right, good for everyone especially you. Hopefully you'll be able to have it repaired. As far as amps go they aren't the most complex. Do you know anyone personally that might be interested in taking a look ? I'm fortunate and happen to be friends with or at least friendly terms with one or two that are smarter or just more into fixing stuff when I give up.

My one buddy will say don't worry about it. If it's a cheap repair I'll throw out AT LEAST a little more than what the repair is worth. If you take it to a professional chances are it'll be premium price and a long wait to boot.

I hope you can find someone on the side, in that case it's deff worth having it done. Most of the time it's worth the cost of fixing before you sell. No Hurry but throw a few feelers out. Could put you ahead of the game.

Just another great reason to be part of this community, If there's a pattern we'll be the first to know. Thanks for posting it !!! (kind of excited they let you keep the amp )

 

[G-Dog]

.
Rumblers:

Have you seen these numbers?

So, what do you think will come first?

1,500 members?

50,000 replies (2,500 pages)?

3,000,000 views?​

Ladies and gentlemen! Hurry, hurry, hurry! Step right up! Place your bets for "Members", "Replies/Pages" or "Views" to Win (1st), Place (2nd) or Show (3rd)!

I'll audit The Club treasury then draft a cheque for some really snazzy awards for the first correct guesses in each category, and a super-duper Grand Prize to whoever hits the tri-fecta first!

1. Only Rumble Club members are eligible for prizes by posting their guesses here in the main Rumble Club thread. There is no charge for making your entries.
2. Only one guess per category, per member, is valid. Your first recorded guesses in each category are your only valid entries. Any subsequent guesses are invalid, so give it your best shot the first time!
3. As the only currently serving Club Official, I will officiate, referee and, in all other ways, administer this contest/raffle/event. I will also not be eligible for any prize(s).

So, there's the start. But, since it may take some time to determine the order of all three categories reaching the above stated goals, there is no rush at this time. Further details will be determined as we go.

Good luck to all!
.

If it's not a dumb question.... How are you going to select who is 'first'?

I-I-I-I-I-I'm ... makin' a list, ... checkin' it twice, ... gonna find out who's ... uh, ... got the first recorded correct guess(es). ​

Holy simoleons! "There’s no rush.", I says. "Ok, here's my guesses.", they says! And by some of our most thoughtful Rumblers, too! Sheesh!

@Black Out Jazz - views, replies, members
@trseal - - - - - - - - - views, members, replies
@Miles_ONeal - - - replies, members, views - ("formalvotes" has no context here)
@GonePlaid - - - - - members, views, replies - (notice the order the categories were listed)
@JakobT - - - - - - - views, replies, members - (same as Black Out Jazz)
@AncientNoob - - views, members, replies - (same as trseal)
.

@Black Out Jazz - views, replies, members
@trseal - - - - - - - - - views, members, replies
@Miles_ONeal - - - replies, members, views - ("formalvotes" has no context here)
@GonePlaid - - - - - members, views, replies - (notice the order the categories were listed)
@JakobT - - - - - - - views, replies, members - (same as Black Out Jazz)
@AncientNoob - - - views, members, replies - (same as trseal)
@CraigL - - - - - - - - replies, views, members
@LennyJ - - - - - - - - views - - - - - (same as Black Out Jazz)
@RL5 - - - - - - - - - - - replies - - - - (same as Miles_ONeal) pages=replies, ain't countin' pix!
@E Buzz - - - - - - - - views, replies, members - (same as Black Out Jazz)
.

 

[RL5]

I-I-I-I-I-I'm ... makin' a list, ... checkin' it twice, ... gonna find out who's ... uh, ... got the first recorded correct guess(es). ​

@RL5 - - - - - - - - - - - replies - - - - (same as Miles_ONeal) pages=replies, ain't countin' pix!
.

No, No, No, G-Dog! Pages are NOT replies! Current Page is 2437. Current # of replies are 48737 (unless someone replies be fore me).

 

[Peter Yuen]

Thanks to all of you who sent me helpful tips about my new (used) Rumble 200!

I spent a few hours on it last night, and I managed to get it working. The horn doesn't work, but I would have left it off anyway. The external-speaker jack was also missing, but those are just resale-value problems for down the road.

I didn't have the appropriate connector for the I/O board, so I just soldered wires onto the 4-pin connector, added some fast-on crimp connectors, and tested it. Very pleased. The bottom end is much better than my 1x10" amp. At max volume, it shakes the house nicely.

So for $100 CAD (around $80 US today), that's not bad, eh?

I'm just a beginner (very old beginner) so this is just going to be used as a practice amp, and to play along with songs using the Aux input, but it's going to be a great-sounding practice amp!

 

[Doug4321]

Think of it as those active/passive inputs on other amps, just not a fixed value, but adjustable. If You crank it, You rather get a compressed sound than a driven one.
The OD level is for matching the driven channel's volume to the clean one.
OD's drive is sort of a gain.
OD is more like a driven tube sound rather than a fuzz.
]

Thanks. The block diagram shows it is basically four volumes in series. I had looked at the schematic and couldn’t make sense of it, not being an electrician.
I was rather thrown by the interaction, it’s not enough just to look at the drive relative to the level. Have to factor them all in. It does help to think about setting the level to control volume relative to having the drive section off.

I see a lot of pedals have parallel circuits and you blend the clean and driven sides, but these in the Rumble are apparently in series.

 

[cb56]

I’ll bet that 200 pops. I played through a 500 at GC before Christmas. Talk about pushing air!

Yeah it's probably more volume than I'll ever need. But if I did need more volume I could always run a 2nd 15 cab under it. The thing is about the R40, it also has an XLR out so it can send a signal to the PA system. Rumble is a pretty good line of amps IMO.