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It's been almost 5 months since I have logged on, stumbling across the fact that fender released the 210 and 112, led me here to see what everyone was saying. Still was hoping for an "economy" 115 for 200 owners, but the 210 is good news for 500 owners, and the 112 looks promising, though a little pricey, surely they could have at least shaved $50 off to make it cheaper than the 115, and the only $50 difference between the 210 and 410 does not make much sense either, too bad the 210 didnt hit the 250 mark or lower, but I digress on all of those points. Moot for me since buying a cab at this point is not possible anyway. Also, I don't like having bigger drivers above smaller ones, for audio reasons more than looks reasons, but both apply. Since higher frequencies tend to be more pronounced with smaller drivers, AND higher frequencies do not disperse as easily as low frequencies (directionality too), it is better to have the smaller ones on top, which also maximizes low frequency carry since the 15 is closer to the floor. This is only an issue due to the handle and knob placement on the v3 combos of course, and that is the subject I had meant to post about a couple months ago, but never got around to it. Now I will!
Recap, I picked up the rumble 200 combo instead of the head, when I unfortunately discovered (at the store while testing) that the driver in my recently blown wm10, was damaged enough to only work at low volumes, thus bursting my bubble of using my wm10 + wm1x10t as a mini stack with a 200w head (will likely recone the wm10 and have repaired sometime in the future if economical)
I really liked the way the 200 combo sounded in the store, so I waited for black Friday, got it from Gc for $340 and joined the club (don't remember my #)
My initial reports were based on a couple of auditions with the 200 with wm1x10t next to it on the floor, with built in kick stand/handle being used (swr 10" 100w 8ohm w/tweeter). Many compliments, and I felt I did not need to add my ampeg micro CL to supplement it (my rig before the blowout was the swr mini stack along with the ampeg (each one 100w/2x10), my big rigs are buried in storage)
Flash forward a little bit, and I decide to put the rumble on it's side so I can put the swr on top, and I did a couple more practices and felt this was noticeably better than just blasting my knees, it also looked more like a rig too.
I had decided not to use the similarly rated ampeg mc210e cab, since I ab'd that and the swr as extensions to the 200 in the store, and found the swr to be more efficient and blended better with the rumble, which also seems to be a very efficient cab/driver. And of course the bottom slot ported cab of the swr had a lower useable frequency as well as being a much more solid USA cab than the budget ampeg.
Flash to the gig, in a decision based on cosmetics (punk rock show) and logic that I don't NEED every ounce of low end efficiency out of the "top" cab, considering the 15 has that in spades, I opted to put the 210 on it's side since both cabs were almost the same height (width when on side). I figured having 2 10s in the normal 210 horizontal position would give me better mid coverage in the room than the single swr 10 would, along with better matching cosmetics (tolex instead of carpet, cloth grille instead of metal, and ampeg is always in place with the punkers, all of the other bass players that night were using ampeg of course)
On firing it up I found this setup to be quite adequate, and I had no problem hearing the 10s and it was quite punchy too. I had the soundguy go direct to the amps xlr so I could see how well that worked...
I never found out! He didnt even use it, I was carrying the room, from an elevated stage in a decent sized room with a Pa with full subs. I actually was asking the guitar player to turn up. I turned down a few times during the set too, and I was no where close to pushing the amp, though I did not think to jot down the settings. This venue would count as a dive bar, but one of the larger ones that is a well known venue, so kindof in between the normal dive and the medium/large club venues, considering the stage and Pa layout.
I was looking at the block diagram and was kind of bummed that the xlr is high z AND post master, but I could work around that if I had to, and for recording will probably have to plug in headphones to mute the speaker, HOPEFULLY that does not also mute the line out.
If anyone read through all of this (long yes, but hopefully an easy read), I would highly recommend 200 owners to try a small 210 in this way (mc210e from micro CL svt) or svt210av, or maybe an old Goliath jr if you can find an 8ohm version, or rewire a 4ohm to 16ohm (that's what I did with my jr II to be able to use it with wm10 and to not divert too much power away from my 8ohm higher power handling cabs when using it in the big rig).
And for those with avail $$ and a rumble fix, the rumble 210 on it's side on top of the 15 combo will probably sound a bit better than putting the 15 on top of the 210.
The only sucky part is having to stoop down to adjust the knobs, but that is a small price to pay for better sound (and a more stout look).
To the recent 112/200 user, try that and let me know if it made a difference. It might not be as big of one as it would be with 10's, and the top cab would be narrower in that configuration, but it would be cool to know. Personally I feel that the 15 always hits harder on the bottom. And that 112 would probably pair well below the 500 as a slightly tighter/punchier option than a 115, but still a little boomier than more 10's.
But again, boo to fender for not making it at least a little cheaper than the 115, come on now, less wood, less tolex, and I'm sure the speaker would be a little cheaper, but I suppose they order more 15's for both the combo and the cab, so maybe they don't get as good of a price break from eminence. And surely in this case it is at least NOT the same driver as the rumble 100, but if it is, it should be under $200.
Again I digress.
Recap, I picked up the rumble 200 combo instead of the head, when I unfortunately discovered (at the store while testing) that the driver in my recently blown wm10, was damaged enough to only work at low volumes, thus bursting my bubble of using my wm10 + wm1x10t as a mini stack with a 200w head (will likely recone the wm10 and have repaired sometime in the future if economical)
I really liked the way the 200 combo sounded in the store, so I waited for black Friday, got it from Gc for $340 and joined the club (don't remember my #)
My initial reports were based on a couple of auditions with the 200 with wm1x10t next to it on the floor, with built in kick stand/handle being used (swr 10" 100w 8ohm w/tweeter). Many compliments, and I felt I did not need to add my ampeg micro CL to supplement it (my rig before the blowout was the swr mini stack along with the ampeg (each one 100w/2x10), my big rigs are buried in storage)
Flash forward a little bit, and I decide to put the rumble on it's side so I can put the swr on top, and I did a couple more practices and felt this was noticeably better than just blasting my knees, it also looked more like a rig too.
I had decided not to use the similarly rated ampeg mc210e cab, since I ab'd that and the swr as extensions to the 200 in the store, and found the swr to be more efficient and blended better with the rumble, which also seems to be a very efficient cab/driver. And of course the bottom slot ported cab of the swr had a lower useable frequency as well as being a much more solid USA cab than the budget ampeg.
Flash to the gig, in a decision based on cosmetics (punk rock show) and logic that I don't NEED every ounce of low end efficiency out of the "top" cab, considering the 15 has that in spades, I opted to put the 210 on it's side since both cabs were almost the same height (width when on side). I figured having 2 10s in the normal 210 horizontal position would give me better mid coverage in the room than the single swr 10 would, along with better matching cosmetics (tolex instead of carpet, cloth grille instead of metal, and ampeg is always in place with the punkers, all of the other bass players that night were using ampeg of course)
On firing it up I found this setup to be quite adequate, and I had no problem hearing the 10s and it was quite punchy too. I had the soundguy go direct to the amps xlr so I could see how well that worked...
I never found out! He didnt even use it, I was carrying the room, from an elevated stage in a decent sized room with a Pa with full subs. I actually was asking the guitar player to turn up. I turned down a few times during the set too, and I was no where close to pushing the amp, though I did not think to jot down the settings. This venue would count as a dive bar, but one of the larger ones that is a well known venue, so kindof in between the normal dive and the medium/large club venues, considering the stage and Pa layout.
I was looking at the block diagram and was kind of bummed that the xlr is high z AND post master, but I could work around that if I had to, and for recording will probably have to plug in headphones to mute the speaker, HOPEFULLY that does not also mute the line out.
If anyone read through all of this (long yes, but hopefully an easy read), I would highly recommend 200 owners to try a small 210 in this way (mc210e from micro CL svt) or svt210av, or maybe an old Goliath jr if you can find an 8ohm version, or rewire a 4ohm to 16ohm (that's what I did with my jr II to be able to use it with wm10 and to not divert too much power away from my 8ohm higher power handling cabs when using it in the big rig).
And for those with avail $$ and a rumble fix, the rumble 210 on it's side on top of the 15 combo will probably sound a bit better than putting the 15 on top of the 210.
The only sucky part is having to stoop down to adjust the knobs, but that is a small price to pay for better sound (and a more stout look).
To the recent 112/200 user, try that and let me know if it made a difference. It might not be as big of one as it would be with 10's, and the top cab would be narrower in that configuration, but it would be cool to know. Personally I feel that the 15 always hits harder on the bottom. And that 112 would probably pair well below the 500 as a slightly tighter/punchier option than a 115, but still a little boomier than more 10's.
But again, boo to fender for not making it at least a little cheaper than the 115, come on now, less wood, less tolex, and I'm sure the speaker would be a little cheaper, but I suppose they order more 15's for both the combo and the cab, so maybe they don't get as good of a price break from eminence. And surely in this case it is at least NOT the same driver as the rumble 100, but if it is, it should be under $200.
Again I digress.
I just bought a new Fender Rumble 40 V3 combo and this thing has no low end unless you turn the bass at least 3/4 to all the way up. I realize it's only 40 watts into a 10 inch speaker but it seems like it should sound fuller than that. And I am using a Fender P too. Any thoughts or info greatly appreciated.
Ubernator,
I will give your thinking some thought as I play around with my 200 combo / 112 cab. I thought about swapping them around but yup, the controls on top of the combo present an issue.
I'm totally with you on wondering why Fender didn't make a 115 to match the dimensions of the 200 & 500 combo? I also wonder why the 112 and 115 cost the same, oh well, I'm sure they have their reasons.
One of my deciding factors was weight, I'm trying to keep things light and the 112 was lighter and the cab dimension matched. The wattage wasn't too different between the 112 & the 115 and comparing them I didn't see a huge difference in tone and handling. While I can tell the 115 is pushing a little more air, again, the disparity is minor and I'm getting plenty of thump from them both.
Again, I'll swap them around a bit and see how it goes and report back. So far though, I have no regrets and have been loving what I hear. Thanks for your thoughts and Rock On!
On a much shorter note, I remember seeing posts a while back about tolex peeling up on the back, well mine does that really bad, and it didn't take long either. Granted it lives in the back of my hatchback, but this was winter (though in sunny so cal and car is black). This isn't something I would return or try to get warranty on (probably not covered anyway), I figure eventually I will get some good glue for it. The only thing is either the tolex has contracted in the heat, or they didn't quite use enough, because there will still be a noticeable gap. Anyone else have this happen to a v3 combo?
At least it is on the back, but it is an unusual way of applying tolex, to leave seams like that on the outside. No doubt an "economy of scale" thing, however much tolex they saved by doing it that way, added up in large production numbers to keep prices low.
At least it is on the back, but it is an unusual way of applying tolex, to leave seams like that on the outside. No doubt an "economy of scale" thing, however much tolex they saved by doing it that way, added up in large production numbers to keep prices low.
To shooz, the knobs on top thing was definitely an issue, but laying it on it's side was worth the hassle, at least for the small cabs I will be using it with. I bet the 112 in its normal orientation on top of the 200 on the side would look cool, or even also on it's side if you cared about logo orientations matching haha. That 112 looks pretty close to square, but not quite.
If I ever get my son of bertha out of storage, I might try it with the rumble, but then again I don't really want to go 2 15's, but it would be interesting to see how it pairs up with an older school (90's) semi high end 15. That swr (sob) is pretty snappy for a 15 though, played a gig once with just that cab and my redface 350, and it was super punchy! Then again I like the rumble rig so much I haven't even considered going through the hassle of digging out the bigger stuff (also includes that jrII and a goliath III, as well as an acoustic b600h as a second head, I also had Eden d410xlt and d210xlt but sold those for money and space reasons, plus the swr's are lighter)
And about the 115 for 200, someone had pointed out that the combo on it's side is the same width as the 115, but I think a matching footprint 115 with say a 150w continuous driver for say $199 would be ideal for the 200, but it probably does not make sense for fender to have 2 rumble 115 versions, when $299 for a 300/600w 115 that has the same form factor as the 410, is pretty reasonable. But charging $349 for the 210 is a bit steep, unless it uses higher power drivers than the 410, but I don't think it does. Either they aren't making enough on the 410, or they are overcharging on the 210 (and 112). Considering they raised the 500 price, maybe there were be a price increase on the 410 too (or better yet a $50 drop on the 210 and 112, but again, I digress)
If I ever get my son of bertha out of storage, I might try it with the rumble, but then again I don't really want to go 2 15's, but it would be interesting to see how it pairs up with an older school (90's) semi high end 15. That swr (sob) is pretty snappy for a 15 though, played a gig once with just that cab and my redface 350, and it was super punchy! Then again I like the rumble rig so much I haven't even considered going through the hassle of digging out the bigger stuff (also includes that jrII and a goliath III, as well as an acoustic b600h as a second head, I also had Eden d410xlt and d210xlt but sold those for money and space reasons, plus the swr's are lighter)
And about the 115 for 200, someone had pointed out that the combo on it's side is the same width as the 115, but I think a matching footprint 115 with say a 150w continuous driver for say $199 would be ideal for the 200, but it probably does not make sense for fender to have 2 rumble 115 versions, when $299 for a 300/600w 115 that has the same form factor as the 410, is pretty reasonable. But charging $349 for the 210 is a bit steep, unless it uses higher power drivers than the 410, but I don't think it does. Either they aren't making enough on the 410, or they are overcharging on the 210 (and 112). Considering they raised the 500 price, maybe there were be a price increase on the 410 too (or better yet a $50 drop on the 210 and 112, but again, I digress)
just an after thought; have you tried using different cables or anything else to isolate the amp as the problem? however, with so many being made, it is a possibility that your amp is faulty. I've seen people in this thread having to get replacement amps when their's weren't quite right. Yet few and far between, they all seemed happy in the end, as i'm sure you will be also. Hang in there for more responses
Never played on a 40, but yeah a 110 with only 40w is not exactly a tooth rattler. Rumble 100 would be where that starts to kick in.
Another thing it could be is the p bass, my first bass was a Korean squier II (plywood, no pickguard or body contours) and the bass was decent, a tad better when I put an emg select in it, but still not bad when I sold the pickup to a friend and put the original back in. I guess that info didn't really matter, and that bass is in pieces, cut up and an unfinsihed (abandoned) project from 20 years ago.
The real info is, my main bass was (and still is) a 98 USA jazz bass, which was joined by a 2000 USA p bass when Mars was going out if business. The p bass has drastically less bottom end than the jazz bass. I had considered trying new pickups like quarter pounders, but never got around to it. I just tweak up the bass on the amp to compensate when I switch between basses. If it becomes a huge issue I may ask fender about it, but I don't remember if it is lifetime warranty or not, and 15 yrs has gone by. It might have just been an "anemic" batch of pickups, but I never followed through with it when a little tweak of the bass eq and it's good to go.
My rumble 200 is actually a bit boomy, I tend to roll the bass back a bit, perhaps my p bass as is will be the perfect match for it! I haven't tried it yet because the band has not gotten together since I pulled the p out of storage, and the drummer quit yesterday... So who knows how long it will be (home is not an option as low frequencies have caused sealife to knock on the bottom of the hull, and that was with an ampeg micro CL, a rumble 200 might get me sunk, or at least kicked out of the marina by terrestrial life in charge of things, so it's vox vt40+ with headphones only for me)
well. do you play a v3 40? (edit: saw that you said you never have)
Mine rumbles teeth (w/ both a ric 4001 and a 6 string LTD)
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You live on a boat in a marina, eh?
Just practice jimmy Buffet songs. The neighbors will be fine.
Just practice jimmy Buffet songs. The neighbors will be fine.
just an after thought; have you tried using different cables or anything else to isolate the amp as the problem? however, with so many being made, it is a possibility that your amp is faulty. I've seen people in this thread having to get replacement amps when their's weren't quite right. Yet few and far between, they all seemed happy in the end, as i'm sure you will be also. Hang in there for more responses
A good thing to try if you have the option is go to a store that has one on the floor and compare it with yours, at least that can rule out a bad one issue. This is all subjective anyway, dubstep and hip hop can leave some with unrealistic expectations fr a bass, especially a passive 4. Thanks skrillex![/QUOTE]
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Lots of lost salt shakers around here for sure, but it looks more like natural ice ville than margaritaville around here. And every so often the yacht club 2 marinas down has a cover band playing, one cover of margaritaville every couple of months is plenty, I'm no sadist! Also gotta stay on good sides, and out of site out of mind is a good policy here. Plus don't want to draw attention that there is music gear present for some tweaker to break in and take, yep, got them around here unfortunately.
well. do you play a v3 40? (edit: saw that you said you never have)
Mine rumbles teeth (w/ both a ric 4001 and a 6 string LTD)
Yeah I request my comment be stricken from the record. In a small room 40w can be pretty solid, and I got evicted for waking the dead with a pair of cerwin vega 10's with my old kenwood 60w per ch receiver
, and about 15 yrs prior was given a warning not to play bass again with a wm10 (80w 1x10), however in all those cases my teeth never rattled. So I guess the term is subjective as well. I actually gigged a few times and numerous rehearsals with that wm10 (mosttimes with an ext though) lasted 15 yrs. In theory only 3db louder than a rumble40, though adding a cab boosted to 100w and pushed more air, on it's own it was quite something as well
Don't have any detailed build pics, but you should be able to tell from the photo below. I made it out of scrap stuff I had laying around. The platform is 1/2" MDF with 2x4 skids attached with screws. I put the section of mattress foam in the space underneath and wrapped the rest with scrap indoor/outdoor carpet using Elmers wood glues and staples. I don't have the full science and engineering of the official product, but it does a decent job.
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Okay, I can't claim membership yet because I'm on the fence about what to do, so I'm asking for some advice here.
I have an Acoustic B200 combo and a 210 neo cab that suit me very well volume and tone wise, but even the combo alone is a bit heavy, nearly twice the weight of the Fender 500w 210 V3 combo.
From what I've read here, the Fender wouldn't have any trouble replacing the Acoustic combo, so I'm all for that, but I wonder if I shouldn't get the Fender 500w head instead and use it with my Acoustic neo 210, which would allow me to keep the Acoustic combo as a backup.
What brings me to a crossroad is, I'm also thinking about trading the Acoustic combo for the Fender combo and using the neo 210 cab as an extension if needed.
Can anyone recommend a solution?
I have an Acoustic B200 combo and a 210 neo cab that suit me very well volume and tone wise, but even the combo alone is a bit heavy, nearly twice the weight of the Fender 500w 210 V3 combo.
From what I've read here, the Fender wouldn't have any trouble replacing the Acoustic combo, so I'm all for that, but I wonder if I shouldn't get the Fender 500w head instead and use it with my Acoustic neo 210, which would allow me to keep the Acoustic combo as a backup.
What brings me to a crossroad is, I'm also thinking about trading the Acoustic combo for the Fender combo and using the neo 210 cab as an extension if needed.
Can anyone recommend a solution?
Lugging an already annoyingly heavy combo around as a backup that I'd prob never use wouldn't be a workable long term plan for me. I like my backup amps to fit in my gig bag. Seems like swapping combo for combo would be the most straightforward choice.
But if you are already happy with the tone and power of your current setup, you'll be losing that in your quest for a lighter schlep. You may like the new sound better, you may not. Make sure you try the options out first if possible.
You've come to the right place! The answer is YES you need a Fender Rumble 500.
I'd go with the combo. Try it with your 210 extension cabinet and listen to hear if it's a good match. If not trade it in on a Rumble 210. Rumble On!
From reading some of your posts I suspected you might say something like thatYou've come to the right place! The answer is YES you need a Fender Rumble 500.
You were expecting otherwise?
