Fender Rumble Club

[SoulReflection]

Hi, Newy! I have it on very good authority that most amp manufacturers have their own historical signature "baked-in tone" that their designers work very hard to maintain (or mimic) from model to model over the years, within or around their ongoing innovations. That is not to say that all models of a certain brand will always sound the same, but more that their fixed tonestacks and EQ ranges contain "a certain tonal vibe", in addition to more, or less, flexible settings. And, of course, different descriptions of each "vibe" can vary to the extreme. Different people hear different things, apparently. (Who knew?) Likewise, sound versatility is subject to the subjective variable opinions of different hearers! Music is, after all, an art more than a science.

And rather than flat or transparent tones being the goal, I believe that to be merely a starting point for a given room before adjusting toward a more desirable sound for the gig, the set, the song or even a particular portion of a song. But I tend not to adjust my Rumble 500 combo once set for some certain rooms & gig types. If I really want to have multiple identifiably different tones I use my Rumble Studio 40 combo to easily switch between radically different modeled tones for different songs, or parts thereof. But, maybe that's just me. YMMV.
.

Yep, and then there are "socks"...

 

[trseal]

They must be versatile. They can accept both "tube" and "athletic" socks!

Really people, do you have to "put a sock in it" or "sock it to me"? I will let the experts decide...all I know is I do not have to do either...YMMV.

Sock-re bleu! I guess the dress socks I've been using just don't cut it. They were even washed.

Wait. What? You're s'posed to use socks? I put shoes in mine. Wing-tips. No wonder I'm not getting the sound y'all been talking about...!

Tim

 

[G-Dog]

By using the flat settings listed here in the rumble club, my rumble seems to be able to sound very much like my gin's been shuttle 9 or my mark bass little marquette. Both of those are supposedly fairly transparent amps. It's not all exact but close.

I should also clarify that I am using the rumble 500 head in the various cabinets, not rumble cabinets.

Hey, Stringy! You've been an infrequent visitor here for some years, but it seems today is your first mention of being a Rumble owner!! Therefore, @5StringBlues, you are now member #1747 in the Fender Rumble Club. Congratulations and welcome. 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.

So, how's about telling us a bit about yourself, such as your bass experience in general and your Rumble journey in particular? You're fitting in just fine already, since we have all kinds. And, ya know by now, we all love to ... ... ...

Rumble On!
.​

 

[G-Dog]

Ok, I'll play. After a couple of years of not owning any gig equipment I bought a Rumble 40. I did own a Rumble head back then. I missed playing the bass just not band drama and super late load outs.. I got this little guy to play and occasional duo sit in or bluegrass sub job. I don't plan on using any kind of outboard gear at all (except a tuner.) in my new life I'm going to learn to love flatwounds with this modest setup.

View attachment 5412321

Yo, Stinny! @Stinsok, you are now member #1748 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.

Please tell us a bit about yourself, such as your bass experience in general and your Rumble journey(s?) in particular. You should fit right in here since we have all kinds. But we all love to ... ... ...

Rumble On!
.​

 

[White Crown]

I just bought this two weeks ago, I love it! The vintage switch is awesome with my dean on the neck PU. Im already wanting to upgrade from the 40 to the 100.

My bass has been in storage for a couple years, I pulled it out due to a new regular gig need (church music). Last time I played bass in a [bigger] church I used a DI box only and an old 10w ibanez to practice, but this new pa system is really small and lacking on the bass. I started to reasearch the best amp for a small venue, but still with a pa system and (partially due to the xlr out) I found it! Im sold on rumble amps now, not just because I want to be in "the club" but because it has exceeded my needs and expectations. It adds a great low punch and seems louder than 35-40w amps I have used in the past, plus it goes DI into the house! Perfect! Ok, let me in now. oh also I absolutely despised the in-ear monitoring, the fender rumbling at me feet is way better.

 

[G-Dog]

I just bought this two weeks ago, I love it! The vintage switch is awesome with my dean on the neck PU. Im already wanting to upgrade from the 40 to the 100. View attachment 5412467
My bass has been in storage for a couple years, I pulled it out due to a new regular gig need (church music). Last time I played bass in a [bigger] church I used a DI box only and an old 10w ibanez to practice, but this new pa system is really small and lacking on the bass. I started to reasearch the best amp for a small venue, but still with a pa system and (partially due to the xlr out) I found it! Im sold on rumble amps now, not just because I want to be in "the club" but because it has exceeded my needs and expectations. It adds a great low punch and seems louder than 35-40w amps I have used in the past, plus it goes DI into the house! Perfect! Ok, let me in now. oh also I absolutely despised the in-ear monitoring, the fender rumbling at me feet is way better.

Three-peat! @White Crown, you are now member #1749 in the Fender Rumble Club. Congratulations and welcome! 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.

So, how about telling us a bit about yourself, such as your bass experience in general and your Rumble journey in particular? You'll fit right in here since we have all kinds. But we all love to ... ... ...

Rumble On!
.​

 

[charliethomas]

Yep, and then there are "socks"...

 

[JenderBazzFass]

Hi, Newy! I have it on very good authority that most amp manufacturers have their own historical signature "baked-in tone" that their designers work very hard to maintain (or mimic) from model to model over the years, within or around their ongoing innovations. That is not to say that all models of a certain brand will always sound the same, but more that their fixed tonestacks and EQ ranges contain "a certain tonal vibe", in addition to more, or less, flexible settings. And, of course, different descriptions of each "vibe" can vary to the extreme. Different people hear different things, apparently. (Who knew?) Likewise, sound versatility is subject to the subjective variable opinions of different hearers! Music is, after all, an art more than a science.

And rather than flat or transparent tones being the goal, I believe that to be merely a starting point for a given room before adjusting toward a more desirable sound for the gig, the set, the song or even a particular portion of a song. But I tend not to adjust my Rumble 500 combo once set for some certain rooms & gig types. If I really want to have multiple identifiably different tones I use my Rumble Studio 40 combo to easily switch between radically different modeled tones for different songs, or parts thereof. But, maybe that's just me. YMMV.
.

Thanks a lot for the tips. I'm trying to decide between several manufacturers' solid state head/cab combos right now. Certainly Fender's Rumble offering is attractively priced compared to some of the others that get rave reviews here. It's hard to know how to compare these things when there aren't many places to find or try them... the stores in this area generally have a few Rumble combos and a few Ampeg combos, maybe one Mark head or combo and nothing else.

 

[trseal]

I just bought this two weeks ago, I love it! The vintage switch is awesome with my dean on the neck PU. Im already wanting to upgrade from the 40 to the 100.

HA! Go BIG or go home! Rumble 800c has the 100W option if you only want to rattle the walls in one room...!

Tim

 

[White Crown]

HA! Go BIG or go home! Rumble 800c has the 100W option if you only want to rattle the walls in one room...!

Tim

Really? I didnt know that, 800 is a bit big for my use... but its better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it right? Y'all are a bad influence lol

 

[trseal]

Really? I didnt know that, 800 is a bit big for my use... but it's better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it right? Y'all are a bad influence lol

My work here is done...

Tim

 

[Deleted member 268085]

Wait. What? You're s'posed to use socks? I put shoes in mine. Wing-tips. No wonder I'm not getting the sound y'all been talking about...!

Tim

I wore a pair of wing-tips once. High school prom in the late '60s. If I'd have known that I'd have a good use for them in the future, I'd have kept them.

 

[Never2Late]

I'll add this about tones of different amps: There are many recommendations to go to stores and listen to the different amps. What I found is that each amp sounds different depending on the store. While that might seem obvious to some, it wasn't to me when I first started.

Two stores I went to have all the bass equipment in somewhat small rooms, with sliding glass doors that I closed while fiddling. All the amps sounded boomy, especially the larger ones. Two other stores I go to have their bass equipment in the middle of very large spaces. Completely different, where the larger amps sound great and smaller amps don't, and the differences between Rumbles, Ampegs, and Markbass can be better heard.

It will be the same trying an amp at home, of course; highly dependent on the room it's sitting in.

Again, old news and obvious for anyone with experience but not for newer players.

 

[G-Dog]

I'll add this about tones of different amps: There are many recommendations to go to stores and listen to the different amps. What I found is that each amp sounds different depending on the store. While that might seem obvious to some, it wasn't to me when I first started.

Two stores I went to have all the bass equipment in somewhat small rooms, with sliding glass doors that I closed while fiddling. All the amps sounded boomy, especially the larger ones. Two other stores I go to have their bass equipment in the middle of very large spaces. Completely different, where the larger amps sound great and smaller amps don't, and the differences between Rumbles, Ampegs, and Markbass can be better heard.

It will be the same trying an amp at home, of course; highly dependent on the room it's sitting in.

Again, old news and obvious for anyone with experience but not for newer players.

Very good point, Never! And it's not always obvious to those that need to be aware of it. Thanks for the clarification.
.

 

[Jaya W]

Really? I didnt know that, 800 is a bit big for my use... but its better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it right? Y'all are a bad influence lol

Yes, my immediate thought was, “Skip the 100. Get the 800.” If money isn’t standing in the way, there’s no reason to mess with the in-between stages; if you truly want something bigger, go for the 800. It’s extremely versatile and powerful. I practice in the bedroom at night after the kids are in bed using the “low” 100W setting and minimal volume. I also used 100W for an indoor gig this past weekend just hours after playing a fairly large outdoor gig on “full” 400W mode. I had FOH support both times and was essentially using the amp as a behind-the-back monitor so I could hear myself while standing near the drummer, so I’m not going to claim the 800 could play an outdoor frat party by itself (you’d need an extension cab or FOH if relying solely on your own rig), but it’s plenty loud!
I played a 40 for maybe the first year and liked it a lot. Then, once I started gigging regularly, I ultimately decided to go ahead and jump straight up to the 800 rather than buying a 200 or 500 and then wanting yet another upgrade later on. Of course, some people on the forum prefer the sound of the 500 (or 200, I suppose) because they like a 15” speaker (or 12”, respectively); I like the 410s.

 

[JakobT]

Very good point, Never! And it's not always obvious to those that need to be aware of it. Thanks for the clarification.
.

Not to mention that it will sound different in every venue, and different at sound check and when the venue fills up.

This is why I consider tone chasing - for live playing at least - to be an exercise in futility. Live, «close enough» is usually close enough.
The studio is another matter.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Sock-re bleu! I guess the dress socks I've been using just don't cut it. They were even washed.

It totally depends on your taste and the effect you want the sock to give the amp.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

They must be versatile. They can accept both "tube" and "athletic" socks!

Really people, do you have to "put a sock in it" or "sock it to me"? I will let the experts decide...all I know is I do not have to do either...YMMV.

By definition, putting any sock in a Rumble port makes it a tube sock.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Thanks a lot for the tips. I'm trying to decide between several manufacturers' solid state head/cab combos right now. Certainly Fender's Rumble offering is attractively priced compared to some of the others that get rave reviews here. It's hard to know how to compare these things when there aren't many places to find or try them... the stores in this area generally have a few Rumble combos and a few Ampeg combos, maybe one Mark head or combo and nothing else.

That's a big hunk of the not so pricey market, right there.

 

[SteveAG]

By definition, putting any sock in a Rumble port makes it a tube sock.

A solid-state tube-sock, versus a tube tube-sock?