Fender Rumble Club

[Pelagic]

Glad you're still loving your Rumble! Exactly when does it rattle? When moving it? When playing it? Both? But, ... ...

A. I am not an amp tech myself, by any stretch of the imagination. And, ... ...​

2. I am not familiar with your technical background and expertise, at all (no offense intended). Further, ... ...​

π. "Adding things" to consumer electronics, even 'just' rubber washers, while seemingly harmless and logical, raises a red flag with me. Because it might, I dunno, insulate or compress 'something' not intended to be insulated or compressed and actually cause a worse problem (especially if I tried it)!

§. Since TalkBass has such a wide range of user resources, I would feel much better getting advice about your "rattling amp" in a combo from a very reliable technical source, such as @agedhorse.​

.

hi G-Dog! So I had the issue with a rattling horn a while back and Fender replaced my amp without issue, not just the horn. I’m super happy.

now it seems like there’s a resonance on any C starting at the 15th position and 17th position on the high G string. The vibration can be heard through the front BUT if I turn the amp around, the fan vent rattles a LOT. If I pluck the string and then press on the amp where the fan vents are it immediately stops.
I tightened all the screws and made sure nothing I could see, without disassembling the amp, was loose. I feel like if I could put something on the body of the amp, or between the amp and the cab mounts and I could isolate it from vibration (at least somewhat) it would go a long way toward correcting the issue.

it isn’t a dealbreaker at this point as it only happens in the upper register and I’m rarely there. However, there are a few choice tunes we cover (I.e. Pink Floyd “Pigs” that requires playing in EXACTLY that position and the vibration wrecks the otherwise clean tone.

 

[Pelagic]

Oh, side note… @agedhorse is a wealth of information and a wonderful TBer. I’ve hit him up for advice before. A blessing to us all!

 

[Averell]

Hello fellow rumblers!

I finally seek membership to the Fender Rumble Club.

I started bass 5 years ago. As a beginner I didn't know what to buy, there's so much bass and amps over there... I wanted a fine bass and amp, not very expensive, but fine enough to keep it along time. So I bought a "can't go wrong gears" : a Fender JB and a Fender Rumble 100. And they were so nice that I keep playing them 5 years later.

 

[G-Dog]

Hello fellow rumblers!

I finally seek membership to the Fender Rumble Club.

I started bass 5 years ago. As a beginner I didn't know what to buy, there's so much bass and amps over there... I wanted a fine bass and amp, not very expensive, but fine enough to keep it along time. So I bought a "can't go wrong gears" : a Fender JB and a Fender Rumble 100. And they were so nice that I keep playing them 5 years later.

Bon jour, Avvy! @Averell, you are now member #1755 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, it sounds like the last 5 years with the Jazz Bass and the Rumble 100 is your entire bass experience and Rumble journey all in one! But what kinds of music do you play? Who do you play with? Small group? Big band? Often? Occasional? You'll fit right in here since we have all kinds. But we all love to ... ... ...

Rumble On!
.​

 

[Averell]

Bass and the Rumble 100 is your entire bass experience and Rumble journey all in one! But what kinds of music do you play? Who do you play with? Small group? Big band? Often? Occasional? You'll fit right in here since we have all kinds. But we all love to ... ... ...

I now have a JB, a PB, and an Hofner Violin Bass Green Line. I use the Rumble 100 mainly for practicing at home, and I gig with an Eich T1000 with a 15” cab. And also a bunch of pedals.



I gig from time to time with two bands, pop/rock covers mainly.
Here’s the result, it was our first song in our first gig :

 

[G-Dog]

I now have a JB, a PB, and an Hofner Violin Bass Green Line. I use the Rumble 100 mainly for practicing at home, and I gig with an Eich T1000 with a 15” cab. And also a bunch of pedals.

View attachment 5430790

I gig from time to time with two bands, pop/rock covers mainly.
Here’s the result, it was our first song in our first gig :

Well, that's great, Avvy! Keep on Rumblin' on!
.

 

[bassvi]

I recently got this Rumble 100 and liked the power but found it to be rather boomy and inarticulate. I read up on the easy mods you can do for the amp so I replaced the Chinese speaker with a Markbass 12 I had and put some insulation in the cabinet... The whole process took me about 20 minutes. The improvement in tone really blew me away. It's loud, lightweight and clear now, and I am more than a little pleased with the tone! Best thing is the mods didn't cost me a penny since I had everything on hand
I'm now trying to find a replacement grill for it as I would like to use some different grill cloth to hopefully cover up the yellow speaker, but I cannot find a used or new replacement grill for this amp anywhere I've looked online so far. Any ideas? I want to keep the original grill like it is if I can so I don't mess it up trying to take off the original grill cloth. Grill cloth is easy to find, but the replacement frame is the problem so I'd settle to just buy another grill cover if I could find one for it.

 

[SoulReflection]

I recently got a new Rumble 100 combo to use for a lightweight grab and go rehearsal amp. It had a lot of power but the tone was too boomy and inarticulate.... I did some searching and read about some easy mods for the amp, so I replaced the stock Chinese speaker with a Markbass 12" I had laying around and added some insulation in the cabinet. Everything lined up nicely and the difference in tone is pretty remarkable. I really love this amp a lot now, wow. Lots of tone and power for a lightweight 100W amp.
I would like to get a replacement grill and use some different grill cloth to cover the yellow speaker, but for the life of me I can't find anywhere online to order a replacement grill or grill frame for this amp.. There are plenty of places to buy grill cloth, I just want to keep the original grill cover too. Any ideas? I also want to change the control knobs to the black classic style, which are easy to find.

Oh, my...if you love the sound of that yellow driver, just spray paint it black and be happy! Heck, you could also spray the grille cloth black at the same time. It is your "creation".

 

[G-Dog]

I recently got this Rumble 100 and liked the power but found it to be rather boomy and inarticulate. I read up on the easy mods you can do for the amp so I replaced the Chinese speaker with a Markbass 12 I had and put some insulation in the cabinet... The whole process took me about 20 minutes. The improvement in tone really blew me away. It's loud, lightweight and clear now, and I am more than a little pleased with the tone! Best thing is the mods didn't cost me a penny since I had everything on hand
I'm now trying to find a replacement grill for it as I would like to use some different grill cloth to hopefully cover up the yellow speaker, but I cannot find a used or new replacement grill for this amp anywhere I've looked online so far. Any ideas? I want to keep the original grill like it is if I can so I don't mess it up trying to take off the original grill cloth. Grill cloth is easy to find, but the replacement frame is the problem so I'd settle to just buy another grill cover if I could find one for it.

Hi, Rumbler #451. Do you still have the Rumble 112 cab you had 9 years ago, too?

Yes, finding a good source for extra grill frames has been a challenge here. Your friendly neighborhood woodworker may be the place to check.
.

 

[RL5]

Had a gig at a great place last night. Just a short set, as we were one of 5 bands playing at a benefit for a student that was killed at University of Colorado - Colorado Springs (UCCS). Love being able to set up my full rig.

 

[G-Dog]

Had a gig at a great place last night. Just a short set, as we were one of 5 bands playing at a benefit for a student that was killed at University of Colorado - Colorado Springs (UCCS). Love being able to set up my full rig.

View attachment 5431214

So, RL, did adding acoustic fill to your Rumbles help the stage sound of your Stage amp? (See what I did there?)
.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

He goes by Sweet Limb. We’re lo-fi, sorta political, hiphop/r&b thing.

Ever find a keys player? Looks from IG like so!

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Hello all, I was ordered, er invited ;D to explain that I bought a Rumble 800 and used it for the first time live last night. So far, I'm digging the warmth and what seems like a bit of tuby compression going on there. My BTB sustained forever last night, which was dominated by lagato notes. But, when a bit of punch was in order, I had plenty. I think it's a keeper.
View attachment 5422791

I hear bassists say, "Who cares about sustain?" Some of us need it!

 

[Miles_ONeal]

So just to follow up on the whole discussion about lining the cab and blocking the ports on my Rumble 100.

Wednesday night I found a large piece of a memory foam mattress topper. It had been moved from a queen bed to a double and cut down. I lined the bottom of the cabinet and blocked the ports with this foam, it has sort of a friction fit quality on it's own.

I definitely noticed that the tone tightened up. Sort of like going from reverb to dry signal for lack of a better term. I think I'll leave it this way for awhile.

And now that I know how it sounds on it's own I'm curious to hear how it sounds at a gig. I have no expectations that the audience will know the difference but it's a personal quest I guess. Gig this Sunday, looking forward to that as always. The foam is a bright color and can be seen but not too bad for this experiment.

Thanks again gentlemen!

View attachment 5423879

If I hear/feel a difference, or anyone else in the band does, or the sound person does, it matters. It has to be a pretty big difference to matter to the audience, as a rule. But if it makes us happy, we tend to play better, which the audience usually hears/feels. But even if they don't, it's a win.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Yes, there's a tweeter. If the control for it is like my old 200, there's no OFF, but you can choose between ON and -6 dB. For me, I used ON for when I plugged by phone into the AUX input for backing tracks and streaming Amazon Music, and -6 dB (or whatever it's called on the amp) for regular bass playing use.

The Rumble extension cabs have OFF, -6 dB and ON.

On my Rumble Studio 40, which has a tweeter (the regular 40 doesn't), the switch (labeled HORN) has OFF and ON positions, with no middle position for -6 dB.

There are also 3 small tone voicing buttons by the OD controls on top: BRIGHT, CONTOUR and VINTAGE. You need to make sure that the BRIGHT button isn't depressed (selected).

One final thing I should point out that the standard factory-designed voicing of the Rumbles with all four EQ controls set to 12 o'clock is a bit of a mid-range scoop. "Flat" is closer to 10-2-2-10 o'clock for low, low-mid, high-mid and treble. If you had the treble EQ set to 12 o'clock, that could also contribute to the brightness you heard.

I'm sure the Grand Poobah of the Rumble Club with be by with a links to the Rumble Wiki and the EQ section in it.

Buy a Rumble. Post a picture of it. Become a member of this prestigious TB club. Get a member number.

And join the Combo Club for good measure and bonus cool points.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

I have the R40 and have tried the Bright switch several times bit cannot hear any sound change. I can definitely hear when the Contour and Vintage switched are engaged/disengaged, just not the Bright switch. I currently have the following settings B8, LM1, HM4, T12. Is my Bright switch broken?

Try turning Bright on and off with different tone/volume settings on the bas. If it's always the same, either the circuitry/switch is broken or you need hearing aids! 8^P At least, that would be the case with an R100.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Thought I'd post a last follow up on the topic of lining the cab and blocking the ports on my Rumble 100v3 amp.

We had a gig yesterday afternoon at a bar that we've played many times. And in the past I've struggled some to get a good-not muddy bass tone for whatever reasons.

This was a first time out with the ports blocked with memory foam mattress liner and a piece friction fit in the bottom. I discovered a couple things.

1-it was very easy to dial in a nice tone out of our FOH with the tighter sound out of the amp
2-the "tighter" sound out of the combo translated nicely to FOH
3-I put this foam in with no adhesives or other means of "holding" it in place. I cut big enough pieces for the ports to wedge them in, and piece on the bottom is wedged under the ports. The "rough" interior of the cab and the character of the foam hold it all in place with no issues. Checked it all when I got home after carrying it around and placing it on it's side in my car as usual, nothing moved.

I love to play my parts-basses that were painted by my kids. But both of them were prone to lower overtones that usually forced me to struggle with FOH and in many venues to enable the low cut 100Hz switch. Didn't have to do that yesterday for the first time. I'm no expert at sound, just speaking from my experience.

Total cost of this reversible mod, nothing, had the foam on hand.

Great info learned by accident here. That's a win!
View attachment 5426076

That's a win! Thanks for sharing.

Any chance of bigger pics of the kid-painted bassses?

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Thanks, the other has the same knobs in blue. I like colors.
View attachment 5426114

I love these basses. Great work!

 

[Pelagic]

I recently got this Rumble 100 and liked the power but found it to be rather boomy and inarticulate. I read up on the easy mods you can do for the amp so I replaced the Chinese speaker with a Markbass 12 I had and put some insulation in the cabinet... The whole process took me about 20 minutes. The improvement in tone really blew me away. It's loud, lightweight and clear now, and I am more than a little pleased with the tone! Best thing is the mods didn't cost me a penny since I had everything on hand
I'm now trying to find a replacement grill for it as I would like to use some different grill cloth to hopefully cover up the yellow speaker, but I cannot find a used or new replacement grill for this amp anywhere I've looked online so far. Any ideas? I want to keep the original grill like it is if I can so I don't mess it up trying to take off the original grill cloth. Grill cloth is easy to find, but the replacement frame is the problem so I'd settle to just buy another grill cover if I could find one for it.

ehat did you use to buffer the cab? I’m looking at doing what I can to cut down vibrations.

 

[RL5]

So, RL, did adding acoustic fill to your Rumbles help the stage sound of your Stage amp? (See what I did there?)
.

Absolutely did. Sound was much better this time.