Fender Rumble Club

[trseal]

I ask because the 500 doesn't have the low end control I want. I am mostly happy with everything else about the sound. I figured adding a cab will get me to the same volume with the drivers doing less work so the bottom end will stay under Control better.

Does the 210 sounds like the the 210s in the 500?

Same drivers. Essentially same cabinet. They sound the same.

On the other note, could you elaborate on what exactly you mean by bottom end control and what you find lacking in that control. Seems like with the low end capability the R500 has, just some experimenting with EQ should correct whatever inadequacies there seem to be. But I may not fully understand what you're looking for.

Tim

 

[Drop1]

Same drivers. Essentially same cabinet. They sound the same.

On the other note, could you elaborate on what exactly you mean by bottom end control and what you find lacking in that control. Seems like with the low end capability the R500 has, just some experimenting with EQ should correct whatever inadequacies there seem to be. But I may not fully understand what you're looking for.

Tim

Eq isn't going to do it unless it reducing bass, which is not what i want.

I'll try plugging the ports and I'll likely try extending the ports as well, creating a lower tuning.

I've noticed when I push on the volume a bit, the bass starts to lose articulation. There is plenty of bass, it just becomes less clear. If I can fix that, I will definitely just keep this unit.
Can't really fault the unit. It's darn good for the $$. I just wish it were slightly better.

 

[G-Dog]

Almost 3000 pages about fender rumbles. That's kind of impressive. I don't have time to read that much unfortunately.

I grabbed a rumble 500 last night cause it was easily the best sounding combo in the store to my ears. Well the , rumble 25w with the 8" drivers was the actual king (that little thing sounds awesome) , but it didn't have enough output. It does sound a little scooped though.

Have you guys figured out what eq settings are approximately "flat" on these amps?

Thanks for 'Dropping' in! @Drop1, you are now member #1767 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. You will find most, if not all, answers there easier than searching the nearly 3,000 pages here. Use the top "Contents" links or your browser's "Find on page" search feature to find particular words or phrases. And, of course, you're already getting lots of members' answers directly, or via the Wiki, too.

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!
.​

 

[Drop1]

I dont know if anyone has ever done this, and I was curious, so I did it.

I fed pink noise through the cab and tested the cabs response in the electrical domain.
I checked
flat,
treble fully boosted
Treble fully cut
Hi mid boosted
Hi mid cut
Low mid boosted
Low mid cut
Low boosted
Low cut

And I also tested buttons
Bright
Contour
Vintage

The pics will be in that order.

Flat appears , at least electrically to be, well, pretty darn flat. All knobs center is pretty darn close to flat.

Bright is a gradual boost to the mids and highs.
Contour is a nice mid dip and Vintage is a boosted Low end with a gradual fall off towards the highs.

Unfortunately I don't have my audio analysis hardware right now. When I get it back I will be seeing how well the acoustical signal tracks with the electrical signal.

To get electrically flat, you'd cut a few db of bass and upper mids. Acoustically flat may be quite different.

 

[trseal]

Thanks.


To everyone in the club.

I picked up a rumble 500 yesterday. My plan was to just use it for a while while I figure out what cab/amp combo I want.

Well it sounds quite nice fir what it is. All I have to do is cut a little low mids due to the room and turn the horn on. Everything else is flat or off.

I'm actually starting to consider keeping the 500.
If i do, I need to address a few things.

I dont like the knobs. Have any of you guys found better liking knobs that work well?

I dont like the silver grilled cloth. I'm thinking back or red, but semi transparent or mesh so I can see the drivers. Any ideas.

The noise. It's a noisy little unit when you start applying volume.
Have any of you "de rattled" a rumble ? Any key places to start to hunt rattles/buzzes?
Rattles are a pet peeve of mine. I want the box making music only. No extra noise.

So here's my 2 cents on a couple of your questions.

I use or have used the ivory-colored "chicken head" knobs (available from Fender.com and a several after-market outlets--if you go after-market, get the smaller ones and pass on the bushings. They are not needed and don't fit) and the black "witch hat" knobs, both of which I like much better than the stock Rumble knobs. The chicken heads have a retro look and have the added benefit of at-a-glance visual of the settings. The one downside is any 2 adjacent knobs can conflict with one another's beak/tail. The black witch hats have a different retro vibe and look good but are not particularly user-friendly for identifying setting readily due to the location of the knobs on the Rumbles.

The noise you speak of-- If you're referring a hi-ish freq buzzing seemingly emanating from the speaker face, that has been a subject of much discussion in the past and has led to many warranty replacements. I believe I have discovered the source of said "buzzing" and have satisfactorily remedied the problem on one of my own Rumbles.

On the horn where the wires are connected, the little "manifold" (?) (I don't know what you call it...) the wires connect to is attached by a stamped rivet. If that isn't stamped tight enough, that piece can vibrate on the rivet and create that annoying buzz. I used a silicone goop from a tube and sparingly packed it around that rivet so that the wire harness/manifold, whatever, is now insulated and sort of rubber-mounted, if you will, and no longer vibrates. My experience was solved.

That, of course, was AFTER making sure all screws around the drivers and on the cabinet were tight.

Tim

 

[MadJack]

I dont know if anyone has ever done this, and I was curious, so I did it.

I fed pink noise through the cab and tested the cabs response in the electrical domain.
I checked
flat,
treble fully boosted
Treble fully cut
Hi mid boosted
Hi mid cut
Low mid boosted
Low mid cut
Low boosted
Low cut

And I also tested buttons
Bright
Contour
Vintage

The pics will be in that order.

Flat appears , at least electrically to be, well, pretty darn flat. All knobs center is pretty darn close to flat.

Bright is a gradual boost to the mids and highs.
Contour is a nice mid dip and Vintage is a boosted Low end with a gradual fall off towards the highs.

Unfortunately I don't have my audio analysis hardware right now. When I get it back I will be seeing how well the acoustical signal tracks with the electrical signal.

To get electrically flat, you'd cut a few db of bass and upper mids. Acoustically flat may be quite different.
View attachment 5478960
View attachment 5478961 View attachment 5478963 View attachment 5478964 View attachment 5478965 View attachment 5478966 View attachment 5478968 View attachment 5478969 View attachment 5478970 View attachment 5478971 View attachment 5478972 View attachment 5478975

I'm not sure if you've seen these yet, but the audio testing has been done and graphed. see the Fender Rumble 500 Frequencies Wiki Page. This is where the 10/2/2/10 actual flat settings come from. All testing (except as noted) were done through the effects send, which is after all EQ stages, but before the power stage, cab sim, DI output or headphone out.

 

[GonePlaid]

Yikes! Sounds horrible. They do sound like rotten SOBs.

Yep. My neighbor saw him back into my driveway, but his house is 100' away so he didn't hear it hit.

 

[LennyJ]

Cool gig waterside! Got the Kramer DMZ 6000B and my Fender Rumble 800 stack.

View attachment 5474228 View attachment 5474229

Missed it by one day it seems - I just left Delay Saturday morning

Hope it was a good gig.

Lenny

 

[Drop1]

I'm not sure if you've seen these yet, but the audio testing has been done and graphed. see the Fender Rumble 500 Frequencies Wiki Page. This is where the 10/2/2/10 actual flat settings come from. All testing (except as noted) were done through the effects send, which is after all EQ stages, but before the power stage, cab sim, DI output or headphone out.

Those don't look like they match my readings. It could just be a scaling issue though. I'll hook back up and scale it up (exaggerate the curve.) I did take the measurements through the same output though.

 

[GonePlaid]

Those don't look like they match my readings. It could just be a scaling issue though. I'll hook back up and scale it up (exaggerate the curve.) I did take the measurements through the same output though.

The approximate 10/2/2/10 gives me a default setting that I know approximates the tone I seek(here's that '63 Bassman reference-again). Then a little tweaking per room where we play. Tomorrow(Sat.)night's room requires adding BRIGHT for 'presence'. I usually use VINTAGE, but I experimented with it off here at home. Of course, the gig room may require adding it too.

 

[GonePlaid]

Well, we're at the PSL American Legion Saturday night. It's one of 2 rooms we play that justifies schlepping the 200c. So I will. Gonna try not using the VINTAGE for once. Hafta turn up the GAIN and MASTER a bit, but I'll get over it. Besides: it's one little button to push if I'm not satisfied-with the sound, that is.
1967 Gibson NR TBird>2015 Rumble 200c=sa-weet. Wheeeee!

EDIT/ADDENDUM: tweeter OFF! I don't run the cd player through the amp anymore

 

[Drop1]

What are you guys doing to stop the 500 from scooting itself across the floor?

Cetian notes make it start walking on its own cause it's so light. Last night 1 note made ir move almost 6 inches lol

 

[GonePlaid]

What are you guys doing to stop the 500 from scooting itself across the floor?

Cetian notes make it start walking on its own cause it's so light. Last night 1 note made ir move almost 6 inches lol

Seriously, it's never happened. How LOUD are you playing? Face the amp toward South Florida-maybe I'll hear it.

 

[Drop1]

View attachment 5479429
Seriously, it's never happened. How LOUD are you playing? Face the amp toward South Florida-maybe I'll hear it.

I didn't think it was very loud at all. Gain at about 10 o'clock, volume at noon, everything else flat. No buttons pushed in. Basic practice levels to me.

 

[Deleted member 268085]

What are you guys doing to stop the 500 from scooting itself across the floor?

Cetian notes make it start walking on its own cause it's so light. Last night 1 note made ir move almost 6 inches lol

Your 500 just be boot scootin'.

 

[Drop1]

Your 500 just be boot scootin'.

It was scootin, thats for sure . Maybe it's just my tile flooring. I'll throw a rubber mat under it or something.

 

[Deleted member 268085]

It was scootin, thats for sure . Maybe it's just my tile flooring. I'll throw a rubber mat under it or something.

I use an Auralex GRAMMA v2 with my GR Bass 500.

 

[GonePlaid]

It was scootin, thats for sure . Maybe it's just my tile flooring. I'll throw a rubber mat under it or something.

Yeah, that makes sense. I've never had one of mine move, but they're usually on tilt back stands:
or or (I have a bunch-obviously)

 

[GonePlaid]

I use an Auralex GRAMMA v2 with my GR Bass 500.

Those are great, but I use a Snap-On mechanic's kneeling pad. Cost ~$7.

 

[trseal]

I use an Auralex GRAMMA v2 with my GR Bass 500.

I use one of those religiously. Even where it's not necessary. It's a great platform even if you don't need it for acoustic isolation.

Tim