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Fender Rumble Club

Thank you! This thing sounds amazing, and I haven't even turned it up past 2 :p
Yes, they sound great and the V2 Rumble 150 Combo is the one that really changed a lot of minds about the capability and sound quality of Fender's Rumble line. Launched in the middle of 'The Great Recession' they took off like a rocket. The Rumble 150 Combo would soon become the best selling bass combo on the planet, and by some accounts of all time. The 350 combo was right behind it, and the 350 head on top of the 4 ohm V2 Rumble 410 cabinet were being snatched up by semi-professionals because they sounded so good and were utterly reliable. The Rumble 150 combos were especially lauded as the most teenager proof devices ever invented by mankind. The only things tougher are actual rocks, but they were created by God so..... ;)

Fender Rumble History
 
Gig report. Borrowed Rumble V3 200 combo.

I have been subbing for a friends party band, and we did a short gig (intended 4 @ 30 minute sets, only managed 2 before LEO shut us down) for a graduation party on Saturday. The BL held the gig at his place and had pretty much everything set up so I didn't need to bring my 500.

The bass rig was a Rumble V3 200 combo with no extension cab, no out to PA, PA was for vocals only. (Cheap I think Musicians Friend house brand powered speakers blah blah...).

The 200 was shockingly similar to the 500, although yes I had to push it harder to get similar results to the 500, no shock there. Drummer was being obnoxiously loud, so I turned up, guitarist turned up to keep up, and it got stinking loud.

We were doing a lot of roadhouse blues, country, what some guys refer to as "bro country". including some Toby Keith covers. I managed to play, AND sing Red Solo Cup without too much trouble.

Tone out of the 200 was exactly what I expected. Everything was set flat as a board, none of the voicing pallet was engaged, just straight up clean through the amp, and wiggle room was done with the B3. I added a touch of chorus, and I mean just a teeny tiny touch that helped the Jazz really cut through.

It would seem that even on a 10 acre property, that LEOs can get called out for noise complaints. And apparently we were irritating the neighbors, so we only managed 2 of our 4 scheduled sets. A bit bummed on that, but hey...

I must admit, I know my 500 is overkill, but going through the 200 and the way the drummer was beating those things, I am more and more convinced the 200 is a great, perfectly giggable combo amp even without any extension cab. Toss the 115 extension cab and I bet this thing would be amazing.

So long story short. Outdoor, under an EZ Up gig, no PA support to speak of, and loud drummer, audience reports my bass was coming through no problem, and the closest neighbors being 10 acres away, we were loud enough to get a visit from law enforcement. I guess that means it must have been a real party right? (Isn't the rule it's not really a party until the cops show up?)

If you are sitting on the fence about the 200 being loud enough, don't. It is.
 
Gig report. Borrowed Rumble V3 200 combo.

I have been subbing for a friends party band, and we did a short gig (intended 4 @ 30 minute sets, only managed 2 before LEO shut us down) for a graduation party on Saturday. The BL held the gig at his place and had pretty much everything set up so I didn't need to bring my 500.

The bass rig was a Rumble V3 200 combo with no extension cab, no out to PA, PA was for vocals only. (Cheap I think Musicians Friend house brand powered speakers blah blah...).

The 200 was shockingly similar to the 500, although yes I had to push it harder to get similar results to the 500, no shock there. Drummer was being obnoxiously loud, so I turned up, guitarist turned up to keep up, and it got stinking loud.

We were doing a lot of roadhouse blues, country, what some guys refer to as "bro country". including some Toby Keith covers. I managed to play, AND sing Red Solo Cup without too much trouble.

Tone out of the 200 was exactly what I expected. Everything was set flat as a board, none of the voicing pallet was engaged, just straight up clean through the amp, and wiggle room was done with the B3. I added a touch of chorus, and I mean just a teeny tiny touch that helped the Jazz really cut through.

It would seem that even on a 10 acre property, that LEOs can get called out for noise complaints. And apparently we were irritating the neighbors, so we only managed 2 of our 4 scheduled sets. A bit bummed on that, but hey...

I must admit, I know my 500 is overkill, but going through the 200 and the way the drummer was beating those things, I am more and more convinced the 200 is a great, perfectly giggable combo amp even without any extension cab. Toss the 115 extension cab and I bet this thing would be amazing.

So long story short. Outdoor, under an EZ Up gig, no PA support to speak of, and loud drummer, audience reports my bass was coming through no problem, and the closest neighbors being 10 acres away, we were loud enough to get a visit from law enforcement. I guess that means it must have been a real party right? (Isn't the rule it's not really a party until the cops show up?)

If you are sitting on the fence about the 200 being loud enough, don't. It is.
nice to hear a fresh report on the 200
 
And that's where the Rumble 200 is pretty enticing.
all the V3 Rumbles are like:

odysseus-4.jpg
 
I'm not going to say I regret going the extra distance to get the 500 and cab, but I wouldn't have regretted the 200 either... I knew the 500 was going to be overkill, but I WANTED the extra headroom. Sort of a "it goes to 11" thing...
I was about to pull the trigger on a 200 when I found an open box 500 for the same price. It's good to know that I would have been happy either way, but I really hope there comes a day when I can get this thing past 9 o'clock.
 
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I was about to pull the trigger on a 200 when I found an open box 500 for the same price. It's good to know that I would have been happy either way, but I really hope there comes a day when I can get this thing past 9 o'clock.

I did it once, let's just say I bet at those volume levels, it would have been easy to find the "brown note"...
 
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Are you saying it's overkill to buy the 500 combo, that the 200 is enough????


Gig report. Borrowed Rumble V3 200 combo.

I have been subbing for a friends party band, and we did a short gig (intended 4 @ 30 minute sets, only managed 2 before LEO shut us down) for a graduation party on Saturday. The BL held the gig at his place and had pretty much everything set up so I didn't need to bring my 500.

The bass rig was a Rumble V3 200 combo with no extension cab, no out to PA, PA was for vocals only. (Cheap I think Musicians Friend house brand powered speakers blah blah...).

The 200 was shockingly similar to the 500, although yes I had to push it harder to get similar results to the 500, no shock there. Drummer was being obnoxiously loud, so I turned up, guitarist turned up to keep up, and it got stinking loud.

We were doing a lot of roadhouse blues, country, what some guys refer to as "bro country". including some Toby Keith covers. I managed to play, AND sing Red Solo Cup without too much trouble.

Tone out of the 200 was exactly what I expected. Everything was set flat as a board, none of the voicing pallet was engaged, just straight up clean through the amp, and wiggle room was done with the B3. I added a touch of chorus, and I mean just a teeny tiny touch that helped the Jazz really cut through.

It would seem that even on a 10 acre property, that LEOs can get called out for noise complaints. And apparently we were irritating the neighbors, so we only managed 2 of our 4 scheduled sets. A bit bummed on that, but hey...

I must admit, I know my 500 is overkill, but going through the 200 and the way the drummer was beating those things, I am more and more convinced the 200 is a great, perfectly giggable combo amp even without any extension cab. Toss the 115 extension cab and I bet this thing would be amazing.

So long story short. Outdoor, under an EZ Up gig, no PA support to speak of, and loud drummer, audience reports my bass was coming through no problem, and the closest neighbors being 10 acres away, we were loud enough to get a visit from law enforcement. I guess that means it must have been a real party right? (Isn't the rule it's not really a party until the cops show up?)

If you are sitting on the fence about the 200 being loud enough, don't. It is.
 
Are you saying it's overkill to buy the 500 combo, that the 200 is enough????

In my context, yes, but then again, I don't do Metal, and I am not trying to loosen everyone's bowels with volume. I have yet to really push, or heck, even get past about the 50% point on the volume knob of my 500, far less now with the extension cab to get the job done...

In larger venues maybe, but for larger venues, I would hope like crazy we'd have PA support beyond a pair of Kustom powered speakers and a Mackie 12 input mixer... That is another story all together...
 
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Hi everyone ... I own a 50's classic vibe P bass, and I have my eye on my first Rumble amp ... a 200W V3 combo. I am really really really into the vintage / old-school P bass "thump-thump" sound ... as in the bass sound I grew up on in the 60's & 70's. I'm going to put a set of TI "flats" on my P bass ... and I figure that the 200W V3 will be all the amp I'll ever need, and more, and I'm looking forward to hearing lots of "thump-thumps" coming out of that 15" eminence speaker.

All that preamble ... to ask this question: I figure I'll play this bass combo amp in "vintage" mode all the time, that's likely a given. Will I have any need for the "overdrive" button ? What does the overdrive mode do to the sound ? ... followup question ... best settings to get lots of "thump-thump" out of the 200W V3 ??

Thanks everyone
 
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Hi everyone ... I own a 50's classic vibe P bass, and I have my eye on my first Rumble amp ... a 200W V3 combo. I am really really really into the vintage / old-school P bass "thump-thump" sound ... as in the bass sound I grew up on in the 60's & 70's. I'm going to put a set of TI "flats" on my P bass ... and I figure that the 200W V3 will be all the amp I'll ever need, and more, and I'm looking forward to hearing lots of "thump-thumps" coming out of that 15" eminence speaker.

All that preamble ... to ask this question: I figure I'll play this bass combo amp in "vintage" mode all the time, that's likely a given. Will I have any need for the "overdrive" button ? What does the overdrive mode do to the sound ? ... followup question ... best settings to get lots of "thump-thump" out of the 200W V3 ??

Thanks everyone
I run the 500 combo and the 500 head with a flat EQ. I get plenty of thump if using finger style. You're not gonna have any problems with the thump-thump.
 
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