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Fender Rumble Club

What cabinet pairs good with the Rumble 500? Would the Fender Rumble 210 cabinet be the right fit? I don’t necessarily need it at the moment but I suspect some outdoor gigs playing classic/southern rock might could use it. For the jazz thing I want to do I know the 500 is more than what I need but I like amps.
I love my 500 with 2x10 extension. The tiny footprint makes it a great fit for cramped gigs, and the top cabinet being so close to ear level makes hearing yourself easy peaky.
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Pic of my current Rumble family. Of these latest 3, the R60 (v1) was my first. Then the R500. Most recently I added the R40.

I thought the R40 might replace the R60 (mostly because of its lighter weight and super easy portability), but I've found that I really, really like the tone of the R60 at practice volumes in my music room with all of the basses I play. So the R40 has become a travel-only amp, for jamming with friends away from home.

The R500 is a beast; way overkill for my current needs. But whenever I do back-to-back comparisons of new amps in a store, the R500 has always been my favorite when paired with the basses I own and play. As has been stated many times by @G-Dog and others, turn those dials to find "the" tone (and maybe get the amp off of the floor with a stand). Definitely nice to practice with.

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Hi all. Just wondering is it possible to buy a replacement front grill for Fender Rumbles? I just bought a second hand 800 but when it arrived it had no front grill. The seller had it serviced but they never replaced it and he hadn't even opened the box when it was sent back to him. I cant find anything so far online.

Sorry Barr! @Barry O Connor, you are now member #1883 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.

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!
 
Pic of my current Rumble family. Of these latest 3, the R60 (v1) was my first. Then the R500. Most recently I added the R40.

I thought the R40 might replace the R60 (mostly because of its lighter weight and super easy portability), but I've found that I really, really like the tone of the R60 at practice volumes in my music room with all of the basses I play. So the R40 has become a travel-only amp, for jamming with friends away from home.

The R500 is a beast; way overkill for my current needs. But whenever I do back-to-back comparisons of new amps in a store, the R500 has always been my favorite when paired with the basses I own and play. As has been stated many times by @G-Dog and others, turn those dials to find "the" tone (and maybe get the amp off of the floor with a stand). Definitely nice to practice with.

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Qwexxion #1: Do the red pulsing lights in the port of the V1 60 still work? That's one of my favorite parts! SO cool!!

Qwexxion #2: What settings do you use on the R60 that the R40 can't match? Sure, the 12" w/60 watts is beefier than the the 10" w/40 watts, and 2½ times heavier, but they are also different EQ circuits! Fender Rumble 60 manual.
 
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Hi all. Just wondering is it possible to buy a replacement front grill for Fender Rumbles? I just bought a second hand 800 but when it arrived it had no front grill. The seller had it serviced but they never replaced it and he hadn't even opened the box when it was sent back to him. I cant find anything so far online.
Your seller should follow up with whoever serviced it! Otherwise, you could be in for a bit of a puzzle adventure.

I've not heard of any reliably accessible source for Rumble grille assemblies. Maybe check with a local woodworker or possibly an upholstery shop to build a new one. They're not complicated for someone with the right skills. If you don't have any trace of the original, you may need to check them out at a local music store selling Rumbles. Take pictures for the prospective maker. They come off with direct prying from the velcro pads, starting with the black tab at the bottom right. You might ask if they also sell the clothe and/or Fender logo, or you may have to order those from an amp parts online vendor. Good luck!


I happened to find myself in Guitar Center today, so I took some pix of a Rumble Grille for you Barry. Zoom in for details. You probably won't be able to find a 2-screw logo, but fender sells a 4-screw version that's close. Or you can use the metal one. The grille is just a thin plywood frame "upholstered" (stapled) with the gray/silver clothe and a 7ender logo near one corner.

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UPS delivered my Rumble 500 today! I was a little worried about it as the UPS driver brought me to the truck to show me a badly damaged box before he unloaded it but the amp was fine. Not a scratch on it. I played through it a little bit today at low volume and haven’t really cranked it yet to see how it sounds turned up. It sounded great a low volume. I will turn it up later to see how it sounds. Here is a photo of it with my Hialeah Yellow Jazz Bass.

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I noticed one thing about my Rumble cab. The placement of the Speakon socket in the cup makes it difficult to release the Speakon plug, there's not enough room for a finger to get a good gain on the tab. Maybe as the spring gets worn with use, it will get easier, but it would have been much better if the sockets were reversed (Speakon on the bottom, jack on top) or rotated.

I bought a (used) tc electronic 550 W amp head (I know, I know, heresy!), and I'm currently in the honeymoon phase, but I like it a lot. Which only further underscores the point that if Fender had a modeling head in the Rumble lineup, I'd be all over it.

Played through the Rumble 115 V3? Pure bliss. Can't even push volume past 50% without it becoming deafeningly loud in a room.

I have a small Joyo B110 cab that is light and compact and great at low volumes, but it exhibits really bad power compression, going thin and very artificial sounding within 15 minutes.

And this brings me to the point: I'm looking for a compact cab that can handle 100 watt continuous power. Impedance doesn't matter, 4 or 8 Ω is fine, I'm not going to pair it with another cab. It needs to be no taller than 40 cm. Fender used to make a Rumble 100 V1 and 250 V2, which has horizontally arranged 2x10 speakers. They didn't make a cab like that, did they?

Another option would be the old 112 cab (I'm not sure if V1 or V2), which was more compact than the 112 V3 was.

But the problem is, 112 cabs are rarer than hen's teeth. I haven't seen any for sale (recently or otherwise) in Poland, and I don't know whether to wait or if you would recommend anything else.
 
... ... Fender used to make a Rumble 100 V1 and 250 V2, which has horizontally arranged 2x10 speakers. They didn't make a cab like that, did they? ... ...

Yes, tl,, Fender made a horizontal 2x10" 8 ohm Bassman 210 Pro cab for a few years in the early 2000s. But they may be even more rare than 1x12" cabs!​
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... ... Another option would be the old 112 cab (I'm not sure if V1 or V2), which was more compact than the 112 V3 was. ... ...

Yes, tl, the Rumble V2 112 cab was a bit more compact than the V3 112.​
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Frustrations on Rumble 100. Hiss out of the board to my PA. All of my basses, all of my cables, furman power conditioner, grnd lift applied or not. I suppose someone will say my PA gear is the issue but it's all Mackie. 12" Thump tops, 15" powered sub and Mackie ProFx16 v3 board.

Took the amp back to the store and tried another, same thing.

If I keep the bass/pedalboard connection the same and run through a DI box to board, hiss gone. Use the DI out on the amp with all the same cables/bass it's back. I like the tone better out of the cab and would like to send that to the board but not when I'm introducing a hiss. And I'm not a pedal guy in terms of multiple effects. The board I have is my wireless/tuner/EQ/TC electronic Sub N up. It sounds pretty dry that way. I run sound/lights while singing and playing so don't really want to complicate my set up much more.

Anyone else run into this?
 
Frustrations on Rumble 100. Hiss out of the board to my PA. All of my basses, all of my cables, furman power conditioner, grnd lift applied or not. I suppose someone will say my PA gear is the issue but it's all Mackie. 12" Thump tops, 15" powered sub and Mackie ProFx16 v3 board.

Took the amp back to the store and tried another, same thing.

If I keep the bass/pedalboard connection the same and run through a DI box to board, hiss gone. Use the DI out on the amp with all the same cables/bass it's back. I like the tone better out of the cab and would like to send that to the board but not when I'm introducing a hiss. And I'm not a pedal guy in terms of multiple effects. The board I have is my wireless/tuner/EQ/TC electronic Sub N up. It sounds pretty dry that way. I run sound/lights while singing and playing so don't really want to complicate my set up much more.

Anyone else run into this?
If it's hissing even through a different Rumble 100 it must not be the combo. There has to be something in your wiring along the signal chain that's causing it. Do you boost the highs a lot?
 
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If it's hissing even through a different Rumble 100 it must not be the combo. There has to be something in your wiring along the signal chain that's causing it. Do you boost the highs a lot?
No, based on info I got here the "flat" setting is around 1 oclock for hi mid and treble. The treble is around 1 and the hi mid is maybe 11 oclock.

I thought of the wiring too, seemed obvious. But like I said, all things being equal, taking the DI out from the amp and moving it to DI box, and the amp input to the DI box clears it up. Been playing it that way for a long time. And since I use that amp at home I don't hear any hiss out of it at home on it's own.

It's a mysterious gremlin. I can get rid of it by turning the board EQ down to almost zero on the channel, but that affects the sound greatly.

I wouldn't mind the DI box but it's a little "sterile" for my taste in the mains. I know I could mic it but prefer not to do that.
 
No, based on info I got here the "flat" setting is around 1 oclock for hi mid and treble. The treble is around 1 and the hi mid is maybe 11 oclock.

I thought of the wiring too, seemed obvious. But like I said, all things being equal, taking the DI out from the amp and moving it to DI box, and the amp input to the DI box clears it up. Been playing it that way for a long time. And since I use that amp at home I don't hear any hiss out of it at home on it's own.

It's a mysterious gremlin. I can get rid of it by turning the board EQ down to almost zero on the channel, but that affects the sound greatly.

I wouldn't mind the DI box but it's a little "sterile" for my taste in the mains. I know I could mic it but prefer not to do that.
Perhaps try a different DI that is more tonally adjustable? There are a lot of different ones out there, but I know you already know that.
 
Thanks, @G-Dog.

Do you know anything about their voicing/sound signature? Do they mix fine with V3 cabs if I ever got one and wanted to pair them?

No, tl, I don't personally know anything about their voicings.

I initially thought the 2003-ish Bassman 210 Pro might perhaps have Neodymium magnets, and possibly a correspondingly brighter-ish tone*, but that linked manual doesn't say that. Anyway, at 61 lb.s it wouldn't be my first choice for lugging around!

The 2010-2014 Rumble V2 112 does have Neodymium magnets and, I've read several places, does have a very good sounding Fender classic tone, not necessarily neo-brighter-ish*. I can't say I've read specifically about using it with V3 cabs, but I'd expect they would play well together. I did lift one up in a store once long ago and was surprised at how slightly heavy it seemed for a neo!

* Referring to reports of the Rumble 800 Neo speakers being brighter than the Rumble 500 ceramic ferrite speakers.
 
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Where "here" did you get that? Our Rumble actual flat settings for hi-mid is 2 and for treble is 10 o'clock!​



This may be at least a contributing factor, if not the main culprit.​
Hey G-dog, see the post below that I linked. Both 10/2/2/10 and 10/1:30/10/1:30 are mentioned.

It was awhile ago so I'm not 100% certain this was the post but I know I got that from here somewhere and this is close. There's even a thumbs up for the 10/1:30/10/1:30 setting. :thumbsup: Entirely possible I misunderstood something too.

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/fender-rumble-club.1118826/page-2790#post-28001988

I have to almost zero out the high to get rid of the hiss when the amp DI is used. And that tone is not desirable.
 
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Posted on November 29, 2023: But, haven't you heard? All 12s isn't really neutral, or flat. It's a bit scooped. If you really want neutral, or flat, try B, LM, HM, T at approximately 10, 2, 2, 10 (actually 10, 1:30, 2, 1:30). :thumbsup:
Hey G-dog, see the post below that I linked. Both 10/2/2/10 and 10/1:30/10/1:30 are mentioned. ... ... ...

Augyegh!!?! OMG! I'm very sorry, WI. I'm certainly not the infallible dispenser of knowledge I pretend to be!! :sorry: I do hereby most humbly apologize for giving you some wong information back then. The small, parenthetical numbers should have been (actually 10, 1:30, 2, 9:30). That's why I often try to link referenced sources, like this, so you don't just take my (possibly mentally deficient) recollection for absolute troof! 😵

Posted on November 29 , 2023: ... ... ... (actually 10, 1:30, 2, 1:30) ... ... ...
... ... ... Both 10/2/2/10 and 10/1:30/10/1:30 are mentioned. ... ... ...

Aha! Contributory Negligence! Your Honor, I plead "Contributory Negligence"! I'm not the only one making a mistake here. 🫣 See? It can happen to anybody, at anytime. [Stuff] just happens. :poop:

... ... It was awhile ago so I'm not 100% certain this was the post but I know I got that from here somewhere and this is close. There's even a thumbs up for the 10/1:30/10/1:30 setting. :thumbsup: Entirely possible I misunderstood something too.

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/fender-rumble-club.1118826/page-2790#post-28001988 ... ... ...

Yes, sir that's "the smoking gun" where you responded to my erroneous post of a few days prior. :sorry:
Hey! But, wait!! Did you just now make that mistake on the hi-mid setting today in a well intentioned effort to make this old f:spit:rt feel a little less feeble? Well, thanks. I'll take it! (You sly dog.) 😉

I have to almost zero out the high to get rid of the hiss when the amp DI is used. And that tone is not desirable.

Understandable. What about different settings on the hi-mid, do they make much difference? ... in an acceptable way, that is ...​
Also, have you tried it with absolutely no pedals to zero in on the combo and none of the pedals, or cables​
 
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