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Fender Rumble Club

That's true. It is pretty cheap rig for what you get. I've actually had my Rumble 350 combo for 3 1/2 years now. I got it in the beginning of 2012. I haven't had the chance to check out the new series, yet. I have to say, besides the Rumble, I've had my eye on that new Bassman 500 head. I've been curious about that one, too.
Rumble 350 is still a killer combo. My Rumble 350 head sure isn't going anywhere. Yes the new Bassman 500 is the tube & D-Class hybrid amp that gives you the very best of both worlds. Fender Super Bassman tube front end coupled to the Rumble 500 B&O Ice Power section. Put that on top of a pair of Rumble 115'S!!! drool

:woot: Lawd Have Mercy! :woot:
 
As near as I can tell -- and someone correct me if I got this wrong -- but the new Bassman 500 hybrid is, in essence, a Bassman Pro front end (tube) mated to an ICEpower module. With the old-school look, of course.

My other take is that the audio engineers tried their best with the bigger Rumbles to model the front end of those old tubies we love so much. And the ICEpower is so flat that it just pumps out a larger version of whatever you feed it. To the degree that the engineers were successful in modeling the tube pre, that is what gives the bigger Rumbles such a successful tone.

edit: Linnin, you fast typist you!
 
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As near as I can tell -- and someone correct me if I got this wrong -- but the new Bassman 500 hybrid is, in essence, a Bassman Pro front end (tube) mated to an ICEpower module. With the old-school look, of course.

My other take is that the audio engineers tried their best with the bigger Rumbles to model the front end of those old tubies we love so much. And the ICEpower is so flat it just pumps out a larger version of whatever you feed it. To the degree that the engineers were successful in modeling the tube pre, that is what gives the bigger Rumbles such a successful tone.
And you can thank Fender's Principal Engineer, Dave Lewis and his design team, for that.
 
Hey Guys,

I would like to ask a few questions about my new Rumble 500 Combo.

1. When I play the open E string, I note a 'carry over' quieter sound that requires me to quite firmly mute the string, lightly doing so and moving to the next note does not do this, it remains underneath the sound. What might this be and how should I handle it?

2. When I have the Gain and Master at noon there appears (I say appear as it is sometimes hard to tell where it comes from, so I may need to dig further) a light rattle/vibration/distorting type sound I can hear. How can I handle this?

3. Can I actually expect more volume from adding a 210 cabinet, or is it more about other qualities in the sound?

Many thanks,

Will.
 
OK @Wilton, lets take the last question first. Yes, you are going to get 5 or 6 more dB by adding a Rumble 210 along with a noticeable increase in power from 350 to the full 500 watts. You will be moving twice as much air at any volume. Also the coupling effect between identical stacked drivers will be enhanced. You already have some coupling effect going on with the twin 10's of the combo.

At half volume any rattling you hear is most likely the building you are in.

Lastly it sounds like you're getting some feedback. Pull your gain all the way down. Is it gone?

What bass and strings are you playing?
 
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OK @Wilton, lets take the last question first. Yes, you are going to get 5 or 6 more dB by adding a Rumble 210 along with a noticeable increase in power from 355 to the full 500 watts. You will be moving twice as much air at any volume. Also the coupling effect between identical stacked drivers will be enhanced. You already have some coupling effect going on with the twin 10's of the combo.

At half volume any rattling you hear is most likely the building you are in.

Lastly it sounds like you're getting some feedback. Pull your gain all the way down. Is it gone?

What bass and strings are you playing?

Thanks Linnin. I will fiddle with the Gain at a more reasonable hour (it is 0705 here), thanks very much. At present I am playing an Affinity Jazz - it is a friend's, several years old and has the original strings.
 
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Added a New Rumble 1x12 cab to my Markbass CMD121 combo...lots of complements on my tone at the first gig with this setup. Great souding lightweight cab, and paired with the MB combo gets the amp to its full 500 watts. Loud and clear sounding lightweight bass rig.... I love it!
 
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Added a New Rumble 1x12 cab to my Markbass CMD121 combo...lots of complements on my tone at the first gig with this setup. Great souding lightweight cab, and paired with the MB combo gets the amp to its full 500 watts. Loud and clear sounding lightweight bass rig.... I love it!
Welcome to the Fender Rumble Club, bassvi! :woot: You are member #451 :hyper:
My late best friend always played an original Fender Bass VI. A '66, I think.
:cool: Rumble On! :cool:
 
Thanks Linnin. I will fiddle with the Gain at a more reasonable hour (it is 0705 here), thanks very much. At present I am playing an Affinity Jazz - it is a friend's, several years old and has the original strings.
Ouch! Several year old roundwounds have got sound bad to say the least. They could be putting out some weird overtones especially if the intonation is off. That could easily be the source of your problem right there.
 
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Ouch! Several year old roundwounds have got sound bad to say the least. They could be putting out some weird overtones especially if the intonation is off. That could easily be the source of your problem right there.

Awesome - probably seems logical. but as someone new to jumping in to play with others I did not know the difference. In fact I found them very comfortable to play with. Much to learn I have...
 
Ouch! Several year old roundwounds have got sound bad to say the least. They could be putting out some weird overtones especially if the intonation is off. That could easily be the source of your problem right there.

I can't say that this is true, but I suspect that it is, but I can tell you from personal experience that the stock strings on a Squier are worse than awful. They don't have to be several years old to sound bad. I replaced three month old stock roundwound strings on my Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar SS and got an improvement on sound and a HUGE improvement in volume. I imagine that lots of bass players toss original strings on any bass.
 
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I can't say that this is true, but I suspect that it is, but I can tell you from personal experience that the stock strings on a Squier are worse than awful. They don't have to be several years old to sound bad. I replaced three month old stock roundwound strings on my Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar SS and got an improvement on sound and a HUGE improvement in volume. I imagine that lots of bass players toss original strings on any bass.

Oh volume also, I did not realise that. I am having volume issues within the band. I am sure part of that is due to the high volume of the other guys, but it is a bit much for me to bring that up after only three rehearsals together.
 
Questions about the controls here. How do the Gain and Master work with each other. Is the Gain like a clean channel separate from the overdrive channel?

And how would you generally set the tone up for a nice slap tone? The low mid and high mid are a little confusing to me. Thanks.

Edit: I found the manual, so I think I get how the Gain works now, except with active/passive pickups. The manual is not very clear, but i'm guessing turn it up for Passive, turn down for Active?
 
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Active basses obviously push signal harder than passives, some passives are naturally louder than others, and with the overdrive off, the gain is effectively an input volume control, driven too hard the amp starts sounding bad, turn up till you hit that point, turn back.
 
@todd0864
Fender Rumble Overdrive
Fender Rumble Tone Tips

For good slap tone you will want to keep your gain very low if not 0 for the cleanest sound possible. The 'Contour' voicing is a severe mid scoop + some boost in both the lows and highs (read your manual). If you want more air & top end sizzle engage the 'Bright' voicing also. That should put you in downtown slap city.
 
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