Fender Rumble Club

[Lync]

I used a first generation Workingman's 15 for a few years back then (1995ish IIRC). I remember I was so pumped to get an affordable SWR at the time (and it sounded pretty damn good). You're right...not lightweight though....my Rumble 200 is a third of the weight and sounds better IMO. You have to love technology and the progression of the bass amp industry.

 

[redstrand]

I sold my SWR workingman's 15 to get my rumble 500....the weight was too much. Loved the sound but just wasn't the right amp for me.

 

[ubernator]

I personally would never own a workingmans 15, I was not a fan of 115 combos, especially ones that have funky tops forcing you to put the ext cab on the bottom. I almost got the 12, I wanted the limiter and master volume, but I decided on the 10 instead, it was just too cool. I wanted a small but capable 2nd amp that had some of the flavor of my bass350, and I love 10's. The only downside was no way to drive it at low volumes, however it sounded really good pushed to the limit. It has a really solid circuit and the construction is top notch, perfectly ported too. The ampeg micro cl at the same power didnt hold a candle to it.

Rumble 200 changed my mind, reminded me of the tight sound of the son of bertha cabinet. I too would rate it over the wm15. But you can pick those up for cheap because they are heavy and so many are out there. A highly capable amp, much better than the similar rated bxr and peavey/carvin combos it was competing against. Swr made some good stuff for sure, but clunky 115 combos just aren't my style.

I wouldn't call the rumble clunky, and the sound is very punchy for a 15. However if it had came in a 210 I would have chosen that instead. Fender should make one with cheaper 10s, or at least the 125w ones from the 410 if it doesn't make sense to have some 75-100w ones designed for just one product. They could probably keep the price the same as the 15 since 2 of the 125w drivers probably wouldn't cost any more than.the 300w 15. But it would probably sell at 439.

 

[Linnin]

I think you're inferring a bit too much vis-a-vis wattage ratings of 10" loaded Rumble cabs. From my contact at F.M.I.C. I was told (by a person most definitely in the know) that the only real difference is in the ohms. The following quote was from a much earlier Rumble Woofer Talk before the new Rumble 210 cabinet had been released. That doesn't matter as the drivers are identical to the 500 combo.

The 10” Eminence drivers found in the Rumble 500 combo and Rumble 410 are very similar in specifications and tone qualities. The biggest difference being that of voice coil impedance. In the combo they are 16 ohms wired in parallel for a total 8 ohm load. In the 410 cab they are 8 ohms with pairs wired first in series (to get 16 ohms) and then each pair is wired parallel for a total 8 ohm load for the cabinet. Once again there has been a lot of love expressed for the tone and overall sound quality. Those who have put the Rumble 500 combo on top of a Rumble 410 cabinet have been mightily impressed.

 

[eudaimonia]

One more Rumble for me. Just bought this v2 R15 for 30 euro. I'm taking it to my family's cottage to be played on summer vacations.

EDIT: not sure why Dropbox images won't show. Well you know how they look

 

[ubernator]

Well either the specs on the dealer site I was on were wrong, or the info you git from fender was notcompletely accurate, since just uusing different impedance versions of the same driver would not increase handling.

Using rms specs I saw, 500 for 410 indicates 125w. 350 for 210 Iiindicates 175w. Goliath jr III and eden d210xlt also use 175w speakers.

Would justify a price increase. Now they may be voiced the same, but more power handling is more power handling.

But if they are really the same drivers, one is over rated or one is under rated. But even people in the know are sometimes given incorrect info early on or, and we all can make mistakes (mitsakes) from time to time.

 

[Linnin]

That's OK. You may think whatever you like.

 

[ubernator]

Well is it true that the 210 is rated for 350 and the 410 is rated at 500? Rms not max/peak

Which info is the correct info? I am not tryingnto argue or get in a pissing contest over who is right or wrong. So please don't take it like that.

But the specs are the specs. So either the specs are wrong on one of the cabs, or the drivers in the 210 are higher power capacity than the 410.

Either situation is possible. And like every manufacturer says about every product: specifications subject to change without notice.

And the info you quoted said "similar" specs and voicing, if they put 125w speakers in the combo it would be 100w shy of handling the 350w of the combo at 8 ohms. Like I said in my first post, they may be voiced the same, but they need to be higher power unless the 410 is a 700w cab conservatively rated at 500w.

I like occams razor. And I am a technical gearhead an former working sound engineer and the only drivers I have ever blown are the cheap horn diaphragms in my jbl sf15's that I used as mains in my pa, and most of the time there was evidence of drinks somehow finding their way in there somehow (sticky liquid residue in the horn). I am always cognizant of the power handling of my woofers. My 1998 bass cabs are all still on their original speakers too. This stuff is important to me, so I anylize these things and divide by the number of drivers in a cab.

 

[Scott Truesdell]

 

[Linnin]

I suppose I'd have to run anti-clockwise in order to steal a lefty

 

[VeganThump]

Hey guys. Just purchased a Rumble 500 combo and I'm anxiously awaiting its arrival. I've heard nothing but great things about it but no local stores had one in stock so I ordered from MF sight unseen. This is my first Fender amp, I'm a former Ampeg guy so I literally know nothing about Fender amps. Can anyone point me in the direction of some threads discussing its tone shaping abilities, eq frequencies, etc? I'm sure it's been discussed throughly elsewhere. Thanks!

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

The weight difference between the Rumble 410 v3 and the Neo 410 is seven pounds according to the specs I read on AMS.. From what I am gathering, the performance between the cabs are pretty close.. so if this is true, the price of the neo mags increasing the price of that cab over the Rumble cab isn't worth the value it cost..

I think that 7 lbs is in the cab structure. I don't know the specs, but I would bet the Bassman cabs are thicker wood.

 

[Linnin]

Hey guys. Just purchased a Rumble 500 combo and I'm anxiously awaiting its arrival. I've heard nothing but great things about it but no local stores had one in stock so I ordered from MF sight unseen. This is my first Fender amp, I'm a former Ampeg guy so I literally know nothing about Fender amps. Can anyone point me in the direction of some threads discussing its tone shaping abilities, eq frequencies, etc? I'm sure it's been discussed throughly elsewhere. Thanks!

Welcome to the Fender Rumble Club, VeganThump! You are member #474
Tone settings are scattered throughout this thread. I suggested starting a tone settings thread on the bass amp sub-forum over at the Fender Forums where things are very slow and the thread while not a 'stickie' would be on the first page for years, but sadly no takers. While you're waiting here's the owners manual and that will give you the EQ freqs.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

You may also enjoy reading some of these Rumble Talks
Fender Rumble Talk Links

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

Hey guys. Just purchased a Rumble 500 combo and I'm anxiously awaiting its arrival. I've heard nothing but great things about it but no local stores had one in stock so I ordered from MF sight unseen. This is my first Fender amp, I'm a former Ampeg guy so I literally know nothing about Fender amps. Can anyone point me in the direction of some threads discussing its tone shaping abilities, eq frequencies, etc? I'm sure it's been discussed throughly elsewhere. Thanks!

Don't know of any links to give you, but I'll tell you what I know from reading and gigging with my 500. First, you will get better sound by keeping the master volume as low as possible and using the gain to fine tune the volume. Experiment with the vintage and contour buttons. The vintage will give you an old scholl almost tube sound. The contour seems to act sort of, but not exactly, like compression. It seems to fill out the sound. I've also found they are louder than you might expect. My first gig with men was outdoors with 3 guitars and drums. I was running master on 3 and gain on 4 and had no problem being heard.
As to volume, you will be louder in house than you hear on stage. I think for this amp it is because all the sound is going out below your knees and you don't get the full volume. I'm thinking a tilt back stand may be in order.
I'm not too crazy about the overdrive, but maybe if I toy with it a bit more.
I did find out it sounds better if I plug directly into the amp than using my Line Six Bass Pod. It sounds more natural. If I can get the amp overdrive to sound like I want it, I will quit using the bass pod. I might go buy an overdrive pedal, but I don't know if I need to, yet.
Short story is: your gonna love it.

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

Do you know Dave?
Dave has a boat in California.

He also drives a car, wears jeans... Cmon, you know Dave!

He wears cargo shorts in the summer.

 

[VeganThump]

Welcome to the Fender Rumble Club, VeganThump! You are member #474
Tone settings are scattered throughout this thread. I suggested starting a tone settings thread on the bass amp sub-forum over at the Fender Forums where things are very slow and the thread while not a 'stickie' would be on the first page for years, but sadly no takers. While you're waiting here's the owners manual and that will give you the EQ freqs.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

You may also enjoy reading some of these Rumble Talks
Fender Rumble Talk Links

Thanks so much!! I'm gonna start reading lol

 

[VeganThump]

Don't know of any links to give you, but I'll tell you what I know from reading and gigging with my 500. First, you will get better sound by keeping the master volume as low as possible and using the gain to fine tune the volume. Experiment with the vintage and contour buttons. The vintage will give you an old scholl almost tube sound. The contour seems to act sort of, but not exactly, like compression. It seems to fill out the sound. I've also found they are louder than you might expect. My first gig with men was outdoors with 3 guitars and drums. I was running master on 3 and gain on 4 and had no problem being heard.
As to volume, you will be louder in house than you hear on stage. I think for this amp it is because all the sound is going out below your knees and you don't get the full volume. I'm thinking a tilt back stand may be in order.
I'm not too crazy about the overdrive, but maybe if I toy with it a bit more.
I did find out it sounds better if I plug directly into the amp than using my Line Six Bass Pod. It sounds more natural. If I can get the amp overdrive to sound like I want it, I will quit using the bass pod. I might go buy an overdrive pedal, but I don't know if I need to, yet.
Short story is: your gonna love it.

Excellent! Thanks a lot! The level/gain pointer is a big helper, these are the kind of things I was hoping to learn about here. Thanks again!

 

[J.Nuno]

I was running master on 3 and gain on 4 and had no problem being heard.

3 and 4 "units" or o'clock? I'm assuming units.
Heh I still don't understand how can someone play outdoors at Gain 4 and Master 3. Were your bandmates playing acoustic? In more seriousness I'm guessing the music you play is a very soft genre?
I've only played live indoors at small venues and my Gain is always at 12 o'clock and the Master has to be at 3 o'clock for me and the drummer to hear the bass. We play Hardrock. Still I think I'm the one here at the Rumble Club who has to play the Rumble500 with the highest Master/Gain. Even in the rehearsal room I have to keep the Gain at 12 o'clock and the Master goes down to 12 o'clock also. (But I know my bandmates play loud as hell...).

Also, I play the combo alone, but if you have an additional cab than it's all different!

 

[ubernator]

Really hot output bass perhaps?

3 and 4 "units" or o'clock? I'm assuming units.
Heh I still don't understand how can someone play outdoors at Gain 4 and Master 3. Were your bandmates playing acoustic? In more seriousness I'm guessing the music you play is a very soft genre?
I've only played live indoors at small venues and my Gain is always at 12 o'clock and the Master has to be at 3 o'clock for me and the drummer to hear the bass. We play Hardrock. Still I think I'm the one here at the Rumble Club who has to play the Rumble500 with the highest Master/Gain. Even in the rehearsal room I have to keep the Gain at 12 o'clock and the Master goes down to 12 o'clock also. (But I know my bandmates play loud as hell...).

Also, I play the combo alone, but if you have an additional cab than it's all different!

 

[Linnin]

I've only played live indoors at small venues and my Gain is always at 12 o'clock and the Master has to be at 3 o'clock for me and the drummer to hear the bass.

Good Lord! That has to louder than hell on Sunday, but yes setting the master at 75% or 3 o'clock is a good thing and then add gain as needed. Obviously you need a lot!

Also 75% or 3 o'clock on the master volume is most likely 100% of all the clean continuous 500 watts your Rumble has to offer plus peaking at 700+ watts banging off the limiter. You need to add a cab for additional SPL.