Fender Rumble Club

[ubernator]

It is hard to get a good guitar sound with a bass--that is not synthetic sounding. The Vox I tried was like--wow!

I have always been impressed with the vox valvetronix line since they first came out about 15 years ago. Valve reactor technology is the best use of a single 12ax7 tube in a solid state amp yet. Marshall valve state pales in comparison, since there have been killer sounding solid state overdrive/distortion circuits for a long time now (99.9% of distortion pedals are 100% solid state). The real issue is simulating the breakup of a tube power stage. The Marshall mode 4 did it by using a 300w power section, so there was always clean headroom to allow the volume of a 100w tube amp cranked to saturation, but it was still 100% solid state/digital modeling.

The valvetronix has the tube feeding the power amp somehow, so a real tube breakup is achieved. So many just think it is just another tube preamp, but the preamp is infact 100% digital modeling.

I used to play with them at guitar center and Sam ash, but I never bought one back then. In 2002 or so my band played a famous local punk/rockabilly roadhouse we often played at, and unknown hinson was the headliner (he was not well known then, toured small venues), and he was using the biggest 2x12, pretty sure it was 100w in the first generation. It sounded great, and had a classic enough look to fit his image.

About 4 years ago I picked up a used vt40+ used for $100, and it is my main practice rig but it could cover a small gig or decent sized one miked up. My only complaint, no line out to slave, or ext jack for a cab, it is 60w, so with a bigger cab it could handle much more for sure.

I use it for headphone bass practice too, in this regard it is probably my most used amp

 

[Steadfast]

@ubernator good info thanks! I have a 15 w vox that sounds great. I need more power for what I am doing. I haven't tried running it into the fender 212/r clean. I wonder how that would work. The 15 w has a line level out. Hmmmm

 

[robert_stuart]

Anyone tested a Rumble cab next to a "high-end" cab like Markbass or Aguilar?

 

[Steadfast]

I tried mine against a friends Aguilar. The rumble sounded better to both of us.

 

[Linnin]

Anyone tested a Rumble cab next to a "high-end" cab like Markbass or Aguilar?

Fender Rumble Speaker Cabinets are every bit as 'high end' as any other cabinet costing two or three times more, so you had better go audition them for yourself. In fact @honeyiscool dumped his four times more expensive Aguilar SL112 neos in favor of Fender Rumble 112's. Others have done much the same with both more expensive amps and cabs preferring Fender Rumble over needlessly more expensive yet inferior competitor's products.

 

[Linnin]

I tried mine against a friends Aguilar. The rumble sounded better to both of us.

That's because it is and does.

 

[FirewalZ]

More expensive products sometimes just means more expensive components or brand name markup....which does not automatically mean better tone. For example, I think the Rumbles sound just as good or better than MB stuff, which are typically twice the cost. Do they sound different than more $ amps, sure...but better....not necessarily

 

[Linnin]

Here in the Fender Rumble Club we are very fortunate to have many international members.
In Europe many brands that are expensive here are far more reasonable there. Brands such as; MarkBass, EBS, Ashdown, ect. Fender Rumbles may be the value brand here in the USA, but are quite a bit more expensive abroad.
I am reminded especially of @JakobT's experience in Oslo, Norway with a monster 600 watt all tube EBS rig vs his Rumble 500 combo. If I may be allowed to paraphrase, his Rumble 'mopped the floor with the EBS'. In the Netherlands, @eric_B chooses Fender Rumbles over other more expensive brands. In the United Kingdom, @Shawn Luckman picked a Made In USA Fender Precision and a Fender Rumble 200 combo against all comers. @pudgychef in China. @Yahboy in Malaysia. @JACink in Spain. Others that I have forgotten in: Argentina; Mexico, Italy, Greece, France, and some little place up north called Canada. Just to name a few. Fender Rumbles are the very best selling line of bass amplifiers in the whole wide world. With good reason. They are the very best at what they do at the price they cost. They sound fabulous and are gig worthy/reliable and last a long time. You get your money's worth and sound even better! Fender does this better than any other company anywhere at any price.

 

[robert_stuart]

I tried mine against a friends Aguilar. The rumble sounded better to both of us.

That's pretty amazing. I have to admit I'm a little skeptical because the Rumble 1x12 and 2x10 cabs just appear too good to be true.

I'm thinking I'll just order a 1x12 and see for myself, since it's only $300. I could just return it same day if I don't like it.

 

[Linnin]

I'm thinking I'll just order a 1x12 and see for myself, since it's only $300. I could just return it same day if I don't like it.

Live with it. You've got 30 days so live with it. Open Minds & Open Ears = They grow on you.

 

[Steadfast]

Give it a shot johnny_bolt. You will have your answer!

 

[EdO.]

Live with it. You've got 30 days so live with it. Open Minds & Open Ears = They grow on you.

I'm not the fanboy type BUT I do have to agree with @Linnin. Never thought I'd ever buy a Fender amp based on what I knew about Fender from the Good Old Days. My occasional 60's-70's-80's band has a fully equipped practice space with a Rumble 100 that I use there. At first I hated it, couldn't get a sound I liked etc. But once I got to messing with the preset buttons and tweaking the tone knobs a bit I began to understand what it had to offer and fell in love with it, to the point I had to have one. So, a 500 combo with a 210 extension cab later...

 

[bass71]

Loving this thread, problem is Im a 100% Ampeg fanboy. Something about that honky mid range peg tone that I cant seem to find in any other gear and I live to far from any dealer to try gear.

So my question is, how does the Rumble tone compare to the Ampeg tone....

 

[JakobT]

Here in the Fender Rumble Club we are very fortunate to have many international members.
In Europe many brands that are expensive here are far more reasonable there. Brands such as; MarkBass, EBS, Ashdown, ect. Fender Rumbles may be the value brand here in the USA, but are quite a bit more expensive abroad.
I am reminded especially of @JakobT's experience in Oslo, Norway with a monster 600 watt all tube EBS rig vs his Rumble 500 combo. If I may be allowed to paraphrase, his Rumble 'mopped the floor with the EBS'. In the Netherlands, @eric_B chooses Fender Rumbles over other more expensive brands. In the United Kingdom, @Shawn Luckman picked a Made In USA Fender Precision and a Fender Rumble 200 combo against all comers. @pudgychef in China. @Yahboy in Malaysia. @JACink in Spain. Others that I have forgotten in: Argentina; Mexico, Italy, Greece, France, and some little place up north called Canada. Just to name a few. Fender Rumbles are the very best selling line of bass amplifiers in the whole wide world. With good reason. They are the very best at what they do at the price they cost. They sound fabulous and are gig worthy/reliable and last a long time. You get your money's worth and sound even better! Fender does this better than any other company anywhere at any price.

The Rumble series is a killer combination of performance, price, design and weight. There are lots of other good offerings out there, but none have ticked all the boxes for me like my Rumbles, and I consider the love that's shown for these amps well-deserved. If that makes me a fanboy, well - so be it.

 

[FirewalZ]

Loving this thread, problem is Im a 100% Ampeg fanboy. Something about that honky mid range peg tone that I cant seem to find in any other gear and I live to far from any dealer to try gear.

So my question is, how does the Rumble tone compare to the Ampeg tone....

The Rumble does not sound like an Ampeg it sounds like a Rumble However, I think they sound great and do have a fairly wide range of tonal possibilities. If you get one and attempt to squeeze it into an Ampeg sized hole, you will probably be disappointed. IMO, the Rumbles are Low/Low-Mid forward, have a thicker punch to them and lean more towards a warmer classic Fender tone. Of course with eq, presets and tweeter options you can get it cut like a razor if you want. If you get one, I suggest spending some time with it, adjust to the eq, presets, etc, before passing judgment.....you will likely be a Rumble convert like the rest of us.

 

[Brio]

I'm thinking I'll just order a 1x12 and see for myself, since it's only $300. I could just return it same day if I don't like it.

This was exactly the boat I was in. Found a deal on Reverb and pulled the trigger on a 112 cab. Noticeable difference (clarity and warmth) over my pf210he cab. Not a "better" sound exactly but more the sound I wanted. And I'm using a TC RH450 head.

 

[JACink]

Loving this thread, problem is Im a 100% Ampeg fanboy. Something about that honky mid range peg tone that I cant seem to find in any other gear and I live to far from any dealer to try gear.

So my question is, how does the Rumble tone compare to the Ampeg tone....

I have never owned an Ampeg, so I can't speak from experience but...

For recording I used to use a patch on the B3 (posted over in the B3 patch thread) that got me close to the SVT sound. I have managed to get a very similar tone to that patch from the rumble. In fact, I played mostly with that tone for a while, but as time has passed I have stopped looking for other amps tones in the Rumble and gone on to enjoy the rumble as itself.

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

I love the ampeg sound you get from a tube head, but not so much their ss offerings. When I bought my first Rumble, I tried equivalent ampeg and mb. Price was not an issues. My priorites were tone first, weight second, and price third.
I didn't have to get down to 2 or 3. The Rumble had it at 1.

 

[dfreeland83]

Figured I'd say hi. I've been an *unofficial* member of the Rumble Club for around 14 hours now.
Well, that's a partial truth. I've had a Rumble head forever, but never the goodness that's a Rumble combo.

Going out of town and wanted a decent, cheap practice amp. Thanks to persistence, I grabbed a Rumble 40 for $160 out the door at Guitar Center. It pays to bug the heck out of people from time to time

Anyways, my go-to for gigs for the last six months has been an Ampeg SVT-3 Pro running to a Hartke 410XL. Until I got a steal of a deal on the SVT-3 (seriously, needed new tubes, but got it for $100) I was running a Rumble 200 head. I still run the 200 on occasion, especially when I'm lugging a bunch of gear to a small gig, and it sounds amazing, but there's a distinct Ampeg sound and this thing can obviously push harder than my Rumble.

Tried a bunch of smaller amps, was looking at the 25s, and the Ampeg 20, but when it came down to it, especially after the discount, the 40 just made sense. I already understood the controls and the tone, it sounded great, and the XLR could potentially be a lifesaver. So, back in the Rumble game

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

Figured I'd say hi. I've been an *unofficial* member of the Rumble Club for around 14 hours now.
Well, that's a partial truth. I've had a Rumble head forever, but never the goodness that's a Rumble combo.

Going out of town and wanted a decent, cheap practice amp. Thanks to persistence, I grabbed a Rumble 40 for $160 out the door at Guitar Center. It pays to bug the heck out of people from time to time

Anyways, my go-to for gigs for the last six months has been an Ampeg SVT-3 Pro running to a Hartke 410XL. Until I got a steal of a deal on the SVT-3 (seriously, needed new tubes, but got it for $100) I was running a Rumble 200 head. I still run the 200 on occasion, especially when I'm lugging a bunch of gear to a small gig, and it sounds amazing, but there's a distinct Ampeg sound and this thing can obviously push harder than my Rumble.

Tried a bunch of smaller amps, was looking at the 25s, and the Ampeg 20, but when it came down to it, especially after the discount, the 40 just made sense. I already understood the controls and the tone, it sounded great, and the XLR could potentially be a lifesaver. So, back in the Rumble game

We forgive your transgressions. Welcome Rumbler #762. Plug in that 200 and Rumble on!