Fender Rumble v3 40 - First Impressions

[Yahboy]

i did all the Astrosonic mods using the Dayton speaker and i am seriously impressed. i used the amp by itself last week for a five piece soul/r&b gig and it killed at the low to moderate volume that we were playing at. never got it past 1:00 and it was present and very full sounding. we did utilize the line out but it was barely in the house, which is good to know. i will mostly be using the 40 with much larger heads though, and this is where that Dayton’s higher power handling/xmas specs will come in very handy. paired with an Ampeg Micro VR head (160 watts @8ohm) it simply sounds enormous for a single 10, with no signs of stress at all when it’s wound up a good bit. P with LaBella flats. hah you look at that tiny rig and think “no way”. well i can say, “way”, big time. it feels like a parlor trick or something. thanks Astrosonic! View attachment 4876606

Nice looking small rig, mind i call it "R2-D2" bass combo ?

 

[pgk]

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[rsatch]

Anyone else with the Eminence S2010 speaker and port mod have issues with getting a loud fluttering air sound from the ports when cranked up? Not sure how to describe it but it is like the driver moves more air than the ports can smoothly flow. Passive Fenders - Amp Eq set flat, gain at 9 o’clock and volume at 1 o'clock is how I’m running it.

 

[MadJack]

Anyone else with the Eminence S2010 speaker and port mod have issues with getting a loud fluttering air sound from the ports when cranked up? Not sure how to describe it but it is like the driver moves more air than the ports can smoothly flow. Passive Fenders - Amp Eq set flat, gain at 9 o’clock and volume at 1 o'clock is how I’m running it.

Are you running one or two ports? Are you using the 2" X 2 5/8" ports as AstroSonic used here?

The S2010 required different tuning than either one or two stock ports. Use two 2" dia. ports 2 5/8" long. The Parts Express 2" dia. Precision port tubes fit the stock holes perfectly. I tried a range of tunings and preferred this. It happens to be a 'flat' alignment, with an F3 of 56 Hz. Bass is deeper and tighter, notes have better definition, and mids are smoother. The peaked upper mids and lower highs seen in the frequency response graph are not evident off axis. It will take all the power the built-in amp can give it and then some. It also gets significantly louder: the S2010 has 4-5 db higher sensitivity than the stock driver. Remarkably portable, with a total weight of 17 lbs....

...Honestly, for bedroom practice or rehearsal with acoustic groups, the stock driver with lined cab and single port sounds very good. With the S2010 and the internal amp, it can be gigged in small venues with an acoustic group, with plenty of clean headroom.

I had a Dayton PA255-8 and followed his specs on mine. I also ran the T&S specs and cab specs through WinISD and it matched what he describes.

Update. I really enjoyed the S2010 in the rumble 40 v3, so much so that I decided that I really wanted to build a 210 with S2010's. Out came the S2010 and in went the stock Fender driver. Try as I might, I could not warm up to the performance with the stock driver. Compared to the S2010, it lacked dynamics, was less articulate, was not as smooth and had weak low and mid bass. I reviewed the sims I had run while sorting through prospects for a replacement driver and noticed that the Dayton PA255-8 really stood out. So I ordered one. It did not do all that well with the same tuning as the S2010 (no real surprise). There was a pronounced mid-upper bass peak that really hammered overlapping notes. I did some modeling, tried a few tunings and came up with an Fb of 48 Hz (two, 2 inch diameter, 4 7/16 inch tubes). The 2 inch diameter Precision port tube (available from PartsExpress) fits the stock port openings perfectly. This transformed the tone of the driver. It now has a smooth response, surprisingly clean, well defined highs (as far as they go - around 4kHz), and bass that is articulate and deep (but not over overly pronounced unless you EQ it that way). With the internal amp, fundamentals are very present to G#. While the stock driver runs out of steam above relatively modest volume levels (with the internal amp), the Dayton takes it all in stride. In fact the internal amp sounds smoother and cleaner with the Dayton. The combo can deliver truly impressive tone and volume - it's really quite a transformation. With a GK MB500 (I have added a jack plate to allow other amps to be used - a simple backup scheme), the fundamentals remained strong (but not over prominent) down to 'D' (as low as I tried). I suspect that the internal amp is high passed a bit higher than the MB500. Played (along with music - iPod) to nearly health threatening levels (in a 700 square foot room with a high ceiling) the sound remains clean, clear and powerful. Cone excursion was just visible, and there was no fart-out. For those considering a driver upgrade, the Dayton is a more sensible option than the S2010 ($48 vs $90). IMO, the S2010 has a more refined (smooth and detailed sound) and is a few db more sensitive than the Dayton, and of course weighs about half as much. For upright players, the S2010 is probably the driver of choice. For rock and blues, the Dayton is probably the better choice. The Rumble 40 with the Dayton driver weighs around 23 lbs - still a very easy carry.

I'm mostly a rock and blues player, so the Dayton suits my purposes and sounds fantastic for me.

 

[rsatch]

Are you running one or two ports? Are you using the 2" X 2 5/8" ports as AstroSonic used here?



I had a Dayton PA255-8 and followed his specs on mine. I also ran the T&S specs and cab specs through WinISD and it matched what he describes.



I'm mostly a rock and blues player, so the Dayton suits my purposes and sounds fantastic for me.

I’m running - (two, 2 inch diameter, 4 7/16 inch tubes) - as described in the post.

 

[MadJack]

I’m running - (two, 2 inch diameter, 4 7/16 inch tubes) - as described in the post.

The 4 7/16" was for the Dayton, the 2 5/8" is for the S2010. If you saved it, you probably have enough left over port tube material to make the shorter ports, so you don't have to cut up the others.

 

[rsatch]

The 4 7/16" was for the Dayton, the 2 5/8" is for the S2010. If you saved it, you probably have enough left over port tube material to make the shorter ports, so you don't have to cut up the others.

I misspoke they are 2-5/8”. I got a 7” stick and had a small left over scrap.

 

[rsatch]

Would internal acoustic dampening help this?

 

[MadJack]

Would internal acoustic dampening help this?

Most likely it will. I didn't realize you didn't have any. AstroSonic recommended Acousta-Stuff, across the bottom, one side and the back. He would stretch it out, with the lumpy, fibrous tangles teased out a little, then wood-stapled onto the interior walls. I used Poly fil quilt batting, doubled up and stapled to the plywood. He said if it's too polite, remove a little, if it needs to be cleaner, add more to another area.

 

[pgk]

not that anyone asked, but if you ever wondered if you can slave a rumble 100 into a rumble 40, well you can indeed, all you you need is a female xlr to 1/8” trs cable. xlr to the 100’s line out jack, into the 40’s aux in jack. works perfectly. the only minor inconvenience is that you have to reach down and use the 100’s preamp controls. i just scored this used stock 100 and it’s getting the astrosonic treatment just like it’s baby bro did

 

[franvelasco]

First post on Talkbass! Thanks for sharing all the knowledge, @AstroSonic!

Been reading the whole article for a while and wonder if all those mods in the 40 could apply to the 25, which I find even overkill for a living room where I live in Madrid. I’m not sure if the internal volume is similar enough so calculations for the driver are still valid.

I got the amp in a trade, so spending 100 euros on it is no problem if I can then use it for low volume bedroom jams with a couple friends and a super quiet drummer.

The speaker I have right now is a Celestion TF0818, but maybe lining, port modification and a better speaker makes it really shine. As for tone, I know the 25 is more limited than the 40 and superior models, but I like using a pre in front of the amp with a flat set up (it is way more flat than the line in for some reason).

I guess my question is if I can make the 25 better or is the 40 so much better for some other reason than the different voicings and options, which I wouldn’t use?

 

[Fonkamex]

I am reviving this post 2 years later because I have a dilema, I am looking for a good, light amp for my jazz band (with drummer and wind section).
I am about to choose between a EBS Studio 60, a Fender Rumble 40v3 and more expensive Markbass CMD 101. The “new” amp should replace my TC Electronics BG250 (15), mainly because the space we use to jam is really small. Any advice?

 

[MadJack]

I am reviving this post 2 years later because I have a dilema, I am looking for a good, light amp for my jazz band (with drummer and wind section).
I am about to choose between a EBS Studio 60, a Fender Rumble 40v3 and more expensive Markbass CMD 101. The “new” amp should replace my TC Electronics BG250 (15), mainly because the space we use to jam is really small. Any advice?

The R40 would likely just barely do the job, with little to no headroom to spare. The same can be said about the other two amps you listed. I have a Rumble 40 and it's a great practice amp or used with acoustic only strings and percussion. (Barely enough with regular drums and modest drummer.) If you're looking to run into the FOH, using the DI, and only using it for a monitor, it will do fine.

If you're running with no PA/FOH, then the Rumble 100 V3 would likely stand up a little better. It's 2 inches taller and deeper, and 4 lbs heavier than the R40. It's footprint is still smaller than the BG250-15, but it's 12 lbs lighter. R100 is 10 inches shorter, 1-1/2 inches shollower [front to rear] and 3-1/4 inches narrower, so it's noticeably smaller and lighter than the BG.

 

[SJan3]

I am reviving this post 2 years later because I have a dilema, I am looking for a good, light amp for my jazz band (with drummer and wind section).
I am about to choose between a EBS Studio 60, a Fender Rumble 40v3 and more expensive Markbass CMD 101. The “new” amp should replace my TC Electronics BG250 (15), mainly because the space we use to jam is really small. Any advice?

If playing with a drummer, I'd recommend you go with a 1x12" version of which ever flavor you prefer. A 1x10" is limited and will struggle with a drummer. YMMV

 

[Fonkamex]

The R40 would likely just barely do the job, with little to no headroom to spare. The same can be said about the other two amps you listed. I have a Rumble 40 and it's a great practice amp or used with acoustic only strings and percussion. (Barely enough with regular drums and modest drummer.) If you're looking to run into the FOH, using the DI, and only using it for a monitor, it will do fine.

If you're running with no PA/FOH, then the Rumble 100 V3 would likely stand up a little better. It's 2 inches taller and deeper, and 4 lbs heavier than the R40. It's footprint is still smaller than the BG250-15, but it's 12 lbs lighter. R100 is 10 inches shorter, 1-1/2 inches shollower [front to rear] and 3-1/4 inches narrower, so it's noticeably smaller and lighter than the BG.

Thanks for your advice!!! Smaller and lighter but higher watts. Makes sense. I didn’t even thought about the rumble 100.