Fender Rumble

[LaupR]

Hi All

I am looking for a good all round combo or cab/head amp for jazz, slap and rock (mainly home practice at the moment but hopefully looking to be in a band set up within the next 12 months). I am looking at the Fender Rumble combo (100w).

Any thoughts or other suggestions?

Many thanks,

Paul

 

[BEADG63]

Fender Rumble is a great choice. If you can swing it, get the Rumble 500 (or 800 ) I use the 500 combo and have the 210 extension cab for full use of the 500 watts. That combo will get you thru pretty much anything.

 

[Pdaddy1978]

Fenders offerings are great....and sounds Fendery.
Ampeg makes good options in the same price range...that sounds Ampeggy.
Theres several other makers making good stuff in the same range.
While you can't really "go wrong" with any of these, some have more features and reputations for reliability.
But the best way to decide between them is to go somewhere, say..Guitar Center or such and play through them.
You'll almost definitely prefer the sound of one over the other.

 

[57pbass]

My local music store tells me that the Rumble 500 combo sells very quickly …

 

[Nebadon2000]

I agree with others on Rumble 500

But at minimum may want at least Rumble 200

If you go Cab/Head that opens a lot more doors and more $

 

[Slade N]

There is a Rumble 100 at the space where a quartet (drums, keys, guitar and bass) Im in practices. Running a Squier CV P strung with flats, Im able to easily dial in a good sound with the Rumble. That is my only experience with it but its been enough that Id consider getting a Rumble if I was looking for another amp/combo.

 

[Ignatius]

The rumble 100 is my rehearsal amp. The band includes 2 guitars, keys, and drums. The rumble hangs in there.

I also use it as my acoustic performance amp.

It is very light, has a sound I like and has been reliable for over 5 years.

 

[andare]

I use a Rumble 100 in a 4 piece band in a tiny dive bar, probably no more than 50 people in the audience. It is enough but more watts and speaker area are better. With a SushiBox X Finally V3, I have to keep the Master volume at 9 o' clock.

Stuff the ports with socks/polyfill to tighten up the low end because the speaker has a lot of...rumble. The HPF is my Finally does wonders for that as well.
The baked-in tone is dark, the Vintage mode adds compression and tube-like grit.

Stay away from the Rumbles if you like a modern tone but know that the EQ has a lot of range.

Having said that, it is loud, light and reliable as a beater.

 

[prndltech]

I love my rumble 100, but you have to know its limitations.

 

[TheReceder]

I bought a fender rumle 100 for the church I play at. It's fine for that. If I was getting something to expand my own gear, I wouldn't go less than the 200, and probably would end out with the 500,
Mainly due to the option of an external speaker.

 

[G-Dog]

@LaupR, Fender's Rumble value line of bass amps, cabs & combos is quite extensive with something for everyone! It even rivals Fender's own premium Bassman line, not to mention all competitors. They are the best selling bass amps in the world for good reason. See the Summary Info chart listing all the currently manufactured model possibilities, though some have been discontinued from manufacturing but are still on the used market. And you can get lots of basic Rumble info from the Rumble Club Wiki page of links. But, please, feel free to ask your specific, or general, questions of the TalkBass Fender Rumble Club's extensive membership, too! We love to help.

The Rumble 15 is a very basic offering for first time beginners. The 25 & 40 are for more advanced beginners. The Rumble 100 combo can be a good place to start for more intermediate players. Many of The Club members chain two R100s together for very substantial gig volumes! The R200 & R500 are for more pro level players, while the R800 HD head and cabs and the R800 combo are for the most serious professionals. There's even 25-, 40-, & 800-watt modeling combos for those willing to explore, or apply, the plethora of both vintage and ultra modern bass tones!!

Goodluck in your Rumble journey! Be sure to tell us about it in The Club!

 

[bigdaddybass12]

For about 2 years I have used a rumble 100 at a small restaurant gig. The longer I have used it, the less I have liked it. Last week I used an old SWR Pro 12 cab and a TC head. It sounded so much cleaner. The 18 lb combo makes life easier than a 30+ lb cab separate bag for amp. I am not exactly young, love the lightweight cab, but not the sound.
You may like the rumble, be sure to try it before you buy

 

[BrentD]

I had a 100 for a few years amd liked the size and weight. It could keep up with a drummer but just barely and it got a little boxy at that volume. I upgraded to a 500 and haven't found anything else that has convinced me to switch in years.

Regardless of price, a Rumble 500 will probably do anything reasonable you need to do, weighs less than 40 lbs, and is ubiquitous enough to replace if you have a problem.

I certainly liked the 100, but did find a limit in a band setting.

 

[humbuckaroo]

Get yourself a Markbass if you can afford it. They're super clean and neutral and will probably last you longer than the Fender combo.

 

[DrBnz]

Don't skimp here. Bite the bullet up front and get either a Rumble 500 or 800. The smaller ones will only need to be replace / upgraded later. Omit all that non-sense. Go big or stay home.

 

[Kenny056]

I own a Rumble 100 and 500 + 210 extension. The 100 is used at church and rehearsals. I run to the house at church so its just used as a monitor there. I rehearse with a piano trio and it keeps up more than adequately. I'm not sure how well it would keep up in a louder setting, but I barely have the volume past 9 o'clock and the gain about the same and it does great.

That said, if I could swing it I would strongly consider the 200, 500 or even 800. They just offer the increased flexibility of adding an extension cabinet if that ever becomes necessary.

 

[humbuckaroo]

If there's no budget for a Markbass, you can also consider an Ampeg combo. They're very loud, so that won't be an issue, and they sound great.

 

[BassicJazzy]

I have the Rumble100, use it for home practice. I love it for that purpose, and for jazz. Beware though, Rumble100 probably isn't enough if you want to gig at other than a small venue. I'm going to agree with the people saying to go with the 500, just so you get enough amp for slap and playing in a larger venue. You can always turn the 500 with 2x10" down more easily than you can turn down the 200 with the 15".

 

[bordinco90]

Agreed with the others here. I've owned several Rumble 100s and while they are great, they can't hang in a band setting IMO. The Rumble 500 is much better than the 100 and can hang with a loud band. I own the Ampeg RB210 (a direct competitor with the Rumble 500) and it sounds great as well.

 

[jimmydean]

The Rumble 100 is fine for small work but I would buy the 800 combo . Depending on the room acoustics , I use a 800 combo and I have two 100's that I use as a single or pair them up .