I don't like my Rumble 100, help me find a solution

[KenSmithFan]

The OP has a Rumble 100, not 15.

He probably shouldn’t have started with “I have owned a Rumble 15 for pretty much my whole time playing bass.” it confuses us short attention span speed readers.

 

[JenderBazzFass]

Do You actually hear the mud You're talking about in the video?
hint: Invalid Link Removed
Listen to the clip there for demonstration.
Sound is coming from Your amp, but the mud is created "by the room", reflections.
EG: at home I got a square room (perfect for standing waves basically). At a certain volume I can make/eliminate mud by turining the bass knob between 9 to 9:30. Who knew, right?
Playing louder needs turning the bass down even more. That's physics.
Learning how to EQ is a skill.


measurements don't lie. Your ears might. (and please, please, please accept physics, Your room is never perfect, unless it is anechoic chamber!)

I've definitely noticed this for myself in my attempts to get the sound right in the room where I play most often. Turning the bass down a touch makes it sound louder and clearer. Thanks for the interesting links!

 

[dORSY]

I've definitely noticed this for myself in my attempts to get the sound right in the room where I play most often. Turning the bass down a touch makes it sound louder and clearer. Thanks for the interesting links!

You're welcome, might find this informative too. Happy playing!

 

[Mastermold]

The Rumble 800, the latest addition to the series, has a pre/post EQ switch for the DI. Can't say if it still has the speaker sim and compressor, though.

In practice I don't think it's that big of an issue. Any venue or studio that requires a DI will stick their own DI box between your pedalboard and the amp anyway, rendering the amp's own DI unnecessary. And more and more bass players have their own DI and/or preamps with DI outs.

So the botched DI is not the reason I wouldn't buy a Rumble. The tone is. It's not that bad, I just think an amp should sound good with flat EQ knobs whereas the Rumble only sounds good to me if I cut the bass and boost the high mids significantly.

I heard demos of the Ampeg Pf50t and it's a modern-sounding, scooped tone with flat EQ knobs. Totally different from what I associate with a vintage tone: fat, warm, compressed, with a hint of breakup.

So I really don't know what sounds good anymore.

Knobs are for twiddling. I twiddle with them on my Rumble 100 and on my Ampeg PF 50T and every other amp I own. What knob position is "flat" may not be the same either from amp to amp.

 

[andare]

Knobs are for twiddling. I twiddle with them on my Rumble 100 and on my Ampeg PF 50T and every other amp I own. What knob position is "flat" may not be the same either from amp to amp.

They are for twiddling but if the only acceptable tone is achieved with extreme settings, one loses most of the range. On my Rumble with my current settings, if I need to cut even more bass or boost more high mids I have nowhere to go.
If OTOH an amp sounds good with every knob at noon, there's an equal amount of tweakability up and down to make adjustments.

 

[Orpheus55]

I have been using an HD75 (with FOH support) in a ten-piece horn band and it is truly an underrated monster onstage. I also use a Fender Rumble 15 cab powered by a Peavey Minimax; it is very light, but the HD75 is a better overall sound for me when utilized as a stage monitor. It is not light; rating says it is 43 lbs., but it feels more like 55. The joke among band members is that it is packed with lead. At 73, weight matter a little, but this one is certainly manageable, especially with a Magna Cart

Get a different amp. I have a Rumble 200 and like it just fine, my basses all sound punchy through it. I don't use any of the tone presets, especially not the "vintage" and that just makes it sound muddy and bad to my ears.
I've played my basses through GK and Hartke stuff and the tone is completely different, maybe more what you're looking for. Certainly more trebly sounding.
If you can afford to, try some different amps, GK combo's sound good IMO. You can't make a Rumble something it isn't, and honestly if you want a Rumble the 200 and up combo's are better.

 

[tvbop]

Played a Rumble 100 for a while but it had no usable mid range, solved it by selling it and going Ampeg, problem solved. Rumbles are attrractive for the easy schlep and volume but thats about it, without a grindy mid range bark Im not happy. YMMV.

 

[Pilgrim]

The baked in Rumble tone is the Rumble tone. It is what it is.

A. I went with an 11, 1, 1, 11 EQ setting to get the tone more "flat" and less muddy. That was the best I could get it to sound, and like you I never quite bonded with it.

B. Wouldn't waste your money. It *might* help, but I suspect the difference would be near imperceptible.

C. Wouldn't waste your money. Still a Rumble.

D. This is what I did. Your musical needs and resources may not match mine, but I have been VERY happy with Mesa gear.

Additional option: Explore pedal board options. The onboard stuff wont change the tone much, but a few pedals certainly would.

Both option D. and the pedal board idea are highly dependent on what YOU want/need. Doesn't hurt to start by researching the rigs of bass players who's tone you already know you like. Check out YouTube demos of said brands and models. Then try to find music stores with that gear in stock so you can see if it sounds as good when YOU are playing it.

There ARE brands out there you may need to make a leap of faith when you purchase, I had to do so with Mesa, but I dug enough to have a fairly good idea what tone I was signing up for.

All of this is on target. I LOVE my Rumble 100, but it's not bright and zingy, and it never will be. It was designed NOT to be.

I'd move to another amp.

 

[Geddaric]

I just bought a Rumble 40 for practicing at home.
It`s now a paper weight.
I`m sure some peeps on here can lead you to a better direction.

 

[tom-g]

Been playing a Rumble 100 for a few years. I get get that it‘s not everybody‘s sound, but to state that it doesn‘t have any midrange or can‘t get bright a zingy, I don’t get. Don’t you know what the knobs are for?

 

[pepj]

Found a few Rumbles on Jam nights.
They are ok if the band is not pushing it...
Whether a 500w could cope there with a pretty punchy band is the question... I'd have my doubts and agree the main plus point is its easy enough to move about and basically just plug in.
It beats out the TE and TC Elec options that also show up on the evenings though.

They are ok upto a point, omv.

 

[andare]

Been playing a Rumble 100 for a few years. I get get that it‘s not everybody‘s sound, but to state that it doesn‘t have any midrange or can‘t get bright a zingy, I don’t get. Don’t you know what the knobs are for?

I have to use extreme EQ settings to make my R100 usable. 9 12 5 9 with Vintage on. I also plugged the ports with polyfill to make the low end less boomy.
It’s just a very dark amp with a loose low end. Luckily the knobs are quite effective.
To me a vintage B15 has a wonderful aggressive midrange that modern amps don’t have. It’s to be expected with Fender amps since their tone stack is scooped.

 

[tom-g]

That‘s it, turn the knobs. It also depends on the venue where my EQ lands. There is nothing wrong with extreme settings. The knobs are there to be turned.

I‘ve gotten better/best (for me) results with Vintage off.

 

[dougjwray]

What I've found with my Rumble 200 and 500 heads is that having the Gain at zero and no voicing buttons engaged removes mud. But I *did* buy them specifically to get some Fender tonestack old school warmth. I have my GK 400RBs for situations where I need a drier, brighter sound.

 

[Bent77]

It’s worth noting for the Rumble users, some of us just don’t like how they sound.
It’s not personal

 

[tom-g]

It’s worth noting for the Rumble users, some of us just don’t like how they sound.
It’s not personal

And it also worth noting for those users that do not like Rumbles that it‘s totally fine. There are other amps out there. But you also don‘t have to fabricate anything to not like an amp, like no usable midrange and not bright and zingy.

 

[Bent77]

And it also worth noting for those users that do not like Rumbles that it‘s totally fine. There are other amps out there. But you also don‘t have to fabricate anything to not like an amp, like no usable midrange and not bright and zingy.

You seem to be taking this personally

 

[tom-g]

You seem to be taking this personally

Of course, being personally involved makes things much more worthwhile.

 

[bigdaddybass12]

Bounce back to life! My rumble 100 just doesn’t have the sound l like. I have to turn the mids down to about 11 for a normal sound. Seems as the gig goes thru the night the sound changes. (Small restaurant gig, EBMM SUB,
Oldies,) it sounds ‘cheap’. Others says it sounds good.

 

[HowieD72]

My main rig is a Genz-Benz Streamliner 900 and Barefaced 410 cab. I use mainly my active Warwick Fortress Masterman or a passive precision or jazz.

I just bought a Fender 100 combo and find for practicing and small jams, it sounds fine without having to play around too much with the knobs. (Sometimes using the Vintage button).

Like some have mentioned already, you either like it or not. As for me, and what I use it for, it's fine