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

#161
I got one because it's light, cheap, small, and frankly looks nice which is not insignificant for doing shows/videos.

I'm still working on figuring out how to make it sound great. So far at home it sounds good but at band volume it has no definition. You can hear when I'm playing but not the notes - very forgiving but not inspiring.

I'm in a different universe than most players though, playing low volume afro-jazz and reggae on a 5 string passive jazz with tapewounds, going for a mostly "acoustic" vibe, often emphasizing the neck pickup. Nothing loud or twangy here. I had the amp turned up halfway for the one show so far with it this week.

I'll try it again for a show tomorrow with a different speaker (Celestion BN12-300S). I'm hoping it will be the magic cure.

This is how small our operation is (normally we use IEMs instead of the floor monitor and bass amp - an Evolve 30M is our whole PA and normally carries bass, guitar, vocals, and some percussion/sax):

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#166
Yahboy said:
Haha.... i am opposite, R200/115 + Vintage button engage + Pbass + 760FL or Ti flat are my favorite sound...
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I hear you but I have to cut through a loud drummer, aka a drummer, and two single coil guitarists who only play above the 12th fret for that weedly weedly screech. I like my dark tone but I'm thinking of using rounds in this band. It doesn't help that this P bass has muddy ceramic pickups.
 
#167
andare said:
I hear you but I have to cut through a loud drummer, aka a drummer, and two single coil guitarists who only play above the 12th fret for that weedly weedly screech. I like my dark tone but I'm thinking of using rounds in this band. It doesn't help that this P bass has muddy ceramic pickups.
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The ceramic pup on Sonic P are clearly another story compare to others ceramic P i been try.

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#168
One way to clear the Rumble tone is to turn down low mids a bit, and push high mids. Never use the vintage switch. Yet another is to pair it with a brighter, more modern sounding external cab with the tweeter full on. Stock cabs are voiced to sound warm with plenty of low mid energy. It may sound nice and rich soloed, but can quickly get lost and muddy the mix.
 
#170
Sounds like you need to try a Gallien Krueger. I recommend their MB series for performance-to-price ratio. If you're really pressed on $$$, you can pick up their Backline series on the used market - it'll still be more articulate than what you've got.
 
#175
The problem is the Rumbles havent got any useable mid range. Sure they sound great at home but on stage? Forget it, its all soft and mushy. I had the same problem and my techniqe is pretty good ie ..light touch behind the PU, dead flats etc. Anyway I solved the problem by going Ampeg. You gotta have some gnarly mids to be heard and Ampeg delivers.
 
#176
tvbop said:
The problem is the Rumbles havent got any useable mid range. Sure they sound great at home but on stage? Forget it, its all soft and mushy. I had the same problem and my techniqe is pretty good ie ..light touch behind the PU, dead flats etc. Anyway I solved the problem by going Ampeg. You gotta have some gnarly mids to be heard and Ampeg delivers.
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Don‘t know what you’re doing, but that‘s not my experience. When I turn those knobs I can can dial in too many mids. And if you dial out the lows and highs there are even more mids.
 
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#178
I read everything posted and thought that my experience with the Rumble 100 might be of help to some of you.

I bought my Rumble 100 because of the shockingly low weight. I bought it online and immediately did not care for it with electric bass. It did, however, sound decent with upright bass so I kept it for use when I amplify my upright basses. On one gig, I decided to tilt the amp back against the wall to hear it better and was astonished at the improvement in the tone of the amp. Tilting it back (eliminating or at least reducing the floor coupling) is the key for me in using the Rumble 100 for upright bass. I bought one of the little tilt back amp stands and use it with the Rumble on gigs where the volume has not been too great. It works well for me.

I have a gig on upright bass Saturday where an amp will be needed and brought the amp in my rehearsal room to make certain it works as I have not used it for months. I plugged my Bongo 6 into it and it really is a nice sounding amp although the lows sound sort of "boxy" if you know what I mean. I still will not use it for electric bass and typically use a Mesa Subway D-800+ or a Genzler Kinetix head with one or two Subway 115's. Of course the premium amps sound way better than the Rumble 100.

I play a gig with a difficult load in and wanted a combo that would be fairly light and have enough power for an outside gig on electric bass. I bought a Rumble 800. The 500 would have been plenty of power but the 800 weighs less due to the NEO speakers. I used it for quite a while at two venues. In one venue (small place playing inside) it sounds quite good with most of my basses. The Rumble 800 sounds okay but not great at the outside venue that I bought it for. Those accentuated lows sound muddy there and there is not much that can be done to EQ it out. My Bongo 6 works fine there due to the terrific onboard electronics. My Modulus Q6 sounds lousy (muddy, indistinct) through the Rumble 800 at the outside venue.

So I decided to try something different. I was looking at used amps on Guitar Center's site and found a GK MB212 II at a really good price. It is like new and came with a nice cover. Heaven? Not quite. Polar opposite of the Rumble. The Rumble amps have a baked in sound and so do the GK amps. Neither is ideal for me. The GK sounds best to me with all the tone shaping switches off and the tweeter off. It still sounds....well...like an edgy rock and roll amp and I am an old guy who plays jazz and bluesy rock. My preferred tone is warm, big but with details in the tone. I thought I was going to return the GK but decided to try using my Mesa Subway preamp in front of the GK. The GK has no effects loop......remarkable in an amp that sells for $1349. I plugged my bass into the Mesa Subway preamp and went from the preamp out into the input on the GK amp. It sounded better with all controls centered. Then I engaged the deep switch on the Subway preamp and there is my tone. Big warm lows with lots of detail and sweet mids and highs.

I am a gear head and admittedly have way more gear than I actually need.....I also do not have a wife to consider. However, that said, I am keeping both my Rumble 100 and the 800 because they are still useful to me in certain venues. I keep hoping that Mesa will eventually introduce a lightweight Subway combo amp. That would almost certainly be the best for me although it would not be inexpensive.
 
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