I've got both these amps out in my practice space at the moment and it seemed a good opportunity to compare them. I've been gigging the BG250-112 for a couple of months and our last show was a pretty packed outdoor patio. I ended up running a DI into the normally "vocals only" PA to get through the gig, but felt like I was digging in a little more than usual to hear myself because I didn't quite have enough amp. I needed just a hair more power to comfortably play without PA support for that size venue. This experience led to me researching a combo/extension cab type setup that would allow me to scale up for larger or outdoor stages but still have a grab and go single piece amp for the smaller shows.
Enter the Rumble 500 which gets tons of praise here. I'd also tried one out at Sweetwater a few months ago and was impressed, but I hadn't really turned it up. I found a deal on a new one for ~$420 shipped and pulled the trigger. It arrived today so I set them both up next to one another and proceeded to A/B.
First impressions:
So far I'm pretty conflicted. The Rumble is undoubtedly much louder than the BG250 and this is just the 2x10 combo. I have not procured an extension cab yet. At equal volumes I slightly prefer the tone and the rounder bottom end of the BG-250. I play a P bass with flats and the tone rolled off so thump is my thing. The thump of the Rumble is looser in the low end than the the BG250 if I keep the same technique. If I turn the Rumble up a little and play with a softer touch the low end is much tighter so I think this has a lot to do with what I'm used to and how much time I've had to dial in and adjust to the BG250. I'm also using the Spectra Comp Toneprint on the BG250 so I think that's keeping it a little tighter for me as well. I'll dig up a compressor pedal to try with the Rumble.
Obviously I will need a little time to dial in the Rumble and explore the different options. Right now I'm just playing it with the EQ flat and none of the switches engaged. I want to try a compressor in front of it and explore the tonal options. These things both weigh the same, but the BG250 has the built in tuner and spectra comp so it really is a one stop shop. I'll probably need to bring my pedal board to use the Rumble. I also need to dig into the vast Rumble thread to see how other peeps have them dialed in for sure.
I could see keeping them both actually, but the Rumble will definitely be sticking around to handle venues where 250 watts doesn't quite cut it. I'll be adding an extension cab as well for scale-ability. I got the BG250 for $320 shipped new and the rumble for $420 shipped new so even though these amps aren't technically in the same class they fill the same market niche. They are just about the same size and weight as well. Gratuitous pic:
Enter the Rumble 500 which gets tons of praise here. I'd also tried one out at Sweetwater a few months ago and was impressed, but I hadn't really turned it up. I found a deal on a new one for ~$420 shipped and pulled the trigger. It arrived today so I set them both up next to one another and proceeded to A/B.
First impressions:
So far I'm pretty conflicted. The Rumble is undoubtedly much louder than the BG250 and this is just the 2x10 combo. I have not procured an extension cab yet. At equal volumes I slightly prefer the tone and the rounder bottom end of the BG-250. I play a P bass with flats and the tone rolled off so thump is my thing. The thump of the Rumble is looser in the low end than the the BG250 if I keep the same technique. If I turn the Rumble up a little and play with a softer touch the low end is much tighter so I think this has a lot to do with what I'm used to and how much time I've had to dial in and adjust to the BG250. I'm also using the Spectra Comp Toneprint on the BG250 so I think that's keeping it a little tighter for me as well. I'll dig up a compressor pedal to try with the Rumble.
Obviously I will need a little time to dial in the Rumble and explore the different options. Right now I'm just playing it with the EQ flat and none of the switches engaged. I want to try a compressor in front of it and explore the tonal options. These things both weigh the same, but the BG250 has the built in tuner and spectra comp so it really is a one stop shop. I'll probably need to bring my pedal board to use the Rumble. I also need to dig into the vast Rumble thread to see how other peeps have them dialed in for sure.
I could see keeping them both actually, but the Rumble will definitely be sticking around to handle venues where 250 watts doesn't quite cut it. I'll be adding an extension cab as well for scale-ability. I got the BG250 for $320 shipped new and the rumble for $420 shipped new so even though these amps aren't technically in the same class they fill the same market niche. They are just about the same size and weight as well. Gratuitous pic:
