New Amp

[DRut]

Hey all,

I have a fender Rumble 500 amp and a Fender rumble cab. I am thinking about getting a new setup for no other reason than I want one. If I go with a different amp, is that going to change my sound. Let me be clear i know that I can always adjust the settings , but I have heard of the Ampeg sound or the sound of so and so. My question is, is the output that noticeable when switching amps.

 

[Timmah]

The difference in sound will definitely be noticeable. In my experience, the Rumble stuff has a huge bump in the low mids, while Ampeg usually has more presence in the true lows and in the high/high mids. There’s no way to know whether you’ll like that difference other than to hear it for yourself. As somebody somewhere once (probably) said, “talking about music is about as useful as dancing about architecture.” You won’t know for sure until you get in a room and play the new amp.

 

[bholder]

“talking about music is about as useful as dancing about architecture.”

I've read that it was Declan McManus (Elvis Costello) who coined that, or something similar.

 

[Wasnex]

Yes different amps tend to have different baked in voicing. Additionally the way the tone controls works tends to vary from amp to amp.


Fender tone stacks for example are generally described as able to boost bass and treble, but only cut mids. That's not 100% true to what is actually happening. The idea is you can't dial in a mid boost, only a mid cut.


Some amps have tone controls that can boost or cut. However, the controls don't necessarily produce exactly the same result.

Treble and bass controls are usually shelving type. The curve for shelving bass and treble boost in one amp might like something like this:

In another amp shelving bass and treble boost might look something like this:

You should be able to clearly see that these curves effect different frequencies, so they will sound different.

Mid tone controls usually have a bell shaped curve:

The bell shaped controls can be centered on different frequencies. The curve above appears to effect the upper bass and low mids.

The curve below appears to effect the high mids:

Another way bell shaped filters can vary is Q Factor or bandwidth:

All four of these curves have a different bandwidth. The blue, red, and yellow curve share the same center frequency.

 

[Redbrangus]

I've read that it was Declan McManus (Elvis Costello) who coined that, or something similar.

I originally heard it attributed to Charles Mingus, but here's a Wiki entry in which Elvis Costello credits Martin Mull with it. >>> Writing about music is like dancing about architecture

 

[Chris Wilke]

Yes it will change your sound.

If you have absolutely no other reason than you're just wanting another amp, then buy another set up exactly like the one you have. If you want more variety of features, or a different tone/timbre, larger/smaller size, louder, etc. then you now have other reason(s).

 

[tothemax]

I would suggest taking your bass to a music store with a decent inventory of any amps that peek your interest and give em' a test run. Then you get the the first hand sight and sound test... Amp and speaker (Cab) combinations will also make a difference...

You may also discover the SRV/EVH (insert your favorite legend) gear revelation. Many folks have tried out their rigs and they still sound like themselves... it's an excellent cure for GAS.

Cheers

 

[BassHole1]

I have an Ampeg BA115 (100w, 15" + horn) as my main gigging amp. It's heavy but puts out a lot of bass. Lots of rock, blues, pop.
I have a Rumble 100 (100w, 12") that is nice, but probably would not cut it for a gig. Maybe could, but not sure. I have yet to try it. It weighs 1/3 the Ampeg.

Sound wise, the Ampeg has more of a vintage bass tone - very low frequency and you feel it. The Fender is nice, but is lacking something.......just my $0.02.....

I have tried the R200 and R500 in GC - they are okay, too. But seem one dimensional to me in terms of sound. They are great for what they are, and super light (I have an R15, R25, R40 and the R100), but I would be hard pressed to use one as my main gigging rig.

Good tip above - take your bass to the store and try a handful of other amps and see. I would like a 4x10 cabinet and dedicated separate amp, but I don't gig enough to justify yet another amp. I am a drummer with many kits and my 17 y.o. is a guitarist so we have tons of guitars and amps, basses, keyboards, etc!

 

[Andy Marshman]

For many years I've played through Fender bass amps. I tried various Ampegs in the past and distinctly disliked the SVT head + cab tone. That's just personal preference. Just one month ago I purchased, and now play through an RB-112. I don't require massive volume but I like the change of tone that I'm hearing. So there's the point - both are good, but simply different.

 

[Pocket Dave]

You may also discover the SRV/EVH (insert your favorite legend) gear revelation. Many folks have tried out their rigs and they still sound like themselves... it's an excellent cure for GAS.

Cheers

I met Stevie back in his club days. I was playing guitar at the time - he played my '74 335 through my '64 Super Reverb. He still sounded like himself, and unfortunately, I still sounded like me.

I have a wonderful Stratocaster these days with a rare set of Van Zandt Fullertone pickups blueprinted after SRV's "#1" pickups. I still don't sound like him.

 

[Pocket Dave]

Hey all,

I have a fender Rumble 500 amp and a Fender rumble cab. I am thinking about getting a new setup for no other reason than I want one. If I go with a different amp, is that going to change my sound. Let me be clear i know that I can always adjust the settings , but I have heard of the Ampeg sound or the sound of so and so. My question is, is the output that noticeable when switching amps.

As others have mentioned, yes.

What bass styles & tones do you like? Clean, full, tight, vintage warm/overdriven, distorted?

What would you change about your Rumble? What do you wish it could do better?

 

[DavidEdenAria]

I met Stevie back in his club days. I was playing guitar at the time - he played my '74 335 through my '64 Super Reverb. He still sounded like himself, and unfortunately, I still sounded like me.

I have a wonderful Stratocaster these days with a rare set of Van Zandt Fullertone pickups blueprinted after SRV's "#1" pickups. I still don't sound like him.

SRV never changed much tonally to speak of...EVH changed a LOT tonally and because of the high gain Soldano and 5150 his playing and songwriting changed along with a technically better singer lol!

 

[Pocket Dave]

SRV never changed much tonally to speak of...EVH changed a LOT tonally and because of the high gain Soldano and 5150 his playing and songwriting changed along with a technically better singer lol!

Stevie was using a blended-amp approach when I first saw him, combining blackface Super Reverbs with 115 Vibroverbs. When he started blending in more mid-bite-focused Marshall amps, I didn't notice a huge difference in his tone or technique. He had so much mojo in his hands and heart - part of the reason I believe there've been so many poor imitations since.

 

[DavidEdenAria]

Stevie was using a blended-amp approach when I first saw him, combining blackface Super Reverbs with 115 Vibroverbs. When he started blending in more mid-bite-focused Marshall amps, I didn't notice a huge difference in his tone or technique. He had so much mojo in his hands and heart - part of the reason I believe there've been so many poor imitations since.

Yea...I was always more into Blackmore when it came to Strat players or Buddy Guy or Rory for blues stuff but that was before SRV in the 70s.

Anson Funderburg and Ronnie Earl in the 80s in clubs...yea the whole SRV I'm from Texas copy thing.

Only saw SRV once when TBirds opened it was good not great as the ElMocambo and ACL...the part where SRV played with Jimmy was good! SRV did great studio albums though the band and songwriting and production .

 

[Geogio]

My question is, is the output that noticeable when switching amps.

I use the same set up of 500 Rumble & Cab. It does what I need it to do.

But I will say that the sweetest bass cab and ekectric bass that I ever heard was an Aguilar head and an Aguilar cab with a Warwick thumb 5 plugged into it. It was at a library and the room might have been 900sq ft and full of books (i.e it was very well insulated).

Back when Ampegs were going strong and SVT had pretty much just come out, I was using the Sunn 2000S with 2 JBL D140's so -- I was prejudiced.

 

[H Nighttrain]

If I go with a different amp, is that going to change my sound. Let me be clear i know that I can always adjust the settings , but I have heard of the Ampeg sound or the sound of so and so. My question is, is the output that noticeable when switching amps.

A lot of the replies here focus on frequency response and adjustment (the Wasnex post is very nice).

But the reason different amps sound and respond to your playing differently goes beyond EQ; two different brands set to "flat'' EQ-wise (whether all at noon or boosted/cut to remove a "baked-in" scoop) will feel and still sound different. With some amps the notes hit quick, others they tend to bloom more; some have a richness in the harmonic content, others are cleaner sounding, others are harsh; etc. Moreover, the way different speaker enclosures produce sound waves based on the input from an amp will vary.

(The other major component in the chain is, of course, the player. Some players' styles are just unmistakable, even using very disparate amps/cabs.)

After a while you get a sense of the characteristic sound and feel of different bass amp brands. In my head, from my experience, I think Ampegs tend to be beefy, GKs aggressive, Ashdown deep, Rumbles are bedroom tone, Hartkes too, Markbass clinical; Mesa, Genz, Berg, Quilter are solid. I've also played Peavey, Carvin, Bugera, Behringer backlines....

If you're like most of us, you'll play thru various gear, like some, not like others; love a few, buy them, use in different settings; change your mind, sell some to get some others; iterate until you settle in with your favorites.

 

[Solipsistik]

I love the SVT sound, myself. But... before you do this, consider a pre-amp like the SansAmp (big bonus: you can just jack right into front of house and use in-ear monitors should you desire, no need for an amp). You can get a LOT of tones and flexibility with these things. Likewise, you could try an EQ unit, maybe one that includes parametric controls. The Rumble has a very finite amount of flexibility, although to my ear it sounds quite good for rock/melody (though I hate the vintage sound, it just makes it sound muddy to me).

 

[buldog5151bass]

Silly question - what don't you like about your present sound?

 

[DRut]

As others have mentioned, yes.

What bass styles & tones do you like? Clean, full, tight, vintage warm/overdriven, distorted?

What would you change about your Rumble? What do you wish it could do better?

It's kind of a one trick pony if I may. This all started with my most recent gas acquisition. I had 3 basses p bass, jazz bass and 1 5 string Michael Kelley. On a whim a great deal came up on a sterling ray 34. I pulled the trigger and the moment I played I fell in love . The mids are so much more refined than my jazz or p bass. Them I started wondering what I was missing elsewhere. That where this question came from.. I started off as a motown James jamerson fan boy. But with thos ray I have found that I can turn out my ,id's and end up with aa vintage town to play blues like the blues Brothers or turn the mids back up and play cream sunshine of your love or thrill is gone. I'm really just wondering how much ,more is out there