• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Problem with fender rumble 500

#63
Old Garage-Bander said:
Maybe your bass just doesn't put out as much signal as the one in the store.
Dime the amp and back off on the bass.
Click to expand...

Seems like what it is. Maybe these strings are playing a role too, but I was using a musicman stingray with one of those big ass humbuckers. The guy said it was a mark hoppus but I thought he played fenders. Doesnt really matter. Either way, it was not a jazz bass so it was definitely throwing out a hell of a lot more distortion than my jazz bass.
 
#64
trenken said:
Seems like what it is. Maybe these strings are playing a role too, but I was using a musicman stingray with one of those big ass humbuckers. The guy said it was a mark hoppus but I thought he played fenders. Doesnt really matter. Either way, it was not a jazz bass so it was definitely throwing out a hell of a lot more distortion than my jazz bass.
Click to expand...
Well it sounds like you're getting things figured out.
Have fun with your new toy.
 
#65
Old Garage-Bander said:
Well it sounds like you're getting things figured out.
Have fun with your new toy.
Click to expand...

Starting to. Im sure I was overreacting at first just because this is all very different from what im used to. I went from an MTD on a stack with a pedal rack that needed nothing from me other than clicking them, to a jazz bass on a combo with no pedals that suddenly needs all kinds of love to get it going. Definitely a LOT more picky to get what I want out of it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Old Garage-Bander
#67
I have the 500 Combo and I agree with the posters that said maybe your jazz bass has less output than the store bass. In addition, I look at the Rumble OD as more of a emulator of a tube head overdrive; it is there to add some grit to your tone, not function as an all out nasty grinder. I use the OD on the amp for more vintagey tones and a separate pedal for more aggressive balls to the wall overdrive.
 
#68
First thing I was told about bass guitar was always have the volume on full. The volume knob is for 1. old school manual volume swells, 2. emergencies, like when someone in the house is banging on the walls to get you to stop vibrating the place, or 3. having arguments in with the guitarist at rehearsal.
 
#69
trenken said:
I have a pretty solid distortion going on now after spending hours messing with this. What I didnt know what that the bass volume should be cranked up. Ive been playing bass for 25 years, but only just now getting into some distortion through a combo amp on a jazz bass, so this is all new to me.

The amp works great. I mean this thing beats the hell out of the ampeg ba-210. It seriously bumps. A crap ton of power, and it doesnt fart out when im about to shake the house apart. The ampeg was a piece of junk. Couldnt even handle a low E note without buzzing like hell.

At first I thought the lack of distortion might be the amp which is why I posted this in the amp section, but im realizing that its just a little picky with all the knobs. I still need the drive knob at like 3 oclock to get a good nasty 70s ricky sound, but like others said, this could be because of low output, or these bland fender strings.
Click to expand...
I might question your settings on the Ampeg as well if you were getting the results you describe.
 
#71
trenken said:
I have a pretty solid distortion going on now after spending hours messing with this. What I didnt know what that the bass volume should be cranked up. Ive been playing bass for 25 years, but only just now getting into some distortion through a combo amp on a jazz bass, so this is all new to me.

The amp works great. I mean this thing beats the hell out of the ampeg ba-210. It seriously bumps. A crap ton of power, and it doesnt fart out when im about to shake the house apart. The ampeg was a piece of junk. Couldnt even handle a low E note without buzzing like hell.

At first I thought the lack of distortion might be the amp which is why I posted this in the amp section, but im realizing that its just a little picky with all the knobs. I still need the drive knob at like 3 oclock to get a good nasty 70s ricky sound, but like others said, this could be because of low output, or these bland fender strings.
Click to expand...

This is what I get for assuming. Sorry... Yes, VVT should all be turned up tot he max on the bass, drive it hard on the input, hit the OD, and turn it to your taste and crunch away.

Also like I mentioned before, good, fresh, bright strings are what you want for OD / crunchy / growly tone. Read my post history and realize I don't change strings often (My 2003 Ibanez SR480 is waiting its first string change....), but it varies by bass, use, and sound I am trying to get (My 2015 Jazz bass is on its fifth set so far... And it isn't my #1

If you are going to be shooting for that super bright sound, make good friends with I think his name is Jason, the guy that does basstringsonline.com, you are going to go through strings to keep the sound fresh...
 
#72
If you don't have the volume on your J bass, or P bass, or whatever bass all the way up, the Overdrive circuit doesnt have enough voltage to get "overdriven". I'm primarily a guitarist and I use this all the time to my advantage. My Marshall guitar amps need a healthy strong voltage from my guitar in order to distort, I back off on the volume knob on my guitar and the sound cleans up. No need for pedals, volume on guitar on (about 6) and my sound is relatively clean, volume on guitar on 8 and things get crunchy, volume on guitar on 10 and I'm in Distortion City. In summary, keep your J bass's volume on 10 if you want the Rumble's OD circuit to distort.
 
#74
trenken said:
Starting to. Im sure I was overreacting at first just because this is all very different from what im used to. I went from an MTD on a stack with a pedal rack that needed nothing from me other than clicking them, to a jazz bass on a combo with no pedals that suddenly needs all kinds of love to get it going. Definitely a LOT more picky to get what I want out of it.
Click to expand...

MAke love to your girl just. like. that.
 
#75
trenken said:
Just bought this amp. Sounds great, but when I tried the overdrive out in the store it sounded nasty, in a good way. Very crunchy. I get the amp home, try it out on my fender jazz deluxe, and there is almost no distortion, even with it cranked all the way up.

Wth? This is incredibly irritating because I had an ampeg combo with this same issue, no distortion from the scrambler. I return it, get the rumble, same problem!
Click to expand...
 
#77
Quite possibly your passive (I assume) bass doesnʻt have the output to drive the amp to high distortion levels. First thing to try is bringing the pickups up a bit, closer to the strings. (Not close enough to make contact when you are fretting up high.) Next would be a booster or preamp pedal, or installing electronics of some sort in the bass.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back