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Should I do this?

#21
The Fender 500 is a sweet spot according to me for both the price and performance.
Nevertheless, you can’t compare it to a today’s Neo 15" driver from GK, Mesa or Darkglass as this new generation of speakers brings you much more of everything.
And you head amp is a good one, you just didn’t see its full potential yet.
 
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#24
Ron Berenato said:
View attachment 5333326
My current rig. It sounds great. I use this setup for small gigs and I have two Peavey 210 cabs for outdoor/larger gigs when I want more volume. I'm in the middle of down sizing and am thinking about selling this rig and going with a Fender Rumble 500 combo. I've read the threads on TB and everyone seems to love the Rumble amps. And yes, one 36lb combo amp will take up much less room than all the cabs I have laying around. Question is . . for you Rumble guys - will I be happy with this switch? Honestly I will probably never play anything more than small bar/coffee house gigs from here on out and (from what I've read) the Rumble 500 with two 10's should give me everything I need. Have any of you guys found this amp to be not enough?
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I still miss my LH1000 tho' I don't miss the weight. I'm ok with the Mesa WD800 I'm now using, the LH was an easier tone-wise to deal with amp.

I use no effects in the signal chain.

A new rig will change things.
 
#25
4Mal said:
I find Fender Rumbles to be ... not confidence inspiring. Grab a Quilter, a Magellan, a Subway, a GK.. a couple of 1x12's and be done.

IMO The Rumble has price and weight going for it and nothing else...
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Yes

My Mesa D800 with 1 Subway lite 112 plays any "small" gig. Paring my other Subway lite 112 plays any "big" gig. This is great downsizing.
 
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#26
JC BASS 91 said:
20 years ago, this was my go to live rig...I carried this thing in and out of venues.

View attachment 5333644

The 115 cabinet is about 50lbs, the 210 cab is 75lbs and the head alone is 79lbs. I took a long break from playing to raise kids. When I started playing with a band again, I quickly decided (before I even started) that I was NOT going to lug that stack around anymore and started looking for a better option.

After a lot of research, I landed on the Rumble 500 combo. I have now been using it for over a year and I am more than happy with it!! At 39lbs, it is definitely light enough that I don't hate myself for killing my back to load in and out. Had I waited a little while longer, I probably would have bought the 800 combo instead, but it didn't exist when I needed it. I am still happy with the 500, though. It has been more than sufficient for every gig we have played (Rock hits cover band). The one festival we played, the sound guy simply plugged into the DI out on the amp and all was well.

In this day of class D amps and neo drivers, I don't see a reason to break your back. I'm definitely not going to be!
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I have the same Avatar 210 cab. Now that I know it weighs 75 lbs it seems much heavier to me LOL. I also have a Hartke 210 that I swear is heavier than the Avatar, but I’ve never weighed either of them accurately. I also have a Delta Bass head but it’s nowhere near 79 lbs.
 
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#27
Ive only played through one once at a multi-band gig where one of the other bassists supplied the combo. Im normally a mids-forward type of gent, but, I was perfectly happy with tone. So much I thought about grabbing one just for times I didnt want to lug separate head/cabs. Thats just me though.
 
#30
SunByrne said:
On the plus side, the Rumbles are lightweight and good value for money.

On the minus side, they have a baked in tone with a mid scoop that some people cannot get past. The mid scoop can be EQ'd out to an extent, but there's still something about their sound that some people do not like. But this is clearly a minority of TBers, and the positives are absolutely legit, so if you don't mind the baked in tone, then they're a good deal.
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To be fair, the LH heads are the king of scooped tone if you don’t understand the tone stack.

Personally, if the head is working just fine, and you’re happy with your tone, I’d be fairly inclined to just throw money into a good lightweight cab (or two). I feel like a fair assessment of those Rumble combos is that they’re very much the amp equivalent of a P bass. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, and it’s not always the most exciting tone, but in a band setting they seem to work just fine. It’s not a Mesa or a GK or an Ampeg or whatever else, but it’ll do the job and do it well enough.
 
#31
What’s the motivation to change? Is it weight? Sound? Because you aren’t going to save much in terms of space.

That’s a cheap, heavy cab. As far as ease of transport, you’ll be better off with a light cab and a light head than with a light combo. If I wanted to reduce weight while increasing sound quality, I’d probably start by buying a better and lighter 2x10, and maybe upgrade the head (to class D) down the line if you feel it’s necessary.

In the meantime, if the rack case is only there to hold the tuner, I’d ditch both of those pieces and just use a clip-on (or pedal tuner if you already have a board).
 
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#34
Ron Berenato said:
View attachment 5333326
My current rig. It sounds great. I use this setup for small gigs and I have two Peavey 210 cabs for outdoor/larger gigs when I want more volume. I'm in the middle of down sizing and am thinking about selling this rig and going with a Fender Rumble 500 combo. I've read the threads on TB and everyone seems to love the Rumble amps. And yes, one 36lb combo amp will take up much less room than all the cabs I have laying around. Question is . . for you Rumble guys - will I be happy with this switch? Honestly I will probably never play anything more than small bar/coffee house gigs from here on out and (from what I've read) the Rumble 500 with two 10's should give me everything I need. Have any of you guys found this amp to be not enough?
Click to expand...
I see that you live in Memphis, not sure of the music store scene there but I would think that you should be able to go try the Rumble for yourself and see what you think. Bring your own bass - I don't own one but have used them a few times at jams (amp provided by the house band) and thought they were fine. Depending on your budget, there are other good lightweight combos out there to try - GK, Ampeg, Traynor. You might find one used if you're patient.
 
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#35
As others have advised, lose the tuner and the rack, keep your hartke head and spend your money on a good speaker. There’s lots of good options out there, check out Bergantino. Their ENXT 12” cab is a great sounding speaker, 29lbs and worth every penny.
 
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#36
Bushrod Johnson said:
Yes

My Mesa D800 with 1 Subway lite 112 plays any "small" gig. Paring my other Subway lite 112 plays any "big" gig. This is great downsizing.
Click to expand...

This is my exact setup as well. Each piece costs more than the Rumble combo, but it's the best investment I've made. I play a Rumble 100 at church and it's OK, but if the 500 is anything like it, it wouldn't be my first choice for my rock band.
 
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