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Surprise: Fender Rumble amp!

#61
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I've been playing my Rumble 500, 410 cab setup for al,most 3 years with no issues.

One of the first v3's available.

About 30 gigs and countless loud practices, the amp is pushed.

I too get complements about my tone.

I would have spent another $800 on a gig rig, but did not have to.

Quality, great price and great sound.

I stopped shopping and comparing.

This is a keeper.

I could care less what anybody thinks about it.

Loud, good sounding and reliable.

Nothing more you can ask for.
 
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#62
Linnin said:
Yes! Disco lights in the original Rumble 60 & 100. The LEDs would pulse to your playing and you could see them through the slot port at the bottom of the cab. Very theatrical, and the teenagers loved 'em. And yes, you could turn them off if you were an old fuddy-duddy/killjoy.
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Ha! I did not know about the lights in the early version. Glad they stopped doing that.
 
#63
steamthief said:
Lighten up, Francis. Of course it's possible some don't like the amps. I'd suggest you take a look at the reviews from your online vendor of choice. The amps certainly sell well, and the reviews are overwhelmingly positive. Seems to me the marketplace has spoken.

If you're construing my earlier comment as an insult, maybe you're one of the "haters" Gougedeye is talking about. ;)
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Don't call me Francis, the name is Psycho!
 
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#64
mmbongo said:
Seriously I would be curious what difference upgrading from the Chinese speakers they use would make, have you thought of trying that? Of course it would probably be cost prohibitive to buy them, but if you had some nicer speakers just laying around....
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I do not have any spares to try and not really worth the $$. I have an amp that I love, and just use the rumble at home. No big deal. Just cracks me up that some cannot understand that some folks just don't like the amp.
 
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#65
Hounddog409 said:
I do not have any spares to try and not really worth the $$. I have an amp that I love, and just use the rumble at home. No big deal. Just cracks me up that some cannot understand that some folks just don't like the amp.
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This I can respect and agree with...I actually love my Rumbles tone, but tone is subjective and everyone has different preferences. Now saying you don't like them because if an earlier version(which is not relevant), or the name on the label is a ridiculous argument IMO:)
 
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#71
ubernator said:
True, rumble was designed from the ground up. Nothing rebadged. But I am a firm believer that the absorption of brands like SWR and GB added greatly to their brain trust, and current fender bass amps would not be as good as they are had they not.
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From GB, Jeff Genzler has a new company, and Andy Fields (head engineer) now designs for Mesa.

What part of the GB braintrust is still at Fender?
 
#73
ubernator said:
I meant the secrets that were absorbed, perhaps brain trust was the wrong term.

Rumbles use ICE modules anyway, so no real class d design was done, just the use of proven industry standard power amp chips.
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IDK ... the use of an ICE module in itself does not mean "no class D design was done" As Andy/Agedhorse has said many times here, it's how you build the circuit links to the ICE power module that makes a great deal of difference with the final integrated product/amp. I'm willing to bet that there were Class D engineering and a,p design skills/knowledge at Fender before they bought Genz Benz.

I don't own a Rumble myself, so I have no dog in any argument about the amp one way or the other.
 
#74
ubernator said:
This thread has temporarily taken the place of the rumble club, no notifications of new messages there today :)
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Didn't intend to infringe on that with my original post and didn't mean to offend or come across as someone looking down on the product with my title.

As a former GB Shuttle 9.0 and NeoX 212T cab owner, I was pleasantly surprised at how easy I could dial in a tone that I liked on the rumble amp as opposed to the struggle I had with the GB gear. That's not a knock on GB, it's just that I prefer a more old school Ampeg rock kind of tone. The Genz Benz gear was top notch quality and Jeff's customer service is a model of how CS should be. I was proud to own that gear. I only sold them because I moved back to Japan again and I don't need my own amp/cab here. Everywhere supplies backline. I just have a small practice amp. If I were in the market again, I'd definitely put the Fender Rumble on my short list.
 
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#75
ubernator said:
I meant the secrets that were absorbed, perhaps brain trust was the wrong term.

Rumbles use ICE modules anyway, so no real class d design was done, just the use of proven industry standard power amp chips.
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The module is just the starting point. It is what is done with it that differentiates designs. Some companies just slap a module in there, others have extensive customization. Then you also have factory location figuring into the picture. That's why there are amps in the Rumble price range and other class D amps the cost significantly more.

I doubt many "secrets" were absorbed. It was a financial move and the tech expertise moved on once FMIC pulled the plug.
 
#76
pfschim said:
IDK ... the use of an ICE module in itself does not mean "no class D design was done" As Andy/Agedhorse has said many times here, it's how you build the circuit links to the ICE power module that makes a great deal of difference with the final integrated product/amp. I'm willing to bet that there were Class D engineering and a,p design skills/knowledge at Fender before they bought Genz Benz.

I don't own a Rumble myself, so I have no dog in any argument about the amp one way or the other.
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bassnyc1 said:
Didn't intend to infringe on that with my original post and didn't mean to offend or come across as someone looking down on the product with my title.

As a former GB Shuttle 9.0 and NeoX 212T cab owner, I was pleasantly surprised at how easy I could dial in a tone that I liked on the rumble amp as opposed to the struggle I had with the GB gear. That's not a knock on GB, it's just that I prefer a more old school Ampeg rock kind of tone. The Genz Benz gear was top notch quality and Jeff's customer service is a model of how CS should be. I was proud to own that gear. I only sold them because I moved back to Japan again and I don't need my own amp/cab here. Everywhere supplies backline. I just have a small practice amp. If I were in the market again, I'd definitely put the Fender Rumble on my short list.
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nostatic said:
The module is just the starting point. It is what is done with it that differentiates designs. Some companies just slap a module in there, others have extensive customization. Then you also have factory location figuring into the picture. That's why there are amps in the Rumble price range and other class D amps the cost significantly more.

I doubt many "secrets" were absorbed. It was a financial move and the tech expertise moved on once FMIC pulled the plug.
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No disagreement or rumble hate from me. The rumble 200 has been my main rig since 2014 when I needed a smaller lighter rig to start playing with again because my living and vehicle situation made my 1998 SWR gear too clunky. Then a year later I took the swr out of storage for a little while, and it all got stolen. I miss it, but the rumble delivers so the loss of the SWR didnt put me out of business. I do have high standards in tone.

So don't read my mention of ICEpower as a stab against rumbles. Which it seems like how it was taken.
 
#77
ubernator said:
No disagreement or rumble hate from me. The rumble 200 has been my main rig since 2014 when I needed a smaller lighter rig to start playing with again because my living and vehicle situation made my 1998 SWR gear too clunky. Then a year later I took the swr out of storage for a little while, and it all got stolen. I miss it, but the rumble delivers so the loss of the SWR didnt put me out of business. I do have high standards in tone.

So don't read my mention of ICEpower as a stab against rumbles. Which it seems like how it was taken.
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not on my part. no worries brother.
 
#78
ubernator said:
So don't read my mention of ICEpower as a stab against rumbles. Which it seems like how it was taken.
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Not by me. Just pointing out that I don't think Fender got the "braintrust" from GB - they are elsewhere. The amps I use have ICE modules - but that doesn't mean much as it is what the designer does with it that matters.

A local club where I gig regularly has one as backline but I bring my own rig as I strongly prefer it. fwiw I think the Rumble is a fine amp for the price, just not my thing. Ymmv.
 
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#79
When it comes to tone, I want the sound I like; don't care about others' perceptions of quality. After nearly 30 years with my trusty GK 400RB, I got tired of lugging it and also wanted more power (found myself playing with a drummer who could get loud). I spent a couple months trying out different class D heads. Thanks to GC's liberal return/exchange policy, I gigged using Markbass, Ampeg, GK, and put a couple others through the paces in store. Wasn't really satisfied with any (actually had problems with the Markbass and Ampeg cutting out during play).

I heard a Youtube clip of someone playing through a Rumble 500 v3 and was surprised by how much I liked the tone. I must confess that I was one of the anti-Fender guys -- wrote them off years ago after being underwhelmed by what I heard. Of course, the bass and cab affect the tone, so I figured I needed to try the Rumble with my gear. After plugging my stuff in, suffice it to say I loved what I heard. Been gigging with it for over a year now and am very happy with it. I just use it with a 2x10 on smaller gigs, and I add a 1x15 for larger ones. Totally satisfied... and, yes, pleasantly surprised.
 
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#80
bassnyc1 said:
View attachment 1143373 Hi everyone,

Like many of you, I rehearse in many different rehearsal studios that supply backline. Recently, I went into a space I hadn't been in before. The amp was the one pictured above: a Fender Rumble 200 watt head with an Ampeg cab.

After Genz Benz was bought out and eliminated by Fender, I was a bit bitter about it because I was a proud GB owner. Then I saw Fender advertise these class D amp heads and I assumed that they were rebadged GB heads; although probably of inferior quality. I don't know to this day if my assumptions were accurate or not but I must tell you that this rig sounded awesome! Maybe the Ampeg cab had something to do with it but I first fired it up with a flat setting without my VTDI pedal and I instantly smiled. Dialed in my sound, smiled more. I was playing a P bass.

Who else was pleasantly surprised by these amps?
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VTDI>Rumble Head>Ampeg Cab is a winner.
 

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