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Will Fender Rumble 100 work for me?

nightchef

nightchef

Feb 4, 2005
374
623
Boston
#1
Hi folks! I mostly lurk around here, but have a question. I've been getting by for years with a single bass rig of GK 700RB + Schroeder 1212 (original version). It's a very solid rig and loud enough for anything I ever do (mostly rootsy/classic rock stuff).

But I'm getting older, and I find myself fairly often in situations where the GK/Schroeder rig is mild overkill: musical theater gigs, coffeehouse/unplugged type situations, living room or back porch jams. I'd like a small combo amp for these situations. I want it to have enough power and an adequate cabinet to create a reasonably full, warm sound, but it won't have to compete with a bashing drummer and overdriven guitars. If it has a sound that records well (with mic and/or DI), that's a plus.

Initial research suggests the Fender Rumble 100 might be what I'm looking for. Does that sound right, and is there anything else I should be looking at?

Thanks!
 
#2
Of course, it could work for you! It's certainly very light and portable, with great tone and a post-EQ XLR Out for recording or FOH. At least one user transports it to and from gigs on his motorcycle!

Have you tried it out at your local music store? That's really the only way to tell if you can dial in the tone and get the volume you're looking for.

It might be a pretty big reduction from your present rig power-wise, though. You might want to consider the more flexible Rumble 200. It gets a whole lot of love in The Fender Rumble Club for it's combination of power and solid 15" speaker, 140 watts alone, 200 watts with an 8-ohm extension. You might want to ask there if you have any questions.
 
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#3
Thanks! Actually I just popped over to the nearest GC and tried a Rumble 100 out. It had an odd problem: it was too loud. Or more precisely, the play on the master volume between dead silent and really loud was tiny; it got to a level that would be excessive for musical theater or coffeehouse gigs between 7 and 8 o'clock on the master. By 9 o'clock, it was at a level that would do for a lot of rock bands I've been in. After that it just got boomier more than subjectively louder. And this was with the gain all the way down.

Is this normal? Or do they possibly have a bum unit? It seemed almost unusable, and certainly not right for the applications I have in mind. I tried out the new Peavey 100-watt that was right next to it, and while it didn't sound particularly good (and had a deal-breaking internal rattle), it had a much more manageable volume range, pretty much what you'd expect for a 100-watt unit.
 
#5
Yes--and I turned it up momentarily just to verify that it was functioning. The tone got warmer with the gain up halfway, and slightly louder, but it was definitely more a change of color than level.
 
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#7
Seems you auditioned a GC "Special" that must have a bum Vol. pot.

Myself, and many others, have used a Rumble 500 combo for everything from quiet late night practice to very nuanced acoustic jams to flat out rock fests. Yes, the Volume control should use the full turn.

Did you try any other Rumble combos to see if their Volumes worked correctly?
 
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#8
G-Dog said:
Did you try any other Rumble combos to see if their Volumes worked correctly?
Click to expand...

Yes, they had a 40 that seemed fine. It got respectably loud at a fairly low setting (I think about 9 o'clock gain, noon master), but there was plenty of range to work with. But I could tell that even at that moderate setting, the bottom end was crumpling just a tiny bit more than I would like. It wasn't bad, but the headroom difference between 40 and 100 would clearly matter to me.

I'll look for another 100 to try. Thanks!
 
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#9
Yes, a 40 is a long way from a 100. But, some Rumblers use multiple Rumble combos to play small to large gigs. Multiple 40s run the XLR Out of one to the input of another. Multiple 100s run FX Send of one (master) to FX Return of the other (slave) and EQ both from the master.

And one Rumbler likes to use up to four Rumble 40s for his stereo rig!
20180105_150330-1.jpg​
 
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#16
nightchef said:
Hi folks! I mostly lurk around here, but have a question. I've been getting by for years with a single bass rig of GK 700RB + Schroeder 1212 (original version). It's a very solid rig and loud enough for anything I ever do (mostly rootsy/classic rock stuff).

But I'm getting older, and I find myself fairly often in situations where the GK/Schroeder rig is mild overkill: musical theater gigs, coffeehouse/unplugged type situations, living room or back porch jams. I'd like a small combo amp for these situations. I want it to have enough power and an adequate cabinet to create a reasonably full, warm sound, but it won't have to compete with a bashing drummer and overdriven guitars. If it has a sound that records well (with mic and/or DI), that's a plus.

Initial research suggests the Fender Rumble 100 might be what I'm looking for. Does that sound right, and is there anything else I should be looking at?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Listen to one first. I don't like the tone.
But a bunch of folks do.
 
#19
The Rumble 100 is a nice little lightweight bass amp that does OK.
It does not sound like a small pro rig like the GK but it's pretty cheap.
It would work for your low volume applications but is the tone good enough?
I like mine but don't use it much.
 
#20
I used to own one myself and played a total of two gigs with it. The second time I used it, the guy I was backing (a solo artist) said "Never bring that thing back again", so I went back to my GK MB200 + 2x10 cab which he always complimented me on the tone of.

Having owned that combo and a pair of 1x15 Rumble cabs, I can tell you right now they take out a lot of midrange content, not just in the EQ stack but natively from the speakers. Some people like that tone, I like having the option of boominess and the option to cut. I had an awful time trying to cut without being boomy when using the Rumble 100 combo. I ended up trading it in and it was definitely the right decision.

Again YMMV, but if you are a GK player like myself you may find the Fender leaving you with a frown on your face after using it live :meh:
 
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