Fender Rumble 150 Combo

[BassPimp66]

Here's the story. I went to rehearsal studio in London for an audition. The place was too far to bring my own stack, so I had to settle for a small Fender Rumble 150 combo provided as back line by the studio.
What's gonna happen to my beloved Sadowsky sound? Well, it went very well so I thought I'd share the experience in this forum.

[b]Features[/b]:

The amp's features are very basic. For a start, where's the gain knob? None available (!!!).
Using the 6db pad, I was able to adjust for my active bass to problem. Then, it straight to volume.
I did not make the preamp clip, so it actually worked quite well. I did not feel the need for a gain knob.

After that, it's the overdrive channel. I am not big on overdrive, but I found the drive and blend knob worked well and were very easy to use. There's a button to engage and disengange this feature. I understand it is also available on the amp pedal but this was not available in the studio.

The next section are the mid controls. You can choose to scoop or bump the mids, or both. This feature is similar to mid shape section found in other amps like trace elliot, ashdown, or ampeg.

A very basic eq section follows with four knobs. FX loop, mp3 input and XLR are on the front. I did not get a chance to try these features. And the last knob is for engaging the horn. It's a simple on/off. It is not possible to vary the volume of the horn.

Everything is located on the front panel. I wish they had open the back to more connection options, say for an extra cab.
But, the load of the amp and the cab is already 4ohms. So, it looks like you cannot extend this rig much further (as opposed to combos with 8ohm speaker, or able to go down to 2ohms load).

This is a fairly light combo at 28 kg.


The setup is very basic but it got the "essentials", so I would give this amp a 6/10.

[b]Build quality:[/b]

The amp is made is the Far East and you can tell it's been made on a budget.
The knobs and the switches feel a bit cheap, like they could start falling apart after a few years of use (as opposed to, say, my SWR SM 400 head that looks made of military grade components). However, I not notice any flaw nor obvious defect in the build, and again, it's a budget amp. So, I would say the build quality is fair.

So, I would give this amp a 6/10 for build quality.

[b]Ease of use:[/b]

Basic features means it's extremely easy to get around this amp. I found it was very quick and easy to dial a good one. Set flat the combo sounds good. Not much fiddling around necessary here. You plug and the rest is extremely intuitive. The EQ section works really well, and I found the mid share section very useful. I like to scoop my mids and I was able to get that typical scoped sound instantly (yeah!!!). For those mid-scoop haters out there, you can disengage or bump to your liking.

I give this amp a 8/10 for ease of use.

[b]Sound:[/b]

This what got me to write this review.
The sound of this amp is really impressive. There's a lot of clarity and focus coming out the amp. The 15 inch speaker is very fast and responsive and was able to reproduce my tone without too much coloration (I'm a SWR/Markbass type of guy). I played my Sadowsky 5 string. The amp handled the B string with authority. The amp is also very loud for such a small package. The amp stood its ground against a loud drummer. I found the horn sounded a little harsh to my taste. I would have liked to be able to tune the horn down a little bit. This being said, I also found that with the horn disengaged , there was enough treble and clarity coming out of the 15 inch speaker to produced great slap tones. The combo was able to produce great mid rock tones, with nice grit coming from the overdrive circuit, as well as a great MarcusMiller-esque sound for slap. Being a jazz-funk audition, it suited my playing perfectly. My Sadowsky sounded great and the audition went great. Mission accomplished.

I give this amp a 8/10 for the sound.

[b]Overall:[/b]

I would certainly consider this combo as a backup rig.
For roughly GBP 350, it is great value for the money and it will be at ease in the rehearsal room and for the weekend pub gig (and I would not worry about spilling beer on it at this price).

Well done Fender. Not easy to please the SWR/Markbass afficionado in me.

I give this amp a 7/10.

Edited June 10, 2012 by BassPimp66

[Lozz196]

I used the 100 watt version at a gig. Great sound, but 100 watts wasn`t enough, couldn`t hear myself at all on-stage. Sounds like those extra 50 watts are what is needed.

[afterimage]

The 350 is much. Nicer

[Lozz196]

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1339328123' post='1686814']
I used the 100 watt version at a gig. Great sound, but 100 watts wasn`t enough, couldn`t hear myself at all on-stage. Sounds like those extra 50 watts are what is needed.
[/quote]

Having now used the 150 at a gig, those extra watts are what is needed. Great warm rich sound, easily heard in the mix. I like Fender bass amps. I just can`t carry them.