NAD - WITH SOME TREPIDATION.

[bertbass]

Streamliner 900 through a 69er, shear bliss and GAS gone. Played a gig about a month ago, sound check fine, first song great, Introduced the band started the second song and nothing. No sound. No magic smoke, no loud bangs or pops, lights still on just no sound. Checked everything, still nothing so ended up going through the P.A. It’s a bit strange playing a gig and not being able to hear what you’re playing.

The following day I checked everything out and my amazing Streamliner was broken. Contacted the shop from which it was purchased who in turn contacted Fender UK who in turn contacted the shop who in turn contacted me with UPS return labels to Fender UK.

Sent my beloved Streamliner back to Fender who after a week said sorry it’s broken and we haven’t got the bits to fix it. You can have a Fender Rumble 500 V3 instead. OK says I, but I want my broken Streamline back as well thinking I could possibly get it fixed. Sorry says Fender, amp has to go to new owners of Genz Benz so that they can get a credit note.

Well, after using a Matrix 400w slave, BDl21 and a graphic pedal to make surprisingly good sounds, the Rumble 500 turned up. Opened the box and inside was a very nice black handbag with an amp in it. In the pocket of the handbag is a matching shoulder strap. Very nice. Also in the box is a mains lead with a 2 pin European mains plug, not very useful really unless you cut the plug off and put a UK plug on.

As the title says, it was with a little trepidation that I took the amp out of its bag and plugged everything in to give it a try. Of course, the Rumble only has jack outputs and my speaker leads are Speakon so I made a new speaker lead, jack to Speakon. Had a quick fiddle and played with the amp as well and I must say, it’s not too bad. But the real test is at a gig which just so happens is on Saturday night.

Saturday night has come and gone and here are my impression of the Fender Rumble 500 V3.

Very light which I like but it does look a bit utilitarian being all black with the cream knobs which sit proud of the front panel. Have to be careful that they don’t get knocked as there’s no protection for them at all.

You get an input and a gain control which do what you’d expect. Next in line are 3 buttons, bright, contour and vintage. The bright button obviously makes it bright. The contour reduces the mid and the vintage sort of adds a bit of bottom. I like the bright out and the contour and vintage pressed in.

Next up is the drive section with drive and level knobs and a defeat push button. Horrible buzzy distortion, not for me thanks.

Then comes the EQ. Bass, low mid, high mid and treble. I don’t know the frequencies they work at but the bass and treble are self explanatory while the lower mid makes for a muddy / middy sound and the high mid brings out definition. The eq section is followed by a volume knob and a red ‘on’ light.

On the back of the amp are 2 speaker output jacks. A di out with ground lift but no level control, a 3.5mm headphone socket , a 3.5mm auxiliary input socket, effects send and return sockets, a footswitch socket for the distortion, a euro mains socket and the on / off switch. Through the side of the amp can be seen a small cooling fan which either didn’t come on at all or is so quiet that I didn’t hear it.

So what does it sound like? Comparing it to the Streamliner, it is surprisingly good. It doesn’t have the smoothness of the valve section and seems to have a more ‘immediate’ sound than the Streamliner, more of an upfront sound. The Eq is more ‘predictable’ than the Streamliner as well. I would guess that you could get just about any sound that you would want from the Rumble.

Volume wise it seems pretty loud, certainly loud enough for the majority of gigs we play and if it needs to be louder I can just DI it. If I hadn’t used a Streamliner I suspect that I’d have been impressed with this amp especially as it can be bought for £373. Good value for money.

Have Fender nicked Genz Benz technology for the Rumble, no idea. If they did it’s not obvious apart from the lack of weight.

Is it as good as the Streamliner, not quite but it does come a close second. Is my GAS still in hibernation, I suspect it is but only time will tell.

Just in case anyone thinks it didn't happen, here's a photo.

[Mykesbass]

Good review Bert, and pretty decent customer service from Fender by the sound of things. I'm enjoying the Rumble 112 cab and looking forward to running a pair when the 2nd one turns up.

[Mudpup]

I might be being a bit harsh but I'm guessing your Streamliner cost at least twice as much as the Rumble? And it was within the warranty period which meant you were entitled to a repair (or similar replacement if it was beyond repair). And your contract is with the supplying dealer (not Fender)?

Its academic if you're happy with the Rumble but I think I would be feeling a bit stiffed by them.

Just my thoughts BTW.....

[M@23]

[quote name='Mudpup' timestamp='1428349114' post='2740496']
I might be being a bit harsh but I'm guessing your Streamliner cost at least twice as much as the Rumble? And it was within the warranty period which meant you were entitled to a repair (or similar replacement if it was beyond repair). And your contract is with the supplying dealer (not Fender)?

Its academic if you're happy with the Rumble but I think I would be feeling a bit stiffed by them.

Just my thoughts BTW.....
[/quote]

That's my first thought too. The Rumbles do look good, shame there are no speakon connectors, but, they do look cool and seem to get great reviews.
But, was this a warranty job? As Mudpup says, your co tract is with the dealer. Surely you've been short changed?

[bertbass]

You're both right and I do feel a bit miffed. I ended up with an amp that was only half the wattage and worth only half the price.

I could have hassled the dealer and insisted on a repair but as Genz Benz do not exist as a company anymore, how many spares are there still in existence. If the faulty bits of the Streamliner were specific to Genz Benz then it may have been impossible to repair, or it could have taken a considerable amount of time to source the parts assuming that they are available singly.

In all fairness, I was offered the Rumble or a credit note for £350 but what could I buy with £350, not even a Rumble. I could have argued that they had allowed too much for wear and tear which could have taken forever and I'd still be without an amp.

I had planned on accepting The Rumble and trying to get the Streamliner repaired, even if it meant sending it to Agedhorse himself but things moved quickly with the sale of Genz Benz so the option of getting the Streamliner back disappeared. I believe that I am probably the last person to get the offer of the Rumble as a replacement amp as the sale of Genz was between me sending the Streamliner back and the Rumble being posted.

If this had been an Ashdown or Ampeg then it would have been a different matter entirely and I would have expected the amp to be replaced with no questions but with the specific circumstances that I was presented with I think I made the best choice of the options available to me.

The most annoying thing is that for about a year I had a spare Streamliner just in case but as the original one seemed to be reliable and I was short of cash I sold it a few weeks before this one died.

[Mudpup]

Probably a bit late now but as I said, your contract was with the dealer and not the amp manufacturer. They should have been able to offer you ANY amp that they stock and it should have been equivalent value with your input taken into consideration.

They'll send that streamliner back and get a full credit for the trade price they paid for it. I don't know the margins in the music trade but I bet trade price is about 50/60% of full retail. And your Genz will be used as a parts supply for other warranty issues they receive so it has a value to them.

If it was bought in the Genz clear out it probably was about £300 trade, if it was before that it will be a load more - maybe £450 I am guessing? The Rumble will have cost them significantly less than either - maybe £200.

Either way, if your happy with your new amp then all is good ☺

Edited April 7, 2015 by Mudpup

[JapanAxe]

[quote name='bertbass' timestamp='1428359010' post='2740630']
I ended up with an amp that was only half the wattage ...
[/quote]

I wouldn't be too hung up on that, it should still be plenty loud - the perceived difference between 500W and 900W is not all that much.

[quote name='bertbass' timestamp='1428359010' post='2740630']
The most annoying thing is that for about a year I had a spare Streamliner just in case but as the original one seemed to be reliable and I was short of cash I sold it a few weeks before this one died.
[/quote]

Now that is annoying!

[Telebass]

Horrified to hear of a 500W bass amp using only jacks. Unsound design. This was precisely why Speakons were designed, to properly carry heavy current.
Despite being a Fender fanboi, this is an amp not worth considering for that alone, IMHO...Glad it sounds ok though!

[ambient]

Isn't there some EU law or something about amps having to have speakon connectors ?