NC(ombo)D: Fender Rumble 500 V3 Combo.

[Marvin]

[b][size=5]FENDER RUMBLE 500 V3 COMBO.[/size][/b]

[url="http://s278.photobucket.com/user/hjbryant/media/2370600000v1_hi-dc942006a7c2a0773f7efb4f9c4134ee_zpsgrjmlrpo.jpg.html"][/url]
[url="http://<a%20%20data-cke-saved-href="] [/url]
[url="http://<a%20%20data-cke-saved-href="][b]FEATURES[/b][/url][list]
[*][url="http://<a%20%20data-cke-saved-href="]Power: 500W (4Ω)/350W (8Ω)[/url]
[*][url="http://<a%20%20data-cke-saved-href="]Speakers: 2x10" Eminence; one compression tweeter[/url]
[*][url="http://<a%20%20data-cke-saved-href="]Single channel[/url]
[*][url="http://<a%20%20data-cke-saved-href="]Controls: Gain, Bright on/off, Contour on/off, Vintage on/off, Drive, Overdrive on/off, Level, Bass, Low-Mid, High-Mid, Treble, Master Volume[/url]
[*][url="http://<a%20%20data-cke-saved-href="]XLR line out[/url]
[*][url="http://<a%20%20data-cke-saved-href="]Aux. input[/url]
[*][url="http://<a%20%20data-cke-saved-href="]Headphone output[/url]
[*][url="http://<a%20%20data-cke-saved-href="]FX loop[/url]
[*][url="http://<a%20%20data-cke-saved-href="]Dimensions: 23" x 19" x 14"[/url]
[*][url="http://<a%20%20data-cke-saved-href="]Weight: 36.5 lb[/url]
[/list]
[url="http://<a%20%20data-cke-saved-href="]I had planned on selling a load of gear and taking a break from playing altogether. Well, that was the plan and it was going well as most of my amp gear had left the house. And then I saw this, the Fender Rumble 500 Combo V3. I've previously owned the V2 of this amp. I liked it and very much regretted selling it. I've bought the V3 as it being as small as it is it doesn't get in the way at home and if I do get back into bands I've got a combo that'll do the job.[/url]
[url="http://<a%20%20data-cke-saved-href="] [/url]
[url="http://<a%20%20data-cke-saved-href="]I bought the Rumble from Thomann. They're retailing them for around £400, all the UK online retailers have got them at £480. I ordered the combo late Friday afternoon and it arrived Tuesday morning. I was more than a little impressed. [/url]
[url="http://<a%20%20data-cke-saved-href="] [/url]
[url="http://<a%20%20data-cke-saved-href="]Comparing it to the V2 there are some marked differences and improvements. The V3 is significantly lighter and made from better materials. The V2 was made of chipboard. The V3's styling is much better, the V2 was very workmanlike. The V3 has a lovely vintage look and the layout is very to much to my liking.The driver configuration is now vertical instead of horizontal, dispersion on the V2's could be an issue, hopefully this will resolve some of that. The other major improvement from my point of view is the fact you can now add an extension cab. This was a real weakness for the V2 and may have been why it wasn't that popular.[/url]
[url="http://<a%20%20data-cke-saved-href="] [/url]
[url="http://<a%20%20data-cke-saved-href="]How does it sound? Out of the box with no eq adjustment it sounded really nice. It was clean to my ears but also made my Jazz bass sound lovely and woody. Tweak the eq and the changes are clear but also subtle. It can go loud, I've only played it in the house but I made a quite a few ornaments and bits of furniture rattle. Clearly it's not as trouser flapping as my previous Ampeg 410 but it'll definitely do a gig like the old V2's. [/url]
[url="http://<a%20%20data-cke-saved-href="] [/url]
[url="http://<a%20%20data-cke-saved-href="]The voicing presets are a good feature, particularly the Vintage one, it gives a lovely valvey warm tone. (Bright, that brightens and contour scoops mids). They all adjust the tone in a measured way, it's not a harsh or brutal change. The same goes for the horn. Switch it on, you to get the highs but you don't get that horrible harshness you can get. The overdrive isn't stupid either, it overdrives and doesn't do an impression of some metal distortion pedal.[/url]
[url="http://<a%20%20data-cke-saved-href="] [/url]
[url="http://<a%20%20data-cke-saved-href="]It's finished very well. The tolex and grill have got a nice feel, the hardware feels solid. The handle looks alright .[/url]
[url="http://<a%20%20data-cke-saved-href="] [/url]
[url="http://<a%20%20data-cke-saved-href="]This combo absolutely suits my needs and it sounds great as well.[/url]

[Norris]

Welcome to the club Glad you like it.

We have a couple of weeks off atm and I'm itching to use mine again. I must try the EUB through it.

Nice review too

[Marvin]

Cheers.

I think I might need to get in a band so I can hear it in a 'natural' environment ☺

[Norris]

It's no use trying to EQ it at home. It didn't take long to dial in a tone I liked as it produces some very usable sounds. I took out a bit too much of the lower mids at first and lost my normal punch - the controls are a lot different to my old amp's 7 band EQ

[Lozz196]

Spongebob posted an audio clip on here of his Precison/Rumble, think all eq was flat, and it sounded great. You may need no tweakage with this amp......

[Norris]

It's the first amp I've had that sounds pretty decent with flat EQ

[Marvin]

Flat it does sound good. The eq controls are very similar to my previous amp. On the V2's the mids were semi parametric.

I forgot to add that it's not a noisy amp. I can here it's on but you have to make a point of listening to hear it. But most noticeable is how quiet the tweeter is.