New Amp Day! Fender Rumble 500 combo

[TRBboy]

New amp day yesterday! We'll see how it performs on a gig next Saturday, but impressed with the quick go I had last night! WOW its loud and so much bottom end for a 2x10 combo! Hoping I can get away without adding another cab, but it's not the end of the world if I have to. 😊👍

Anyone have any tips /advice for getting the best out of these? Recommended settings etc? Many thanks. 

[Ed_S]

It’s a great combo for the money - mine has done some decent size rooms and not needed another cab. My main advice would be to buy the cover that’s meant to fit the matching extension cab and then fit some side handles where the holes are. It’s an even better amp when it becomes easier to move!

[TRBboy]

1 hour ago, Ed_S said:

It’s a great combo for the money - mine has done some decent size rooms and not needed another cab. My main advice would be to buy the cover that’s meant to fit the matching extension cab and then fit some side handles where the holes are. It’s an even better amp when it becomes easier to move!

Thanks Ed, hopefully it will stand the test with my (loud) band! That's an interesting idea with the handles, did you have to rout the sides out to fit them? I think it seems a fairly easy lift with the top handle, but we'll see when I've done a few load ins/outs! Can't wait to try it out! 

[Ed_S]

27 minutes ago, TRBboy said:

Thanks Ed, hopefully it will stand the test with my (loud) band! That's an interesting idea with the handles, did you have to rout the sides out to fit them? I think it seems a fairly easy lift with the top handle, but we'll see when I've done a few load ins/outs! Can't wait to try it out! 

Mine copes well with my loud heavy metal exploits so hopefully you’ll be fine! I went for surface-mount handles so no routing was involved. They don’t stand out obtrusively at all and they each have 7 substantial screws in them so I can’t imagine they’re going anywhere. I’m all about the easy life so I also put wheels on mine 🙂

[TRBboy]

25 minutes ago, Ed_S said:

Mine copes well with my loud heavy metal exploits so hopefully you’ll be fine! I went for surface-mount handles so no routing was involved. They don’t stand out obtrusively at all and they each have 7 substantial screws in them so I can’t imagine they’re going anywhere. I’m all about the easy life so I also put wheels on mine 🙂

Seems like a great idea Ed! May have to ask where you got the handles if this ends up being a winner! 😊👍

[Ed_S]

On 25/08/2019 at 17:56, TRBboy said:

Seems like a great idea Ed! May have to ask where you got the handles if this ends up being a winner! 😊👍

No worries mate - fairly sure I bought them direct from Penn Elcom, but when I get home I’ll see if I can find the product code and what I worked out to be the right size screws for the holes in the handles and the thickness of the panels.

Edit:

They’re Penn-Elcom H4054 handles and 10x3/4” pan-head screws.

Edited August 26, 2019 by Ed_S
Additional information promised in original post.

[TRBboy]

4 hours ago, Ed_S said:

No worries mate - fairly sure I bought them direct from Penn Elcom, but when I get home I’ll see if I can find the product code and what I worked out to be the right size screws for the holes in the handles and the thickness of the panels.

Fantastic, thanks Ed, sounds interesting! 👍

[G-Dog]

On 25/08/2019 at 05:10, TRBboy said:

... 😊👍  Anyone have any tips /advice for getting the best out of these? Recommended settings etc? Many thanks. 

 

Well . . . . , if it's allowed, I could recommend the Rumble TONE POOL linked on the TalkBass Rumble Club Wiki page for a list of various settings the club members there have collected.

 

I hope this helps.

😀

[TRBboy]

56 minutes ago, G-Dog said:

 

Well . . . . , if it's allowed, I could recommend the Rumble TONE POOL linked on the TalkBass Rumble Club Wiki page for a list of various settings the club members there have collected.

 

I hope this helps.

😀

Thanks very much, will check it out! 😊👍

[hooky_lowdown]

Love my rumble combo. 👍

[Jack_Stroud_Bass]

Hi all,

Hard not to like this amp. I've bought one recently (6 - 9 months ago) and I really like it. Because I was down-sizing from a SWR stack, I thought I'd get the 2x10 ext cab to go with it, but I have rarely needed this. For context, I'm playing gosepl style R&B and using a USA standard P bass.

The rumble 500 has been with me on main stages all festival season and has performed admirably on it's own.

It's so light too! Needless to say the rest of the band love it as it weighs next to nothing, again another positive over the SWR stack.

Down-sides would find it lacks the "warmth" or "feel" of valve amps and it is REALLY bass-heavy. I find myself playing with the bass rolled off a lot, sometimes at 8/9 o'clock). But all things considered (and if you don't have a roadie) it's an excellent choice.

Jack

[hooky_lowdown]

56 minutes ago, Jack_Stroud_Bass said:

Down-sides would find it lacks the "warmth" or "feel" of valve amps and it is REALLY bass-heavy. I find myself playing with the bass rolled off a lot, sometimes at 8/9 o'clock). But all things considered (and if you don't have a roadie) it's an excellent choice.

Jack

Do you have the "Vintage" button engaged?

[Jack_Stroud_Bass]

@hooky_lowdown No, I don't use any of the buttons engaged. I find that because the amp is so bass-heavy already, when I use the vintage setting I lose all definition within our on-stage mix.

Jack

[hooky_lowdown]

38 minutes ago, Jack_Stroud_Bass said:

@hooky_lowdown No, I don't use any of the buttons engaged. I find that because the amp is so bass-heavy already, when I use the vintage setting I lose all definition within our on-stage mix.

Jack

The "Vintage" button is a simulation of a valve amp, so adds warmth, then simply adjust eq to add definition, along with tone knob(s) on your bass.

[TRBboy]

I'm gigging it for the first time tomorrow night, but from practicing at home this past week, I've found that I'm not that keen on the preset buttons, and prefer to just use the eq (which incidentally seems to sound just great with everything at 12,or only minor deviations). I agree that it seems to be pretty bass heavy, very much looking forward to trying it out properly tomorrow though! 

[TRBboy]

2 hours ago, Jack_Stroud_Bass said:

Hi all,

Hard not to like this amp. I've bought one recently (6 - 9 months ago) and I really like it. Because I was down-sizing from a SWR stack, I thought I'd get the 2x10 ext cab to go with it, but I have rarely needed this. For context, I'm playing gosepl style R&B and using a USA standard P bass.

The rumble 500 has been with me on main stages all festival season and has performed admirably on it's own.

It's so light too! Needless to say the rest of the band love it as it weighs next to nothing, again another positive over the SWR stack.

Down-sides would find it lacks the "warmth" or "feel" of valve amps and it is REALLY bass-heavy. I find myself playing with the bass rolled off a lot, sometimes at 8/9 o'clock). But all things considered (and if you don't have a roadie) it's an excellent choice.

Jack

This is great testimony Jack, sounds like it's worked really well for you! Hoping it'll be sufficient for the pub gigs we do. 😊👍

[Jack_Stroud_Bass]

Thanks for the tip @hooky_lowdown. I find the vintage setting great in isolation, but I find that the darker tone you get when I use it doesn't sit well with what's going on on-stage personally.

@TRBboyI doubt you will find it problematic for a normal pub gig! It's more than loud enough for me over drums, 4x vocs, 2x guitars and a harmonica! And i totally agree, everything is flat (apart from the bass) with me and my P bass- and sounds delightful!

[Jack_Stroud_Bass]

Mine when I first bought it, complete with MM Stingray :) (Before I started using the P). Love it!

[mcnach]

I played through one of those a few months ago at a venue that provided amplification for me, and I was very impressed. Nice one!

[Lozz196]

Not used one but did hear one used at a gig, the bassist had a nice punk gnarly middy tone with his Rumble/Precision set up that worked so well.

[Muppet]

I love mine and often use it instead of my Helix/ Barefaced or Ashdown/Barefaced rigs.  I have the extension cab too which, if you really need to, makes quite a loud setup!  I'm really not sure about it being heavy enough to warrant extra handles but that's your call. 

EQ wise I do tend to roll back the bass a bit, but normally start flat and work from there. The only thing I can really recommend is ditching the ugly Fender logos they put on these and replace them with the older Blackface amp logo like this one

 

[Ed_S]

7 hours ago, Muppet said:

I'm really not sure about it being heavy enough to warrant extra handles but that's your call. 

Completely agree - the weight is fine, it's just the carrying position that I found unhelpful. It surprised me to find that Fender decided the same size lump with no amp in the back of it was due a pair of recessed bar handles...

 

...but the combo just needed a strap handle on the top so you could waddle awkwardly with it, bashing your legs as you go.

Totally personal preference, though, and I get that many people probably don't want to buy a brand new combo and then start driving size 10 screws into the sides of it 🙂 I mean.. I didn't really want to either!

[Friskydingo]

I've been looking at these lately so this post is super relevant. 

2 questions. 1. Is the 2x10 speakers enough for low end and to hear over a 2 guitarists? 

And 2. What's the weight like? Taking it in and out of a car? 

[TRBboy]

8 minutes ago, Friskydingo said:

I've been looking at these lately so this post is super relevant. 

2 questions. 1. Is the 2x10 speakers enough for low end and to hear over a 2 guitarists? 

And 2. What's the weight like? Taking it in and out of a car? 

I'll be gigging it for the first time tonight, but :

1) these 10" speakers seem to produce an absurd amount of bottom end! You can dial it back, but it's definitely there! 

2) it's unbelivably compact and light, can't remember what the actual specs are offhand, something like 16kg (which I think is less than the Rumble 2x10 cab on its own!) 

 

I have two loud guitarists and a loud drummer, so will report back after tonight's gig. 👍

[G-Dog]

I found this, which has helped me better understand the Fender Rumble Overdrive and get some very warm, or creamy smooth, tones.  I've loved my Rumble 500 combo for about 4 years now!

"The gain does directly affect the level of overdrive. However, Rumbles work a little different than most people who’ve used other amps are used to.

First of all, Fender’s built-in Delta-Comp limiter makes it very difficult to clip the signal at all. That’s why the Rumbles have no clip light - it just doesn’t serve a useful function. That also means that listening for signal clipping doesn’t really work with Rumbles.

The Gain knob basically works as a variable input pad. That makes the Rumble perfect for players with active basses, as you can adjust the incoming signal in as you like, and not have to settle for a -10db input. The Rumble will work fine even when the gain knob is set to zero. I play a mix of active and passive basses, and usually keep my gain setting at 9 o’clock and lower.

The overdrive control consists of two knobs, Drive and Level. Drive sets the distortion level (this will vary with the amount of gain set), and Level controls the volume of the effect, allowing you to align it with the master volume to avoid any jump in volume when Overdrive is engaged.

All this makes the Overdrive on the Rumbles extremely simple to use. You don’t have to worry about clipping, just plug your bass in, turn on Overdrive, adjust Gain, Drive and Level to taste, and play. Easy as that."

I also recently found that, if you don't use the Overdrive, the Drive and Level both set to zero mutes the amp when the Overdrive is activated!  The footswitch makes this a very convenient mute button.

I hope this helps.

Edited August 31, 2019 by G-Dog