Fender Rumble 100 Overkill?

Hi All, looking at getting a Bass amp. The Fender Rumble 40 as recommended by Josh is an obvious choice, but I was wondering if the Rumble 100 would be worth the upgrade. I am in an Apartment so won’t need big volume, at least for practice. But I am wondering will I get better feel as it has a 12" speaker thus moving more air. I am also thinking that it easier turn down a 100W than run a 40W at full blast. Not sure if this is the correct way of thinking though. I have read the forum on these amps already but in my specific case is the 100W a waste?

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Conor -

The 40 would be more than sufficient for any at home practicing, and you’d never be maxing it out to get a good sound.

BUT!

You can certainly run the 100 low and have the same comfortable practice volume.
AND - if it’s in your budget - the 100 would allow you to have something to bring to gigs and jam sessions and (if the rest of the band aren’t too loud*) still be heard.
The 40 would absolutely not cut through over drums.

Overkill for practice? yes. The 100 would be overkill - but it opens the door to a live-situation amp, which I wholeheartedly support.

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absolutly agree

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Thanks Man, that is the way I was thinking. A group of my friends from work used to have Jam sessions at one of the guys house. (pre covid) Drum set included. If I was good enough, I would like to tag along to that. Perfect, my budged does allow the 100 so that is the way I will go!

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Absolutely agree as well, with above comments, you can never have to much power, it’s just a matter of a twist of the wrist if you need to get over the top of other band members if and when required😎
Cheers Brian

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I debated the same thing and ended up with the 100. Not sure if it matters at all but besides the power/speaker size you gain an effects loop in and out on the 100 as well.

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Not something that I had considered, but this is good to know! Thanks

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another good point, for sure.

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I think the Rumble 100 is the perfect practice amp, even in an apartment. You can turn it down low enough to not annoy the neighbors, but at the same time have some extra power for jams and gigs. I started with a 40 myself, and soon upgraded to the 100. Now I am in the process of acquiring a Rumble 500.

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Typical American here… so more is better in my opinion.

I just recently scored a Hartke Kickback KB12 on ebay for $113.61. At 250w RMS (500w peak) is it overkill for practice at home? Only if I turn it up to 4. lol

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I think the kickback thing they do is super cool, weird more manufacturers don’t do that.

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Was trying to hold back on commenting here but nope! I can’t control myself… If your budget allows, it’s very hard to “over do” amplification.

This is what I use for band rehearsal and gigging. The head is a 600W Trace Elliot with a 4 x 10" cab (coz what’s better than a bunch of 10’s?) a 2 x 10 cab with HF horn (coz …more 10’s are just more 10’s nuff said, and a HF horn to get those High frequencies the 10’s miss) then a 15" cab to drive the bottom end. Is this overkill? Yes, of course it is but the tones and volume you can get from this rig are exceptional but it’s more of a mix and match ensemble. The different size speakers give bias to different tones. For rehearsing and indoor live gigs, I use the 2 x 10" and HF cab with the 15" cab. For outdoor gigs use the whole rig. You only “over do” the whole bass amplification thing when you (upset your neighbours obviously) or fail to realize you are too loud. I have a sound engineer friend who helps with that. Anyway, I guess what I’m saying is, tone is important if you’re not going through a desk, so different size speakers help. And more WATTs are good, provided you use that power carefully (Headroom). Also, bear in mind, a 100W guitar amp is a fearsome match for a 600W bass amp… ugh…geeeeez… I do go on a bit. * sorry*

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I have the 25 and it’s proven basically useless for me personally. I recommend it of course… but…

I have work from home neighbors (adjacent townhouses, common walls) so I use mostly headphones or I plug a Bluetooth speaker into the Vox or NUX Amplug. (Lessons or tracks to the Amplug, add the bass, both blended and to the speaker.

I’m thinking about how I want to do prepare, cover, and video my endeavors. The 25 is aux in, a speaker, and a headphone out… that’s it. I am going to be feeling pretty weird using the Rumble headphone out to DI to DAW to… sigh. Those effects loop etc are critical. I’ll figure it out, but the point is I’d much rather have those connections native rather than rig a bunch of patch cords up. Definitely do the 100 if you can spend the coin.

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I only have a Rumble 15 that I barely use at all, living in an apartment. But if I had to pick between the Rumble 40 or 100, I’d go for the 100. Price and weight really don’t make much of a difference :slightly_smiling_face:

… and no, I really don’t need a new amp :sweat_smile:

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Thanks for the feedback :blush:

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I see what you are saying. It is beyond Wattage alone and different arrangements create different tone.

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@Conor,
Have you asked your neighbors which one you should get? :laughing:

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@Conor, I am also in an apartment and went with the Rumble 40 originally as my starter amp and wondered the same question, should I go ahead and pull the trigger for the Rumble 100. Although I cannot turn the volume up too loud, I still wanted more. I ended up even considering a Rumble 500 but bought something totally different Ampeg B210. Seems that my advice will echo most others, i.e. no need to blast in an apartment, but if you can get the extra power for when you do eventually get to use it, GO FOR IT!

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Haha I will find out after the fact I think. Somethimes better to seek forgiveness. :joy:

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Thanks for the feedback @JDDaniel. That is exactly what I was thinking too. I love the look of the Ampeg, definitely a option for the future. But I think the 100 is my best bet and will last a long time!

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