Fender Rumble 200

I just acquired some data to add to this discussion! Had a gig Thursday night where they had a Rumble 200 for bass backline, so I decided to use it for the sole purpose of sharing my findings in this thread later. :slight_smile: (even though I knew it probably wouldn’t work as well as my TC rig for this band)

My subjective experience based on one night of using it - not a huge fan. I had trouble cutting through in the mids and treble the way I usually do, which is a problem with this band since I play a lot of melodies and stuff. I don’t love where the EQ knob frequencies sit - I’m fine with it for practice purposes (like the Rumble 40 I reviewed in our Beginner Amp Reviews), but that Low Mid knob just doesn’t do what I want it to do.

Also, even though there’s a Gain and Master volume knob, they’re both before the XLR direct out in the path, so any changes you make to stage volume will change the level going to the house PA, which for me just isn’t acceptable. Don’t know why Fender did that?

So… I think the Rumble series is great for practice, but for gigging I’d use something with a pro-grade XLR that lets you adjust speaker volume without changing things for the sound guy, and the EQ options just didn’t cut it for me live.

7 Likes