Has anyone tried the Fender Rumble 500 v3 combo amp?

Josh did a review but not on this one. I only want to make one purchase and I don’t mad taking it back and forth to where I have to take it it took just want to e sure I’m heard over the organ, electric piano and the drums in a 2000 sq ft room best gestimate.

6 Likes

Welcome to BassBuzz @LadyJ!

The Rumble amps are very well thought of and the 500 should give you plenty of power to hold your own.

If, for some reason, you feel a need for more power, the Rumble 500 will let you add an additional cabinet.

5 Likes

@LadyJ I’ve got a Rumble 500 and the 15” extension cab. It’s quite the amp. Mine already had the speakers upgrade to eminence Bass Lites which took 2 more pounds out of a combo that was only 28 pounds to start with. Most people don’t know that these are actually SWR’s on the down low. Sound for weight, onboard drive and some tone shaping switches makes it quite versatile and easy to make adjustments should the drummer forget the kick drum pillow. Again. :joy:

7 Likes

Just remember you only get 350 Watts on the Rumble 500 without the external speaker.
350 Watts is still a helluva lot of output power driving 2x10" speakers for our purposes.

4 Likes

I do a lot of jam sessions and private gigs, or did before Covid, and will after it is over.
For practice and jam sessions I use a Rumble 100. It has been great as a practice amp and great for the jams and am sure that it will be fine for small venues.
BUT
I do plan on getting a Rumble 500, primarily for larger gigs.

As I said previously the Rumble 500, without the external speaker provides 350 Watts driving 2x10" speakers. To get the full 500 Watts you need to add the external 2x10" speaker cabinet. That being said 350 Watts is still a lot of power and may be more than adequate and at only 36.5 pounds is easy to transport

Here are the full specs on the Rumble 500:

Re-engineered from the ground up, new Rumble amps are lighter and louder than ever, with even more power and a classic Fender vibe. A newly developed foot-switchable overdrive circuit and versatile three-button voicing palette deliver powerful tones ideal for any gig. Additional upgrades include Eminence drivers and premium HF compression tweeters.
Electronics
Controls: Gain, Bright On/Off, Contour On/Off, Vintage On/Off, Drive, Overdrive On/Off, Level, Bass, Low-Mid, High-Mid, Treble, Master Volume
Voltage: 120V
Amplifier Type: Class-D
Wattage: 500 Watts @ 4 ohms (with External Speaker), 350 Watts @ 8 ohms (Internal)
Effects Loop: 1/4" - (Send/Return)
Inputs: One - 1/4"
Auxiliary Input: 1/8" Stereo
Headphone Jack: 1/8" Stereo
Line Out: One - (XLR with Ground Lift)
Channels: One - (with Selectable Bright Switch, Contour, Vintage Switch and Overdrive)
Horn Tweeter: One - Compression Tweeter with On/Off Switch
Hardware
Cabinet Material: Lightweight Plywood
Pilot Light Jewel: Red LED
Handle: Molded Plastic Strap with Nickel-Plated Caps
Front Panel: Painted Metal
Grill Cover: Black Textured Vinyl Covering with Silver Grille Cloth
Amplifier Depth: 14" (35.56 cm)
Amplifier Width: 19" (485 mm)
Amplifier Height: 23" (58.42 cm)
Amplifier Weight: 36.5 lbs. (16.56 kg)
Speakers
Speaker: Two - 10" Eminence-Designed Ceramic Magnet
Impedance: 8 ohms
Miscellaneous
Unique Features: Classic Fender styling, Eminence speakers, soft-touch radio knobs, foot-switchable overdrive circuit and 3-button voicing palette, removable front grille, extremely lightweight, ported cabinet design

Since you stated you only want to make one purchase, I would suggest you get the Rumble 500 and the external speaker and you should be fine. This only adds another 39 pounds but does give you another 2x10" speakers and the full 500 Watts of power. Any venues larger than this and typically there will be a PA system you can plug into.

I would not cheap out and purchase a Rumble 200. It will only give you an additional 35 Watts over a Rumble 100 without the external speaker, and I don’t think you will be pleased using it at larger gigs, even if you add the external speaker.

One last thing - MAKE SURE YOU GET SOME DECENT EARPLUGS. HEARING LOSS IS A DEFINITE CONSIDERATION AND IS PERMANENT.

There are people on the forum that do have the Rumble 500, with and without the external speakers, and hopefully they will give some advice on their experiences.

I have felt for some time that the Rumble 500, with an external speaker, is the most cost effective way to get a good 500 Watt amplifier system.

These opinions are mine and mine alone, some may disagree but that is their prerogative.

Good luck on your decision and let us know what you decide.

4 Likes

I had the 500 2x10 combo.
It was great.
Did everything I needed it to, and was so light I could carry it in one hand! One trip from the car load in!! I loved it.

I sold it to go in on a huge and back-breakingly heavy tube amp.
I wouldn’t recommend doing what I did.

5 Likes

Thank you all for your input especially on using earplugs. I’ll be getting some of those this weekend. The Rumble is slated to arrive Saturday. I didn’t want to be trying to lug t around just in case it was heavy. I’ll be dropping it off at the church and ready to get it on. Once again, all of your information was valuable and I took it to heart. I’ll come back with an update with a photo…

2 Likes

Yeah, but I bet that heavy tube amp sounds amazing. :blush:

1 Like

Ah you are using it in a church setting so no rowdy crowds to contend with.

Did you get the Rumble 500 and did you purchase the separate speaker cabinet.
You may only need the Rumble 500 by itself.

Did you get the external speaker cabinet?

Hello Bass Family,
I got the Fender Rumble 500 v3 500watt amp. I will work on getting the external cabinet for next month. This amp is the Bee’s knees. That you all for encouraging me to purchase it. I should be satisfied for years to come. With the extended cabinet I’ll be breaking sound barriers soon.

6 Likes

Good for you, and congrats @LadyJ . . . :slight_smile:

I think you’ll be very happy with that combination :+1:

Cheers
Joe

2 Likes

Woohoo @LadyJ ! Also love to know what settings you end up settling on when you feel like you get it dialed in. Happy thumping!

2 Likes

the difference between 350W and 500W is about 1.6dB at 10m/33 feet away. So I agree, 350W into 2x10 is definitely going to be loud af XD

Fender bought SWR in the early 2000s, I suppose that is certainly possible.

alas…
there’s an ongoing sad and expensive saga here.
The sad tale certainly doesn’t belong on this thread. Or any thread.

2 Likes

We do have a thread for those stories… just saying. :smiley:
Expensive Mistakes - Gear - BassBuzz Forum

3 Likes

Fantastic!!!
I knew you would like it.
Glad we could be of help. :+1: :+1: :+1:

Maybe you won’t need the external cabinet, but then again, if you do get it you will be ready for just about any venue short of a stadium :slightly_smiling_face:

1 Like

Do you have a link to that thread Eric?

1 Like

In case you are not aware the Rumble 500 has a 4 band equalizer (Bass, LowMid, High Mid, and Treble), just like the Rumble 100, unlike most amps, that only give you Bass, Mid, and Treble. Then there are the Bright, Contour and Vintage settings so depending on what amp you have the @LadyJ settings may or may not work for you.

Bass, and Amp settings are similar to selecting a Bass and are so subjective to what the player likes.

In short there are a lot of things to consider when dialing in the tone you want for any particular situation. And then just to make it more interesting the room you are using the amp in also plays a big part to the setup. :+1: :+1: :+1:

2 Likes

Whoops. Forgot to add the link. Added it in the original message.

Thanks @Celticstar

1 Like