Yup! The cab sims are very good…
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The 8 can down. Keeps up with my 5-string just fine. Gotta get the eq right, or it gets a bit muddy.
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For my usage, one of those would be way better than any bass amp.
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That’s the beauty of the Rumble Studio 40 - you can set it pretty much totally neutral and use as a “monitor” with whatever multi-effects you want.
Right, I’m at blanc here. Never used an effect: never played guitar 
So enlight me, what does it do, how does it work, how does it sound?
Could you give us a practical-in-use-review?
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The thing that makes this thing amazing are that it’s 2000 watts, completely tonally neutral (which is what you want if you are running amp sims before it), looks very high quality, has great input/output options, weighs less than 9kg, and still only costs $300-350.
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I see… so would this compare to, e.g., the Yamaha DBR12??
And… would such a combination - Helix (or similar) and active speaker be a full-blown alternative to a more classic head/cab combination??
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Yep!
For me it would be much better. I would run more than my bass through it, basically would use it as a (very loud) monitor as well. I would want two. But at that point it would be like your own multi-instrument PA.
You would want an amp sim and maybe a cab sim, which of course the multieffects all have, as does any decent DAW via plugins. I like my current amp sim much more than any amp I could actually afford.
it would be massive overkill for my current situation 
But it is basically what I am doing now; the difference being, I have 14W of two inexpensive 3.5" monitors, not that beast.
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Understood! But then, it would be an alternaive for gigging situations/playing with others? And I mean not just as an on-stage monitor??
That seems awesome… you’d get pretty much ALL amps/cabs/effects you’d ever want in a small package and a powerful enough sound system for at least medium sized gigs!?! I then really don’t see why you’d instead want to buy a, say, MarkBass head (which might “only” get you 500W) and a huge, heavy 2x12 cabinet to go along with it!?!
What am I (again) missing here?? 
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Nothing, really. This is basically a PA speaker.
It won’t be as loud as the “2000W” implies as it is 2000W peak, not RMS. But it will still be a nice, loud, neutral speaker, good to run a mixer to, or in this case, a multieffect.
It won’t have any tone on its own (at all). So a bass amp will give you whatever tone its preamp has, and be focused on the bass frequencies, and so sound “better” for bass than the PA. But the PA will still sound pretty awesome when used right, especially with a decent amp sim.
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Here’s an Alto that is even cheaper:
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OK, let’s say it is “just” 1000W RMS… who is actually doing the heavy lifting here? The amp inside the speaker??
Yes, OK, but wouldn’t you get that same tone from a good amp/pre-amp sim??
Thanks for bearing with me, @howard 
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yeah. It’s a powered speaker with a class D power amp in it.
Note that it’s still just driving a single 8" speaker and tweeter. There are limits to the loudness.
In theory? I think so. Realistically I don’t know for sure. But it is definitely the route I would take (and am taking; haven’t owned an amp in a year.)
The bass amps will definitely be pushing a lot more air, with full size cabs.
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There is a 12’’ version that should also push more air
Yep, I know… I am just trying to see if such a solution would cover almost all needs, including a rehearsal room or even small venue gigging situation!
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Our music room at work has a similar setup (Line6 modeling amp, and a mixer going in to two PA’s). It’s very versatile.
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Ooooooh… now, I am really jealous 
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I never actually use it but I have definitely heard it 
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I’ll start by saying I don’t know much about this equipment but looking at it and thinking about situations I’ve been in such as rehearsal rooms with loud guitars and louder drums or playing outdoor, I imagine this set up is pretty limited unless you plug it into the desk and run through a PA. I totally get the cab sim feature and I’m sure the effects are great but I can’t imagine that one little 8" speaker is going to give you anywhere near the presence of a 4 x 10" cab or 15" sub. I think it is not always really going to be a replacement for an old fashioned head and cab.
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it’s definitely, definitely not moving as much air as a bass cab.
That said, a pair will still be reasonably loud, and a pair of the 12" will be quite loud indeed.
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