Update (ft. NEW Rumble 800 combo)

Gear
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It’s been a while… Thought I’d post a brief update:

Last time I was online, the band I’d helped put together was looking for a singer. We found (then lost) a few :roll_eyes: a guy that sang well and had good gear but proved too unreliable and a pair of ladies, one that could play keys and one that sings VERY well, but neither of which truly had the time to commit and move the project forward.

As the band was stalled, I decided to look around for other opportunities and eventually earned a spot with a group that had gigs lined up and needed someone solid and ready to go asap. Just like last time, I needed to learn lots of songs very quickly. (My audition was originally 10 new songs, then the BL texted me the morning of to add 3 more! :sweat_smile: My trial gig was four sets of 13 songs each. Their full catalog is 100+ and growing. It’s funny how I get myself into these situations!)

These guys are really fun and supportive, and most importantly, there’s no one waiting to replace me! We have several shows lined up and are booking pregame tailgates for the fraternities and sororities at our local university this fall. To celebrate, and to have some appropriate gear, I bought the new Fender Rumble 800 combo, which I’m very happy with so far. I’ve yet to use it “out” and can’t wait to do so! (I’ll try to post some updates for those of you curious about its performance in live settings.) I’ve got my original 40w stacked on top of it for space conservation and because it looks boss :sunglasses:

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IMG_07993024×4032 3.74 MB

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IMG_08173024×4032 2.48 MB

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IMG_08163024×4032 2.17 MB

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The handle on the 800 is too tall / the feet on the 40 are too short for it to sit securely, so I’ve used foam and now skateboard wheels as spacers.

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Hockey pucks work well to… you can stack a few to get the right height.

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Congratulations on your new acquisition.
By combo I take it you mean with a separate cab speaker.

That’s a lot of power.

Hope you have some good ear plugs :rofl:

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The Rumble 800 is a combo amp. Amp plus two 10” speakers as one unit.

I have one. It’s loud and really light to carry. You’re getting about 400W with the combo and you can add an extension cab to get the full 800. That would be ridiculous.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Rum800C--fender-rumble-800-2x10-inch-800-watt-bass-combo-amp

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Exactly, Barney. Thanks.

I also used to be confused by the terminology; it seems logical that a “combo” would mean an amp combined with an external speaker cabinet, but of course it really means that the amplifier and speaker(s) are combined in one box, thus a “combo” amp. I suppose the term came about because amplifiers were originally sold as independent units that then had to attached to speakers (sold separately). When manufacturers started selling the amplifier (i.e., the “head”) with a “built in” speaker, it made sense to advertise it as a “combo.”

As most of us will know, amps can still be purchased separately: a lot of people will buy an amp head and pair it with speakers from perhaps a different company, or with more speakers (i.e., a larger cabinet or “cab”) than would ever be packaged into a combo unit. [Nobody makes an 810* combo, I’m assuming :joy: ][*810 would mean 8 10” speakers, 210 is 2 10”, 115 is a single 15” speaker, and so on.] So, heads and cabs are more customizable than combos.

Also, having a separate head allows you to travel with your amp (because heads are smaller than combos) and then plug into whatever speakers are available at your destination; traveling musicians sometimes do this. But for most of us, the simpler solution is to carry one “combo” in the back of our car to and from the gig. Thus, the popularity of the combo.

Another cool fact: The 800 combo (which runs at 400w by itself, without any additional speaker cabinets, like Barney said) is equipped with an attenuation switch that immediately drops it to 100w, which is cool in that A.) It keeps you from accidentally blowing everyone away (although 100w is still pretty loud!), and B.) It allows you to achieve more of a “cranked amp” tone even at moderate volumes. Of course, you can leave it on the 400w setting and just lower the master volume knob, but if you want a different, arguably more robust, sound with fewer decibels, you have that option. It’s a cool feature.

Anyway, I didn’t intend to go full on pedantic mode, but I am a teacher :smiley: and it wasn’t too long ago that I didn’t understand all of this, so I thought I’d put it out there for anyone who is curious.

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My 500 will rattle your knickers. Can only imagine what the 800 will do.

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Just got one of these and WOW.

I can’t figure out how to use the overdrive though.

Does the gain have to be at a certain level for it to work?

When I turn it on or click the pedal, it just sounds a little louder.

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To answer your question directly, no, you don’t need to have the gain at any particular level in order to get an overdriven sound. On these amps, “gain” does virtually nothing in terms of achieving (or even affecting) overdrive.

To achieve an overdriven sound, you need to turn the “drive” at least half way up. You can then “level” the volume of that channel up or down. More drive = more grit. More level = more volume.

Anywhere between halfway and full tilt on the drive and you should start hearing some fairly overdriven sounds, even at low volume.

Once you’ve got your amount of drive dialed in, you’ll want to set the level so that your volume on both channels is roughly equivalent. I keep my “level” between about 9 and 10 o’clock, which balances pretty well with the clean channel, no matter where the “master” volume is set.

FWIW, I run my “gain” at zero. No gain at all, just EQ and “master” volume on the clean channel.

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Amazeballs!

Some stoner metal time!

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Just back from rehearsals and took my 800.

Still sounds great at low / reasonable levels with the option to ‘you know, go up to 11.’

Plus you can carry it in one hand and bass in the other. Lovely.

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Can’t wait to try mine in a band setting!

Do you prefer any of the presets?

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Yeah, I use the presets sometimes in a live band situation. There’s a place we play that tends to sound kind of dark and muddy in the bass frequencies, so I’ll often run the bright switch when we play there. And I’ve engaged the vintage button once or twice when playing outdoor gigs to give it an extra bass boost in those open air settings. It’s a handy way to quickly adjust my sound without undoing my usual EQ settings.

We aren’t fancy enough to have a sound engineer; we just do an initial sound check with the band leader standing out front (playing through a wireless system). Any adjustments after that are based primarily on what I’m hearing and what I feel like I need in order to hear myself on stage. I’m always running XLR to FOH, and I’ve typically had it set to “post,” so whatever I change on the amp will affect what is going through the sound system and out to the audience. Realizing that that’s probably not ideal, I’ve started to use “pre” setting instead so that the FOH is not changing from what we dial in during sound check.