NAD: FENDER RUMBLE 500 V.3 BASS COMBO
Sept 28, 2019 16:56:10 GMT
Akquarius, earwighoney, and 2 more like this
Post by grayn on Sept 28, 2019 16:56:10 GMT
I've been using the same bass rig for gigs/rehearsals, for quite a few years now.
Gallien Krueger head through a Mark Bass 2x10 cab.
It's been a great set up and impressed folks with it's sound.
Light though it is, I can't be bothered to lug it up to my music room, when not in use.
So, when I want to play/practice bass, I usually play acoustically.
More recently I've been playing a lot more at home, so figured it was time to get a practice amp.
No shortage of choice or perhaps too much choice.
Then I started thinking, perhaps I could get a combo that would be good/loud enough to be a back up, to my regular rig.
The most obvious choice would be a 2nd hand Mark Bass combo and I saw a nice 1x12 combo on Gumtree.
But unlike basses, that I'm very happy to get preowned, I'm always a bit dubious about getting 2nd hand amps.
I know it may be foolish but you never know what they've been through.
Anyway I decided to visit my mate Tony's shop, in Keighley.
Which cut the combo choices to 2; Blackstar Unity or Fender Rumble.
He had a few different sizes in each but I quickly took a fancy to the Fender Rumble 500.
Nice and compact for a 2x10, rediculously lightweight and very straightforward controls.
Gain to control input, Master for output, 4 band EQ, plus 3 mod buttons and a 2 control, overdrive section.
Very unlikely to ever use the overdrive but it sounded pretty good, if you like that sort of thing.
The 3 push/push mod buttons are Bright (high frequency boost), Contour (mid scoop, with extra bass & treble) and Vintage (compressed, smooth and vintagey)
Funnily enough, when I first switched the amp on, I didn't notice the Vintage button was down.
And I thought blimey, this sounds like some old 70s amp, which I didn't really like.
Like the overdrive, I'l not be using the Mod buttons but I can see how they could be very useful.
Remembering that this is a relatively low cost amp, I was pretty impressed with the sound.
I took my Musicman Stingray Special to try it and kept the controls on bass and amp, mostly flat, at 12 o'clock.
That flat setting sounded pretty good and after some minimal amp and bass control tweaking, started to sound very good.
I got the amp up loud, in a large environment and was pleased with how everything kept clean aand nicely controlled.
This is a pretty loud combo and to my ears seemed well capable of handling gigs.
As an initial comparison to my gigging rig, I think the Fender is a little cleaner but didn't quite have that direct, punch in the chest feel, my main rig had, when I first tried it.
Overall though I think this Rumble will be a great practice amp and a very capable gigging combo.
Gallien Krueger head through a Mark Bass 2x10 cab.
It's been a great set up and impressed folks with it's sound.
Light though it is, I can't be bothered to lug it up to my music room, when not in use.
So, when I want to play/practice bass, I usually play acoustically.
More recently I've been playing a lot more at home, so figured it was time to get a practice amp.
No shortage of choice or perhaps too much choice.
Then I started thinking, perhaps I could get a combo that would be good/loud enough to be a back up, to my regular rig.
The most obvious choice would be a 2nd hand Mark Bass combo and I saw a nice 1x12 combo on Gumtree.
But unlike basses, that I'm very happy to get preowned, I'm always a bit dubious about getting 2nd hand amps.
I know it may be foolish but you never know what they've been through.
Anyway I decided to visit my mate Tony's shop, in Keighley.
Which cut the combo choices to 2; Blackstar Unity or Fender Rumble.
He had a few different sizes in each but I quickly took a fancy to the Fender Rumble 500.
Nice and compact for a 2x10, rediculously lightweight and very straightforward controls.
Gain to control input, Master for output, 4 band EQ, plus 3 mod buttons and a 2 control, overdrive section.
Very unlikely to ever use the overdrive but it sounded pretty good, if you like that sort of thing.
The 3 push/push mod buttons are Bright (high frequency boost), Contour (mid scoop, with extra bass & treble) and Vintage (compressed, smooth and vintagey)
Funnily enough, when I first switched the amp on, I didn't notice the Vintage button was down.
And I thought blimey, this sounds like some old 70s amp, which I didn't really like.
Like the overdrive, I'l not be using the Mod buttons but I can see how they could be very useful.
Remembering that this is a relatively low cost amp, I was pretty impressed with the sound.
I took my Musicman Stingray Special to try it and kept the controls on bass and amp, mostly flat, at 12 o'clock.
That flat setting sounded pretty good and after some minimal amp and bass control tweaking, started to sound very good.
I got the amp up loud, in a large environment and was pleased with how everything kept clean aand nicely controlled.
This is a pretty loud combo and to my ears seemed well capable of handling gigs.
As an initial comparison to my gigging rig, I think the Fender is a little cleaner but didn't quite have that direct, punch in the chest feel, my main rig had, when I first tried it.
Overall though I think this Rumble will be a great practice amp and a very capable gigging combo.