Fender Rumble 100

**docdosco** · 05-15-2016, 01:51 PM

I played one at Sam Ash yesterday. I didn't feel up to the drive to GC across the valley here in LA to A/B it with the DV Mark 12 Jazz, which Sam Ash doesn't have.

All in all, I would certainly not feel bad taking this on most any gig. My only bitch is that the cabinet is bigger than I want and it has a closed back which none of my current amps have. It is light though. The sales guy just said 'take the back off'. Simple solution I suppose. That being said I was getting a weird sound at first, really bass heavy. Then I noticed all 3 EQ buttons were pushed down. Doh! I got a big boost of everything. Once I turned them off, I was able to dial in a clean loud sound with nice mids and highs and not to much bass, and it was loud.

So, it is on the list. However I guess I still want a smaller cabinet. One that is not much bigger than a 12" speaker. My little Fender Sidekick amps are the right size. I may in the end, just put one of the Eminence speakers in one of my Sidekick amps. I would ideally like a Sidekick Reverb 65. I have a 25, 35 and 85. The 25 has a 10"JLB D110 that needs re-coning, the 35 has an electronics issue, and the Sidekick Switcher 85 has a clean channel that sounds OK with just bass and treble, but has an elaborate crunch channel that is useless to me. If I could mod the amp to bypass the overdrive stuff and get more kick on the clean channel and add an upgraded speaker, I would think it a great little jazz amp. This the right size with plenty of power..... It is pictured below. (However a Sidekick 65 might be fine just as it is)

**LtKojak** · 05-15-2016, 03:21 PM

Isn't the Rumble a BASS amp?

Do you mean the Bassbreaker amp?

**docdosco** · 05-15-2016, 03:33 PM

Yes, the Rumble 100 is marketed as a bass amp but it is being used by jazz guitar players (even on this forum) as it has all the stuff a jazz guitar player might (need except reverb). However, as I have a TC Hall Of Fame pedal, I have that taken care of. This amp even has an overdrive channel. Go figure.

It has a ton of clean power. Very loud, very smooth. The speaker is good...an Eminence ceramic. Very attractive to some folks for a jazz amp that sells for under $300 and only weighs 22 pounds. A boutique jazz guitar amp with this power and portability and these feature would be double or even triple in price.....

**pubylakeg** · 05-15-2016, 05:25 PM

IIRC, the Sidekick 65 had most of the meat and potatoes (tone shaping) on the drive channel as well.

I'm intrigued by your mention of the Sidekick 35. Wasn't there a Sidekick 30 as well ?. Seems odd to have 2 amps in the range with such minor differences, or were they built in USA/Japan at different times ?

Either way, could you tell us, what size of speaker was in the Sidekick 35 (or 30) ?.

**Max405** · 05-15-2016, 06:30 PM

Doc, I am glad you like the Rumble 100. I had a rumble 150 and to me, it was not acceptable as a Jazz guitar amp. I thought it was loud and clean but it's sound was way too punchy. Maybe it was the 15" speaker but it had no warmth to it at all. It was sturdy. But it was very noisy. I sold it to a bass player who is happy with it.
Joe D

**docdosco** · 05-15-2016, 06:36 PM

pubylakeg,

The Sidekick Reverb 35 has a 12. SKX 35R is the exact model. It is a red knob era model that I have although they made black knob ones too. If I get this one working with a good speaker, it should do the trick....

**docdosco** · 05-15-2016, 06:59 PM

Originally Posted by Joe DeNisco

Doc, I am glad you like the Rumble 100. I had a rumble 150 and to me, it was not acceptable as a Jazz guitar amp. I thought it was loud and clean but it's sound was way too punchy. Maybe it was the 15" speaker but it had no warmth to it at all. It was sturdy. But it was very noisy. I sold it to a bass player who is happy with it.
Joe D

The 100 is more like a guitar amp I think, although the cabinet is more sizable than I like. It only weighs 22 lbs and it is not too punchy.... maybe. I didn't take it on a gig and only played for 5 (or the most 10) minutes at Sam Ash, but I would recommend trying it out to someone looking for a lightweight, powerful amp. Not for me, but I can see how it would work out for some players. I just don't like the dimensions. I want a smaller cabinet, and the Rumble 100 is a bit larger than I want.

The Rumble 100 was not noisy that I could tell in the music store.

**Max405** · 05-15-2016, 07:06 PM

Doc, I noticed that it's been totally redesigned. My 150 was ported on the bottom with a 15" speaker. It was so powerful, I think I could have broken all my windows with it.
You absolutely know what you are talking about. I'd trust your opinion on the 100 for 100% certain.
Joe D

**Doctor Jeff** · 05-15-2016, 10:20 PM

I got one for my bass guitar--happy with it for that purpose. It's hard to believe so much sound can come out of something that light in weight.

Interestingly, I haven't even played it with my archtop guitars, though I know how popular bass amps have been historically with guitarists. I'll have to give it a try.

**docdosco** · 05-15-2016, 10:43 PM

Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff

I got one for my bass guitar--happy with it for that purpose. It's hard to believe so much sound can come out of something that light in weight.

Interestingly, I haven't even played it with my archtop guitars, though I know how popular bass amps have been historically with guitarists. I'll have to give it a try.

Your take should be illuminating as it serves as your bass amp now. For someone who plays guitar and bass and only wants to carry one amp to a gig, it would be a really good choice, methinks.....

**rabbit** · 05-16-2016, 06:35 AM

doc,

Thanks for this thread, I'll have to try one of these.

**nopedals** · 05-16-2016, 09:33 AM

There are a lot of bass amps in that price/size class. I don't think that the rumble stands out particularly from the rest.

I have the carvin mb10, which has double the watts, variable xlr out, and a built in compressor. A couple of pounds heavier and a smaller speaker. I don't think I have ever gotten a *great* jazz guitar sound out of it, but there are so many knobs, I can't say that I have tried every setting. I have taken it out in circumstances where I did not know whether I was going to be playing bass or guitar, and it has been fine for guitar.

There are lots more bass players than jazz guitar players, so there are more choices and better prices for bass amps.

**pingu** · 05-16-2016, 10:33 AM

Originally Posted by nopedals

There are a lot of bass amps in that price/size class. I don't think that the rumble stands out particularly from the rest.

I have the carvin mb10, which has double the watts, variable xlr out, and a built in compressor. A couple of pounds heavier and a smaller speaker. I don't think I have ever gotten a *great* jazz guitar sound out of it, but there are so many knobs, I can't say that I have tried every setting. I have taken it out in circumstances where I did not know whether I was going to be playing bass or guitar, and it has been fine for guitar.

There are lots more bass players than jazz guitar players, so there are more choices and better prices for bass amps.

For clean Jazz type sounds only .....
it seems you can get a LOT more bang for your buck in Bass amps and Combos

The TC 2x8 looks good too
BG250-208 - Toneprint-enabled Bass Combo | TC Electronic 26 lbs

**Headshot** · 05-16-2016, 11:41 AM

hey doc, glad to see you tried the amp. I love mine, but as you said, wish it was a little smaller in size. Fender does make just the head in 200w which would be great on any cab you wanted to use. I tried the 40w, which is a lot smaller, and it was pretty nice, but not sure how well it will work in certain gigging situations. Plus, it still has all the features the 100w version does. I am going to mess around a little more with it before I decide to pull the trigger.

**Doctor Jeff** · 05-16-2016, 12:42 PM

Originally Posted by nopedals

There are a lot of bass amps in that price/size class. I don't think that the rumble stands out particularly from the rest.

Ah I don't know that there's a better lightweight combo bass amp for the money--the combination of sound and loudness, light weight and low cost is what sold me. The recent version was significantly redesigned with a different speaker magnet, and every thing I've read said it was much improved from prior models.

But this is from someone who only dabbles in bass, so take it for what it's worth.

**docdosco** · 05-16-2016, 04:21 PM

Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff

Ah I don't know that there's a better lightweight combo bass amp for the money--the combination of sound and loudness, light weight and low cost is what sold me. The recent version was significantly redesigned with a different speaker magnet, and every thing I've read said it was much improved from prior models.

But this is from someone who only dabbles in bass, so take it for what it's worth.

When I talked with the Marketing Director / Artist Relations guy at Eminence he said that the Rumble 100 speaker was proprietary so we focused on the actual Eminence speakers available from Eminence. But the Rumble speaker is pretty good none the less.

Someone on an Amazon review swapped the Rumble speaker for an Deltalite though, and is happy. He did some other mods too.

5.0 out of 5 stars
A Truly Impressive Speaker!
By Doctor A. on November 30, 2014
Verified Purchase
An outstanding speaker! This new lightweight Eminence speaker replaces a nice, but very heavy Electro-Voice EVM-12L in my jazz guitar amp. Not only is my amp significantly lighter, but more importantly, the sound it produces is noticeably clearer and cleaner. According to the Eminence data sheet info, this newly developed neodymium design is appropriate for both bass guitar applications as well as for PA systems. I completely agree. It's like my amp woke up and cleared its throat!

I'm so impressed with this speaker that I bought a second one for another amp. I now have one installed in my vintage Polytone jazz guitar amp as well as in my new Fender Rumble 100 bass amp. I slightly modified the Fender cabinet by stapling in some R13 fiberglass insulation inside and also closing off the two ports, so I now have a fully sealed cabinet. The internal volume of the cabinet is less than 1.5 cubic feet -- within the recommended sealed enclosure specs for this 2512 speaker. I now have a very portable 20 lb. Fender amp that sounds nearly identical to my rather old and heavy Polytone... and I can play either jazz guitar or bass on either amp and sound absolutely fantastic. These new Eminence Deltalite II speakers are superb. Highly recommended.

**Hammertone** · 05-16-2016, 04:38 PM

Then there's this Ampeg B-15S, great for bass as well as guitar, loaded with a nice JBL D-130/K-130/Altec 418B.
Only 125 pounds!

**pingu** · 05-16-2016, 05:05 PM

Originally Posted by Hammertone

Then there's this Ampeg B-15S, great for bass as well as guitar, loaded with a nice JBL D-130/K-130/Altec 418B.
Only 125 pounds!

£125 wow that'll sell really fast Hamm

**Jazzin'** · 08-26-2016, 04:42 PM

I auditioned the Rumble 100, and a bunch of other bass amps in every price range at Sweetwater Sound this week. I bought the Rumble 100.

There are better bass amps, but of all the amps I auditioned, I like the Rumble 100 for jazz guitar. It also works well for acoustic-electric, though I use an ADI21 with acoustic guitars to warm up the sound a bit and tweak the EQ.

It is a big bonus that the amp is so light weight. TC electronics reverb and looper through the effects loop makes for the best reverb I've heard in a long time. The looper is useful for practice and setting the EQ on the amp in a new venue - just play some rhythm, add some improv with the looper, step away from the amp, and adjust the amp's EQ for the room.

I recommend you audition the amp with any-all instruments you play. I thought the amp had way too much bass until I tilted back the amp to decouple some of the bass frequencies and improve the mid-treble dispersion.

Here's a quick subjective summary,

+Jazz Guitar - Archtop, Laminate, Telecaster, Strat, Les Paul
? Solid Body Bass - I prefer a 15" Speaker (Ampeg, etc.) as the 12" speaker sounded a bit thin on every string
- Keyboards - I would use a full range PA (BOSE, TurboSound, etc.) with good dispersion and transient response