Bridging (series) a Fender Rumble 500w combo (2x10)?

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Eedwards7891

Dec 11, 2017
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#1
Greetings! This is my first ever post, so forgive me if it isn't correct. All advice is appreciated !

I recently purchased my first big (to me) amp- a Fender Rumble 500w combo, with the 2x10 speakers onboard. I am interested in buying an extension for it , but all the info I'm reading is confusing me!

I understand the amp is rated at 500w at 8 ohms, meaning it will push 250w through the onboard 2x10s. I was wondering what the maximum amount of wattage and impedence allowable would be , and what the recommended amount would be .

Again, I apologize if this doesn't make sense, or if I'm heading in the wrong direction. Thanks in advance for any and all advice !
 
#2
I have the same rig. Nice amp. You have a true workhorse.

Now to your question.....The combo as it sits is pushing 350 watts into the 2 10 inchers it has onboard at a max power (watts) of 350. You will find this will be more than capable 90% or more of the time. However, In order to tap into the full 500 watts the amp is capable of you can plug in an external speaker cab (of any brand or speaker arrangement) that is rated at 8 Ohms. When an 8 Ohm cab is connected to the combo it is actually pushing 500 watts max into 4 Ohms (8 Ohms internally + 8 Ohms externally = 4 Ohms total [According to Ohm's Law you divide the electrical resistance of the unit (8 Ohms) by the number of units (2) to get the total resistance (measured in Ohms) of the full load. Watts is simply added together.] ). The recommended choices are the Fender Rumble 2x10 or 1x15. They are designed to sound best with coupled with the Rumble 200 or 500 heads and combos...and they come at great prices.

So the magic numbers you need to be aware of for an external speaker cab is one that is capable of handling 250 watts into 8 Ohms.

Edited to show that with no external cab connected the Rumble 500c is rated at 350 watts, not 250.
 
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#6
Eedwards7891 said:
I am interested in buying an extension for it , but all the info I'm reading is confusing me!
Click to expand...
make this simple: the best extension is the matching rumble 2x10 cab! it'll work perfectly and get all of the "juice" out of the amp. you don't even need to think about it :)

(also, "bridging" is the wrong word, that's a very specific power amp configuration thing and you're not doing anything like that. same with "series", that's not what's happening either. you're just adding an extension cab in parallel with the internal speakers.)
 
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#8
Greetings @Eedwards7891, and welcome to TalkBass. Pop into the Fender Rumble Club as we have a bunch of very knowledgeable bass players there. Also you'll see a link in blue in my signature that will take you to our wiki page that has a ton of useful information to include links to various 'Rumble Talks' and also a Rumble Club Tone Pool that contains some very good EQ settings.
 
#11
Eedwards7891 said:
Greetings! This is my first ever post, so forgive me if it isn't correct. All advice is appreciated !

I recently purchased my first big (to me) amp- a Fender Rumble 500w combo, with the 2x10 speakers onboard. I am interested in buying an extension for it , but all the info I'm reading is confusing me!

I understand the amp is rated at 500w at 8 ohms, meaning it will push 250w through the onboard 2x10s. I was wondering what the maximum amount of wattage and impedence allowable would be , and what the recommended amount would be .

Again, I apologize if this doesn't make sense, or if I'm heading in the wrong direction. Thanks in advance for any and all advice !
Click to expand...
Get the matching Rumble 2x10 extension cab. Plug it into the combo. Be golden all day long.:thumbsup:
 
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#14
walterw said:
make this simple: the best extension is the matching rumble 2x10 cab! it'll work perfectly and get all of the "juice" out of the amp. you don't even need to think about it :)

(also, "bridging" is the wrong word, that's a very specific power amp configuration thing and you're not doing anything like that. same with "series", that's not what's happening either. you're just adding an extension cab in parallel with the internal speakers.)
Click to expand...
Sorry, I know this is a dead thread, but I've got more questions, haha.

I purchased the rumble and I'm very happy overall with it .I'm wanting to get the 2x10 rumble cabinet as well, but I'm also considering the 1x15.

Right now, my rig is the fender rumble 500w combo, sitting on a GK 1x15 Goldline ( pawn shop find , not exactly what I need ), and I'm running my setup as :
Epiphone Thunderbird
Korg pitchblack tuner
EHX Bass Preacher (low settings, slow release )
Bass big muff pi deluxe

I play everything from 80s and 90s covers in one band , to stoner metal in another band . The thunderbird is my bass for that band .

I'm wondering what the pros and cons of a 2x10 extension vs a 1x15 extension are. I plan to get one or the other matching fender cabinets .

Any and all help is appreciated .
 
#16
Eedwards7891 said:
Sorry, I know this is a dead thread, but I've got more questions, haha.

I purchased the rumble and I'm very happy overall with it .I'm wanting to get the 2x10 rumble cabinet as well, but I'm also considering the 1x15.

Right now, my rig is the fender rumble 500w combo, sitting on a GK 1x15 Goldline ( pawn shop find , not exactly what I need ), and I'm running my setup as :
Epiphone Thunderbird
Korg pitchblack tuner
EHX Bass Preacher (low settings, slow release )
Bass big muff pi deluxe

I play everything from 80s and 90s covers in one band , to stoner metal in another band . The thunderbird is my bass for that band .

I'm wondering what the pros and cons of a 2x10 extension vs a 1x15 extension are. I plan to get one or the other matching fender cabinets .

Any and all help is appreciated .
Click to expand...

Your combo with any 8 ohm extension will divide the power evenly between the cab and combo.
With the 2x10 extension, each of the four speakers will get the same amount of power. 125/speaker.
With the 1x15 extension, that speaker by itself gets the 250 watts, spoke of before, while the combo splits the other 250 watts between the two 10's, again 125 watts ea. This means the 15 will be working twice as hard as either of the 10's. This also means the 15 can max out before the 10's, thus possibly never allowing the 10's to do their thing. You may have to keep the levels down to protect the 15 from exceeding mechanical limits.

Now if you are thinking that combining a 15 with 10's will allow you more bottom end than just tens by themselves? Well that may have been the case 3 or 4 decades ago, but size is not the determining factor for low end these days. Cab design is just as significant, if not more so in getting bass out of your speakers.

Then consider that the patterns presented by the two different speaker arrangements will disperse differently and not in conjunction with each other. This can cause interference patterns in the signal causing boosted or cut signals in places where you may not want them.

Now it might be that none if this will be a problem, there is not a lot of data confirming that it would be. However a number of people here on TB, use the Rumble dual 2x10 arrangement. They stack them virtually so you have four 10s in a row top to bottom. Lots of experience here says this is the golden setup for these rigs.
 
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#17
Old Garage-Bander said:
Your combo with any 8 ohm extension will divide the power evenly between the cab and combo.
With the 2x10 extension, each of the four speakers will get the same amount of power. 125/speaker.
With the 1x15 extension, that speaker by itself gets the 250 watts, spoke of before, while the combo splits the other 250 watts between the two 10's, again 125 watts ea. This means the 15 will be working twice as hard as either of the 10's. This also means the 15 can max out before the 10's, thus possibly never allowing the 10's to do their thing. You may have to keep the levels down to protect the 15 from exceeding mechanical limits.

Now if you are thinking that combining a 15 with 10's will allow you more bottom end than just tens by themselves? Well that may have been the case 3 or 4 decades ago, but size is not the determining factor for low end these days. Cab design is just as significant, if not more so in getting bass out of your speakers.

Then consider that the patterns presented by the two different speaker arrangements will disperse differently and not in conjunction with each other. This can cause interference patterns in the signal causing boosted or cut signals in places where you may not want them.

Now it might be that none if this will be a problem, there is not a lot of data confirming that it would be. However a number of people here on TB, use the Rumble dual 2x10 arrangement. They stack them virtually so you have four 10s in a row top to bottom. Lots of experience here says this is the golden setup for these rigs.
Click to expand...


I ended up getting the 2x10 500w cabinet, and it is AMAZING . It is way louder and more articulate. It was the way to go .
 
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