Fender Rumble 500 PLUS Extension Cab?

[coffeethecat28]

Hey everyone! Quick question please.
I'm about to purchase a Fender Rumble 500 combo amp, but I'm having trouble deciding upon whether to get the:

- Fender Rumble 210 2x10" 700-watt Bass Cabinet
- Fender Rumble 115 - 1x15" 300-watt Bass Cabinet
- Fender Bassman 300-watt 115 Neo Cabinet

I'm leaning towards the Fender Bassman 115 Neo Cabinet but I would really like to have some solid advice and reasoning for doing so - or not.

I play LOUD and the bass in my band needs to be present all the time as we are a power trio.

Your comments would surely be welcomed.

Thanx......

 

[twinfallsbass]

Hey everyone! Quick question please.
I'm about to purchase a Fender Rumble 500 combo amp, but I'm having trouble deciding upon whether to get the:

- Fender Rumble 210 2x10" 700-watt Bass Cabinet
- Fender Rumble 115 - 1x15" 300-watt Bass Cabinet
- Fender Bassman 300-watt 115 Neo Cabinet

I'm leaning towards the Fender Bassman 115 Neo Cabinet but I would really like to have some solid advice and reasoning for doing so - or not.

I play LOUD and the bass in my band needs to be present all the time as we are a power trio.

Your comments would surely be welcomed.

Thanx......

In that case, get the 210 extension cab. More speaker and it matches dimension wise with the combo. I have this exact setup and love it, zero issues being heard in my band.

 

[G-Dog]

... ... I'm about to purchase a Fender Rumble 500 combo amp, but I'm having trouble deciding upon whether to get the:

- Fender Rumble 210 2x10" 700350-watt Bass Cabinet
- Fender Rumble 115 - 1x15" 300-watt Bass Cabinet
- Fender Bassman 300350-watt 115 Neo Cabinet

I'm leaning towards the Fender Bassman 115 Neo Cabinet but I would really like to have some solid advice and reasoning for doing so - or not. ... ...

1) Get your power ratings on the same basis for accurate comparison. [Marketers like to tout the Program power ratings 'cause they're twice the Continuous power ratings. But Continuous (or RMS) is more usually how the amps are rated, so use that.] So, all 3 of these cabs are very similarly rated!

B. As an extension to the Rumble 500 combo the most power the cab could ever receive is 250 watts Continuous. So, any of these can easily handle the duty. Question then becomes: is the much higher cost of the Bassman Neo necessary/justified?

• I've used my Bassman 115 Neo with my Rumble 500 combo for a few outdoor gigs and certainly did not hear any significant difference in either tone or volume between the combo and cab. So, I do not believe the extra cost for the Neo is necessary/justified as an extension to the R500c. (I got mine for my Bassman 500.)

iii. The Rumble 210 & 115 cabs have comparable cone area, so should each produce similar SPL. They also weigh the same. But the 210 will benefit from a "coupling" effect with the identical speakers in the combo to produce an audible increased low frequency extension that the 115 will not. So, this could justify the extra cost of the 210 over the 115.

¥. You might even consider the Rumble 410 cab for its additional cone area that would provide more SPL. And, though it is not an identical cab to the combo, it may also get some of the "coupling" effect's low freq extension. However, the 410 weighs almost 23 lb.s more than the 210 cab and may, or may not(!), even cost more than the 210.

@coffeethecat28, you may want to ask this in the Fender Rumble Club where there are a lot of Rumble 500 owners.
.

 

[JakobT]

Excellent advice here from both @twinfallsbass and @G-Dog, @coffeethecat28! My own take is that the 210 is the ideal companion for the Rumble 500 both in terms of power handling, tone and convenience. Stacking identical cabs will also, as @G-Dog rightly points out, give you improved lower frequency extension courtesy of the coupling effect. No 15" driver needed! And you get a nice, symmetrical stack, if you care for that sort of thing.

 

[coffeethecat28]

Hey! This is great information not all of which I understand. Can you please help me understand WHY using a combo amp with 2-10's and and extension cab with 2-10's allows for more bottom end? I currenly gig with a 4x10 Eden cab and a 1x15 Mark Bass cab. The bottom end is wall-shakingly deep! I love it. But the darn Eden cab is almost 100 lbs and it's a killer to move around ergo this thread. So why wouldn't a Fender Rumble 500 with 2-10's coupled with a 1-15 cab outperform the configuration of a 2-10 combo amp and a 2-10 extension cab? I just don't understand this. And I don't understand what you mean by "coupling." What exactly is that? Thanx so much for your replies I really appreciate your advice.

 

[G-Dog]

Hey! This is great information not all of which I understand. Can you please help me understand WHY using a combo amp with 2-10's and and extension cab with 2-10's allows for more bottom end? I currenly gig with a 4x10 Eden cab and a 1x15 Mark Bass cab. The bottom end is wall-shakingly deep! I love it. But the darn Eden cab is almost 100 lbs and it's a killer to move around ergo this thread. So why wouldn't a Fender Rumble 500 with 2-10's coupled with a 1-15 cab outperform the configuration of a 2-10 combo amp and a 2-10 extension cab? I just don't understand this. And I don't understand what you mean by "coupling." What exactly is that? Thanx so much for your replies I really appreciate your advice.

Did you not click & read the coupling effect link that JakobT included? Or google "speaker coupling effect" or "line array effect" for more. That's what this was all about all those years ago:

​

But, yeah, some people, who still think speaker size makes a difference, prefer to add the 115 instead. Do the research, then decide what you believe.
.

 

[coffeethecat28]

Hey G-Dog! So sorry if I didn't meet your expectations of picking up on every fine detail of the prior post regarding "coupling." Stupid me! OK so now I've been enlightened and I fully intend to research "coupling" using my Duck-Duck-Go search engine so that I can quite possibly become as informed as you. So appreciate your most positive approach to those of us that find audio technology a bit mysterious and challenging. I so envy your remarkable expertise when it comes to understanding "coupling!" And I bet you're a killer bassist like Jaco also!

 

[G-Dog]

Hey G-Dog! So sorry if I didn't meet your expectations of picking up on every fine detail of the prior post regarding "coupling." Stupid me! OK so now I've been enlightened and I fully intend to research "coupling" using my Duck-Duck-Go search engine so that I can quite possibly become as informed as you. So appreciate your most positive approach to those of us that find audio technology a bit mysterious and challenging. I so envy your remarkable expertise when it comes to understanding "coupling!" And I bet you're a killer bassist like Jaco also!

Ha, ha, ha! Don't get the wrong idea, coffee! I'm no "expert" at any of this stuff. I've just been reading a lot of things here on TalkBass for a few years and hanging out with the fine guys & gals of the Fender Rumble Club, where I first heard of some of these things. Up 'til then I'd just been playing what I thought sounded good, which is really all anybody can do.

Come join us, cat. It's fun.
.

 

[JakobT]

Hey G-Dog! So sorry if I didn't meet your expectations of picking up on every fine detail of the prior post regarding "coupling." Stupid me! OK so now I've been enlightened and I fully intend to research "coupling" using my Duck-Duck-Go search engine so that I can quite possibly become as informed as you. So appreciate your most positive approach to those of us that find audio technology a bit mysterious and challenging. I so envy your remarkable expertise when it comes to understanding "coupling!" And I bet you're a killer bassist like Jaco also!

Don’t worry, we don’t necessarily understand all the ins and outs of audio design either. Fortunately, we have a few here on TB that do - notably @agedhorse, who freely shares of his expertise.

More fortunately still, we don’t actually need to know how it works, to know that it works. All we have to do is listen, and let our ears do the work. So to return to your original question, your ears and your preference in sound should play a big part in determining what extension cab to pick. And when it comes to the Rumble series, we’re lucky enough that Fender has designed all the different units to work well together, so there really isn’t a wrong choice here. They won’t all sound exactly the same, but they’ll all sound good, and perform well.

So come on and join us over at the Rumble Club! It’s a friendly place, brimming with useful information, tips, tricks and good company.

 

[droo46]

I have yet to do a gig that the 500 by itself wasn't plenty of volume for. Anything that's been very big has had more than adequate monitors or IEMs, and in the smaller clubs I can't go past noon without overpowering the rest of the band. There's probably something to be said for having the speakers up higher and closer to hitting your ear, but I can't imagine needing more volume.

 

[JakobT]

I have yet to do a gig that the 500 by itself wasn't plenty of volume for. Anything that's been very big has had more than adequate monitors or IEMs, and in the smaller clubs I can't go past noon without overpowering the rest of the band. There's probably something to be said for having the speakers up higher and closer to hitting your ear, but I can't imagine needing more volume.

That’s been my experience as well.

 

[Bong Bong]

Hey everyone! Quick question please.
I'm about to purchase a Fender Rumble 500 combo amp, but I'm having trouble deciding upon whether to get the:

- Fender Rumble 210 2x10" 700-watt Bass Cabinet
- Fender Rumble 115 - 1x15" 300-watt Bass Cabinet
- Fender Bassman 300-watt 115 Neo Cabinet

I'm leaning towards the Fender Bassman 115 Neo Cabinet but I would really like to have some solid advice and reasoning for doing so - or not.

I play LOUD and the bass in my band needs to be present all the time as we are a power trio.

Your comments would surely be welcomed.

Thanx......

I chose the Rumble 1 x 15 to go with the combo
(The 1 x 15 as stand alone with another head it’s nice for a change / various tones etc)
For small to medium venues without a large PA , the combo with 1 x 15 cab is thunderous.
With a massive FOH at huge volumes it doesn’t matter what amp you’ve got.

 

[Analogeezer]

Not worth it's own thread but I wondered why you rarely seem people here talk about the Rumble 200.

Well you would have to love the single 15" part of it because it is only $70 cheaper than the 500 and only saves you two pounds.

The price delta between the Ampeg Rocketbass 200 and 500 is $110, still not much but I can't see much of a case to buy the Rumble 200 when another $70 shekels gets you a much more powerful amp without much of a weight penalty.

Like I said you would really have to love the single 15" combo thing to not spend the extra money.

I guess that is why all the threads about Rumble combos here talk about the 25, the 40, and the 100, then skip straight to the 500.

Analogeezer

 

[harleyboy]

In that case, get the 210 extension cab. More speaker and it matches dimension wise with the combo. I have this exact setup and love it, zero issues being heard in my band.

Same for me!! Do It!

 

[harleyboy]

I have yet to do a gig that the 500 by itself wasn't plenty of volume for. Anything that's been very big has had more than adequate monitors or IEMs, and in the smaller clubs I can't go past noon without overpowering the rest of the band. There's probably something to be said for having the speakers up higher and closer to hitting your ear, but I can't imagine needing more volume.

My experience as well! Probably 90% of my jobs I just use the 500 combo on a mudstand and roll!

 

[jeff7bass]

My buddy plays his Rumble 500 behind him and runs a cable to the other side of his drummer to an Ampeg 115. Sounds great and helps the guitar player hear him.