Fender Rumble 800 Combo Thread for the NEW 2022 800 Combo

[Davyo]

So the Fender Rumble Clubs are great and very informative but there are so many versions of the Rumble combo’s, heads and cabinets it’s a bit challenging to find info on a specific Rumble product.
The NEW just released 2022 Rumble 800 Combo is going to be extremely popular so me thinks it should have it’s own thread and also so it’s not confused with the Rumble Stage 800 combo.

On to the subject matter topic of this specific thread:

My pre-ordered Rumble 800 combo gets delivered on Thursday and I’m definitely looking forward to using it at some medium sized clubs I’ll be working at this weekend.

I know one forum member has already received his and has posted some impressions about the 800.

Having owned many Rumble combos over the years I’m definitely interested to see how this new 800 compares to the Rumble 500 combo in regards to the extra wattage, the volume and punch and many other differences.
This is also a first for a Rumble combo to be using Neodymium drivers which I’m also very interested in hearing.
The 29lb weight is also very cool.

Hopefully Fender will introduce a 210 or 1x15 extension cab with Neodymium drivers and hopefully any extension cab will of be equal size proportions to match the 800 combo dimensions.
Stacking the Rumble 200 or 500 combos on top of the 1x15 extension cab has always looked so ugly.
Years ago I had my Rumble 500 combo sitting on top of my Rumble 1x12 extension cab and that looked and sounded great, unfortunately Fender discontinued the Rumble 1x12 cab years ago, it would be nice to see that 1x12 cab return with a Neodymium driver but I’m guessing that won’t happen.

Anyhow, hopefully this can be a dedicated thread for the new Rumble 800 and hopefully this thread doesn’t get lumped into the Rumble Club thread and get buried in with all the other Rumble’s.

Thoughts, opinions, feedback and staying on topic for the new for 2022 Rumble 800 combo welcome.

Cheers, Davyo

 

[Thom Fioriglio]

I have one being shipped out by Sweetwater. No arrival date yet. Hoping for the weekend. My current amp is a Rumble 500. And like you, I am interested in other players impressions of the Rumble 800.

 

[Davyo]

I have one being shipped out by Sweetwater. No arrival date yet. Hoping for the weekend. My current amp is a Rumble 500. And like you, I am interested in other players impressions of the Rumble 800.

When I called Sweetwater this morning I got thee impression that all the 800’s were being shipped out today.
I’m in Las Vegas and was told I should have it by Friday or Saturday with FedEx standard ground shipping.
I had mine on pre-order since October 13th with free ground shipping but decided to pay a few extra dollars for 2 Day shipping.
It shipped shortly after I called Sweetwater and FexEx tracking shows I’ll have it on Thursday, just in time to use for some gigs I have this weekend

Depending on your location you should have it by Friday hopefully.
I no longer have a Rumble 500 to compare the 800 to so I’m definitely looking forward to hearing your thoughts when you do your comparison.

Cheers, Davyo

 

[G-Dog]

.
Good for you, Davyo, Rumbler #1459 (yes, still). I look forward to your review!

And you, too, Thommy, Rumbler #1191. This answers my question to you in The Club, which illustrates the confusion over the Rumble 800s.

Yes the new Rumble 800 COMBO is certainly a very interesting, and attractive, new development. I can't wait to hear how it is received.
.

 

[Big Bottom]

After a week with the new 800 really enjoying the ease of setting up and tone. I can dial in a great tone with any of my basses in seconds. Can be very loud and has plenty of headroom. Comparing to the Mesa set up that is being replaced. The Mesa moves way more air. I can not feel the air being moved in the room or back of my legs like with the Mesa set up. I have a feeling the nature of the Neodymium drivers may not move as much air. The incredible tone with the neodymium driver and lack of weight makes this a ok trade off for me.
When adding the mesa 15 bottom cab to the 800 it has plenty of power to drive it and moves some air.
The Mesa cab takes away from the Rumbles incredible tone. At this point I am unable to find a EQ setting to correct. Hoping Rumble comes out with a 15 with neodymium driver.
Ted B

 

[Davyo]

After a week with the new 800 really enjoying the ease of setting up and tone. I can dial in a great tone with any of my basses in seconds. Can be very loud and has plenty of headroom. Comparing to the Mesa set up that is being replaced. The Mesa moves way more air. I can not feel the air being moved in the room or back of my legs like with the Mesa set up. I have a feeling the nature of the Neodymium drivers may not move as much air. The incredible tone with the neodymium driver and lack of weight makes this a ok trade off for me.
When adding the mesa 15 bottom cab to the 800 it has plenty of power to drive it and moves some air.
The Mesa cab takes away from the Rumbles incredible tone. At this point I am unable to find a EQ setting to correct. Hoping Rumble comes out with a 15 with neodymium driver.
Ted B View attachment 4854850

Thanks for posting your impressions on the 800 so far.
And yeah, hopefully Fender will add a similar sized 1x15 Neo cab to the Rumble line-up.
I just checked FedEx shipping and it would seem my Rumble 800 might be delayed for a day, supposed to get it tomorrow now FedEx says Friday,, grrrrr.

Davyo

 

[Thom Fioriglio]

I received my Fender Rumble 800 Combo today! Preordered mid October from Sweetwater and delivered from Indiana to Long Island, NY in 2 days! I already own a Fender Rumble 500 which I bought used from Guitar Center about a year ago. My interest in the Rumble 800 was a little more wattage, lighter weight, better speakers, and the option to turn down the power for practicing at home, and to have a brand new amp. Did I need it, no, did I want it, yes.

First impressions is the weight difference is noticeable between the 500 and 800. 7.5 lbs difference! As for everything else, it's almost identical to the Rumble 500. No noticeable difference in tone, and I don't think I will notice the difference in 50 extra watts of power. Same exact size and shape. A pleasant surprise was the Rumble 800 comes with a footswitch, which I already had, and I consider a must for these amps. I use mine to turn off the speakers by turning down both knobs of the overdrive off. It works great for unplugging your bass without any noise. But of course, can be used to activate the overdrive! I like the switch to turn down from 400w to 100w. Other than that, it's a Rumble. Oh, and I added some wheels to it.

Here are some pictures. In the stack, the 800 is on top.

 

[J Wilson]

If they're both 210's, 500 to 800 watts will be a bit louder but with more headroom, the best improvement. A lot louder will require an extension cabinet.

I'd vote for a matching 210. One of my favorite rigs back in the day was a Peavey Combo 300BW sitting on top of a matching Peavey 115BW. It was a great rig, and for me a matching 210 would conjure that vibe today.

 

[Thom Fioriglio]

If they're both 210's, 500 to 800 watts will be a bit louder but with more headroom, the best improvement. A lot louder will require an extension cabinet.

I'd vote for a matching 210. One of my favorite rigs back in the day was a Peavey Combo 300BW sitting on top of a matching Peavey 115BW. It was a great rig, and for me a matching 210 would conjure that vibe today.

The wattage for the Rumble with just the internal speaker is 350w for the Rumble 500 and 400w for the Rumble 800, so only 50w difference. Once you add an extension speaker, that's when you go from 500w to 800w, and yeah, you should hear the difference.

 

[J Wilson]

I stand corrected. Thanks, Thom.

 

[G-Dog]

I received my Fender Rumble 800 Combo today! ... ... ... already own a Fender Rumble 500 ... ... Did I need it, no, did I want it, yes. ... ... ...

Congratulations, Thommy! I feel the same way about my 8-year-old Rumble 500 combo (bought bran' spankin' new, never a hiccup) and this new R800c ... ...​

... ... ... First impressions is the weight difference is noticeable between the 500 and 800. 7.5 lbs difference! As for everything else, it's almost identical to the Rumble 500. No noticeable difference in tone, and I don't think I will notice the difference in 50 extra watts of power. Same exact size and shape. ... ...

Wow! I didn't expect the lighter weight to be that significant. But, when I do the math, the difference is 20%, or 1/5, of the R500c's weight!!

Say, Thom, have you tried listening for how much difference the horn makes to the tone of your 500 vs the 800? I wouldn't expect the overall sound of the Neo speakers in the 800 to sound very much, if any, different from the ceramic ferrites in the 500, but the 800 may also have a 'somehow different' horn to somehow match the Neos better?!? ​

... ... A pleasant surprise was the Rumble 800 comes with a footswitch, which I already had, and I consider a must for these amps. I use mine to turn off the speakers by turning down both knobs of the overdrive off. It works great for unplugging your bass without any noise. But of course, can be used to activate the overdrive! ... ... ...

Ah, yes, the super secret tip/hack of the Rumble mute switch! Turning the Drive & Level knobs all the way counterclockwise makes the Overdrive switch into a very effective mute! I've also heard that it has caused at least a few unnecessary trips to the repair shop!!! ​

... ... ... I like the switch to turn down from 400w to 100w. Other than that, it's a Rumble. ... ... ...

Yeah, the Power Output switch is really tantalizing! Switching down the power and turning up the Master helps kick in that patented Delta-Comp circuit for more tubey tone! Or, of course, for quieter playing ... I guess ... yeah, that too. ​

... ... ... Oh, and I added some wheels to it. ... ... ...

Wha... huh, ... WhaAAaat?!?! The lightest Rumble combo bigger'n the 100? Wheels?!? Your back must be as bad as mine after 2 surgeries! But, at least it appears you're planning to "Move it! Move it!" Good on ya, mate!

... ... ... Here are some pictures. In the stack, the 800 is on top.

View attachment 4856016 View attachment 4856019

Beautiful! And don't forget, Thommy, an instrument cable from the FX Send of one Rumble to the FX Return of the other gives you a very formidable 750w stack! And the sending amp controls the EQ settings sent the Returning amp.

Like all Rumbles 500 and less, the R500c's Master is upstream of the FX Loop, thereby controlling the level of the Sending signal. But the R800c's Master is downstream of the FX Loop, so it can turn down any Returning signal, but it's Sending level (I'm guessing here) is probably fixed! ... possibly at a fairly low-ish level!!!

So, Sending from R500c to R800c goes thru both Master controls and lets the 500 have overall Volume control of the stack, but the 800 could still be turned lower!! And Sending from R800c to R500c bypasses both Master controls to the 500 and might, possibly, not produce much amplification from the 500!!! ...depending on the fixed(?) Send level. It would certainly be interesting to hear the results of checking this, Thom!!! ​

The wattage for the Rumble with just the internal speaker is 350w for the Rumble 500 and 400w for the Rumble 800, so only 50w difference. ... ...

Right. And, I'm sure you will recall, with sound it takes 10 times the power to make it just twice as loud. ​

... ... Once you add an extension speaker, that's when you go from 500w to 800w, and yeah, you should hear the difference.

An-n-nd ... ... that's where you lost me. I'm sure you meant that an 8 ohm cab will take the 350w R500c to 500w and/or the 400w/100w R800c to 800w/200w??​

I stand corrected. Thanks, Thom.

??? ... ... ??? ... ... Oo-o-oh, now I see! Thom was talking about how close in power, just 50w difference, the standalone combos are. While you, J, were talking about the bigger difference of their nameplate ratings, 500w vs 800w. Yeah, that's it.

I think you're both right! ​

 

[Thom Fioriglio]

Wow! I didn't expect the lighter weight to be that significant. But, when I do the math, the difference is 20%, or 1/5, of the R500c's weight!!

Say, Thom, have you tried listening for how much difference the horn makes to the tone of your 500 vs the 800? I wouldn't expect the overall sound of the Neo speakers in the 800 to sound very much, if any, different from the ceramic ferrites in the 500, but the 800 may also have a 'somehow different' horn to somehow match the Neos better?!? ​

Yeah, the Power Output switch is really tantalizing! Switching down the power and turning up the Master helps kick in that patented Delta-Comp circuit for more tubey tone! Or, of course, for quieter playing ... I guess ... yeah, that too. ​

Wha... huh, ... WhaAAaat?!?! The lightest Rumble combo bigger'n the 100? Wheels?!? Your back must be as bad as mine after 2 surgeries! But, at least it appears you're planning to "Move it! Move it!" Good on ya, mate!

Beautiful! And don't forget, Thommy, an instrument cable from the FX Send of one Rumble to the FX Return of the other gives you a very formidable 750w stack! And the sending amp controls the EQ settings sent the Returning amp.​

The weight difference between the Rumble 500 and 800 is noticeable, I wouldn't say significant.

As for the horn, I always kept it off on my Rumble 500. I did play around with it on the 800 and didn't hear any real difference with it on or off. I'll have to explore that further.

The power switch is nice to have for a quick flick of the toggle, you have a quieter amp so you can practice later at night or when needed, rather than adjusting the volume knobs on the amp or your bass.

Haha, yeah, wheels. Just makes it easier to move it around. My carry something when you can wheel it. Plus it raises the amp just a bit.

As for the stack, that was just a photo of the 2 amps together. I plan on selling the Rumble 500. I don't need that much power.

Looking forward to hearing your first impressions. Also, just curious, how do you have your Gain and Master set? I usually keep my Gain at 9 o'clock and the Master at 10 or 11 o'clock. Having this new amp, it had me doing searches on tweeters and gain knobs, just to see if I am getting the most use out of them. Cheers!

 

[LeMaartien]

Still unavailable from the Italian site where it's listed with a 200 € discount. Not even listed by Thomann yet. One of these days. It would look nice sitting on my Auralex GRAMMA 2 with the Studio 40 on top of it.

 

[Davyo]

I just received my Rumble 800 combo today.
I put it thru it’s paces this evening with a bunch of my bass’s and so far I’m very happy with it.
The 29lb weight is very nice too.
I don’t have a Rumble 500 anymore to do a direct comparison with the 800 but I will say the 800 is a keeper.
I’ll post pictures tomorrow along with more thoughts and opinions.
Cheers, Davyo

 

[El Trueno]

Very interested in the new 800. If I find one locally it’s coming home with me. Curious about that horn and what difference it makes to the tone/volume.

 

[G-Dog]

The weight difference between the Rumble 500 and 800 is noticeable, I wouldn't say significant. ... ...

I thought it might not even be noticeable. Thanks.​

... ... As for the horn, I always kept it off on my Rumble 500. I did play around with it on the 800 and didn't hear any real difference with it on or off. I'll have to explore that further.. ... ...

Yeah, the horn on my R500c is quite suble, both ways. Thanks, again.​

... ... The power switch is nice to have for a quick flick of the toggle, you have a quieter amp so you can practice later at night or when needed, rather than adjusting the volume knobs on the amp or your bass. ... ...

Very cool feature. Enjoy!​

... ... Haha, yeah, wheels. Just makes it easier to move it around. My carry something when you can wheel it. Plus it raises the amp just a bit. ... ...

Yeah, the casters on my heavy Bassman 250 combo are were a tremendous help. Don't ever move it anymore. And I can did remove the back two casters to tip the amp back a bit!​

... ... As for the stack, that was just a photo of the 2 amps together. I plan on selling the Rumble 500. I don't need that much power. ... ...

Would you please check out my theories above on connecting the FX Loops of the two before selling the R500c? Don't know anyone else in a position to do that.​

... ... Looking forward to hearing your first impressions. Also, just curious, how do you have your Gain and Master set? I usually keep my Gain at 9 o'clock and the Master at 10 or 11 o'clock. Having this new amp, it had me doing searches on tweeters and gain knobs, just to see if I am getting the most use out of them. Cheers!

Whoa! I haven't even pulled the trigger on a R800c yet. Just daydreaming, so far. But, ... ...

I do like a little Overdrive on my R500c in most of my rockin' tones, so the Gain may go from a subtle 9 o'clock to 3 or 4, depending on the song. But I also turn off the OD for some "soft" songs. Likewise, the Master has ranged from 9 o'clock in quiet practice to 3-ish at big gigs, with frequent attention to the Volume on my basses, too.

Since I like a lot of different tones, that's one reason I got a Rumble Studio 40 to have hundreds of very different preset tones literally at my fingertips, with the Tone App on my phone or tablet! And the Mono FX Send from the Studio to my R500c's Input gives me a giggable Volume to all these different tones, too!! The Studio's FX Send does have a low-ish fixed level, as I now suspect that your R800c does.
.​

 

[Thom Fioriglio]

Would you please check out my theories above on connecting the FX Loops of the two before selling the R500c? Don't know anyone else in a position to do that.​

Whoa! I haven't even pulled the trigger on a R800c yet. Just daydreaming, so far. But, ... ...

I do like a little Overdrive on my R500c in most of my rockin' tones, so the Gain may go from a subtle 9 o'clock to 3 or 4, depending on the song. But I also turn off the OD for some "soft" songs. Likewise, the Master has ranged from 9 o'clock in quiet practice to 3-ish at big gigs, with frequent attention to the Volume on my basses, too.

Since I like a lot of different tones, that's one reason I got a Rumble Studio 40 to have hundreds of very different preset tones literally at my fingertips, with the Tone App on my phone or tablet! And the Mono FX Send from the Studio to my R500c's Input gives me a giggable Volume to all these different tones, too!! The Studio's FX Send does have a low-ish fixed level, as I now suspect that your R800c does.
.​

Thanks for the info. Sorry, confused you with another member who I thought ordered one.

Thanks for the info about the gain knob. Good to know and backs up my research on how to best use the Gain knob on the Rumbles.

I already boxed up my Rumble 500 so unless I unbox it for some reason, I won’t be connecting them. If I do, I will definitely give this a try.

I love the idea of the Stage series Rumbles. I have a Zoom pedal with multi effects which is great for recording. Glad to hear you get good use out of the presets and effects.

 

[G-Dog]

... ... Thanks for the info about the gain knob. Good to know and backs up my research on how to best use the Gain knob on the Rumbles. ... ...

Rumble TalkTM on 'Gain Structure'​

... ... I already boxed up my Rumble 500 so unless I unbox it for some reason, I won’t be connecting them. If I do, I will definitely give this a try. ... ...

Oh! Man! WOW! In with the new and out with the old! Oh, well, I live in hopes that you'll get bored, unbox it and try connecting the FX Loops before you sell it. ​

... ... I love the idea of the Stage [& Studio] series Rumbles. I have a Zoom pedal with multi effects which is great for recording. Glad to hear you get good use out of the presets and effects.

Yes, there are quite a few of us in the Rumble Stage & Studio sub-thread of The Club.
.​

 

[MrB64]

I do like a little Overdrive on my R500c in most of my rockin' tones, so the Gain may go from a subtle 9 o'clock to 3 or 4, depending on the song. But I also turn off the OD for some "soft" songs. Likewise, the Master has ranged from 9 o'clock in quiet practice to 3-ish at big gigs, with frequent attention to the Volume on my basses, too.

Ever since I learned the flat settings for Rumbles, I very often keep them there and add or subtract the Vintage and Bright buttons as needed, and also do EQing with my basses. The Rumble wiki is very helpful for Gain and Master info. I think my Gain and Master settings vary about like yours do, I wonder if you keep your EQ flat. The game has changed a bit today, as my long awaited G&L L-2000 has arrived. I'm having a lot of fun experimenting with the tonal possibilities of that bass combined with my Rumbles (R40 and R500c). Both the bass and the Rumbles are very versatile.

 

[MB_Ramone]

Is the r800c suitable for a CGCF bass tuning?
Or do I have to go to 15"?