Just got a Rumble 200 - Low B muddy

lordradish

lordradish

Jul 20, 2006
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#1
Well, my middle age is creeping up on me, I'm getting tired of bringing my heavy but awesome Aguilar DB112 with separate head to practices, so I went and bought a Rumble 200.

All of my basses are custom high-end or at least pro quality (Wal, CB, Stambaugh, EBMM), and they're all 5's or 6's.

First impressions... whoa, I cannot believe how light this thing is, even moreso that it has a 15 in it. Will definitely be plenty loud, it's a bit bigger, dimensionally, than I would have liked, but considering I just dropped a grand on the EBMM, I couldn't go out and spend another grand on something smaller. So my back will surely like it. I don't know how the 100 would handle my low B, so I went with this.

Went through a few of the settings, generally, they sound good, but I have to say, I think my low B sounds pretty muddy and undefined, regardless of the bass (and the Wal has the best sounding B string in the universe, so it ain't the bass). Anyone else have this problem? I really don't want to send it back, but I use that string a lot. If you do have this problem, what approach do you use for the settings/eq?

I'm wondering if I should have either spent a bit more money or gone for the equivalent GK.
 
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#2
lordradish said:
Well, my middle age is creeping up on me, I'm getting tired of bringing my heavy but awesome Aguilar DB112 with separate head to practices, so I went and bought a Rumble 200.

All of my basses are custom high-end or at least pro quality (Wal, CB, Stambaugh, EBMM), and they're all 5's or 6's.

First impressions... whoa, I cannot believe how light this thing is, even moreso that it has a 15 in it. Will definitely be plenty loud, it's a bit bigger, dimensionally, than I would have liked, but considering I just dropped a grand on the EBMM, I couldn't go out and spend another grand on something smaller. So my back will surely like it. I don't know how the 100 would handle my low B, so I went with this.

Went through a few of the settings, generally, they sound good, but I have to say, I think my low B sounds pretty muddy and undefined, regardless of the bass (and the Wal has the best sounding B string in the universe, so it ain't the bass). Anyone else have this problem? I really don't want to send it back, but I use that string a lot. If you do have this problem, what approach do you use for the settings/eq?

I'm wondering if I should have either spent a bit more money or gone for the equivalent GK.
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Do you have an HPF? That will clear up the B string Pronto on this or any other rig.
 
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#11
lordradish said:
I don't know what it is about this amp. I've been playing with it all day, and I'm just not that into it. I wonder if I'm just really used to the hifi stuff.
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I had a rumble 500 head, it was loud but just sounded soft to me unless I rolled the bass back until it didn’t have any low end.. I’ve heard your exact combo being played in a couple band’s with no PA support, loud enough but no note definition either
 
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#13
mesaplayer83 said:
Yeah, my Broughton HPF + LPF makes a huge difference with the Rumble 200 - not only in regards to low note definition, but sure seems to give the combo more usable headroom... FWIW, I've gigged my 5ers plenty of times with the Rumble 200...
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Yeah, I just don't know why this amp isn't clicking with me. Part of it's also the footprint, but that's on me, because I should paid more attention to the dimensions.

Admittedly, part of this was the price, cuz I just spent a grand on a bass, last week, but I think I'm just gonna have to spend more to get something I'll be happy with.
 
#15
corndog said:
My 200 was the same. Even with my 3 band Stingray (with on-board HPF).
I’m a stickler for note definition, and I couldn’t get it with that combo not matter what I tried on-board or with pedals. Off it went.

Loved the weight though.
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Yeah, that's me. just bought a SR last week, which is why I didn't buy something better. lesson learned. Definition is key, for me, I'm more of a modern tone kinda guy.
 
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#16
I heard a Markbass 121P at GC and was shocked at how loud and clear it is. As the guy playing on it had it dialed in it sounded studio. I'm not sure if it has punch.
I don't know the Rumbles well enough to say anything about them but I'm assuming they are on Fender's lower end.
 
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#18
lordradish said:
Sizewise, this is already a bit bigger footprint than I want. I'd rather spend that extra money on a smaller, better amp if I can't get happy with this, but thanks.
Click to expand...

I just want to note that the Rumble 500 and Rumble 200 are exactly the same size, although the 500 is a bit heavier (2 pounds) according to the specs. The 500 has two 10" speakers instead of one 15"; I think that might give you some extra definition.

Also, regardless of the model, you could try to turn on the high-frequency horn if you haven't, select the Bright setting and make sure the other two settings are off (Countour and Vintage). Roll of the bass EQ a bit and turn up the mids.
 
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#19
lordradish said:
I think I'm just gonna get a Markbass.
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I second the motion.

Rumble is dull, lifeless, and takes too much work to get a usable EQ. Or an outboard pre/drive/EQ which defeats its combo nature. On the other hand, the Mark signature sound is 'a bit much' in the honky mids region. However, it is much easier to tame than the Rumble is to invigorate. For a strong clear low B, the Mark sound is much much better than the Rumble. And while I own some Markbass products including one head (Little Mark Tube 800), I am not broadly a fan of Markbass.
 
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#20
Okay, playing around with it, some more, it doesn't sound as bad as initially thought, but it doesn't put stars in my eyes like my Genzler/Aggie setup does. Plus, it's just too dang big. I need something with half the footprint.

I can see, totally, how for some players this amp would be a great deal. I'm just not one of those players. Really appreciate the feedback, though.
 
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