Amp alert: Rumble 100 on massive discount!

[cp-the-nerd]

I have been keeping an eye on the Fender Rumble 100 for quite some time because it's one of the best bang for the buck keyboard amps, even if it's billed as a bass amp. I was really disheartened when Fender raised the prices on their Rumble series last year up to $380. This past month, I saw it was on sale for the old $299 price tag, then tonight I saw it dropped to $265 on Amazon and immediately bought it.

I don't know how long it will last, but if you're in need of a lightweight, great quality gig or practice amp, buy the Rumble 100 right now.

https://www.amazon.com/Fender-Rumble-Bass-Combo-Amplifier/dp/B00I56QW30/ref=sr_1_2?crid=874VNN202CAC&keywords=fender+rumble+100&qid=1662163727&sprefix=fender+rumble+100%2Caps%2C155&sr=8-2

[Ledbetter]

That looks pretty good. Great price. I use one of these bass amps, Hartke KB12, when I need a small carry-in amp.

[KuruPrionz]

A good friend has the Rumble 100, plays bass through it. 

I laughed at it the first time I saw it. I was amazed at how light it was and when I heard it I wanted one. 

Someday, great little amp and yeah it probably rocks for keys. Certainly punches above it's weight!

[eric.B]

Good suggestion! I know the V3 100 is a very capable bass combo.

I did a mod 6 years ago so I could also use it as a cabinet or use it with another amp, and also upgraded the speaker (the link to that thread on Talkbass is over here).

However, I never thought of using it as a keyboard amp, I'll sure give it a try!

[cassdad]

You get full range, including highs, without any horn?

[felis]

That's a good price, but you can also buy it direct from Fender for $284.99

 

https://www.fender.com/en-US/bass-amplifiers/contemporary-digital/rumble-100/2370400000.html

[AnotherScott]

I see Sweetwater has that price as well, so it sounds like it could be a reduction from Fender across the board. But if you don't like it, a return to Sweetwater will cost you shipping each way, whereas a return to Amazon costs no shipping either way.

[MAJUSCULE]

Yeah, but Chuck is a nicer guy than Bezos.

[Adan]

I have a Rumble 40 I sometimes use in combo with my Vox VX50KB when I want a little extra bass oomph.  The Rumble is a cheap, super lightweight way to achieve that.  But the Vox sounds great on it's own too.

[cp-the-nerd]

43 minutes ago, cassdad said:

You get full range, including highs, without any horn?

My understanding is that it's a well rounded sound range and has been a choice of keyboard players for some time now. I have not used one yet myself but I couldn't pass up the price. I have seen numerous recommendations to use this amp for keyboard purposes, including video reviews on youtube.

[drawback]

I wonder if two Rumbles might do the job of a Motion Sound.

[obxa]

10 minutes ago, cp-the-nerd said:

My understanding is that it's a well rounded sound range and has been a choice of keyboard players for some time now. I have not used one yet myself but I couldn't pass up the price. I have seen numerous recommendations to use this amp for keyboard purposes, including video reviews on youtube.

 I played bass in Jazz band in High School. They had one of those Ampeg flip top things.  The  MD amazingly trusted to just always take it home with me-  used to use  it for keys because I didn't know any better, but always liked it over the guitar amp I had at the time. 

[KuruPrionz]

1 hour ago, cassdad said:

You get full range, including highs, without any horn?

Full range is a relative term, it sounded very clear with round wound strings and EMG pickups on bass, all the highs you'd ever need were there with the treble knob at noon. 

While I'd like 2 mid knobs - lo mid and hi mid, for  -$300 you won't get one unless you buy a used Peavey that works but weighs a ton. 

For that matter, the "horn" you're going to get on an amp in that price range is a nasty, spitty sounding cheap Piezo horn. I'd rather not have a horn than hear the trebles abused like that. 

[AUSSIEKEYS]

21 hours ago, Ledbetter said:

That looks pretty good. Great price. I use one of these bass amps, Hartke KB12, when I need a small carry-in amp.

 

Yes I have the 60 watt keyboard one Called the KM60 it doesn't have the lay back design.

 

Been happy with its performance  but a bit heavy though.

 

It replaced an EV ZXa1 which didnt cut it even in a "not loud" band. The EV became my monitor which was great.

 

If i gig again for lightness i may try the EV again but with a better mixer. As light as the EV is its a pita with the stupid "clever" built in handle. 

 

Who ever designed that handle substitute has never sat in a car with replacement seats where the rear seat mounts are far too high. Always feel like your sliding forward. Just like that handle thing feels.

[JB Sherry]

As someone mentioned, this price-drop is available from everyone. I went with the SWEET deal, because they’re offering an additional discount (check the website). Note that it’s not in stock there ATM, but I can wait. I’m getting it for Bass, not keys. 

[Reezekeys]

I too am a bit skeptical about using an amp designated a "bass" amp for keyboards, but if you like the sound then case closed, I guess.

 

I just got myself a pair of Alto TX308s. Two of them are $15 more than that Rumble (they're $140 US each). 175 watts continuous, with a titanium compression horn. And light - holy s**t, I laughed out loud when I picked it up - they seem almost weightless (they're 12 lbs – 5.4kg)! I have not used them on a gig yet, and plan to A/B them with my QSC K8s soon. Downsides I know of right now are inputs being XLR-only, and a non-defeatable analog limiter. I'll have a review when I get a chance to do a gig with them. Playing at home, they do get reasonably loud and clear, and my guess is that they'll work in a small club doing a solo/duo/trio gig (having two of them helps). I'm optimistic they'll be good enough for smallish local gigs where the QSCs are overkill (and starting to feel heavy too).

[zeronyne]

Plenty of bass amps and cabinets are hifi and definitely full range. My Acme B1 cabinets are incredible PA cabinets that have a better frequency response than the actual PA cabs I own. Unless the amp has a pre that highly colors the input, and unless it’s a very specialized speaker complement, most transparent bass amps do just fine as keyboard sound reinforcement.

 

and this is from personal experience, not a statistical survey or analysis.

[wd8dky]

I have used a Carvin MB-12 Bass amp (200W, 3-way speaker system) and it sounded fantastic for keys.  It has a direct out, parametric eq, and a compressor.  I'm not in the cool crowd here, but I thought it was a rare gem. 

[MAJUSCULE]

I've posted about this before, but my former teacher Chris Andrew, who is a top-five jazz pianist in Canada, often gigs with a MarkBass MicroMark (the original 6") when he's playing a DP. Swears by it, and I would trust his opinion on anything having to do with a piano sound.

[drawback]

I've often wondered about Phil Jones bass amps for keyboards. 

[MPN21]

On 9/3/2022 at 8:42 PM, Reezekeys said:

I too am a bit skeptical about using an amp designated a "bass" amp for keyboards, but if you like the sound then case closed, I guess.

 

I just got myself a pair of Alto TX308s. Two of them are $15 more than that Rumble (they're $140 US each). 175 watts continuous, with a titanium compression horn. And light - holy s**t, I laughed out loud when I picked it up - they seem almost weightless (they're 12 lbs – 5.4kg)! I have not used them on a gig yet, and plan to A/B them with my QSC K8s soon.

SNIP

 

I thought you were helping me save some money at first but it looks like I might be spending $15 more than I expected in the first place!   LOL.  Kidding aside,  years ago I purchased a Markbass CMD 102P - 2x10 combo with a piezo.   At the local GC, we took one out of the bass amp/guitar room to the PA room.  I connected my keyboard, and  we did AB tests with other powered speakers.  I only remember the QSC K12.   I remember that we turned off the K12 within a few seconds.  That's how noticeable the differences were.  The CMD 102p was so powerful and so much cleaner.    I ended up buying one for my keys.   I look forward to your review on the TX308. 

 

[Reezekeys]

35 minutes ago, MPN21 said:

I only remember the QSC K12.   I remember that we turned off the K12 within a few seconds.  That's how noticeable the differences were.  The CMD 102p was so powerful and so much cleaner.

 

The old Ks have a 3-position slide switch on the back that alters the voicing - "ext sub" (hi-pass filter that lets a sub take over the low end), "normal", and "vocal boost" which boosts the vocal range - not sure of the exact freq band, but I am sure that if accidentally put in this position, a DP will likely sound like shit - I've experienced this a few times, usually when removing the speaker covers!

 

You liked the sound of that bass amp for your keyboard so that's all that matters. For me, doing the kinds of gigs I do and the music I play, the sounds I need, etc... I have to have a full-range PA, woofin' and tweetin'. Actually I need two speakers - I'm a stereo guy. I started with two Mackie SRM450s (over 100lbs total), then K8s (54 lbs), now these little Altos (24 lbs for both). They aren't replacing the K8s like the Ks replaced the Mackies - I'll still use my Ks for the gigs I need more horsepower for.

[ewall08530]

9 hours ago, Jazz1642606857 said:

Hi For jazz piano,  on the left channel, I use an 18 lb Rumble 40 with a custom Eminence Bass Lite Speaker.  I also custom tuned the ports with plastic tubes and add 3 sides of internal baffle to get the best tonal response from the cabinet. The mids and lows are very good now. No harsh tweeter trumpeting at my ears.

 

On the right channel I use a EV ZXa1. 2 way powered speaker (tweeter in this).

 

My digital piano is the new 26 lb. Kawai ES120 based on the glorious ES110 RHC action but the ES120 now includes the much improved Kawai SK-EX piano sample set and. good clean tone vintage Rhodes.  The Kawai ES120 puts the other sub 30 lb. digital pianos to shame.

You are the first person on this Forum that I’ve come across that has a Kawai ES 120. 
I don’t want to derail this thread but I’d love a separate post with a short review on the ES 120, if possible.  
Cheers!
Ed W. 

[Pa Gherkin]

Mentioned earlier in this thread was the possibility of running two rumble 100s for keyboards in stereo. I also wonder if there is a good way of ganging two of these together in mono. Since they have an input gain control would it be feasible to run the line out of one into the input of the other.? I assume the line out is balanced so could it be a problem running into the unbalanced instrument input of the other? 
 

For mono how about running a y cord from a keyboard or mixer with each side going into each amp?  A stereo rig with two of these would actually be easier. Also,the Rumble 100 has no tweeter to blow out or sound bad. The size and weight of these amps intrigues me.

[Dave Bryce]

10 hours ago, Pa Gherkin said:

For mono how about running a y cord from a keyboard or mixer with each side going into each amp?  A stereo rig with two of these would actually be easier.

 

dB

[Reezekeys]

10 hours ago, Pa Gherkin said:

For mono how about running a y cord from a keyboard or mixer with each side going into each amp?  A stereo rig with two of these would actually be easier. Also,the Rumble 100 has no tweeter to blow out or sound bad.

 

I don't understand the logic here, unless the keyboard itself outputs a mono signal. Are there such boards today? I wouldn't know, since I've been using a laptop for over 15 years - but my previous board was a Roland XP50 which had stereo outputs.

 

And... you claim an advantage to the Rumble is that it "has no tweeter to blow out or sound bad"? How often are those of us with tweeter-equipped speakers blowing them out or complaining about them sounding bad? Hasn't come up once in my experience with powered PAs since my first pair, two Mackie SRM450s 22 years ago! (Of course we can debate the overall sound quality of speakers, and those 450s may not come out at the top of anyone's list!). 🙂 

 

I'm of the opinion that a good acoustic piano sound requires a full-range speaker system. So does a few other categories of sounds - synth, strings etc. Many other sounds don't need that, and having an "amp-colored" sound adds to their quality - like a rhodes through a Twin Reverb. No tweeter or horn needed there. However, it's better to have and not need than the other way around - imo!

[stoken6]

51 minutes ago, Reezekeys said:

How often are those of us with tweeter-equipped speakers blowing them out...?

Never since active speakers included protection circuitry. 

 

I did blow the *woofers" in a pair of passive mid/top speakers, passively crossed-over from a passive sub fed from a separate power amp. But that was a geological age ago.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Reezekeys]

Of course, I forgot - the PPAs I've used all have protection circuitry built in. The old QSC Ks use a 500 watt module for the horn - you better have some kind of limiting or protection!

 

One of my Mackie 450s blew when the sound man connected its pass-through XLR to the sound system, which had phantom power on. That was around 20 years ago –  the last time I dealt with a damaged speaker (and it wasn't a blown driver from too hot an input).

 

Of course I don't know the specs of every PPA out there, but even my new $140 Alto TX308s have a limiter built-in. I'm guessing all PPAs have a similar feature, whether via analog limiting or DSP.

[Pa Gherkin]

On 9/3/2022 at 11:11 AM, KuruPrionz said:

 

For that matter, the "horn" you're going to get on an amp in that price range is a nasty, spitty sounding cheap Piezo horn. I'd rather not have a horn than hear the trebles abused like that. 

Rob,I tend to agree with Kuru Prionz about cheap treble “horns”. Having played digital pianos through many different  speaker combinations since the late 80s when dps became a thing,I’ve encountered some that sounded quite good even without a treble horn and some with awful sounding horns. Yes, there are people with misgivings regarding cheap treble horns (two right in this thread). I agree that blowing a treble driver is  much rarer than it used to be.  Of course,I’ve used and still own some glorious sounding full range systems as well but I’m really trying to lighten the load in my newest rig.

 

As for running mono either for monitoring or foh here’s the” logic”. There have been situations in which I preferred or have to run mono. I like to be ready for anything. As I’m sure you know,there are modern boards that output mono or stereo. Some Nords include a stereo/ mono switch.Every board I’ve owned since the late 80’s has included a L/mono output which sounded good except for one Yamaha piano. I guess I’ve been lucky in that respect.  While the mono vs stereo debate is legendary on this forum I really prefer having a  convenient choice . 
 

The Runble’s wooden cabinet appeals to me too compared to a molded cab. In my last post I was simply spitballing regarding the possibilities involved in using a couple of Rumble 100s in either mono or stereo and was looking for input. Logical? Perhaps,perhaps not.

[RABid]

Hey! I have one of these. Never tried running keyboards through it. For this price you might be able to find a nice EV powered cabinet with better sound. Do have a pair of Genz Benz 128T-UQ 3-way cabinets built for bass that are killer for keys and electronic drums.