Fender is known for its best guitars and bass amps since the fifties. But does that mean the name on anything would turn it as good as its other peripherals and instruments are? Read the Fender Rumble 40 review to check out if this bass amp from Fender has the same magic or not. But before starting to talk about its positive and negative aspects, let us delve a bit deeper into its history.
The first time the company came up with a tube amp, called Fender Rumble. However, the series was only available between 1995 and 98. Again in 2003, the Rumble series continued to awe the market with its solid-state amps release.
There was a time when Fender was known for its exquisite guitars and amps. The amps were designed to further enhance the sound quality of the Fender’s guitars. Although they team up together well, there is a huge difference between guitars and bass amplifiers. Unlike guitars, these do not have strings or necks, but they do are available in a different color, size, and shape similar to the guitars.
It is equally important to choose the right amplifier as it is necessary to pick the right guitar. In this Fender Rumble 40 review, we would discuss if the product is worth your money and attention. As we already know that Fender is among the best manufacturer of bass amplifiers around the globe. Is the Fender Rumble 40 possess similar traits? Let us look at the pros and cons of the amp and decide together.
Overview
Fender has come a long way in experiencing different customer’s expectations. While they used to target the niche with a hefty amount of money when they started to sell guitars, they do have noted the importance of serving the budget products as well.
Hence, Rumble 40 is one of their high-quality product that is aimed at those with a limited budget. Yes, it is true that the product is affordable and it is from Fender.
Looking at the affordability of the product, you might think it just for the personal kick. However, that is not true. While you can certainly enjoy the music with this amp alone at home, you can also use it for small gatherings and venues for rocking the show with great music and sound.
Looking at the size, it is easy to manage. It can sit at a corner, even if you have a studio apartment, and won’t make much demand for extra space. Hence, it could very well be adjusted inside a small setting. It would also compliment your stage shows. You can play live while adjusting it on the stage with not much space requirement. Your audience would love to check out the sound coming out of it.
It is easy to carry as well from one place to another. So, either you take public transport or use an Uber, it would never mind accompanying you without putting any extra baggage load on you. Pretty easy, right!
Specification
The bass amp is seemed really intriguing if you look at the different specs of the product. It does sit alongside the budget amps, however, it has few of the most aesthetics features.
- You can consider it the purely space-friendly amp. It does not need a very large space and can sit in a small basement as well
- It is a 40 Watts amplifier
- A 10-inch speaker coupled with the amp featuring perfect bass punching
- The product looks vintage and carries contemporary components
- Footswitch overdrive could be purchased separately to add extra aggression to the sound
- Jack output – 6.3 mm
- Mini-jack stereo with AUX input
- It carries a headphone output connector
- Rumble 40 has the smoother radio potentiometer dials
- Plus, it provides XLR output with ground lift
Sounds
The bass sound that the amplifier produces is worthy of quite some attention. The product brings a lot of excitement for its users. You would find a lot of things about this amplifier that would keep you engaged for longer. It does have an impressive master volume and EQ settings. However, there are few other things too that would catch anyone’s attention.
To start with, you won’t be able to ignore the overdrive circuit. Here is what you can expect from Rumble 40. Unlike guitar amps that have separate clean and overdrive channels, the Rumble 40 won’t provide much of a separate channel. It gets you a circuit, which either you engage or disengage.
Or, you can also make use of a button that is located on the amp’s control panel. The footswitch is another option. However, this is not included with the standard product. You must buy it separately for around $15.
Once you would use the switch, you would know its strength for real. The overdrive is decent. But if you are expecting a proper bass fuzz pedal, you may feel disappointed. Rumble 40 is for those wanting to explore the overdriven bass sound as starters. But that does not mean you do not have more options that could get you even further with your playing experience.
Rumble 40 gets you three different bass settings. Vintage could take you through serious sound results and has been quoted favorite by many musicians who have ever tried this amp. The other two settings are the bright setting and the contour set. While the bright setting is for enhancing the high end of the tone. The latter works for the mids. The Vintage is what would carry your playing to the next level. The settings claim to outdo a tube. This does carry some extra weight though for quality sounding.
Playability
Although experienced guitarists won’t mind keeping it aside when choosing the other options, which does not mean, it is really bad. It depends on what you would like to do with this amp. It is not at all a bad amp.
For experienced players who already have an expectation set for hearing the specific sound may find it lacking some taste. But those who are still in the journey to find what they like, would definitely like this bass amp. Rumble 40 could help newcomers understand what they are looking for. It happens a lot of times when we feel creating a sound that’s stuck in our head and it does not make sense until we try it. Using Rumble 40, you can experiment with music and sound and elaborate your experience to further the vision for choosing what is right.
The Controls
There are a few controls that help you manage the sound and tone exactly as you would like it. It is not a surprise that you would find the gain control present with Rumble 40. If you have tried a few similar products, you would know that bass amplifiers usually allow users to manage the amount of overdrive in the preamp stage. This is to ensure that musicians find the ideal gain with ease. Hence, being able to create an expected overdriven sound.
Then come the damping controls and resonance. This is required to fine-tune the output that comes from your amplifier and reaches the speakers. You can find the right settings to get the sharper sound. Or, we may refer it to a more of an intensive sound catching attention when generated through the speakers.
You do have the direct output as well. This is available on the back of the Rumble 40. This could be highly useful when using the recording gear or mixes connected to the bass amplifier for the desired sound. You can check the Fender Rumble 40 of other users to find out why is this such a great addition.
Build Quality
Have you ever smelled a new car coated with vinyl? If you are unboxing Rumble 40, you can expect to experience the same smell. This is because the Rumble 40 is also coated in vinyl. The good news is that you can use the same spray that you use for your car maintenance to clean your Rumble 40 as well. Jokes apart, this is possible though.
To start the Fender Rumble 40 review, let’s check the appearance first. The knobs on the metal plate do look out of place. It is not attractive at all. I am sure the company must have thought something about it before planning the look. If you ask for a personal view, most of the musicians would have the same take on this.
However, this does not matter much because we would be listening to Rumble 40 and not using it to decorate our place, isn’t it? And, we have already discussed the functionality of the bass amp which seems more than enough to amuse many beginners and some experts too.
Apart from the ugly knobs that sit on the top, you would find this design more like a classically styled. The Rumble 40 comes with chrome corner plates. These plates go along with the silver logo of Fender and catch the sight sitting in the front.
Inclusion of Different Jacks
Now that you are getting a headphone jack to get the music right into your ears, you do not even have to worry when practicing in your studio apartment instead of the basement. Your neighbors won’t complain even if you keep playing the entire night.
While it is not unusual, it is not very common among smaller amps, the inclusion of an XLR line out. As mentioned before, this could help you DI into an audio interface. Or even, if you care for a mixing desk, you can rock the show with this thoughtfully designed budget bass amp.
Adding to the positive side of the bass amp, you can find different jacks sitting on the backside to help you connect with varying cables. You can use XLR, ¼”, TRS, as well as Neutrik Speakon connectors. Hence, it is a very great aid when you can readily be able to connect the amp with the speaker you already own. Or, with the different gears that you often use while playing your guitar.
Fender Rumble 40 Review – Pros/Cons
Here we come at the end of the article with few words of wisdom. To quickly review the bass amp, let us check out the different pros and cons of the product and decide with all the information handy.
- This is an affordable product. This means that it has a cheap price tag that could easily be bought by beginners and those short on budget.
- The amp has a lot of features, usually not available with budget amps. This means that users, who are new comers or intermediate guitarists could make use of the bass amp in the best way possible. They can find their own sound.
- It is from Fender. What do you expect? The quality construction is the least you can ask. The parts and controls are of great quality and would stay with you for as long as you take good care of it.
- The knobs look ugly. While many won’t consider this a flaw, let’s just keep this here. Because we really do not have much to talk in this section with the way this budget amp provides more than what anyone would have expected.
The Fender Rumble 40 Review – The Conclusion
Fender has been making every stand to ensure that they reach as many enthusiasts musicians as possible, even if it means providing quality products at a lower price range. And, it has done it exceptionally great job with this one – the Rumble 40.
The bass amp has got some great features and amazing sounds that would turn any bass player a fan of it. The best part is that the bass amp is versatile when it comes to suiting different playing settings. In other words, one can use it in an apartment, as well as among small bands and gatherings. You can play it at small venues, and dig the best part of this budget bass amp.
With this Fender Rumble 40 review, we can conclude that the amplifier is worth all the money it costs. Hence, if you are looking for a personal gig or want to unite with few friends or impress a few audiences, this is the perfect fit.