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Post subject: Fender Rumble compression circuitry
Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2011 1:54 pm
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Hey there guys, I wanted to buy an amp that had a compressor knob like "Ampeg" so my sounds wouldn't distort like my one amp does. I thought about getting the Rumble 350 head becuase i heard it sounds great, cheap in price, and has a lot of power to it. I noticed that the Fender Rumble 350 head has a thing called "Delta Comp adaptive compression circuitry" in its description, so does that mean it automatically compresses your dynamics as you freely play?


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Post subject: Re: Fender Rumble compression circuitry
Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2011 10:14 am
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Yes it does.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Rumble compression circuitry
Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2012 5:40 am
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It is a noise surpressor


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Post subject: Re: Fender Rumble compression circuitry
Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2012 1:43 am
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It is not a noise suppressor. Delta compression & limiting is used in many higher power solid state amps. It could more accurately be called "fixed delta-mu compression/limiting." It is a simple and usually non-adjustable form of signal compression to prevent or at least minimize signal clipping which can cause amp damage and speaker coil destruction. It is not noticable until you really start to crank the volume. It will only go so loud and then no matter how much more you turn the volume it won't get much louder. That seeming inability to get louder is the compressor/limiter circuit working as the amp has reached it's limit on clean output and to push it harder would lead to clipping. Some amps allow you to turn the delta circuit off to get louder, but frankly this is never a good idea as clipped signals blow speakers. Bass amps with the bass and lower mids cranked way up can be about maxed out at slightly beyond the 12 O-Clock master volume setting, especially if you engage a "low boost" button of some sort or use an outboard EQ boost. Some amps have a red light (red means stop people) to show when the delta circuit is engaging and you probably should back off a little. A flicker now and then is ok, but it shouldn't be flashing on each note you play.

This basic Delta compression/limiting is not the same as having an outboard Variable Delta-Mu compressor pedal, but it is still a compressor of a sort. You have to turn the amp up really loud before it works. Many amps have some form of Delta limiting built in, not just the Fender or Ampeg brands. Usually this is a fixed feature or has an on/off button with no variable knobs.

Amps with built in Variable Delta-Mu compressors are supposed to function more like an outboard variable compressor but I've yet to find a compressor built into a bass amp that is worth a flip when compared to a really good outboard optical or tube compressor. Most of the built in variable Delta-Mu compressors only have one knob for the attack setting. To put a really good variable Delta-Mu compressor on an amp would add so much to the cost that most manufacturers aren't going to do it. A variable delta-mu compressor really should have at least two controls to have any real benefit at all and more advanced ones can have as many as five or six different knobs.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Rumble compression circuitry
Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2014 7:09 am
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This is fascinating! 8)

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2018 Rumble Studio 40 Combo
2016 Rumble 200 Combo
One day they shall name a GREAT city after me, and they shall call it LINNINGRAD


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Post subject: Re: Fender Rumble compression circuitry
Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2014 8:23 am
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I'd like to talk a bit about Fender's patented Delta-Comp Limiter. This circuit was developed over 20 years ago and has been used mostly in solid state PA and bass amplifiers. It's been integral to the Fender Rumble since day one, and has been especially tweaked for this application.

If you look at the block diagram in your owner's manual, you'll see the Delta-Comp Limiter is placed in between the pre-amp and the power amp along with a special power amp clip detection circuit.

The Rumble 350's owner's manual describes Delt-Comp this way: "Rumble bass amplifiers are equipped with Fender’s Delta-
Comp limiter to minimize power amp distortion and increase
sustain. Setting the VOLUME control to higher settings
or playing aggressively with hotter basses may result in a
heavily compressed sound with increased sustain. Using the
–6dB switch or setting the VOLUME control lower will provide
a less compressed sound with more dynamic range and
increased touch-sensitivity."
While the Rumble 500 owner's manual has almost nothing to say about Delta-Comp: "Rumble amps are equipped with Fender's Delta-Comp™ lim­iter. Setting the MASTER higher or playing more aggressively will result in more compression and sustain! "

So what you end up with is a highly effective form of compression that is both dynamic and adaptive to you and your style of play in real time. Stompbox compressors or other brands built in compressors are very limited to the manual settings you select. They are static and cannot adapt to you and change themselves while you play. Also they are in front of the pre-amp, and not in between the pre & power amp stages as Fender's Delta-Comp is.

All this adds up to a highly effective but unseen bit of electronic magic that I call "the secret sauce" in Fender Rumble's signature tone. You hear the results, but you don't hear it actually working unlike heavy handed compressors that you actually hear working/breathing your signal's capture/compression/release cycle.

You'd have to spend much more money than your Rumble cost to buy a studio grade compressor to get better.

:D Fender Rumbles don't Cost A Million Bucks. They Just Sound Like They Do! :D

_________________
2012 Lefty American Standard Jazz
2017 Lefty American Professional Precision
2018 Rumble Studio 40 Combo
2016 Rumble 200 Combo
One day they shall name a GREAT city after me, and they shall call it LINNINGRAD


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