Alexander was a friend of mine and at first I didn't get what all of the hoopla was about. That is, until I plugged in and spent some time with a bunch of his amps. No video/recording is ever going to convey that experience and unless someone has actually played through one, likening them to something like a Hot Rod Deluxe with a Tube Screamer etc. is laughable.
I met Alexander in 1988 when I moved to LA to work with Larry Carlton. Larry needed his ODS tuned up to record in his studio and Alexander drove up on his motorcycle to check it out. Super nice guy, very tuned into the work he had to do to keep his amps up to snuff. When I went to pick it up from his shop, it was the wildest Pagoda looking home I'd ever seen. I'm grateful for these memories from back then.
I walked into ECGuitars during my trip to Seattle and was so lucky to see the Dumbles in this video with my eyes. The folks were so kind to share my excitement and we had a great conversation over these. They told me to look forward to the video, and here it is. Thanks for the memories at EC. Love from S.Korea.
Have you come across a Dumble Amp with the name Langs Fang on the front of the amp. with 6L6 tubes. Howard sold the amp to my bandmate back in 1973. We lived in Santa Cruz and went into his shop on East Cliff Drive, Howard also took my Gibson Melody Maker that I bought in Redding Ca. He took out the single coil pickup and routed another cavity and wired in 2 Humbuckers. I still have that guitar and play it everday. The guitar has a replaced head stock . I bought the Dumble amp from my bandmate when he purchased a Dumble Overdrive Head with leather suade on the front. we both had cabinents with 2 12's altecs, which Howard designed ( oval shaped back ). The Guitar is all thats left , but I cherish that Guitar and his magical hands that were on it
I met Dumble in 1975 at a party in Lompico, Ca., Santa Cruz Mountains. Coincidentally where Jerry Garcia’s finger was severed. Howard had brought a PA for solo bluesman Ron Thompson to use. Totally unique the PA had just 2 1/4 inch inputs!
The sag/sustain remind me of a fender tweed. I saw Joe Bonamasa play through a Dumble in a small club this year and my buddy and I were shocked how good it sounded. Very 3D and sweet sounding
These videos are so great - thank you! Have you been able to see what preamp and power tubes were in these (GE, RCA, Mullard etc?) and able to share? Thanks.
Looking around, the one Vox in the room, a UL760 on a two-cabinet UL7120 trolley, does rather outshine all of the shiny new stuff. (Believe me, I got a whole mess o' shiny new stuff, there was a disturbance in the space-time continuum and a few dollars fell temporarily under my control.)
Yeah, I was kind of shocked by how much better it sounded. The Dumble clips in this video don't sound good to me at all. I'm sure they're fun amps to play, but as far as I'm concerned, if one amp costs 10x or more than another amp, I expect it to SOUND dramatically better when you stick a microphone in front of it. Not just feel better, not just have some ineffable quality that's only apparent if you're in the room with them. And while I've heard plenty of great Dumble sounds on record, none of the are anywhere close to my favorite recorded guitar tones. Many of the artists associated with Dumbles got better recorded tones from other amps, like Larry Carlton's 5e3 or Santana's Mesa/Boogie.
You didnt mention David Lindley, or Sonny Landreth. Hearing Lindley play Mercury Blues on lap steel through his Dumble, from about 8 feet away, was an indescribable, lifechanging experience.That said, the audio here sounded fuzzy, like an overloaded mic or mic preamp. (PS, Lindley was an early adopter of Dumble amps and before he got one he was playing through a blackface Bassman head with an FET booster on the input. Ben Harper now owns one of Lindley's Dumbles).
I did meet Dumble in Santa Cruz in 1972 at his little shop/living area on East Cliff Drive. He was installing a phase shifter switch in a Guild Hollowbody Electric Guitar. My girlfriend and I stayed up all night while he worked on it, while the 3 of us indulged in the mirror and straw fest. Yikes those were the days! He had numerous Fender chassis on the work bench that he was experimenting with. He was a soft spoken nice man. He told us his father was involved with the invention of the automatic transmission.
These are some killer, killer sounding apps. This said, I think my favorite one you guys have done so far is that Jim Kelly amp that Aaron Heibert did a demo on a while back. That thing was unbelievable
Great job as always! As you heard so many different Dumbles I would love to hear some "Dumble inspired" pedals comparison like the "Peter van Weelden Royal Overdrive vs. Real Dumble"
The only Dumble I heard on UA-cam that blew me away was the one that Tim Pierce demoed recently .. It was like the thing was alive ..I mean, it had everything... I could easily hear how it could inspire you to play on another level .. I gotta say - most of the Dumbles I hear on line sound okay but but $100,000 🤔... that part ...😂
My friend Jon Iger grew up with Howard in B-Fiend and his '64 Vibroverb got the makeover - and then got away. Somewhere out there, some lucky owner has it!
Would love to hear more cleans from Dumble - there’s a world of cleans to explore. Would also love to hear the Fender-Dumble comparison through the same sneakers. The EVM and JBL speakers add their own unique sound character, and they’re very different. Call for another video? Thanks!
You could sit in front of one of these for days going through different tones, without even changing out the guitar! If we have the opportunity to try something like that out with the next Dumble that comes through the shop I'll keep it in mind. -Ken
@@emeraldcityguitars I have twelve new cabinets that I have stuffed various speakers into to test with my Diaz CD100, 🎸 my advice is put a ludicrous high price tag on your next Dumble so you can keep it around the shop for a minute.
I really don’t get the Dumble Amp thing buts thats not to say I wouldn’t want to own one are appreciate dumbles craftsmanship but to me it’s sounds like the Fender you were comparing it to so l guess I don’t have the hearing skills to hear the special sound from a Dumble.
That was great! Any thoughts or experience with Amplified Nation Amps? They seem to be gaining momentum as one of the best "Dumble-esqu" amps being built. Thanks for the great video!
At this point in time, a Dumble is the Universe's way of telling you you have too much damn money! (Apologies to Robin Williams for rephrasing what he said about cocaine, but if he was a guitarist he'd have continued: "A Dumble made me feel like a new man; and the first thing the New Man wanted was another Dumble"!)
People talk about the overdrive, the sparkly clean, etc etc but I think a lot of other amps can get close to that. The thing, outside of Two Rock and other high quality clones now, that sets Dumble apart to me is the tight bass. It’s so far superior to anything else that was available.
dumble was a genius promoter by putting his amps in only the hands of the best players and "tayloring" them to each player , they are a players amp because they sound no different recorded then any other good amplifier, basically the magic of the amp is in ones head like any other mystical beast or religious healer, they have become the cork sniffers amplifier [value] , like it or not that is what they are . so if you want to own a dumble just pay a mystic healer to bless the amp you already own , have em spit some holy water on it and touch it with a crows foot and boom you have a dumble level amp ... if joe b showed up to a gig with one of his signature epiphones and a epiphone valve jr mic'ed the crowd wouldn't know he wasn't playing through his million dollar plus rig , and i bet he would tell ya the same .
Hey guys, did Howard come from big $$$$? It has been said that he only made X number of totally hand crafted amps per year. If that # isn't at least 20 amps sold at 10K a pop, how did the man afford to live in California all these years? I've heard from many super geeks that his actual # of build per year was less than 10??? I have no idea at all, but I'm curious as heck about it. The sound is one of a kind for sure. I think Mayer gets the most from his. Joe B mixes on so many others, it's hard to even pick up the hint of Dumble tone for me. Robin plays in a way that I hear it very clearly at times. Anyway, if anyone has the time or cares to respond that'd be cool. Cheers all. RIP Howard
Have you considered he might have had a busy shop doing mods and regular repairs to guitars and amps, in addition to building his own amplifiers? There are at least two people in this comments section who say he did work for them. There's a very high probability he did a lot of routine work to keep the bills paid. But I'm only supposing.
I think they’re only gonna make some to keep the name, and whatever other legal stuff they need to maintain, in order to keep managing the brand and the names of the products (Fuchs posted something about this on a Dumble forum on FB, paraphrasing here, not a direct quote)
Remember the Moronic Guitarist Mantra- "Overfiltered supply sections and Giant Linear Transformers make Silverface Fenders Terrible but make Dumbles Wonderful"
When I lived in Santa Cruz a crazy drummer friend asked, “ want to go watch my friend build amps? “ . I Said, “ why in the world anyone want to do that?”. D’oh!
I don't get it, but it's cool if great players love it ! Everyone can make their "Dumble tone" in their head. Playing what you like is the most important thing, with or without a Dumble amp 🙂
Getting hardware that can do the thing you want is important, it was about four decades of pain and suffering before I even got close to a useable tone, that I could really bear to be in a room with. There was no "playing what I like" remotely involved. I advise everyone to eschew the free advice, if possible.
@@hoboroadie4623 That's wild man. I can get a tone that's at the very least interesting with pretty much any combination of cheap or expensive equipment I have access to. I hope you've ended up with something you enjoy, and I'm sure you've funded a lot of worthy small businesses on the way there, which is to your credit.
Not mentioning Robben Ford? He was the inspiration for the sound. After playing two of them I'm not sold on the hype. And that's all it is. They are not the top of tone mountain. Your fingers are. Just stop and think about the millions of unbelievably great sounding songs NOT recorded or performed live with a Dumble. How many of great guitar players passed on using one and didn't care for the sound. Jeff Beck , EVH , Bonnie Raitt, Satriani , Vai, the Edge. Are they great sounding? Absolutely! Are they making newer and better amps? Yes they are.Has the technology and amp design moved on? Yes it has. I think it's a great disservice to modern amp builders to create this mythical story and make it seem like that tone is impossible to recreate or make better. Dumble used Radio Shack parts! Great video but please tell the complete story and be honest.
![Robben Ford & His Dumble Overdrive Special [He Plays It, We Play It!]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4z-IkXE36DI/mqdefault.jpg)
![Robben Ford & His Dumble Overdrive Special [He Plays It, We Play It!]](/img/tr.png)
Alexander was a friend of mine and at first I didn't get what all of the hoopla was about. That is, until I plugged in and spent some time with a bunch of his amps. No video/recording is ever going to convey that experience and unless someone has actually played through one, likening them to something like a Hot Rod Deluxe with a Tube Screamer etc. is laughable.
I met Alexander in 1988 when I moved to LA to work with Larry Carlton. Larry needed his ODS tuned up to record in his studio and Alexander drove up on his motorcycle to check it out. Super nice guy, very tuned into the work he had to do to keep his amps up to snuff. When I went to pick it up from his shop, it was the wildest Pagoda looking home I'd ever seen. I'm grateful for these memories from back then.
I walked into ECGuitars during my trip to Seattle and was so lucky to see the Dumbles in this video with my eyes. The folks were so kind to share my excitement and we had a great conversation over these. They told me to look forward to the video, and here it is. Thanks for the memories at EC. Love from S.Korea.
Have you come across a Dumble Amp with the name Langs Fang on the front of the amp. with 6L6 tubes. Howard sold the amp to my bandmate back in 1973. We lived in Santa Cruz and went into his shop on East Cliff Drive, Howard also took my Gibson Melody Maker that I bought in Redding Ca. He took out the single coil pickup and routed another cavity and wired in 2 Humbuckers. I still have that guitar and play it everday. The guitar has a replaced head stock . I bought the Dumble amp from my bandmate when he purchased a Dumble Overdrive Head with leather suade on the front. we both had cabinents with 2 12's altecs, which Howard designed ( oval shaped back ). The Guitar is all thats left , but I cherish that Guitar and his magical hands that were on it
Thanks for including the Vibroverb in the demo sample! 🤓👍🏽
I met Dumble in 1975 at a party in Lompico, Ca., Santa Cruz Mountains. Coincidentally where Jerry Garcia’s finger was severed. Howard had brought a PA for solo bluesman Ron Thompson to use. Totally unique the PA had just 2 1/4 inch inputs!
The sag/sustain remind me of a fender tweed. I saw Joe Bonamasa play through a Dumble in a small club this year and my buddy and I were shocked how good it sounded. Very 3D and sweet sounding
These videos are so great - thank you! Have you been able to see what preamp and power tubes were in these (GE, RCA, Mullard etc?) and able to share? Thanks.
I get to hear my first Dumble in person next week. We’re seeing Bonamassa on Tuesday.
Live In Concert: a Dumble and ‘59 ‘burst, plugged into Joe Bonamassa
Yup. Can’t wait. And Dad and I have meet and greet tix too.
Upstairs neighbor calls to ask how much longer you're going to be blasting those amps, lol. Love it! ;-) ;-)
I like how many Dumble amps have the Vox grill cloth. I've always thought that in terms of aesthetics, Vox are the best looking.
Looking around, the one Vox in the room, a UL760 on a two-cabinet UL7120 trolley, does rather outshine all of the shiny new stuff. (Believe me, I got a whole mess o' shiny new stuff, there was a disturbance in the space-time continuum and a few dollars fell temporarily under my control.)
prefer the fender vibroverb
Vibroverbs are incredible amps, a shop favorite for sure! Thanks for watching.
Yes totally! The Fender Vibroverb sounds so much richer and 3D :)
Absolutely - To my ears, it smoked the Dumble. Not even close.
Yeah, I was kind of shocked by how much better it sounded. The Dumble clips in this video don't sound good to me at all. I'm sure they're fun amps to play, but as far as I'm concerned, if one amp costs 10x or more than another amp, I expect it to SOUND dramatically better when you stick a microphone in front of it. Not just feel better, not just have some ineffable quality that's only apparent if you're in the room with them. And while I've heard plenty of great Dumble sounds on record, none of the are anywhere close to my favorite recorded guitar tones. Many of the artists associated with Dumbles got better recorded tones from other amps, like Larry Carlton's 5e3 or Santana's Mesa/Boogie.
Great video!
You didnt mention David Lindley, or Sonny Landreth. Hearing Lindley play Mercury Blues on lap steel through his Dumble, from about 8 feet away, was an indescribable, lifechanging experience.That said, the audio here sounded fuzzy, like an overloaded mic or mic preamp. (PS, Lindley was an early adopter of Dumble amps and before he got one he was playing through a blackface Bassman head with an FET booster on the input. Ben Harper now owns one of Lindley's Dumbles).
Thanks for the video. That was awesome!
I did meet Dumble in Santa Cruz in 1972 at his little shop/living area on East Cliff Drive. He was installing a phase shifter switch in a Guild Hollowbody Electric Guitar. My girlfriend and I stayed up all night while he worked on it, while the 3 of us indulged in the mirror and straw fest. Yikes those were the days! He had numerous Fender chassis on the work bench that he was experimenting with. He was a soft spoken nice man. He told us his father was involved with the invention of the automatic transmission.
That overdrive reverb is special!
These are some killer, killer sounding apps. This said, I think my favorite one you guys have done so far is that Jim Kelly amp that Aaron Heibert did a demo on a while back. That thing was unbelievable
Very cool neighbour!!!. This videos always makes me want to play!.
Unfortunately, your audio came out really bad. Fuzzy, distorted and possibly overloading your SM7B...enjoy the vids!
Great job as always! As you heard so many different Dumbles I would love to hear some "Dumble inspired" pedals comparison like the "Peter van Weelden Royal Overdrive vs. Real Dumble"
Heard a Dumble once. It was played by Steve Kimock and was glorious.
This is a great video y’all!!
Thanks so much! -Ken
The only Dumble I heard on UA-cam that blew me away was the one that Tim Pierce demoed recently .. It was like the thing was alive ..I mean, it had everything... I could easily hear how it could inspire you to play on another level .. I gotta say - most of the Dumbles I hear on line sound okay but but $100,000 🤔... that part ...😂
thank you for a nice Episode Trevor! you got a killer Vibrato man! lots of personalty
Cool vid. I was at a buddy of mine the other day . He owns #69. Nice peace of gear.
My friend Jon Iger grew up with Howard in B-Fiend and his '64 Vibroverb got the makeover - and then got away. Somewhere out there, some lucky owner has it!
Great video sir
Man
That vibroverb sounded great
Would love to hear more cleans from Dumble - there’s a world of cleans to explore.
Would also love to hear the Fender-Dumble comparison through the same sneakers. The EVM and JBL speakers add their own unique sound character, and they’re very different.
Call for another video? Thanks!
You could sit in front of one of these for days going through different tones, without even changing out the guitar! If we have the opportunity to try something like that out with the next Dumble that comes through the shop I'll keep it in mind. -Ken
Thanks Ken!
Sitting for hours of exploration with various Dumble amps sounds like a very good idea 😄
@@emeraldcityguitars I have twelve new cabinets that I have stuffed various speakers into to test with my Diaz CD100, 🎸 my advice is put a ludicrous high price tag on your next Dumble so you can keep it around the shop for a minute.
Wow that dumble reverb!
The Klon of amps.
I really don’t get the Dumble Amp thing buts thats not to say I wouldn’t want to own one are appreciate dumbles craftsmanship but to me it’s sounds like the Fender you were comparing it to so l guess I don’t have the hearing skills to hear the special sound from a Dumble.
Wow, these sound so much like LAB Series amps too!
Thanks
The Vibroverb, in my dumble opinion, sounds way better than the 2 Dumbles.
Whats that rattling sound? Is the mic overdriving?
He's playing a 1983 MIJ Fujigen Squier Stratocaster @2:49
That was great! Any thoughts or experience with Amplified Nation Amps? They seem to be gaining momentum as one of the best "Dumble-esqu" amps being built. Thanks for the great video!
Great video.
I saw Bonamassa open for KWS. 5 Dumbles between the two of them for that show
At this point in time, a Dumble is the Universe's way of telling you you have too much damn money! (Apologies to Robin Williams for rephrasing what he said about cocaine, but if he was a guitarist he'd have continued: "A Dumble made me feel like a new man; and the first thing the New Man wanted was another Dumble"!)
I kinda wonder if the 3 to 10 year build times were from sourcing parts like Russian components, pots, caps and so on.
All hype. With Magnatone and Two Rock there's no need to take out a mortgage for an amp.
The fender amp sounds the better amp to me at the start ...... 😮
But the distorted dumble sound towards the end is the tone.
People talk about the overdrive, the sparkly clean, etc etc but I think a lot of other amps can get close to that. The thing, outside of Two Rock and other high quality clones now, that sets Dumble apart to me is the tight bass. It’s so far superior to anything else that was available.
2:52 what ? Did he make a preamp,?
dumble was a genius promoter by putting his amps in only the hands of the best players and "tayloring" them to each player , they are a players amp because they sound no different recorded then any other good amplifier, basically the magic of the amp is in ones head like any other mystical beast or religious healer, they have become the cork sniffers amplifier [value] , like it or not that is what they are .
so if you want to own a dumble just pay a mystic healer to bless the amp you already own , have em spit some holy water on it and touch it with a crows foot and boom you have a dumble level amp ...
if joe b showed up to a gig with one of his signature epiphones and a epiphone valve jr mic'ed the crowd wouldn't know he wasn't playing through his million dollar plus rig , and i bet he would tell ya the same .
P.T. Barnum would be proud.
Did i miss it or were Larry Carlton and Robin Ford not mentioned?
Alexander would build the amp to the player - but he wouldn't build you an amp if he didn't like your playing.
Hey guys, did Howard come from big $$$$? It has been said that he only made X number of totally hand crafted amps per year. If that # isn't at least 20 amps sold at 10K a pop, how did the man afford to live in California all these years? I've heard from many super geeks that his actual # of build per year was less than 10??? I have no idea at all, but I'm curious as heck about it. The sound is one of a kind for sure. I think Mayer gets the most from his. Joe B mixes on so many others, it's hard to even pick up the hint of Dumble tone for me. Robin plays in a way that I hear it very clearly at times. Anyway, if anyone has the time or cares to respond that'd be cool. Cheers all. RIP Howard
Have you considered he might have had a busy shop doing mods and regular repairs to guitars and amps, in addition to building his own amplifiers? There are at least two people in this comments section who say he did work for them. There's a very high probability he did a lot of routine work to keep the bills paid. But I'm only supposing.
I'm curious if he really discovered type 3 diabeetus before he passed on or if that's just a rumor.
It sounds pretty good through my tiny little laptop speakers that are about the size of a dime..... Just saying.
Most of the greatest guitar tones were achieved WITHOUT a Dumble.
Riffing on Lenny....nice...
Amazing video but did anyone else feel weird when you saw he was left handed ?!
To me the fender sounded the best.
"The sound is in the hands"...in this case Alexander Dumbles hands.
🔥
Absolutely, the Vibroverb sounds better.
i get the same tone from a dimed pignose amp and a Boss Metal Zone pedal
Which tolex? Snakeskin sounds the best
@@emeraldcityguitarsBogner Comet tolex.
Amazing! Do you sell a lesson packet, or can I subscribe to your newsletter? 😃
I was told new Dumble amps will be produced. Is that rumour true?
I think they’re only gonna make some to keep the name, and whatever other legal stuff they need to maintain, in order to keep managing the brand and the names of the products (Fuchs posted something about this on a Dumble forum on FB, paraphrasing here, not a direct quote)
How? Alexander is dead.
@ his trade name was bought I believe.
Really do not understand the hype. But to each his own😊
Two words to describe are needed. "Fuzzy Warm"
Dumb bulls fall for marketing every time...
Remember the Moronic Guitarist Mantra- "Overfiltered supply sections and Giant Linear Transformers make Silverface Fenders Terrible but make Dumbles Wonderful"
right? Can't help noting the sonic similarities to a stock Bassman 100, but that's a good thing imho.
When I lived in Santa Cruz a crazy drummer friend asked, “ want to go watch my friend build amps? “ . I Said, “ why in the world anyone want to do that?”. D’oh!
@@tonyevans9999 , Before buying a Dumble, David Linley was playing lap steel through a blackface Bassman with an FET booster on the front end.
I don't get it, but it's cool if great players love it !
Everyone can make their "Dumble tone" in their head. Playing what you like is the most important thing, with or without a Dumble amp 🙂
Getting hardware that can do the thing you want is important, it was about four decades of pain and suffering before I even got close to a useable tone, that I could really bear to be in a room with. There was no "playing what I like" remotely involved.
I advise everyone to eschew the free advice, if possible.
@@hoboroadie4623 That's wild man. I can get a tone that's at the very least interesting with pretty much any combination of cheap or expensive equipment I have access to. I hope you've ended up with something you enjoy, and I'm sure you've funded a lot of worthy small businesses on the way there, which is to your credit.
What ever dude
Not mentioning Robben Ford? He was the inspiration for the sound.
After playing two of them I'm not sold on the hype. And that's all it is. They are not the top of tone mountain. Your fingers are. Just stop and think about the millions of unbelievably great sounding songs NOT recorded or performed live with a Dumble. How many of great guitar players passed on using one and didn't care for the sound.
Jeff Beck , EVH , Bonnie Raitt, Satriani , Vai, the Edge. Are they great sounding? Absolutely! Are they making newer and better amps? Yes they are.Has the technology and amp design moved on? Yes it has. I think it's a great disservice to modern amp builders to create this mythical story and make it seem like that tone is impossible to recreate or make better. Dumble used Radio Shack parts! Great video but please tell the complete story and be honest.
I need a new amp 😅
I might know a guy...
It’s not for everyone unfortunately 😢
Joe Bonamassa is touring to two combos and one head and cab
I’m not gonna lie every Dumble Amp demo I’ve ever watched ends up being extremely underwhelming. They always sound muddy to me in this demo videos
Less talk, more playing!
This is not what a Dumble sounds like …It sounded like a bad cable.
Sure dont sound like a. Mesa. Boogie. Most Cloners. Dont know the tweak n the guys that do wont put it in.
Bro ENOUGH of this Home Depot music at the top
Vibroverb sounds much better, at least the way they are dialed in here the Dumbles sound like a muddy mess.
Great video but the Dumble amps are over rated
Out of curiosity what is your ideal amp / amp tone?
matamp green is the goat amp. Can do it all
Why are you constantly playing SRV licks ? Not a good demo
why is one NOT constantly playing SRV licks?
@@jstnjstnjstnjstn it's lazy and boring
Well it is because of srv these amps make over 100k a pop