I knew Howard (before he became Alexander) and liked him quite a bit. He was always nice to me - told me lots of stories and we even jammed together at the Alley, the rehearsal studio in North Hollywood where he had his shop at the time. He lent me an overdrive special for my first recording project in LA (I think it was around 1982). I spent a week with it; it was great, but too much like a hyper-clean twin with a great distortion pedal added on for me (either clean as a shiny whistle or that great David Lindley overdrive). I used the studio's old plexi and 4x12 for most of the tracks. Maybe I just wasn't ready for it... it was a long time ago. But at the time the sound didn't work for me... it's sad that I was broke, though... he would have sold it to me for (I think it was) $1250 and I just didn't have it. He was a great guy, like I said... among the nuggets he told me that I recall: about the Roland JC120 : "it has a really great clean sound; too bad they make it with such garbage parts..." and, "the only amp that impresses me is Hiwatt..." (about the original Harry Joyce wired ones...) "a great, innovative design, and reallly well made..."
I net Alexander a few times and my friend Jamie Kime knew him quite well and my other friend Joey Brasler who is now the VP at Fender new him very very well. The problem with the idea of making "Dumbles" is that without Alexander it's not really the same thing? His ability wasn't just the electronic components and the configuration of the parts that made the amp, but his ability to listen to an individual player and understand how they attacked the guitar and translate that into an amp that would respond in the best possible way to the way that player played. Like when you're at the optometrist and they say "better like this close or better like this?" And then they make adjustments. Just to put some components together and slap The label on the amp doesn't make it any more of one of his amps than any of the other contenders. I've played through several of them and they're all completely different, and the ones I played through didn't particularly suit my hands, which in my opinion made a lot of sense as they weren't made for me. I think that the hype around the expenses is out of proportion, but for the guys who tour and can afford it, good for them! For the rest of us find the tool that works and have a good life! Thanks for the great video as always !
Tough gig. Truth is, the dumble infamy isn't about magic amps, it's the fact that a good few of the greatest guitarists play them and the scarcity makes the hype grow. If they become readily available people will realise they're just another good amp that works great for some and not for others. Same as when Klon made the KTR. No one wanted them and they could be had super cheap on eBay because likewise the Klon is just a decent overdrive like several others. If they just bring the brand back and don't try to make it a continuation of the lauded amps of the past then fair enough.
Yeah, and Dumble charging a small fortune at the time only added to it. If these folks played a solid state Crate, those would be stupidly expensive now.
I played that blonde Dumble that Robben owns pictured here. I was thinking of getting one but Robben's amp didn't get clean enough for me so I was considering getting a Steel String Singer. I have a friend that was good friends with Dumble so he was going to hook me up with him. At the time that amp was going for $5,000 US and considering that a full blown handwired Boogie was about $800 US, that was a pile of money and this was in the early 80's. All Dumbles are built specifically for the player. There's a video where Larry Carlton talks about how he and Robben switched Dumbles and they couldn't get the tone they were looking for with each others amps. Personally I didn't really care for Robben's amp all that much but I like pristine cleans and that amp didn't do it for me. My friend had a falling out with Dumble so the amp never happened which is a shame because I keep my gear in pristine condition and could have sold it and paid off my house. Supposedly all of Dumble's amps have been blueprinted so there's schematics for all of them but I don't know if it's true or not. I've only seen two Dumbles. The one I mentioned above and another one that came into another friend of mines shop to get fixed. I was there when it came in and we took the chassis out of the cabinet and the electronics were all gooped up with this black epoxy shit. It was gross and disgusting. I asked my friend "How are you going to fix this?" He said "I'm not." He called the guy up and told him to take it back to Dumble.
I did get to play a Dumble ODS 50 watt single 12 combo amp at the SongBirds museum in Chattanooga Tennessee ..... I played a legit 59 Les Paul through it for about 10 minutes. The biggest characteristic I noticed was how single notes would "bloom" and just seem to fill the entire room with sound even though it wasn't that loud. It was very clean and very touch sensitive as well. Since then I have purchased the Ampliphonix and Gain 50 watt head from Amplified Nation .....similar characteristics but certainly not the same as the Dumble in my brief experience.
Wife: what happened to the Timmy's college fund? Husband:Timmy's a bone head, we both know he's never going and I need a real Dumble amp. Timmy will understand.
Just to add names to the people that build amps based on dumbles that are worth considering: Welagen, Bludotone, ERSO amplification (genius dude!), ceriatone, gazzi, Sinewave amps etc
John, great video and one of my favorite things is hearing you play at the start of the videos. Your content is great and would love to see a video of you talking about your fav artists. Have a great weekend and hope the gigging and family are doing great.
My Rivera Clubster Royale Recording can roll from clean as can be to ragingly heavy. I have been very spoiled with this little guy. Picked it up for a great price and it has been the ultimate little tone box.
Didn’t Alexander Dumble refuse to take an apprentice? There’s no way he wrote down all of his trade secrets for someone else to copy after he died. Like you said, these will be well made clones with a logo stamped on them It’s time to move on! I’m more interested in what we will do, not in what we have done.
Price is one thing. Waiting list/backlog is another. I have a Fuchs HRM clone. It works beautifully with a Strat and I agree the cleans are stellar but it takes a bit to dial in the drive sound. With my LP the drive was really flubby. Boss GE-7 to the rescue. It made a huge difference.
Oh Boy !! Have you got some fun times to come catching up with Little Feat ... Dixie Chicken, Willin', Fat Man In The Bathtub .. and loads more Also check out Lowell George's work with Robert Palmer - "Sneakin Sally Through The Alley" is an Excellent album.
For Little Feet, try Spanish Moon. Warren Haines does a great live version with all of the players having multiple solos(that gets a bit much) but I love the song.
I was able to play two Dumbles over the 35 years I've been playing, and almost twenty of building and repairing amps. One was a 100W skyline and the other was an HRM. I had no idea what i was playing the first time (and to be honest i wouldn't have known much of a difference at the time), the HRM was about 15 years later. I've both owned and built a score of clones, and have playes several others. I love the ODS cleans, and i like the OD channel at lower to mid gain, but I'm not really into the higher gain settings, at least on the Skyline tone stacks. I've been enamored with fuzzy gain tones. I've discovered that i prefer the HRM for higher gain settings. I find the OD channel on the HRMs to bea lot more dynamic, to the point that they can be difficult for players to wrangle if they're not used to that type of response. They're like a second instrument.
It will be interesting to see what comes of this. However, I’m damned happy to have the orange UA pedal and just sold my Revv amp to get a Fender FR-10. So I’ll have a gig ready ‘Dumble’ rig for under $1000.
Great Stuff. Little Feat is AMAZING!🤩 Joe Bonamassa said he was gonna send Lowell’s Dumble on the road with LITTLE FEAT to have on stage with them again 🤘🤠💜
Drew Berlin was extremely close with Dumble and was most likely blessed by Alexander's estate to do what he's doing. He has access to all of Alexander's amps, parts, notes etc. What he doesn't have, or will ever have, is Alexander's ear for crafting an amp for a specific tone/player.
I went to a bonammasaa show and there was so much plexi glass around the amps it was like being at a lobby of a bank. 😂. Needless to say it made the sound sterile in the auditorium
Considering the legend of Dumble and all that, it'll be like anything else. There'll be a ton of this is awesome when they come out, but then there'll be a bunch of they're nothing like the originals after a while. Another cash in on a name that has some legend attached.
Long distance love, is only one of several Little Feat tunes that are way above average. Little Feat is sometimes an aquired taste that is worth aquiring, but their career is quite varied. I would recommend some of their early albums and some of their later ones, but it's worth finding out for yourself, becsuse much of their stuff has varied greatly according to who was in the band at the time.
EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES. Literally none of my 100 favourite guitar albums were recorded using Dumbles. The list would probably extend to the top 1000 if I could be bothered to look into it. They are nice sounding amps. Like Marshalls and Fenders are nice sounding amps. And that's it. No magic. No secret tone. Just amps.
If you listen to Robben interviews, he says he didn't use the overdrive (much). He used the clean, but if you watch, he steps on the Zen Drive. And if you really watch, its his hands. Tons of people are theoretically mor knowledgeable than he is. But they don't sound like that through a Fender (which he ends up using on the road from rental). When Robben plays blues like he has been doing so much lately it is great, but when he plays Fusion, It is MAGIC. This is coming from a guy who was offered the job of doing the Roger Coreman B Horror movie score before Robben and then Larry. Make no mistake, Robben has a special gift for Jazz fusion- Miles heard it. Robben made his ledged on Fenders. I used to live on the North Hollywood side in Studio City a block over from Laurel Canyon Blvd. All of them were shopping in the Food King. I would network at 2:30a there because it was easy to pick up gigs like that. You go where the Fire is if you want to roast your weenies. My store of choice was Valley Arts. My Diatribe is almost pre-Dumble. These are great players who when where the fire was at that time.
Yes, he did say that! the reason being is because, he didn’t like pumping effects into a dirty amp. He also said in that interview in the studio he would use the amps gain. I think he also said he didn’t want to carry the rack gear anymore. Which allowed him to use effects loop allowing him to use the amps gain channel live.
Wait a minute. What I read was that he sold all his Dumble's. (1 was a trade for a 59 Les Paul) And then in 2020 he realized he wanted a Dumble again, and he wanted a very special one. One that happened to be played by a guy from Little Feat. But mainly because it was supposed to be one of the best Dumble's. And he finally found it, and now he has 1 Dumble and he's taking it on tour.
Two weeks ago American Musical Supply released a video with Joe showing his setup. He has two exact rigs an a and a b rig. Each rig has 2 Dumble combo amps and a Dumble head. So he’s touring with 6 Dumbles. Joe says in the video he has 8 Dumbles.
I wonder if they are mostly going to use the Dumble brand to litigate against the clones, profilers, etc, for monetary gain. Like patent trolls, kinda.
I've recently acquired a Amplified Nation Wonderland Overdrive combo (Warehouse 65 speaker) and it's the closest I've come to getting that 80s RF Dumble lead tone. Excellent pick attack, note bloom and clarity all around. It was stated as being one of the best amps to couple with a Strat, and it is great (Suihr HSS) but my Suhr Tele sounds even better and my old PRS ('93) CE25 is better still. I've mostly played it on "half volume" and not pushing the Master much over 4, but I've tested it out (in an empty house) at full 50W with the master up and it's even more glorious. I needed to re-educate myself on the cascading thing and I like it best with less Gain and Drive (both around 3). Just a Lynhurst comp and Zvex SHO in front with an old Diamond memory Lane Jr. in the loop. AND the clean side is absolutely pristine. Not cheap but not crazy expensive either, around $3,500). Highly recommend.
I recently acquired a 100 watt AN Phoenix Fury (formerly the Overdrive Reverb) with a matching 2x12 and it's absolutely phenomenal. I was considering getting a Wonderland Overdrive or Bombshell Overdrive next. I'm also getting used to the whole cascading gain thing and will occasionally throw a Greer Lightspeed, Sure Shot, or AA Buckartie-Boo up front for more gain. A little picky about what drives it likes (I found those three to work best with it out of my own dirt boxes), but most of the time, it doesn't even really need any pedals. Also, I am still getting used to how touch-sensitive it is, especially since I'm heavy-handed! I can imagine the WO is likely just as touch-sensitive as well.
@@dannyllerenatv8635 It is! These amps have a certain high fidelity (?) that forces you to clean up your playing technique for sure. I may try other speakers just to see how it responds, but certainly not necessary.
Gain is like tomato sauce, most people over use it nowadays. What used to be considered high gain is quite clean by today's standard. This is why more younger guitarists are often surprised at how miderate some amps are, that were considered fire breathing monsters in their day ; and it is ,totally, the fact that people never used to mike up amps onstage, thst meant they were inevitably using them a good deal more loudly set. Today's guitarists perhaps aren't aware that they live in over-regulated, and highly restricted controlled lives, where the neighbours will complain about the drop if a pencil, and public rock performances are rarer than piped music,( meaning people are not used to every venue you'd go to in the old days being a loud noisy rock music experience. The rebellious spirit of rock music is just an intellectual concept now rather than the fun esrly rock days of the 60's and 70's, where it was acceptable to be wild and loud. This is becsuse they have been bought by the financial business interests that saw them coming, and don't realise that they have sold their soul in the process until it is too late. In the seventies two or three garages or rumpus rooms in every street in some suburbs would have a drum set and a few amps chugging away most weekends, because it was a normal way young people would be kept off the streets and occupied in something they enjoyed, and didn't cost anything to have fun.
To be honest with you I almost always fast-forward through most of your playing introduction once I get the jist of what you’re playing, but I listened to this whole one because I think the sound of a Dumble makes you play completely different or maybe just a thought of *this is a dumble* so maybe I need to be more expressive than usual.
I’ve played a few Dumbles (Lindley’s, Santana’s, Berlin collection , etc) and they are definitely a thing to behold. Each one different but great, like Ken Fisher’s Trainwrecks. I have zero faith that the Berlin/Swanson amps, if they ever get made, will have any more of the original Dumble magic than a Fuchs, Welagen, Bludotone, etc. if you want as close to a “real” Dumble vibe as you can get, buy an ODS from Jelle Welagen. No one does it better.
money grab, but there will be many buyers depending on the price. I'm a Marshall amp player, though I have a Mesa, Engl and Fender. My Fender is a '76 Super Twin. It's loud and versatile, and close enough to a Dumble tone for me as someone not looking for a Dumble tone. Amazing cleans, crunch and smooth leads when you get the power section working hot. I think the ST sounds more like a SSS than ODS which is why the ODS fans don't bother with them...which meant I got my ST at a great price, it still as the original speakers and Fender USA 6L6 power tubes, though it it needs one or a few caps replaced. I'm sure Bonamassa, Ford, Johnson, etc. could get great tones from a Super Twin
As for lead tones, all the tubes need to be selected in each spot. Internal PI and drive trims set correctly. Speaker selection is crucial. Running fx in the passive loop may not work without a Dumbleator. Single coil or humbuckers may require some circuit adjustments. John, it's sometimes more involved than just plugging a guitar in with the Dumble circuits.
honest question, is there anything characteristic or unique about these? i was under the impression that these were made under request and therefore personalized and not actually produced like Marshalls, Fenders, etc etc is there really a point in producing these?
Right. Only Ken could build a Trainwreck like only Alexander could build a Dumble. There's a lot more to building an amplifier than just following a schematic...
One other Dumble clone builder is Glaswerks. I have one of his Overdrive Deluxe. Its killer! I have seen pictures where Joe B owns and was recently touring with two different ones.
I recognise there’s going to be loads of comments along the lines of: 1. It’s the maker not the brand and 2. Tailor-made for each player. I think these are both somewhat bogus concepts. On 1, there’s no doubt the maker was a great. But this is hardly cutting edge technology we’re talking about here. Did he produce magic? Yes. Can someone else replicate the magic? In this case, of course. On 2, this is a superficially appealing argument. But how much does level fluctuate based on nothing to do with the player? Different guitar levels, a million different pedal configurations, needing to turn your amp up or (more likely) down in any real world scenario. If you’re a dynamic player, you respond to your gear and make it work. Yes you require gear that is responsive to your dynamics. No it does not need (nor can it for any real world scenario) be tuned to you. Essentially there is a bunch of mythology around these amps because of the personal characteristics of the maker, the idiosyncrasies of his business model etc. Let’s hear how the new amps sound before we announce them DOA.
I’m lucky to have clones of each and I would likely build a Ceriatone ODS clone if I lost one. I might even try to build one without the OD channel, or something less ODS … okay, I want a SSS clone kit to feel “complete “.
Controversial opinion: I’ve never heard a Dumble. Most, if not all of us here have never heard a Dumble. We’ve heard recordings of Dumbles, which insert into the equation- a microphone, a human to conduct the recording, and speakers/headphones to reproduce the sound. Guitarists obsess over anything that seems mystical, mythical, and magical. I’m sure they’re great amps, but maybe we should focus on circle jerking something a little more tangible. I’d suggest Atlantis for starters
With the advent of the high end clones and pedals, I’m not to sure of the market for these. Of course they’ll be for the well heeled with plenty of disposable income, which isn’t necessarily what working guitarists are today. Club gigs typically don’t pay well. Perhaps I’m wrong in that assessment, but I digress… I just don’t see these types of amps at all ( the expensive clones) at gigs. I see digital floor things, Katana’s, Fender Tone Masters and the occasional Marshall. It’ll be interesting to see what they do with this.
This is the thing I find so weird about the deep dumble fans: the secrecy. Cordy can't share someone's amp settings because they were shared in private? It's amp settings, right? Not login passwords.
It's a weird boomer thing. My parents were the same way. Trying to learn anything from that whole generation was like pulling teeth. They knew the secret and you weren't allowed to. Absolutely childish.
Genuinely don't get the obsession with these amps, also blows out the water the myth that tone is in the fingers when everyone goes on about 'the Dumble tone'
Ya, a “Dumble” amp … Ya … Plenty of ‘Dumble’ amps around … what will they have that the many other ‘clones’ you’ve mentioned don’t, and what premium will they want just for having the word “Dumble” on them (let’s face it, that’s why they resurrect these brand names, years later …). Could be good, but pricey; or a pale impression/bad sequel cash-grab … The proof of the pudding will be in the eating …
A Dumble amp not made by Alexander Dumble makes little sense as he was what made the amp so special. I guess his family/estate does not need the name and company if there is no revenues from it so makes sense in a business sense.
It would probably be different if I were to actually play one, but I’ve never been impressed with any Dumble amp tones from any of the demos and sound examples I’ve seen/heard. It’s just not a sound I gravitate to. I feel the same way about most Mesa amps and have played lots of them. I’m a Marshall player because my favorite records and players were mostly Marshall guys and it just stuck with me. Perhaps that’s a bit daft…..but one likes what one likes……🤷♂️
I think there are 3 Dumble inspired Amps in the HX Stomp. That's enough for me. I don't have any use for "real" Amps, unless I could sell them. There are enough Pedal clones, and wearing a lab coat won't make someone a scientist.
Truthfully not a fan of Dumble style amps. Carlos Santana’s tone went down hill after he stopped using his Boogies. Much prefer a Mk4 Mesa or a Soldano personally.
Dumble amps are not just premium, they were made for the player, it is like buying an high end tailor made suit but for guitar amplifiers. In short, each Dumble amp was unique.
Imagine if I painted a bunch of copies of The Old Guitarist and called them "Picassos" and if anyone said they weren't real I hit em with the "I have the name rights, legally speaking they are real Picassos"
My guess is that to stay true to the Dumble formula and keep the brand value high, the new owners halo offering will be bespoke amp design just like Dumble himself for a high pricetag. But the volume part will probably include a combination of making copies of the most famous Dumble amps, doing signature editions clones (e.g. Robben Ford) where the artist gets a cut, licensing and pedals, and collecting royalties for profiles and emulations.
I knew Howard (before he became Alexander) and liked him quite a bit. He was always nice to me - told me lots of stories and we even jammed together at the Alley, the rehearsal studio in North Hollywood where he had his shop at the time.
He lent me an overdrive special for my first recording project in LA (I think it was around 1982). I spent a week with it; it was great, but too much like a hyper-clean twin with a great distortion pedal added on for me (either clean as a shiny whistle or that great David Lindley overdrive).
I used the studio's old plexi and 4x12 for most of the tracks.
Maybe I just wasn't ready for it... it was a long time ago. But at the time the sound didn't work for me... it's sad that I was broke, though... he would have sold it to me for (I think it was) $1250 and I just didn't have it.
He was a great guy, like I said... among the nuggets he told me that I recall: about the Roland JC120 : "it has a really great clean sound; too bad they make it with such garbage parts..." and, "the only amp that impresses me is Hiwatt..." (about the original Harry Joyce wired ones...) "a great, innovative design, and reallly well made..."
I net Alexander a few times and my friend Jamie Kime knew him quite well and my other friend Joey Brasler who is now the VP at Fender new him very very well. The problem with the idea of making "Dumbles" is that without Alexander it's not really the same thing? His ability wasn't just the electronic components and the configuration of the parts that made the amp, but his ability to listen to an individual player and understand how they attacked the guitar and translate that into an amp that would respond in the best possible way to the way that player played. Like when you're at the optometrist and they say "better like this close or better like this?" And then they make adjustments. Just to put some components together and slap The label on the amp doesn't make it any more of one of his amps than any of the other contenders. I've played through several of them and they're all completely different, and the ones I played through didn't particularly suit my hands, which in my opinion made a lot of sense as they weren't made for me. I think that the hype around the expenses is out of proportion, but for the guys who tour and can afford it, good for them! For the rest of us find the tool that works and have a good life! Thanks for the great video as always !
Jamie is one of the best guitarists i've ever seen in person.
Tough gig. Truth is, the dumble infamy isn't about magic amps, it's the fact that a good few of the greatest guitarists play them and the scarcity makes the hype grow. If they become readily available people will realise they're just another good amp that works great for some and not for others. Same as when Klon made the KTR. No one wanted them and they could be had super cheap on eBay because likewise the Klon is just a decent overdrive like several others. If they just bring the brand back and don't try to make it a continuation of the lauded amps of the past then fair enough.
That sounds logical. Thanks for the explanation!
Exactly 💪just hype
But that’s fame...not infamy
I keep wondering why someone doesn't mass produce the amp with the voicing/circuit. There isn't mass produced amp with the ballpark clean sound.
Yeah, and Dumble charging a small fortune at the time only added to it. If these folks played a solid state Crate, those would be stupidly expensive now.
I played that blonde Dumble that Robben owns pictured here. I was thinking of getting one but Robben's amp didn't get clean enough for me so I was considering getting a Steel String Singer. I have a friend that was good friends with Dumble so he was going to hook me up with him. At the time that amp was going for $5,000 US and considering that a full blown handwired Boogie was about $800 US, that was a pile of money and this was in the early 80's. All Dumbles are built specifically for the player. There's a video where Larry Carlton talks about how he and Robben switched Dumbles and they couldn't get the tone they were looking for with each others amps. Personally I didn't really care for Robben's amp all that much but I like pristine cleans and that amp didn't do it for me. My friend had a falling out with Dumble so the amp never happened which is a shame because I keep my gear in pristine condition and could have sold it and paid off my house. Supposedly all of Dumble's amps have been blueprinted so there's schematics for all of them but I don't know if it's true or not. I've only seen two Dumbles. The one I mentioned above and another one that came into another friend of mines shop to get fixed. I was there when it came in and we took the chassis out of the cabinet and the electronics were all gooped up with this black epoxy shit. It was gross and disgusting. I asked my friend "How are you going to fix this?" He said "I'm not." He called the guy up and told him to take it back to Dumble.
I did get to play a Dumble ODS 50 watt single 12 combo amp at the SongBirds museum in Chattanooga Tennessee ..... I played a legit 59 Les Paul through it for about 10 minutes. The biggest characteristic I noticed was how single notes would "bloom" and just seem to fill the entire room with sound even though it wasn't that loud. It was very clean and very touch sensitive as well. Since then I have purchased the Ampliphonix and Gain 50 watt head from Amplified Nation .....similar characteristics but certainly not the same as the Dumble in my brief experience.
Wife: what happened to the Timmy's college fund?
Husband:Timmy's a bone head, we both know he's never going and I need a real Dumble amp.
Timmy will understand.
Timmy can work at McDonald’s. Also somebody has to mine Lithium for your silly disposable battery cars🤨
Should take Timmy and boost the dumble amp with him. He needs to make himself useful.
TIMMEH!
@@randall9000 and the Lords of the Underworld!
Just to add names to the people that build amps based on dumbles that are worth considering: Welagen, Bludotone, ERSO amplification (genius dude!), ceriatone, gazzi, Sinewave amps etc
Good to know
John, great video and one of my favorite things is hearing you play at the start of the videos. Your content is great and would love to see a video of you talking about your fav artists. Have a great weekend and hope the gigging and family are doing great.
My Rivera Clubster Royale Recording can roll from clean as can be to ragingly heavy. I have been very spoiled with this little guy. Picked it up for a great price and it has been the ultimate little tone box.
Alexander is dead = there won't be any more Dumble amplifiers - only clones built by someone else that have a Dumble logo slapped on them.
Didn’t Alexander Dumble refuse to take an apprentice? There’s no way he wrote down all of his trade secrets for someone else to copy after he died. Like you said, these will be well made clones with a logo stamped on them
It’s time to move on! I’m more interested in what we will do, not in what we have done.
This pretty much sums it up. It will always be considered a clone.
Price is one thing. Waiting list/backlog is another. I have a Fuchs HRM clone. It works beautifully with a Strat and I agree the cleans are stellar but it takes a bit to dial in the drive sound. With my LP the drive was really flubby. Boss GE-7 to the rescue. It made a huge difference.
Oh Boy !! Have you got some fun times to come catching up with Little Feat ...
Dixie Chicken, Willin', Fat Man In The Bathtub .. and loads more
Also check out Lowell George's work with Robert Palmer - "Sneakin Sally Through The Alley" is an Excellent album.
For Little Feet, try Spanish Moon. Warren Haines does a great live version with all of the players having multiple solos(that gets a bit much) but I love the song.
I was able to play two Dumbles over the 35 years I've been playing, and almost twenty of building and repairing amps. One was a 100W skyline and the other was an HRM. I had no idea what i was playing the first time (and to be honest i wouldn't have known much of a difference at the time), the HRM was about 15 years later. I've both owned and built a score of clones, and have playes several others.
I love the ODS cleans, and i like the OD channel at lower to mid gain, but I'm not really into the higher gain settings, at least on the Skyline tone stacks. I've been enamored with fuzzy gain tones. I've discovered that i prefer the HRM for higher gain settings. I find the OD channel on the HRMs to bea lot more dynamic, to the point that they can be difficult for players to wrangle if they're not used to that type of response. They're like a second instrument.
It will be interesting to see what comes of this. However, I’m damned happy to have the orange UA pedal and just sold my Revv amp to get a Fender FR-10. So I’ll have a gig ready ‘Dumble’ rig for under $1000.
The clones I move played just have something about them … kind of like a king of tone they just have a characteristic to them that you just feel
Great Stuff. Little Feat is AMAZING!🤩 Joe Bonamassa said he was gonna send Lowell’s Dumble on the road with LITTLE FEAT to have on stage with them again 🤘🤠💜
Drew Berlin was extremely close with Dumble and was most likely blessed by Alexander's estate to do what he's doing. He has access to all of Alexander's amps, parts, notes etc. What he doesn't have, or will ever have, is Alexander's ear for crafting an amp for a specific tone/player.
I would be happy with finding a reliable tech to service my 1974 Princeton Reverb.
Two Rock cover that territory already tbh
Kingsley also made a few Dumble clones, I am lucky enough to have one, and yes it sounds great.
I went to a bonammasaa show and there was so much plexi glass around the amps it was like being at a lobby of a bank. 😂. Needless to say it made the sound sterile in the auditorium
If all Dumbles are different what does this mean. I don't want a Dumble, I want a sound.
It means Cordy can make a video and create some content 😂
Considering the legend of Dumble and all that, it'll be like anything else. There'll be a ton of this is awesome when they come out, but then there'll be a bunch of they're nothing like the originals after a while. Another cash in on a name that has some legend attached.
Long distance love, is only one of several Little Feat tunes that are way above average. Little Feat is sometimes an aquired taste that is worth aquiring, but their career is quite varied. I would recommend some of their early albums and some of their later ones, but it's worth finding out for yourself, becsuse much of their stuff has varied greatly according to who was in the band at the time.
I think this is a bit like someone buying the Stradivarius name and making ‘Stradivarius’ violins ‘again.’
Drew is the real deal. But I think this will be a tough sell. Robben Ford said in TPS that all the info on the builds died with him.
EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES. Literally none of my 100 favourite guitar albums were recorded using Dumbles. The list would probably extend to the top 1000 if I could be bothered to look into it. They are nice sounding amps. Like Marshalls and Fenders are nice sounding amps. And that's it. No magic. No secret tone. Just amps.
Yeah but the JCM800 2203 is still the king of amps....
If you listen to Robben interviews, he says he didn't use the overdrive (much). He used the clean, but if you watch, he steps on the Zen Drive. And if you really watch, its his hands. Tons of people are theoretically mor knowledgeable than he is. But they don't sound like that through a Fender (which he ends up using on the road from rental). When Robben plays blues like he has been doing so much lately it is great, but when he plays Fusion, It is MAGIC. This is coming from a guy who was offered the job of doing the Roger Coreman B Horror movie score before Robben and then Larry. Make no mistake, Robben has a special gift for Jazz fusion- Miles heard it. Robben made his ledged on Fenders. I used to live on the North Hollywood side in Studio City a block over from Laurel Canyon Blvd. All of them were shopping in the Food King. I would network at 2:30a there because it was easy to pick up gigs like that. You go where the Fire is if you want to roast your weenies. My store of choice was Valley Arts. My Diatribe is almost pre-Dumble. These are great players who when where the fire was at that time.
Yes, he did say that! the reason being is because, he didn’t like pumping effects into a dirty amp. He also said in that interview in the studio he would use the amps gain. I think he also said he didn’t want to carry the rack gear anymore. Which allowed him to use effects loop allowing him to use the amps gain channel live.
Wait a minute. What I read was that he sold all his Dumble's. (1 was a trade for a 59 Les Paul) And then in 2020 he realized he wanted a Dumble again, and he wanted a very special one. One that happened to be played by a guy from Little Feat. But mainly because it was supposed to be one of the best Dumble's. And he finally found it, and now he has 1 Dumble and he's taking it on tour.
Two weeks ago American Musical Supply released a video with Joe showing his setup.
He has two exact rigs an a and a b rig.
Each rig has 2 Dumble combo amps and a Dumble head.
So he’s touring with 6 Dumbles.
Joe says in the video he has 8 Dumbles.
I wonder if they are mostly going to use the Dumble brand to litigate against the clones, profilers, etc, for monetary gain. Like patent trolls, kinda.
Space helmets off to pre/post LG Little Feat in setting up the pre/post HD Dumble discussion 👨🚀
One has to decide if he wants or not an amp.
A new amp is like adding up the price of components and labour to put it together times two plus taxes and that could be your price in store.
I think you need to try an Amplified nation ODS and or SSS. I think it's the best of breed of the clones!
I've recently acquired a Amplified Nation Wonderland Overdrive combo (Warehouse 65 speaker) and it's the closest I've come to getting that 80s RF Dumble lead tone. Excellent pick attack, note bloom and clarity all around. It was stated as being one of the best amps to couple with a Strat, and it is great (Suihr HSS) but my Suhr Tele sounds even better and my old PRS ('93) CE25 is better still. I've mostly played it on "half volume" and not pushing the Master much over 4, but I've tested it out (in an empty house) at full 50W with the master up and it's even more glorious. I needed to re-educate myself on the cascading thing and I like it best with less Gain and Drive (both around 3). Just a Lynhurst comp and Zvex SHO in front with an old Diamond memory Lane Jr. in the loop. AND the clean side is absolutely pristine. Not cheap but not crazy expensive either, around $3,500). Highly recommend.
I recently acquired a 100 watt AN Phoenix Fury (formerly the Overdrive Reverb) with a matching 2x12 and it's absolutely phenomenal. I was considering getting a Wonderland Overdrive or Bombshell Overdrive next. I'm also getting used to the whole cascading gain thing and will occasionally throw a Greer Lightspeed, Sure Shot, or AA Buckartie-Boo up front for more gain. A little picky about what drives it likes (I found those three to work best with it out of my own dirt boxes), but most of the time, it doesn't even really need any pedals. Also, I am still getting used to how touch-sensitive it is, especially since I'm heavy-handed! I can imagine the WO is likely just as touch-sensitive as well.
@@dannyllerenatv8635 It is! These amps have a certain high fidelity (?) that forces you to clean up your playing technique for sure. I may try other speakers just to see how it responds, but certainly not necessary.
Timing is interesting. So we should seeing 100-watt Dumbles on silent stages? 🤔
Beautiful playing Sir
Hillary Clean Tone
Gain is like tomato sauce, most people over use it nowadays. What used to be considered high gain is quite clean by today's standard. This is why more younger guitarists are often surprised at how miderate some amps are, that were considered fire breathing monsters in their day ; and it is ,totally, the fact that people never used to mike up amps onstage, thst meant they were inevitably using them a good deal more loudly set. Today's guitarists perhaps aren't aware that they live in over-regulated, and highly restricted controlled lives, where the neighbours will complain about the drop if a pencil, and public rock performances are rarer than piped music,( meaning people are not used to every venue you'd go to in the old days being a loud noisy rock music experience. The rebellious spirit of rock music is just an intellectual concept now rather than the fun esrly rock days of the 60's and 70's, where it was acceptable to be wild and loud. This is becsuse they have been bought by the financial business interests that saw them coming, and don't realise that they have sold their soul in the process until it is too late. In the seventies two or three garages or rumpus rooms in every street in some suburbs would have a drum set and a few amps chugging away most weekends, because it was a normal way young people would be kept off the streets and occupied in something they enjoyed, and didn't cost anything to have fun.
The upside is that fewer musicians nowadays suffer from hearing that's been shot to hell.
I have a REdPlate Magic Dust. It's 15 years old and sounds fantastic.
To be honest with you I almost always fast-forward through most of your playing introduction once I get the jist of what you’re playing, but I listened to this whole one because I think the sound of a Dumble makes you play completely different or maybe just a thought of *this is a dumble* so maybe I need to be more expressive than usual.
John, I'm fairly new to your channel, who influenced your playing the most, especialy your use of sliding into note ? Thanks !
I'd rather have a vintage Fender
I’ve played a few Dumbles (Lindley’s, Santana’s, Berlin collection , etc) and they are definitely a thing to behold. Each one different but great, like Ken Fisher’s Trainwrecks. I have zero faith that the Berlin/Swanson amps, if they ever get made, will have any more of the original Dumble magic than a Fuchs, Welagen, Bludotone, etc. if you want as close to a “real” Dumble vibe as you can get, buy an ODS from Jelle Welagen. No one does it better.
money grab, but there will be many buyers depending on the price.
I'm a Marshall amp player, though I have a Mesa, Engl and Fender.
My Fender is a '76 Super Twin. It's loud and versatile, and close enough to a Dumble tone for me as someone not looking for a Dumble tone. Amazing cleans, crunch and smooth leads when you get the power section working hot. I think the ST sounds more like a SSS than ODS which is why the ODS fans don't bother with them...which meant I got my ST at a great price, it still as the original speakers and Fender USA 6L6 power tubes, though it it needs one or a few caps replaced.
I'm sure Bonamassa, Ford, Johnson, etc. could get great tones from a Super Twin
Strawberry Flats is a better song than anything Bonamassa has ever done.
As for lead tones, all the tubes need to be selected in each spot. Internal PI and drive trims set correctly. Speaker selection is crucial. Running fx in the passive loop may not work without a Dumbleator. Single coil or humbuckers may require some circuit adjustments.
John, it's sometimes more involved than just plugging a guitar in with the Dumble circuits.
honest question, is there anything characteristic or unique about these?
i was under the impression that these were made under request and therefore personalized and not actually produced like Marshalls, Fenders, etc etc
is there really a point in producing these?
I recently bought an SL AMPS from Hungary, a clone of the Robben Ford Dumble. It sounds absolutely amazing! If you're in Europe, check thiuse out.
Jhon I played on an American PRS SILVER sky and was blown away. I have the se version but it's not the same.
Making them again!
Thats a Dumb_le idea.
This goes the way of Trainwreck...one AD and one KF... the value was in the maker....
Right. Only Ken could build a Trainwreck like only Alexander could build a Dumble. There's a lot more to building an amplifier than just following a schematic...
One other Dumble clone builder is Glaswerks. I have one of his Overdrive Deluxe. Its killer! I have seen pictures where Joe B owns and was recently touring with two different ones.
I recognise there’s going to be loads of comments along the lines of:
1. It’s the maker not the brand and
2. Tailor-made for each player.
I think these are both somewhat bogus concepts.
On 1, there’s no doubt the maker was a great. But this is hardly cutting edge technology we’re talking about here. Did he produce magic? Yes. Can someone else replicate the magic? In this case, of course.
On 2, this is a superficially appealing argument. But how much does level fluctuate based on nothing to do with the player? Different guitar levels, a million different pedal configurations, needing to turn your amp up or (more likely) down in any real world scenario. If you’re a dynamic player, you respond to your gear and make it work. Yes you require gear that is responsive to your dynamics. No it does not need (nor can it for any real world scenario) be tuned to you.
Essentially there is a bunch of mythology around these amps because of the personal characteristics of the maker, the idiosyncrasies of his business model etc. Let’s hear how the new amps sound before we announce them DOA.
11:23 yeah right...
I’m lucky to have clones of each and I would likely build a Ceriatone ODS clone if I lost one. I might even try to build one without the OD channel, or something less ODS … okay, I want a SSS clone kit to feel “complete “.
Just plug into the right Princeton…….
Controversial opinion: I’ve never heard a Dumble. Most, if not all of us here have never heard a Dumble. We’ve heard recordings of Dumbles, which insert into the equation- a microphone, a human to conduct the recording, and speakers/headphones to reproduce the sound.
Guitarists obsess over anything that seems mystical, mythical, and magical. I’m sure they’re great amps, but maybe we should focus on circle jerking something a little more tangible. I’d suggest Atlantis for starters
Based on what I've learned about the man, I'm pretty sure Mr. Dumble would not approve.
With the advent of the high end clones and pedals, I’m not to sure of the market for these. Of course they’ll be for the well heeled with plenty of disposable income, which isn’t necessarily what working guitarists are today.
Club gigs typically don’t pay well.
Perhaps I’m wrong in that assessment, but I digress…
I just don’t see these types of amps at all ( the expensive clones) at gigs.
I see digital floor things, Katana’s, Fender Tone Masters and the occasional Marshall.
It’ll be interesting to see what they do with this.
Woody, tight, round, articulate, no fizz, sustain, fast attack, sweet top end, very unforgiving....
Describing the Brown Fenders
@@BOSSenjoyer well, he did develop them off of Fender's🤷🏽♂️ These words are what I associate my favorite Dumble tones...
@@Musicmanimal Could be the ticket to that sound if you ever see them around.
This is the thing I find so weird about the deep dumble fans: the secrecy. Cordy can't share someone's amp settings because they were shared in private? It's amp settings, right? Not login passwords.
It's a weird boomer thing. My parents were the same way. Trying to learn anything from that whole generation was like pulling teeth. They knew the secret and you weren't allowed to. Absolutely childish.
Genuinely don't get the obsession with these amps, also blows out the water the myth that tone is in the fingers when everyone goes on about 'the Dumble tone'
Yup, produce more of em. Not gonna be able to buy it anyway. 🤷♂️
Ya, a “Dumble” amp … Ya …
Plenty of ‘Dumble’ amps around … what will they have that the many other ‘clones’ you’ve mentioned don’t, and what premium will they want just for having the word “Dumble” on them (let’s face it, that’s why they resurrect these brand names, years later …). Could be good, but pricey; or a pale impression/bad sequel cash-grab … The proof of the pudding will be in the eating …
A Dumble amp not made by Alexander Dumble makes little sense as he was what made the amp so special.
I guess his family/estate does not need the name and company if there is no revenues from it so makes sense in a business sense.
Hocus pocus.
Bonamassa and the old guys need to just stop acquiring and driving prices artificially high. How many do you need or even want?
Some dude gonna show up at my Whitetrash homestead, watch me play and build me a perfect amp based on my playing style? Lol.
wait ... they're what?!
"Does a Dumble amp not made by Dumble make any sense?"
Does a Fender amp not made Leo make any sense?
lol. They’re also painting Van Goghs again.
Who needs a 50 or 100 watt amp? Really??
It would probably be different if I were to actually play one, but I’ve never been impressed with any Dumble amp tones from any of the demos and sound examples I’ve seen/heard. It’s just not a sound I gravitate to. I feel the same way about most Mesa amps and have played lots of them. I’m a Marshall player because my favorite records and players were mostly Marshall guys and it just stuck with me. Perhaps that’s a bit daft…..but one likes what one likes……🤷♂️
I think there are 3 Dumble inspired Amps in the HX Stomp. That's enough for me. I don't have any use for "real" Amps, unless I could sell them. There are enough Pedal clones, and wearing a lab coat won't make someone a scientist.
Truthfully not a fan of Dumble style amps. Carlos Santana’s tone went down hill after he stopped using his Boogies. Much prefer a Mk4 Mesa or a Soldano personally.
Dumble amps are not just premium, they were made for the player, it is like buying an high end tailor made suit but for guitar amplifiers.
In short, each Dumble amp was unique.
Alexander wouldn't build you an amp if he didn't like your playing...
@@scottdunn2178What a joke. I see why he went out of business.
I wouldn't pay $5000 for an amp if Mr. Dumble rose from the grave and built it for me personally.
Imagine if I painted a bunch of copies of The Old Guitarist and called them "Picassos" and if anyone said they weren't real I hit em with the "I have the name rights, legally speaking they are real Picassos"
If you paint Starry Night copies it would make more sense to call them Van Goghs
@@miguellarregladelpalacio6352 ah right, unfortunately I'm quite sick atm so I got a bit mixed up. Thank you for the correction
@@TCMx3 hope you get well soon
This is kind of already done with violins. Certain modern violin makers have the rights to use the Stradavari and Guerneri names. Others do not.
My guess is that to stay true to the Dumble formula and keep the brand value high, the new owners halo offering will be bespoke amp design just like Dumble himself for a high pricetag. But the volume part will probably include a combination of making copies of the most famous Dumble amps, doing signature editions clones (e.g. Robben Ford) where the artist gets a cut, licensing and pedals, and collecting royalties for profiles and emulations.