Any players here use Dumble style amps?

[tbonesullivan]

43 minutes ago, django49 said:

Def learning (and experimenting) curve there! GAC stands for guitar amp compensation......Compensates for a typical combo amp's natural EQ profile (think Fender) to make the platform be a bit more neutral before tone shaping with the pedal. (Bypass it if going direct).  HRM is variously Hot Rubber Monkey or Her Royal Majesty. Think Brit. It is a post-gain EQ (with added boost on the CFD). Can be used for anything from subtle tweaking to shifting to a more Marshall-ish tone. Note that on the CFD it can be used on either channel or both......So many tones at the touch of a footswitch (once you sort thru how they all work together.

I used the original for years as it allowed me, in front of a combo amp, to go from clean arpeggios to bluesy to "Santana" to "Gary Moore".....Nothing but ONE pedal and ONE small amp. The new one does all that and more.

Jeez....I sound like I should be on their payroll......😉

Ahhhh! I always forget that the Dumble is built on the Fender design, so the tone stack is the first thing in the circuit, before the first Volume / Gain. That's a lot like the Mesa Mark Designs, and the "rhythm" channels on the Rivera amplifiers.  So the HRM adds the type of Post gain EQ that you'd have in a Marshall, or I guess in a Mesa with a graphic EQ. That's definitely a lot to take in, and a lot to cram into a pedal. Jeez. I only just finally have gotten my head wrapped around the "basic" Dumble overdrive special concept, and of course have been stalking used 30 watt Fuchs Overdrive Supremes on Reverb. It seems like they used to be a lot more just "clones", and when they made the ODS classic they definitely made the design more their own.

[JGale]

Andy was still doing conversions last I read. I had a 6V6 Traynor ODS mod he did for me. It was nice.

<insert photo here after you get home>

[django49]

2 hours ago, tbonesullivan said:

Ahhhh! I always forget that the Dumble is built on the Fender design, so the tone stack is the first thing in the circuit, before the first Volume / Gain. That's a lot like the Mesa Mark Designs, and the "rhythm" channels on the Rivera amplifiers.  So the HRM adds the type of Post gain EQ that you'd have in a Marshall, or I guess in a Mesa with a graphic EQ. That's definitely a lot to take in, and a lot to cram into a pedal. Jeez. I only just finally have gotten my head wrapped around the "basic" Dumble overdrive special concept, and of course have been stalking used 30 watt Fuchs Overdrive Supremes on Reverb. It seems like they used to be a lot more just "clones", and when they made the ODS classic they definitely made the design more their own.

Be sure to check out the Fuchs ODS II as well. Kinda takes the ODS to the next level.

[tbonesullivan]

7 hours ago, django49 said:

Be sure to check out the Fuchs ODS II as well. Kinda takes the ODS to the next level.

Yeah, seriously. The bias adjustment stuff on the back of the amp is kinda insane. Right now I'm just perusing the one brand I forgot to mention: Ceriatone and their "Overtone" series. All 20 or so variants from basic to Robben Ford to HRM to SSS. Jeez.

[JGale]

Here’s a full kit “in a builder friendly package”.

https://www.trinityamps.com/product/trinity-osd-kit/

[django49]

12 hours ago, tbonesullivan said:

Yeah, seriously. The bias adjustment stuff on the back of the amp is kinda insane. Right now I'm just perusing the one brand I forgot to mention: Ceriatone and their "Overtone" series. All 20 or so variants from basic to Robben Ford to HRM to SSS. Jeez.

[Cboss]

13 hours ago, JGale said:

Here’s a full kit “in a builder friendly package”.

https://www.trinityamps.com/product/trinity-osd-kit/

This does look like a well-specced and fun build!

And I have a full NOS tube set sitting around waiting to be played again 🤔

[stonge]

has anyone tried out the VHT D-50 yet?  That's supposed to be a handwired D-type amp but I haven't tried one personally.  Just wondering if anyone has checked one out - I don't trust Youtube clips as they make everything sound good or crap (depending on the agenda of the reviewer).

[RobB]

Someone point out a few famous examples of, “Dumble Tone.” (Please, no David Lindley. His tone is akin to a polecat getting choked-out.). Why is it so desirable?

[The Shark]

35 minutes ago, RobB said:

Someone point out a few famous examples of, “Dumble Tone.” (Please, no David Lindley. His tone is akin to a polecat getting choked-out.). Why is it so desirable?

 

[The Shark]

The "Sax" sound!

[duncans]

1 hour ago, stonge said:

has anyone tried out the VHT D-50 yet?  That's supposed to be a handwired D-type amp but I haven't tried one personally.  Just wondering if anyone has checked one out - I don't trust Youtube clips as they make everything sound good or crap (depending on the agenda of the reviewer).

I've not tried one but have read a lot about them. Some people love them out of the box. Some people start to change specs on certain resistors/capacitors right away. I read one article where a guy changed out every resistor and capacitor chasing his dream tone.  I guess if I could get into one cheap I'd try it.

[tbonesullivan]

1 hour ago, RobB said:

Someone point out a few famous examples of, “Dumble Tone.” (Please, no David Lindley. His tone is akin to a polecat getting choked-out.). Why is it so desirable?

Robben Ford is probably the best example. I remember hearing that Dumble was actually inspired to create the Overdrive Special after having heard Robben Ford play. He gets a pretty damn magical sound, and that seems to be what a lot of people are going for when they look for one. But there are also variants that have a more aggressive sound. The problem is that Dumble would tweak the circuit for the player, especially if it was a big name pro player. You weren't just paying for an amp that was meticulously crafted, you were paying for Dumble to pretty much customize the circuit, just for you. It was all done by hand, by one man.

Last night I had a guitar lesson, and dumble came up, and then we wondered, did Dumble also make the cabinets? I just checked, and he did. It was ALL HIM, and he had no interest in becoming any kind of company like Mesa and Rivera did.

As a closing note, you have to think of how freaking in depth he must have known his own circuit, which evolved over the years. He knew exactly how to tweak the circuit for whatever the customer wanted. When he passed away unfortunately all of that experience and knowledge went with him. There are plenty of great techs that still do the classic mods and more on Fender amps, but I don't know if there will ever be another Dumble, as everything is so subtle.

[RobB]

Hmmm… “TTYD” sounds pretty clean. I’ve heard that record, but wasn’t hip to his gear. The sax sound was really nice. I was waiting for some Jr. Walker licks or some such. I know Santana bought a few ODS’s after, “The Supernatural”, paid off the mortgages of his six homes or so. 

[tbonesullivan]

6 minutes ago, RobB said:

Hmmm… “TTYD” sounds pretty clean. I’ve heard that record, but wasn’t hip to his gear. The sax sound was really nice. I was waiting for some Jr. Walker licks or some such. I know Santana bought a few ODS’s after, “The Supernatural”, paid off the mortgages of his six homes or so. 

Yeah, see that's always the problem. Of the 300 or so amps he made, most were for people who had a ton of money, and already had a billion amps. When they go into the studio they are always using a ton of amps, so it's not like a Angus or Malcolm Young sound, where there is a pretty well known "recipe" for getting close to "that sound".

Robben Ford, by all accounts, used his original ODS on virtually all of his recordings since he got it, and used it on a lot of tours.

[django49]

I like Larry Carlton's live material from his gigs in SoCal. One example:

From what I gather, he mostly did use the clean channel of his Dumble. During this era, he tended to use a Valley Arts Pro with the 3 EMG pickup setup (Expander and mid boost, like the EMG DG20 setup) rather than his signature 335. FWIW, a guitar buddy had one custom built there to match it----Very versatile and can def cop a humbucker sound. I just dug my similar one outta mothballs for old times sake.

But LC got many of his signature studio sounds from the 335 and a Fender Tweed. And I also heard him live with a Boogie.

One more:

 

[django49]

Or maybe Carlton AND Ford working out live......

 

[velorush]

21 hours ago, RobB said:

Someone point out a few famous examples of, “Dumble Tone.” (Please, no David Lindley. His tone is akin to a polecat getting choked-out.). Why is it so desirable?

The quintessential example!  A definite classic.  Enjoy!

😆🤣😂

And they never found the poor cat that was caught in the speaker... 

[JGale]

The “Yoko Ono” of guitarists. 

[duncans]

I'll add that Kenny Wayne Shepard tours with several amps modified or built by HD. They aren't in that  typical OD vein.

[veatch]

6 hours ago, JGale said:

The “Yoko Ono” of guitarists. 

As I humbly remind myself that he has had more success than me in the music industry...

 

Edit to add: not a very high bar, I grant you, which is basically the point.

[django49]

Finally remembered the name of one of my fave examples of Larry Carlton's sound. As best I know, this was from the era of the Valley Arts "Strat" into a Dumble. This one has him trading licks with BB King. Very tastefully, IMO. Also, a live version where he is clearly playing that guitar. The EMG SPC knob almost certainly in play to fatten up the tone. Looks to be the Dumble behind his right shoulder. (How much of the sound was shaped by a not so small pedalboard is a question).

335 or Strat, Dumble or Boogie or cranked vintage Fender, his tone is always his own.