Am I the only one who doesn't care for Dumbles?

Re: Am I the only one who doesn't care for Dumbles?

YHWH said:
... I call that the "penny loafers" tone...
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I like that.

I was just going to stoke the fire and ask "R DuMBle's gud for teh brootlz?"

Obviously, I've never played one, but considering I'm currently lusting after a JCM 900 - you know the one with NO clean channel - I don't think a Dumble or a Dumble clone is what I'm looking for.
 
Re: Am I the only one who doesn't care for Dumbles?

Dumbles and D-type clones don't necessarily have to sound "too polite":

David Lindley - Mercury Blues
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAbbgSKUZB4


or these clips of Lance Keltner, copping a similar tone on a Bludo 70s type circuit:

Clip 1
http://soundclick.com/share?songid=8054375

clip 2
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=967289&songID=8051074

clip 3
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=967289&content=songinfo&songID=8053680
 
Re: Am I the only one who doesn't care for Dumbles?

ive never tried a real dumble so i couldnt tell ya but im sure they are great amps. worth the cost? hell no
 
Re: Am I the only one who doesn't care for Dumbles?

jeremy said:
ive never tried a real dumble so i couldnt tell ya but im sure they are great amps. worth the cost? hell no
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I'll admit that I've never played through one either. My brother has worked on them though and had only glowing things to say about the Dumbles. He thought they sounded really special. Each one is individually tweaked so that the sum of the parts results in a perfectly tuned instrument.

But there doesn't seem to be one Dumble tone. SRV sure sounds different than Robben Ford or Larry Carlton. I suspect that Dumbles are every bit as great as those who swear by them say they are. I also suspect that many of those players who say they don't care for them have never really given one a good work out in a relaxed situation where they could really check one out in depth.

I also want to mention that rock guitarists are a very spoiled bunch. Concert violinists have to spend more on a first rate bow than we're willing to spend on a great amp or guitar!
 
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Re: Am I the only one who doesn't care for Dumbles?

I've owned lots of Marshalls including some of the best and my Cornford makes all of them sound like Gorilla practice amps.
 
Re: Am I the only one who doesn't care for Dumbles?

I think they are good sounding amps (at least recorded). I understand Mystic Mile for example is a CD that is largely Dumble. But, honestly to me that is not a special tone. I would guess at one time it was, but today there are a number of great tones from amps out there. Some amps made by folks right here have at least as special a tone to me from what I have heard. For me a Mystic Mile CD is not the amp tone, it is a phrasing and touch element that is amazing. This is the player not the amp. At least to me. Now, I would not turn down a Dumble if offered one, certainly not. But, given current prices I would sell it I fear. It is just hard to justify for me given other available options. But, I also recognize this is a personal issue. I do not get the price of a real vintage 59 burst either. I love LP's. But, I would sell that too.
 
Re: Am I the only one who doesn't care for Dumbles?

The thing is, SRV used a Dumble mixed with at least a few other amps, sometimes quite a few. And from what I have read, didn't use it all that often in the studio. So his tone isn't a valid example of the Dumble at all, IMO. Robben Fords tone is all Dumble, but it doesn't do much for me, live or in the studio.
 
Re: Am I the only one who doesn't care for Dumbles?

weinergod said:
Honestly, they don't impress me at all.
The tone is just so polite and boring... I feel like it even limits the guitarrists playing.


Maybe that's just me though, my 0.02
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Do not feel special - you are not alone !
They do nuffin for me either . . .



James
 
Re: Am I the only one who doesn't care for Dumbles?

I have 0 experience with them. Can you guys give me examples of people playing them? I hate to hear so and so played this amp in this song on a record because you know darn well a hell of a lot of processing and EQ'ing etc went on to that track before it went into the mix. Also, you know that most parts are done x2 minimum in the studio.

Any (real) live recordings I could check out considering I'll probably never get the chance to hear one for real myself?
 
Re: Am I the only one who doesn't care for Dumbles?

Tom Huff said:
I have 0 experience with them. Can you guys give me examples of people playing them? I hate to hear so and so played this amp in this song on a record because you know darn well a hell of a lot of processing and EQ'ing etc went on to that track before it went into the mix. Also, you know that most parts are done x2 minimum in the studio.

Any (real) live recordings I could check out considering I'll probably never get the chance to hear one for real myself?
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Check out anything by Robben Ford.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGJafrBw5UA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvFsvmoUsnI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qiz30Hzhta4
 
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Re: Am I the only one who doesn't care for Dumbles?

Animal said:
I've never really cared too much for adult-contemporary softcore porno tone either.
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You NAILED it...it's every cheesy LA studio sausage's dream of an amp. I played through one in the 70's that somebody had at their house for some reason and it was a crude mod of a SF Dual Showman Reverb or something...it LOOKED like a prop for a porn movie.
 
Re: Am I the only one who doesn't care for Dumbles?

Seems some people have a misconception of a Dumble being a polite amp. There are so many great players that use/used them, and they are called "Over Drive Supreme" for a reason. But just to name a few:
Carlos Santana
John Mayer
Steve Kimock
Ben Harper
Sonny Landreth
I would say that they are not "better" than any other amp; just that they are as good as any other. In the end, it is a matter of personal taste of course. Not everybody prefers a LesPaul into a plexi either. You just kind of, have to forget about the money thing and judge a Dumble as a guitar amp, not a celebrity closet queen. TrainWrecks suffer a similar fate. I've never been inside a Dumble, but I have had my hands in two different Wrecks. The topology was pretty much identical in each amp, but the component choice/values were quite different. Just like Mr Dumble, Mr Fischer kind of tailored each amp for its individual owner.
But I understand where a lot of you guys are coming from. It is just an amp for Christ sake. If you get inside of a '69 plexi, it will look just about exactly like a Metro from George. It is just a handful of parts after all. The real magic comes from the original designer and the hands of the player.
Good Luck
 
Re: Am I the only one who doesn't care for Dumbles?

zzmoore said:
Seems some people have a misconception of a Dumble being a polite amp. There are so many great players that use/used them, and they are called "Over Drive Supreme" for a reason. But just to name a few:
Carlos Santana
John Mayer
Steve Kimock
Ben Harper
Sonny Landreth
I would say that they are not "better" than any other amp; just that they are as good as any other. In the end, it is a matter of personal taste of course. Not everybody prefers a LesPaul into a plexi either. You just kind of, have to forget about the money thing and judge a Dumble as a guitar amp, not a celebrity closet queen. TrainWrecks suffer a similar fate. I've never been inside a Dumble, but I have had my hands in two different Wrecks. The topology was pretty much identical in each amp, but the component choice/values were quite different. Just like Mr Dumble, Mr Fischer kind of tailored each amp for its individual owner.
But I understand where a lot of you guys are coming from. It is just an amp for Christ sake. If you get inside of a '69 plexi, it will look just about exactly like a Metro from George. It is just a handful of parts after all. The real magic comes from the original designer and the hands of the player.
Good Luck
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Great post zzmore. That's how I feel about just about every amp I've ever played. Either you can dial in the tone that is "you" or it's not "your" amp, period. $$$ wise or not, the tone you want can be found in a million amps or one. Dumbles may be expensive or may be $100US but it makes no real difference unless it makes a difference to you own ears. :wave:
 
Re: Am I the only one who doesn't care for Dumbles?

I have only played a hand built replica of a dumble HRM that a friend built from a ceriatone kit. It did sound awesome on the clean channel - like a boogie type clean and the dirty channel was huge also. However my personal preference for clean sounds is more toward the low wattage fender type sounds and I like marshalls for crunch. It was an amazing amp tho - but not the kind of tones i really enjoy using mostly.
 
Re: Am I the only one who doesn't care for Dumbles?

I'm not hearing anything very distinctive or special in the Robben Ford clips, but it doesn't sound bad to me. I agree with what the other guys have said about tone-taste (and hence amp-taste) being totally subjective, but I still think the prices asked for Dumbles etc are insane, when you can get the same (or very, very similar) tones from so many other amps. But my reasoning isn't universal - I'm the opposite of a 'collector'.
 
Re: Am I the only one who doesn't care for Dumbles?

I have never tried a Dumble and don't really want to. From the recordings I have heard, it just doesn't seem to be an amp tone I would enjoy.
 
Re: Am I the only one who doesn't care for Dumbles?

Jessie Sammler said:
I've never played a Dumble, so I'll withhold any kind of judgment. I will say that it's interesting how our ability to acquire something influences our perception of its value.

For example, a lot of people will say a Lamborghini at $210,000 or a '59 Les Paul at $50 billion aren't worth it, but they are -- to the people who are buying them. On the other hand, nothing is worth the money if you don't have it to spend.

I know many of you have played a lot of guitars, really know what's what, and can offer various opinions about no-name vs. Epiphone vs. Squier vs. MIM Fender vs. USA Fender & Gibson vs. PRS or whatever. What I can't stand is when people who haven't played nice guitars and know they can't afford one, will bad-mouth those instruments just to make themselves feel better about what they have.

I'm not saying that any of you are doing that with the Dumble. For my part, I'll keep an open mind about it. I'll play one if I ever have the opportunity, if for nothing other than the experience and what it might do for my ever-changing perception of electric guitar tone.
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On that note...

I wonder how many people commenting in this thread... (and others) have ACTUALLY played, or even heard a Dumble amp in the first person.

Meaning... actually being within standing distance of one.

Not just a recording, or even a clone.

I mean an honest to Mirtha "Dumble" put together by Alexander himself.

I'll place a large wager that the odds are slim to none...
 
Re: Am I the only one who doesn't care for Dumbles?

J Moose said:
On that note...

I wonder how many people commenting in this thread... (and others) have ACTUALLY played, or even heard a Dumble amp in the first person.

Meaning... actually being within standing distance of one.

Not just a recording, or even a clone.

I mean an honest to Mirtha "Dumble" put together by Alexander himself.

I'll place a large wager that the odds are slim to none...
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Dude! These are teh intarwebs! What do facts and actual experience have to do with someone preaching about what's good or bad?!?

The anti-snob snobbery here is off the hook. Dumble tone isn't for everyone but neither is a Mesa Mk I (the tonal cousin of the Dumble architecture). The only reason the Dumble attracts so many critics (relative to, say, a Tweed Deluxe) is because they command such high prices. Jealousy doesn't bring out the best in people. If there was more to it than that, you'd see a lot more folks b****ing about how Fender Twins are for wusses who can't bring teh br00tulz.
 
Re: Am I the only one who doesn't care for Dumbles?

There has been no actual Dumble bashing in this topic though...
At least in my opinion.
 
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