Got $30,000 to blow on an amp?

Re: Got $30,000 to blow on an amp?

Skarekrough said:
He's around....he just doesn't make many...and the ones that are out there are made for a very select audience which he decides upon.

The irony is that technically every Dumble is a custom made amp.

He also covers the guts of the amps with epoxy; you can't tell what's in there and how it's done. Others have made good headway at guessing and getting close.....

Would I blow 30k on a Dumble? Meh....sure...if I could justify having that sort of bread lying around in an amp, sure. But the odds are I never will.

It's like alot of gear out there...amazing stuff, but way more than what most mortals can justify putting money into.
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There is companies out there that take Car/truck Computers apart that are burried in epoxy.... They take the board and slowly and carefully take it apart out of the epoxy so they can build aftermarket copies and for high performance modding.... I'm sure if a company that does this kind of work could figure out how to take a Dumble apart.... but at the same time it would cost!

But if the dumble's are really covered in epoxy how could you change caps and parts that wear in 15-20 years...
 
Re: Got $30,000 to blow on an amp?

You can easily find out what's in an amp covered with epoxy, you just need to remove it carefully. Even if you take off the markings on the resistors and capacitors with the drill bit, you can still use meters to read what the values of the parts are. There are schematics floating round the net of these amps, it's already been done.

Personally I think even if these amps were so amazing, it'd still be a complete waste of money to drop that much money on one. For one the amp looks like an 80s 15w solid state practice amp, and just think how many amazing vintage amps you could buy for $30,000. Whoever buys that amp is either an investor, has too much money, or is a complete idiot.
 
Re: Got $30,000 to blow on an amp?

Some collector guy here in town has two of them, and I played through one about 20 years ago---lots of gain, interesting tone stack, etc. But they are UGLY---like a hacked up SF Showman chassis. They always looked like a prop for a bad 70s B movie. Alexander (nee Howard) talks a lot of mumbo jumbo in interviews, but they are just heavily modified Fender blackfaces. There are clones out there for less money if you really need to sound like a 70's LA studio guy.
 
Re: Got $30,000 to blow on an amp?

I guess part of the reason Dumble's are in favour is because SRV had some....
 
Re: Got $30,000 to blow on an amp?

Every player puts a different price on tone. For me, I can't imagine tone ever being worth $30K. In that respect, buying a Dumble is like buying a vintage Gibson. It's not that you aren't buying a quality piece, but most of what you are paying for is the collectibility, not playability or tone.
 
Re: Got $30,000 to blow on an amp?

MikeS said:
Every player puts a different price on tone. For me, I can't imagine tone ever being worth $30K. In that respect, buying a Dumble is like buying a vintage Gibson. It's not that you aren't buying a quality piece, but most of what you are paying for is the collectibility, not playability or tone.
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ture! if i was a rich man i would of bought all 3 Gibson custom shop Pete Townshend les pauls.... At $6000 USA a piece.... Not because they are a great guitar but because i would of wanted them for my collection!
 
Re: Got $30,000 to blow on an amp?

JacksonMIA said:
Frome what I've heare, you also forfeit your money if you call and ask when it's going to be finished. Personally, I find his business tactics nearly as bad as Gibson or DiMarzio. But he makes good amps, and some people are willing to put up with it.
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My understanding is that in the 80's he was short on money and put an ad in one of the guitar mags. The short of it was that he would build an amp for anyone, but the contract they had to sign on it was that they would tender the money and if they ever called him to ask how it was going then they would forefit on the deal and not get an amp.

For someone in demand, I can kind of see it. It makes more sense to hire someone to run the business and insulate the builder, but Howard does things his own way.

The only resolve I ever heard from that ad deal was a review on HC about a guy that got his lawyer involved and he got a so-so amp out of it.

As said earlier, each amp is custom made to the player so it's kind of silly to think that some generic version is going to be as spectacular as the single ones that are custom made for the artists. I know Carlos Santana hoards them; I believe he owns a couple of them. John Mayer has four of them, at least he said he did from an interview I read awhile ago. The one that SRV had and originally recorded with was originally Jackson Browne's as rumor has it. I believe Howard also lives on a property that was given to him by Jackson Browne as well.

It's a legend thing....Howard certainly has an ear for amps.
 
Re: Got $30,000 to blow on an amp?

WhoFan said:
There is companies out there that take Car/truck Computers apart that are burried in epoxy.... They take the board and slowly and carefully take it apart out of the epoxy so they can build aftermarket copies and for high performance modding.... I'm sure if a company that does this kind of work could figure out how to take a Dumble apart.... but at the same time it would cost!

But if the dumble's are really covered in epoxy how could you change caps and parts that wear in 15-20 years...
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The issue exists still that each amp is a custom made peice for the player. Additionally in ones they were able to get into and figure out what's in there they found things they weren't expecting to see. One of them was I believe a power component from Ernie Ball, and I think it was also marked as not working or broken from the EB factory.

Also....it would mean corraling a few Dumbles together and getting the owners to agree to letting you remove the epoxy....

....and that's just not likely to happen.
 
Re: Got $30,000 to blow on an amp?

it all really depends on how much money you have.

If I was a millionaire, I'd try to have a couple of Dumbles. One in dark and another in tweed tolex, just to have some variety. ;)
 
Re: Got $30,000 to blow on an amp?

Shnook said:
Well why did I have 107 positive feedbacks a few months ago and now I only have 102?
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I'm not sure what the reason is behind that, but isn't for the one that you mentioned. I had maybe 5 disappear for closed/suspended accounts that were new that left me feedback, but their comment is not seen anymore.

A good example is Ebay user: bop2845. They have 10 unique comments, and Glacierbaydvd in there which is "no longer a registered user", but their comment is still being accounted for. If what you were saying was true, they would only have 9 feedbacks. My score would probably be 527 or something...
 
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Re: Got $30,000 to blow on an amp?

What makes this thing worth so much? I realize it's rare, but physically speaking what makes Dumble amps so good/expensive?
 
Re: Got $30,000 to blow on an amp?

I was at a guitar clinic put on by Robben Ford and he had his Dumble there. The talk got around to his amp and one of the other guys@ the clinic said he paid $30 K for a Dumble . Robben looked a little shocked, smiled a little and said now he is feeling a little better about his retirement plan because he has tw0.
Robben also said that Santana got interested in Dumbles after playing through his.
would I pay 30K for an amp? If I were a bigwig CEO pulling in 7-8 figures a year you bet ya. As Iam not in that bracket No.
 
Re: Got $30,000 to blow on an amp?

I really hope someone doesn't buy that. Plenty of people have great tone and don't spend $30,000 on an amp. Unless you have that much money to truely blow, you are obsessing WAY too much about tone if you buy that thing. Sure, you can "show it off" to the people who actually know what it is, which is an incredibly small group, so who cares. The guy selling it has the nerve to say "No mean spirited emails" in his auction. Excuse me? I should email that guy just for saying that. What a moron.
 
Re: Got $30,000 to blow on an amp?

I've heard Dumbles have a really creamy tone that sound perfect when played alone, but they just disappaear in the mix. Can't recall where, can anyone verify/deny that?
 
Re: Got $30,000 to blow on an amp?

joelap said:
I've heard Dumbles have a really creamy tone that sound perfect when played alone, but they just disappaear in the mix. Can't recall where, can anyone verify/deny that?
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I dunno about that. When I think of Robben Ford, Larry Carlton and Santana, I always think of a smooth, yet thick and pronounced midrange which really sticks through the mix.

Actually, if you think about it, the 3 guys above are really famous for their tone.
 
Re: Got $30,000 to blow on an amp?

Marinblues said:
I dunno about that. When I think of Robben Ford, Larry Carlton and Santana, I always think of a smooth, yet thick and pronounced midrange which really sticks through the mix.

Actually, if you think about it, the 3 guys above are really famous for their tone.
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I know, and that's the part that makes me wonder where I heard that bit from...

Anyways, I have the auction on my watch list, and GO FIGURE: "The seller ended this listing early because the item is no longer available for sale."

So let me translate for you all:

"The seller ended this listing early because he received a ridiculously high offer, so high to the point he violated his initial rules of '1) There is NO BIN price, so please DO NOT ASK.' and 'NO email asking me if the auction will run its full course!!', and the seller did not wish to pay the ebay fees that would be associated with an item of such a high price."
 
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