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Dumble Winterland... has anyone ever played one?

electricGstring

electricGstring

Mar 7, 2021
180
403
Atlanta Ga
#1
Or even SEEN one? I was reading an interview a guy did with Dumble and it was really interesting... for all the talk about him being some temperamental, mythical unicorn who magically produces brilliant amps made of 100% pure unobtainium... this particular article showed a guy who just wants to be left alone to do the one thing he was put on this planet to do. I’ll never have the scratch to buy one and even if I did, I probably wouldn’t spend it on that, but I’d be curious to know if anyone here has had the opportunity to own or play one, and if so... do they live up to the hype?
 
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#4
Haven’t seen or played the real deal. There are clone options out there these days, my only personal experience with them is having the guy from amplified nation do some retolexing work for me years ago, but he has a good reputation in the dumble clone world. Might know something about the winterland circuit and how it sounds for bass if you were really curious.

Amplified Nation – Handbuilt Guitar Amplifiers
 
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#9
Rumor has it that each Dumble is tailored to the specific player and truly bespoke. Guess he sits down with the buyer and discusses what they want and hears them play for a bit and then does the build.
 
#14
I've seen and heard a Dumble (OverDrive Special ) in person - not a live show of a big name guitarist . Friend of a friend in San Jose CA. I was not invited to play through it. He plays good and has a successful band in the Bay Area. He uses Mesa Boogies live. I have also been to a few Robben Ford and Larry Carlton's show when they were using their Dumble amps. I have played the different clones like Fuchs, TwoRock, Ceriatone and Amplified Nation (I bought one but sold it)

The one aspect about the ODS clones is that they respond to volume from the knob position and your picking dynamics - notes bloom. I personally prefer Mesa Boogie's Mark which is also in the same camp. Larry and Robben sound like themselves with Fender HotRods, Fender Deluxes or Mesa Boogies. But something sweet about solo notes on Dumble. My original Dumble demo was short so can't really comment on it. It wasn't the voice of an angel for sure.

Not sure how it could compare to the clones, but the owner said that TwoRocks and Fuchs come close. Ceriatone and Amplified Nation at that time 6 years ago were the budget one's. Amplified Nation is a great shop to deal with. Ceriatone is made in Malaysia but he uses top shelf parts also great to deal with but they just don't specialize on Dumble style. At that time, Amplified Nation were just doing Dumble style amps. I am pretty sure the TwoRock, Amplified Nation and Ceriatone were handwired, no PCB but I think the Fuchs is. I don't believe in that crap handwired is better. Fuchs and TwoRocks are expensive. Fuchs repaired many Dumbles.

I heard that Larry Carlton cannot even make Alexander Dumble make another one for him as well as Santana. That is why they are now using Bludotone (from Colorado - expensive and multi year wait). I also heard he is from a rich family and does not really need to make money making amps. Go to TGP forum for info and drama - more drama than info on Dumble.
 
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#16
Dumble has been a prickly builder of [very few] bespoke amps from the beginning and everything he‘s built has embedded mojo of a mythical stature. The man is a truly strange savant. I think only he and a few top rank players can distinguish the sound of his amps from any other high-end amps. Outside a studio you’re as well off using any mass produced amp.
 
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#17
This clip of Ben Harper talking about this Dumbles. Some take aways:

1)Harper tours with two Dumbles, one which is #8 that he got from David Lindley
2) David Lindley apparently has enough Dumbles that he felt ok giving/selling away two of them.
3) According to Harper, Dumble tests the charge of the metal in the chassis before he even starts building the amp. If he can't get it down to zero he starts over.

 
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#19
There was a band I would be on a bill with every now & then called the Wilmington Blue Rocks whose guitarist had one.
This was in the mid 80's. They were rare then but not impossible to get. You could order them & wait 4 to 6 months. Dumble would have ads in the guitar mags. Pretty sure it was an Overdrive Special.This guitarist(think his name was Wayne Watson) told me he got it from a studio that owed him a bit of money for sessions so he took that. He sounded great through it. The guitarist in my band told me he played it once & just thought it sounded like a really good Fender. If I recall they were about $2200 in the 80's.
My guitarist thought it was a good amp but not worth over two grand. If we only knew!
 
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