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I just recently discovered Dumble-style pedals... I'm now obsessed.

bongostealth

bongostealth

Jun 3, 2011
2,622
2,091
Atlanta, GA
#1
I don't play guitar, and I have always purchased bass-specific pedals when it comes to bass effects. However, I just recently discovered the whole world of all things Dumble. I know... I'm late to the game.

I have now become obsessed with collecting Dumble-style pedals. Although these are "meant" for guitar, I have found that for my personal tastes, they sound FANTASTIC on bass!! Anyone else here gone down the Dumble rabbit-hole?? If so, which ones are your favorites?

I highly recommend the UAFX Enigmatic. Again, it's "meant" for guitar, but you can make it work for bass, and it KILLS on bass! Especially when using the UAFX app. It is simply a blast to use the UAFX app with their line of amp modelers, such as the Ruby, Dream 65, Woodrow, Lion, etc.. The app truly opens up the tonal options!

Analog is always easiest, but there are so many options this day in age! It's wonderful!
 
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#3
I built one from PedalPCB, but it had way too much gain so I modded it a bit to mitigate that:

CLOD_2.jpg


I haven't actually tried it on bass yet, but I suspect it might be pretty cool for my slide bass schtick.
 
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#4
Mojohand makes a DMBL pedal, which can actually pass the fundamental of a low B on a 5 string - I had a short online chat with them about whether or not it would do that, and they measured one and got back to me and told me that it would. I suggested they put on their web site that it would do that, and they put a note there saying that. I have a couple of those - one on a pedalboard, one just in case (overdrive pedals that work well on bass are really rare).

I also have a Wampler Euphoria - similar results with that - you need to understand the the bass control on that is flat when it's "off" - the thing will give a lot of bass boost if you want (which you probably don't). Anyway, sounds great on bass as well, and I have one of those on a pedalboard.
 
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#6
I have a collection of different amp style pedals and was lucky to get one of the Donner Dumbal pedals dumb cheap when it was first offered that is sweetly smoking like a perfect briskit, just the right rub for blues or soft crunch rock tones. I rarely use it for bass but it does work well. I have a guitar slinging friend that is a tone fiend and he keeps trying to talk me out of that pedal, so it must be a keeper.
 
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#8
InhumanResource said:
What's Dumble Style? And what is this "crystal lettuce" you speak of?
Click to expand...
Dumble is the last name of Howard Dumble, from California, who was renown for his modifications to Fender amps. He then made his own amps. But he would tailor-make each amp specific to the customer, so there was not "one" Dumble sound, although there does seem to be a "general" tone of more pronounced lower mids and a creamier drive. Those Dumble amps can now go for as much as $100K as Howard Dumble is now deceased.

Many pedal manufacturers have produced their take on the varieties of the Dumble tones. And there are some damn good ones out there!!
 
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#9
InhumanResource said:
What's Dumble Style? And what is this "crystal lettuce" you speak of?
Click to expand...
Mr. Dumble had a famous quasi mystical rap about the "crystal lattice" and how it related to his highly coveted designs, PedalPCB are just showing their typically skewed sense of humor in naming their DIY clone pedals.The graphics on my pedal are a riff on that, basically.

That particular pedal excels at overdriven lead guitar sounds somewhere along the Santana/Robben Ford/ Gilmour/Zappa/Anastasio continuum, I'd say.
 
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#11
bongostealth said:
Dumble is the last name of Howard Dumble, from California, who was renown for his modifications to Fender amps. He then made his own amps. But he would tailor-make each amp specific to the customer, so there was not "one" Dumble sound, although there does seem to be a "general" tone of more pronounced lower mids and a creamier drive. Those Dumble amps can now go for as much as $100K as Howard Dumble is now deceased.

Many pedal manufacturers have produced their take on the varieties of the Dumble tones. And there are some damn good ones out there!!
Click to expand...
^All true, with two corrections: Mr. Dumble preferred being referred to by his middle name, Alexander — and he was renowned for his amp modifications and innovations. (The word "renown" is a noun, and that phrase is an easy way to remember this distinction.)
:)
 
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#13
I nearly always use amps, preferably good tube amps, and I've never gotten a satisfactory result by running "amp-in-a-box"-pedals into an actual amp. Even worse if the pedal in question also has a speaker sim. But if you mainly go direct, and want an amp-like tone, this sounds like it could be lots of fun (but also a potential rabbit hole... and a costly one at that).

I've never played a real Dumble but I have been in the same room as one on ONE occasion, listening to a guitarist playing through a Dumble on a recording session I engineered. By all means, it sounded great. But deserving of all the hype? Well.... to me it sounded like a really good tube amp, like many others, nothing more. To be honest I can't even remember what model it was. It never struck me as a "must have" amp at the time. Not that I will ever find one that I can afford! But the fact that the guitar player was in the "good-rather-than-great" category may have influenced my opinion of course. An amp will never sound better than the person playing it.
 
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#16
bongostealth said:
I don't play guitar, and I have always purchased bass-specific pedals when it comes to bass effects. However, I just recently discovered the whole world of all things Dumble. I know... I'm late to the game.

I have now become obsessed with collecting Dumble-style pedals. Although these are "meant" for guitar, I have found that for my personal tastes, they sound FANTASTIC on bass!! Anyone else here gone down the Dumble rabbit-hole?? If so, which ones are your favorites?

I highly recommend the UAFX Enigmatic. Again, it's "meant" for guitar, but you can make it work for bass, and it KILLS on bass! Especially when using the UAFX app. It is simply a blast to use the UAFX app with their line of amp modelers, such as the Ruby, Dream 65, Woodrow, Lion, etc.. The app truly opens up the tonal options!

Analog is always easiest, but there are so many options this day in age! It's wonderful!
Click to expand...
You should totally look up for the Gladio SC. A Dumble like od + clean blend
www.cornerstonemusicgear.com

Gladio SC Preamp/Overdrive Pedal | Cornerstone Music Gear

Discover the Gladio SC Preamp / Overdrive Pedal - Your pathway to a smooth and creamy guitar tone. Unleash your creativity with the versatility of Cornerstone Music Gear.
www.cornerstonemusicgear.com www.cornerstonemusicgear.com
 
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#17
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#18
FYI JHS has been teasing the 5/5 release of a no-solder DIY pedal as a continuation of a line started with the $99 NOTKLON.

A screenshot from one video shows a pallet with the name NOTADUMBLE.

JHS has previously come out with two versions of the bass-friendly $200 Moonshine pedal, which has a clean blend. It'll be interesting what he brings to the DIY NOTADUMBLE.
 
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