Dumble update?

Speaking of Dumbles, I saw Robben Ford the other night. It still amazes me that he travels/gigs with his Dumble all the time. I was thinking about how easy it would be to bum rush the stage, grab the head and exit through the back door, but then it dawned on me. Any guitar shop a thief would take that head to would call the cops as soon as they saw "Robben's Dumble" come through the door. I digress.

It sounded terrific, of course, as always.

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buyers remorse?

I heard they are all different ... If you get a good one you never let go ...

Agreed, they do sound different. They were custom voiced for the owner. Many have internal controls that can also be messed with. I'd have rather he bought a Bludotone, which sounds like the type of Dumble that most folks associate with the word. If Cliff's Dumble sounds like, say, Lindley's Dumble or Kaiser's Dumble, that's a great sound, but it won't scratch the Ford/Carlton itch that most folks seem to think of as the "Dumble sound."
 
I just finished a dumble amp build of the famous #124 you can find the schematics on line.
It is by far the best sounding amp I have ever played. The tone is so smooth. There is harmonic content you
just don't realize your missing until you play a dumble. I had been using my Axe Fx II for live jams but it will now be heading back
to my bedroom. I find the Axe Fx the best in its class by a longshot and awesome for doing recording work. However, IMO when I play live
with other guitar players who are using tube amps it falls short. I can't wait for version 10.
 
I just finished a dumble amp build of the famous #124 you can find the schematics on line.
It is by far the best sounding amp I have ever played. The tone is so smooth. There is harmonic content you
just don't realize your missing until you play a dumble. I had been using my Axe Fx II for live jams but it will now be heading back
to my bedroom. I find the Axe Fx the best in its class by a longshot and awesome for doing recording work. However, IMO when I play live
with other guitar players who are using tube amps it falls short. I can't wait for version 10.

I can't help wonder; what power amp and cab or monitor do you use with your Axe and what cab do you use with the DIY Dumble?
 
I have a Dumble build, too, one that I worked on tweaking for about a year. It's awesome, for sure. Every Dumble ODS may sound unique, but there is a certain voice there that is common across all of them that are done right.

I've gotten pretty close by tweaking the ODS preset in the AFX, at least when running it through a Matrix and my Forte 3D vertical with a well-regarded G12-65 remake and an old EV AlNiCo coffee can in it. But I haven't found an IR or combination yet that captures the chewy mid gnarl the G12-65 has. I am hoping Kevin takes me up on my offer to ship some of my speakers to him to add to OwnHammer's library, because I think he's got a great way to capture. I suspect the IR is the missing piece of the puzzle for me to get 95% of what my amp delivers.
 
Agreed, they do sound different. They were custom voiced for the owner. Many have internal controls that can also be messed with. I'd have rather he bought a Bludotone, which sounds like the type of Dumble that most folks associate with the word. If Cliff's Dumble sounds like, say, Lindley's Dumble or Kaiser's Dumble, that's a great sound, but it won't scratch the Ford/Carlton itch that most folks seem to think of as the "Dumble sound."


The Dumble Lead sound in the AXE II right now is based on a Bludotone Ojai, which is the schematic for Robben Ford's Dumble Overdrive Special amp. Cliff is going to use his new magic to re-match it.
 
From a post on TGP, it sounds like at least one IR from Cliff's Dumble cab will get into the V10 producer's pack IR's too :)
 
Every Dumble ODS may sound unique, but there is a certain voice there that is common across all of them that are done right.

All of them share a certain voice? I thought some were built for chewy lead sounds... some for clean headroom... etc. But this is just what I have heard. I'm unsure of what the truth is.
 
All of them share a certain voice? I thought some were built for chewy lead sounds... some for clean headroom... etc. But this is just what I have heard. I'm unsure of what the truth is.

I think you're thinking of non ODS amps that he made. The ODS amps were, kinda by definition, built for overdrive sounds.
 
The Dumble Lead sound in the AXE II right now is based on a Bludotone Ojai, which is the schematic for Robben Ford's Dumble Overdrive Special amp. Cliff is going to use his new magic to re-match it.

Cliff has said that the schematic doesn't tell the whole story, you need the amp to take measurements, with only the schematic you run the risk of getting a tottaly different result from the real amp.
 
Watched some of these again. Top comment of Part 3 had me crying I laughed so hard.

Alan Partridge? Yes.

I had been thinking it's like watching the boss from "the Office", very po-faced serious, acting like the big guy, then playing something so embarassingly awful you can't tell if it's meant as a joke - if this was a new TV show this would be assumed to be parody cringe humour
 
A lot of people don't realize that the Axe FxII's performance in a live setting
really depends a lot on the power amp and what monitors/speakers are being used.
So if you aren't getting the desired results it's mostly because of you as a person and not the unit.

Version 10 would be amazing for sure and the Dumble in it would be very interesting.
 
Cliff has said that the schematic doesn't tell the whole story, you need the amp to take measurements, with only the schematic you run the risk of getting a tottaly different result from the real amp.

I just built one based on the schematics and the help of others who have dissected the amp. They have more than the schematics
they have the various voltage measurement through out the amps. They even have measured resistance and capacitance values where appropriate unlike many amps there are internal variable resistors that need to be adjusted to get the smoothest tone.
It is a very complex beast. The main guitar signal is carried via coaxial cable rather than standard wire. the outer wire is surrounding the core is grounded in very specific locations in the amp. The coaxial cable itself has a capacitance value that has been documented. The type of resistors and caps at every point is also well documented. End result its the best sounding amp I own!! I am comparing it to my other amps including,
fender original 1965 deluxe reverb, carr , victoria, louis electric , fender 50's high power tweed, metropolitan tone king and the axe.
Playing this amp reminds me, as amazing as the Axe FX is there is still much more to be done to capture that "authentic tube sound" if it is even really possible. That being said, being a cork sniffer tube amp guy, no one has come closer than Cliff and I am sure over the coming years
as the technology evolves the gap will continue to close.

Here is a picture of my amp the inside the white cables are the teflon coated coaxial cables unique to dumble amp
Having built several amps in the past this by far was the most difficult and complex build I have attempted. This amp took me almost a year to build although I worked on it on and off some of the difficulty was finding the exact correct parts, to give you an idea of a comparison It took me only a few hours to build a fender champ.
 

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