Most EXPENSIVE Amps in the FM3.

FractalAudio said:
My Dumble is probably worth $150K+ now. There's one identical to mine on Reverb for $175K and mine is in as good or better shape and has a flight case and matching 4x12 cab.
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Out of curiosity, how hard would it be to sell? I mean, that’s not the kind of thing you can take to the local guitar center if you need some quick cash lol. Have you had any offers? I can’t imagine the PITA it would be trying to find a buyer for a $150k+ piece of music gear…
 
Greg Ferguson said:
Like a certain to-be-unnamed-drive. A friend of mine paid an ungodly amount for his, and I can't hear anything special about it, especially nothing I'd be willing to spend money on.
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I started to use that one as another great example, but thought folks might start throwing things at me! You should check out the Andertons blind test of clones vs the real deal on that one.
 
fcs101 said:
What I have learned from my exposure to these great amp models is that price alone does not indicate performance. For any given product that has "collectibles" you're really just paying for the availability (supply) as compared to the perceived (and I stress "perceived") desirability.

Case in point for me personally is the ODS. It's a great amp (model), but I've found others which I would choose over it (and they are about $147,00 cheaper :p ).
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Haha! Yup. I was going to post a snarky reply that the worst sounding (and most one-dimensional)
amps are the most expensive ones. Just so happens to be my honest opinion, too, so not 100% snark.
 
fcs101 said:
I started to use that one as another great example, but thought folks might start throwing things at me! You should check out the Andertons blind test of clones vs the real deal on that one.
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I literally fell asleep watching the 2021 Andertons shootout, before they got to the real one. I'll try again another time.

The ones I heard were quite similar, but not all the same, duh.
 
mattgreenrocks said:
Given there are several Dumbles and clones in the FM3, can someone recommend one to try if I’m new to the overall sound?
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I would get familiar with the ODS first then the ODS-HRM (Hot Rod Marshall). Then branch out after that.

For a more classic Dumble-tone, I prefer the Bludojai (Bludotone Ojai) it's a clone of Robben Ford's Dumble.

My preferred ones for Dumble-type tones are the Carol Anns. I haven't messed around much with the Brit Silver, but I think it can do it as well. Try also the Fox ODS (Fuchs ODS), and Two Stone J35 (Two Rock).
 
mattgreenrocks said:
Given there are several Dumbles and clones in the FM3, can someone recommend one to try if I’m new to the overall sound?
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@Burgs has several nice presets that use the various Dumbleish models. I've attached a tweaked version of his Rumble Rig (HSS) preset that will run on the FM3 nicely. I had to remove the MultiDelay block, and adjust the Comp block to something that was a little more lightweight but you'll get the idea of their sound, big, fat, and clean up nicely.

Some of the models are based on Robben Ford's amp. See the Wiki's list of amp models for more information.
PS - @mattgreenrocks I tweaked and added the other two presets from @Burgs original post. "Rumble Rig" is specifically Dumble-like models.
 

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Ugly Bunny said:
Out of curiosity, how hard would it be to sell? I mean, that’s not the kind of thing you can take to the local guitar center if you need some quick cash lol. Have you had any offers? I can’t imagine the PITA it would be trying to find a buyer for a $150k+ piece of music gear…
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John Mayer. Bonomassa. Easy sell.
 
Xcdchdchjjf said:
John Mayer. Bonomassa. Easy sell.
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You’d think it is an easy sell because of its name, but you have to remember the professionals who are playing at that level and have the money to buy, are also not about to buy something with a name without checking its history and that it truly has the pedigree that the seller claims it has.

Bonomassa is an expert on guitar and amp history. Mayer is no slouch, and they both have their network of other people on speed-dial who know everything about a particular Dumble because there weren’t that many made. They have people trying to sell stuff to them all the time and must have gotten good at saying no.

The easier sell is to some collector with lots of money and little knowledge who wants a trophy amplifier.
 
Greg Ferguson said:
You’d think it is an easy sell because of its name, but you have to remember the professionals who are playing at that level and have the money to buy, are also not about to buy something with a name without checking its history and that it truly has the pedigree that the seller claims it has.

Bonomassa is an expert on guitar and amp history. Mayer is no slouch, and they both have their network of other people on speed-dial who know everything about a particular Dumble because there weren’t that many made. They have people trying to sell stuff to them all the time and must have gotten good at saying no.

The easier sell is to some collector with lots of money and little knowledge who wants a trophy amplifier.
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Also, Dumble apparently continued to build up to the end. Bonamassa and Mayer surely had opportunity to have a personalized build done.
 
Well, we've sort of got two topics going on here. The OP naturally led to Dumble, which raised the question of suitable amps for that tone.

I mentioned the Brit Silver above. I sat down and messed around with it some this evening and it's really good for this type of tone. I'm not sure yet where I'd rank it, but definitely give it a go.
 
StuntGuitar said:
( 😈 the eternal devil's advocate) i wonder the "least EXPENSIVE amps in the FM3?"
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If there was a model of Roger John Deacon’s scrounged “Deacy amp” it’d be a good candidate. It’s based on a 9-volt battery-powered radio he found in the garbage and stuck into a tiny speaker cabinet. Brian May loved the sound so he recorded using it on many albums. There have been many requests for it.

Otherwise, I’d say it’s the Tube Pre or the Fender Champ models. The original circuits were about as simple as they come for guitar amps. The actual modeled Champ was probably not that cheap but the line was an entry-level amp back in the day.
 
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