For the price of a Dumble, you can buy everyone in the stadium a tiny dose of molly and they will enjoy the sound coming out of your Line 6 more than they would the Dumble sober.
But then you’d only have that one experience! For the same price, you can have that same feeling (albeit, slightly less enjoyable) for the rest of your life! ...or you could just buy a Fuchs and spend the rest of the money on a Porsche
I couldn't agree more. This whole Dumble thing is nothing more than the selling of mystique, which I am totally opposed to. I think a lot of it is really about selling Dumble clones. This Dumble has Fet overdrive! Ha Ha! And people will sell their souls for these things. Pathetic. I would say if you really like the Dumble tone, get a Fender, or get one of countless Dumble clones. I tried a Dumble years ago and while it did sound good, I can't say I haven't heard better, for a lot less money.
@Scotty Good damm bro. Thats a nice fucking line up. I imagine with a lp. Strat. And tele. And maybe something with filterts like tvjones and a es 3xx. You could cover any sound perfectly. I honestly think dumbles are overated. Nice sure. Id buy one if it was a 2-3k. Paying 200k for these fuckers. Lol. Olay. The only things id spend that kinda money on is. A 52 goldtop for 25k. A 59 burst for 500k. A 64 strat. And a 30s martin d-28. And id get a vintage super and plexi. With a dual tone late 50s early 60s gibson ga 20 and ga 40. And a early 60s ga 5. I could get every dream vintage amp i want for under the price of a dumble. With its weird ass cheetah print lol. Id use it to play slow cheetah hahaha
Funny, but you can buy a kit that turns your metal zone into a nice pedal that isnt over the top. Theres only about 9 resistor/cap changes to solder in.
In Mick Taylor's hands, the Dumble really is the sound I hear in my head. Excellent playing. Incredible tone. Best review of an amplifier I've ever watched. Now we all want (need?) a Dumble...
Great amp and I miss playing through it the 1-2 times per year I was able to as it was in my extended family. I was never a huge fan of the Dumble overdrive tones but the clean sound was otherworldly, That's what made it special to my ears and you have to be in the room to appreciate it. Even against my vintage Fenders, this was on another level.
You can definitely hear what the ZenDrive was trying to accomplish, or, what Robben Ford heard in the Zen that reminded him of Dumble. For what it's worth, the dynamic range mentioned, did not come through in the vid. In fact, it almost sounded dark/muffled.
I got to watch Howard hand build an amplifier for Jackson Browne, when I lived at Alley Rehearsal in North Hollywood, CA at 5066 Lankershim Blvd, just down the street from The Palomino club, a long time ago .....
Great sounding amp, no question about it. But worth $100,000? Not in a million years. One thing is for sure -- guitarists sure know how to waste money.
Matt Stottmann - Guitarists excel at blowing through cash while hunting for the elusive white whale... Gee, maybe I should write a book along those lines..., hmmm?
Tell Eric Clapton that his was not worth it to him. I'm sure he is tight for cash and has better things to do with his money, right? I got to try a Lafitte '66 once. Awesome stuff but the bottle was worth more than my car. Still just wine to most people. Were I able to afford wine like that I'd be glad to drink it all the time. I certainly don't need it. I do need to play one of these one day though, if just for 5 minutes...and even if only to prove, like the wine, that it is still just an amp. THE amp...but just an amp.
Agreed! Tonally, it's no better than any other high priced amps. It's the mystique & big names (great players with or without the aid of this amp) attached to the Dumble amp that dictates the ridiculous price tag. Of course, the fact that they're almost as rare as rocking horse shit will, also dictate the price! The listener doesn't 'feel the responsiveness'....
This may have been a good investment to make 30 years ago, but trends today are dictating otherwise. The older generation that still fuels the sales of high dollar guitar gear isn't going to be around forever. While there will still be younger, millionaire music artists that may be interested in this sort of thing you can't deny that the guitar is no longer at the forefront of big money popular music. Ferraris are a different matter altogether; there will always be classic car collectors because cars are a part of everyone's everyday life and have much broader appeal.
100k? Holy shit...I was thinking maybe $3000. Shows what a noob I am. Thanks for the eye opener. If I see one in a garage sale...I will definitely pick it up.
@user One thing that never changes is the music culture's ability to create toxic gatekeeping. Of course to add fucking nationalism to the equation (particularly since blues came from America lol) is just the icing on top. Enjoy your Brexit dipshit.
I played a clone of this amp recently. The builder has studied this amp for about a decade and followed all the known steps that Dumble followed. This thing was UN believable. 3D sound, sustain, perfect EQ curve. Just amazing.
Thanks for the demo. As so many have already commented - the Dumble sounds great but there are dozens of other amps that cost literally 50 times less and sound subjectively just as good. I have a 1973 Traynor YGM-3 combo with a replacement Celestion speaker, and, whilst the amount of control of the sound is less versatile (no overdrive channel) and the reverb is not as classy (small tank) - the overall tone is fantastic and, with a few decent overdrive pedals similar types of sounds can be produced. This cost me £350 and just needed a basic service and some simple mods to the tone stack (changed a few caps and a couple of resistors). This fixed the very bright sound these amps have as standard. I also changed the value of a couple of caps in the tremolo circuit which runs rather fast as standard.
Since moving back to canada i got a chance to try some old traynors and theyre fun stuff, theyre also bombproof and weigh as much as a rhino, in sound and in weight they remind me of some of the old ampegs. I ended up deciding on getting a '77 super reverb and its HUMONGOUS and unfortunately also pretty heavy and super awkward to carry lol
Never knowingly heard a dumble before but straight away I thought it sounded crazy close to the clean channel of my Mkiii boogie. Then you revealed the EV12L speaker which explained the similarities. It's clarity and defined bottom end clunk is unmistakable.
Thanks, Mick. You were able to draw attention to what distinguishes the Dumble from everything else. It was easy to see your expressive playing emphasized in a tool that captured all the nuance that sometimes goes missing in other amps. Great job of getting to the heart of the matter.
Instructive. Good playing in reviewing this amp. The Dumble sounds great (as far I can tell through my computer speakers). It seems very well thought in design and versatility. I'm sure that is the main reason why top musicians ordered them in the past.
Well and why didn't he borrow some great guitars to make it sound great? He just vastly improved tat Strat by putting Ron Ellis pickups in to compete with a Vintage Strat.
It is the warmth in the drive which tickles me. I would say a big thanks to Guitarist for this. Mick, as usual delivers a quality review. No bs, no potty humour, just intelligent and considered thoughts. Is it worth it? Of course it is.......If I could afford it I would buy one. Ant that finish is the best!!!!!
The thing about super high quality amps is that you only need one channel and can control the full range of tones based on the tone / volume / pickup selection and how hard you hit the strings and dig in. The amp becomes part of the instrument and gives you a different dimension of expression that you just have to play / feel to understand. I can go from a FULL BALLS OUT distorted tone, with the bridge pickup and volume full, to super clean fender on the neck pickup with volume at 5. The amp stays the same volume because when you push into the pre / post amps it compresses and adds such a rich overtone to the sound. I have a Redplate RP50Dou and it's just ridiculous how amazing it is. The amp is so full of overtones that feed into itself it just rings on forever.
No one ever comments on the fact that Alexander Dumble makes no $$$ for the overpriced resales, and that when he did make amps a fundamental agreement was not to re-sell. Think about it. He made these amps for specific people and then the upsell market makes insane profits, that he never ever sees!
Why would they? Stradavari or Picaso never saw revenue in the resale market either. It's not how it works. Additionally, Howard could have continued making amps at any time. He had no interest. According to interviews by Josh Smith, who called Dumble to get an amp built, he was more interested in panning for gold and collecting vintage guns from the 1800's.
Nice tone but nothing struck me as so unique that it couldn't be duplicated by a Fender Custom Shop model or a Boogie. I thought Mick's playing was the key ingredient here. While the amp sounds great, I'm wondering how many folks in a club could hear the difference over drinks, dinner, and conversations...
Paul Simmons What you said is true, but I think this definitely is not an amp you would take everywhere you gig. No. This is an amp you keep, play and love at home, and in the quiet of your basement or room or whatever, you hear the small nuances and "imperfections" that just make you smile. That's my two cents, might be wrong!
Yeah, this would be an amp that I'd stash away for a rainy day. If I were a lottery winner, there are a bunch of cool toys out there and amps like this one fall into the "if I had money to burn" category. Take care!
I'm with you man, doesn't sound $50,000 worth. But I know YT videos don't always do the best job at demonstrating amp tones even with good mics. I'd still love to play one, maybe if I was a multi-millionaire I'd buy one, but there'd be a good 20 amps I'd buy first.
This also reminds me of the Mesa Boogie Mark IIb from back in the late seventies. The clean sound was like this. Everything almost psychedelic clean with blooming notes everywhere.
I've owned a Dumble clone, you can get all it's tones out of a Mesa Boogie mk II or III plus a lot more. I can't believe the Mesa's are any less touch sensitive, they excel in that dept. as well.
@7:16 man for all the world that sounds like a Fender twin with a TS808 pushing it. The overdrive channel definitely has a tubescreamery sound to it. Nice job Mick, great playing as always.
The Dumble Overdrive Special I used to play through, Alexander built a 2 12" cabinet loaded with my most favorite speakers - Electro Voice 12L's. The cabinet is a partial open back, (like the Two Rock vertical 2 - 12's cabinet). I have never heard a guitar tone so "big, open, deep, dynamic, and clean" as the tones coming from that Dumble. (I used to play this amp at sound checks after I had tuned in the room). Sonny's guitar tech would tune one of Sonny's Strats in standard tuning for me and I got to have tons of fun. (I miss those days - a lot!) The tone doesn't come through nearly as well as "Live" testing. I am glad that you got to take it for a "drive" Mick. ;) (I did get to talk with Alexander about this amp at a gig in L.A. Very insightful. Alexander built his amps so that the guitarists could "sound like themselves'.) This first time I heard Sonny playing through his Dumble at sound check, my jaw "hit the floor" in amazement from "that tone". Good for you Mick!!
Can't say anything about the feel and behavior of the amp, as well as for the playability but, sonically I can't actually find anything so rare in this amp. As ever, it's personal taste and feel that matters...
Mick , I really wish you owned one of those amps. you can hear the connection you have with that amp and that connection is the goal of musicians and their gear . stay real and thanks for sharing !
Electrons flow freely in a vacuum than a crystal lattice... Until the electrons flowed through a semiconductor with logic gates and became 1s and 0s, and 1s and 0s went through more gates and became electrons again in an analog world.
I guess the closest/cheapest option would be to get Synergy OS module tube preamp based on Dumble. Obviously I have no idea how close it gets to original, I never played one.
Howard Dumble could take a stock Fender Vibrolux chassis out of a brand-new built amp, put it in one of his cabinets and people would be tripping over each other to give him $7000.00 for it.
The last couple of times I saw Robben Ford, he used the clean channel and the Zendrive for 99% of the show. His sound was very clear and bright sounding. He really didn't have "that" sound so much, except for one or two solos when he kicked in the OD section and "boom", killed it. I forgot to ask him why he does that. Not a personal friend, but he comes out after his show and signs CDs, etc., and you can ask him a couple of questions.
My custom Mesa sounds just as good. As far as the standard line I keep hearing: "It makes the player sound like himself.", yep, that's definitely my Mesa, & it has an effects loop.
I'm sure this Dumble also sounds better than some of the others i've heard, but, I sooo appreciate the effort you made to get a clean, amazing recording of this amp. Just wonderful. Peace.
You can't play this amp without an original 59 Lester. Everybody knows the hide glue molecules during the ageing process vibrate IN sequence to the unique mid frequencies of the Dumble, leading to an increased long tenon vibration which is enhanced by the aged (almost lack of) nitro finish to the east coast hard rock half-quartershawn flame maple top (NEEDS to be NO more than 3A) thus dramatically increasing sustain. The Brazilian fretboard is the only rosewood species available to synchronise with the amps unique bass frequencies, however it needs to be supplemented by the Honduras aged mahogany neck..... The only way to appreciate a 100.000$ amp is to actually play it through a 250.000$ guitar.....FFS...
Every affordable Dumbledore and boutique has been demoed on a '59 style or similar (but more affordable) Les but ZERO on an ES 335. At least the tables are turned here to establish what an ES 335 played clean could sound like with high end gear. Lots of players actually play their guitars not the reverb, effects, compression and high gain of their amps. To them, the idea of an un-muffled, clear tone thru which jazz chords and melodies can ring with nice note separation and that magical amount of pick attack is a dream. And to them, Tele's, Strat's and LP's are not the guitars of choice. Certainly you can get such great pure guitar tone with this Dumble and an ES 335. Maybe you could also with a $6k clone if you are willing to risk $5 or $10K's searching blindly (i.e. w/o ES 335 demo's) for one that would work.
David Dyte I wonder how well the Kemper can play it back? I have heard a lot of good things about them, but I've seen a few of them for sale which makes me wonder about them.
Mark70609 Kempers are insanely accurate. Go to Rob Chapman’s channel and watch his blind fold tests. The man is savant like with identifying amps and guitars by tone, he couldn’t tell the difference! There isn’t really any digital compression that you get with a lot of modelers, and the profiles don’t sound digi at all!
@@ethanschafer4684 Quite frankly, I have blindly been able to tell the difference with kempers in video audio. Real life is probably harder due to how much bass will flub up the sound and muddy the interpretation, but with high quality audio, Kempers have a very particular mid hump which is noticeable and kind of... Annoying.
I think you can hear that this is much more musical and inviting than most amps made today. I have to believe it's largely because Dumble knew how to voice amps to specific speakers; change the speaker and it can be totally different. It still can sound bad though - 12:49 - the low notes are just mud (too much distortion). I like the clean sound best. Amazing.
Thru my iMac it sounded like the sound was tailored for single coils,but It may have sounded diff in the room with Mick.Mick seemed mighty happy with the sound.From where i sit the strat sounded great.Better than the humbuckers.Thank you Mick!
+Groove Duude A guitar i can understand, but an amplifier? They aren't even that old! Most are 1980's manufacture. Surely some1 can melt the epoxy Dumby coated his circuit boards with and find out what the exact components and circuit are. Any1 thought to Xray or CT the circuit board?
DMSProduktions Agreed. Tone originates from hands to guitar. I know some people that would make this amp sound like crap at any setting. it is nice. Unfortunately I have the exact same snow leopard pattern on a blanket I bought in T.J. In the early 90's. still have it. It is actually a backdrop on my latest telecaster video. I have a dumble comforter! Ha!
It is very nice of Mick Taylor to exhibit this rare Dumble amplifier but what I wish would happen is to really turn it up and dig in. As many of us know there is something special that happens between the instrument and amplifier which can only be heard by doing so. I don't mean ear bleed loud for the sake of being loud but enough to make the hair on your arms tingle. Thank you for showing us this Unicorn of amplifiers.
he did not mean to say Mick it's just a phrase in English to draw attention to something. If he wanted to say Mick is ugly, he'd put in this way, "Sounds good but THE boy is ugly." one little word, huge diff. Or have I just misunderstood you and totally ruined your joke? :D
Kept hearing Mick name drop playing this amp and I'm so happy to finally get to absorb it all! The Dumble made him play the best I've ever heard him play. Really happy with the video, thank you!
Awesome amp, no doubt. But I will say, I was about to spend $2,800 on a Fuchs ODS 50 (another Dumble clone) to replace my Fender Super-Sonic 22. But then, my saint of a girlfriend had an Ethos Overdrive pedal built for me, and it turned my world upside down. It so changed the voice of my Super-Sonic, that I no longer had any need for the Fuchs. Moral of the story is, if you're like me, owning a Dumble might be out of reach, so expensive clones are the only thing we can come close to- but for 500-700 (I know, still not cheap.) you can get very, satisfyingly close. And it beats 50 grand for an amp. Beats 2800 too.
If you want to hear what a Dumble can really do go see Robben Ford. Just listening to him warm up was an experience in itself. That deep warm rich midrange growl rattled all the glasses on my table and got my pulse racing like crazy. THAT SOUND.(quick edit) Oh and hearing him on the computer is not even close.
![Robben Ford & His Dumble Overdrive Special [He Plays It, We Play It!]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4z-IkXE36DI/mqdefault.jpg)
For the price of a Dumble, you can buy everyone in the stadium a tiny dose of molly and they will enjoy the sound coming out of your Line 6 more than they would the Dumble sober.
well said
you could buy everyone a fucking ounce of molly for the price of a dumble. lol you could buy most of them a blackface bassman fuck dumbles.
haha
But then you’d only have that one experience! For the same price, you can have that same feeling (albeit, slightly less enjoyable) for the rest of your life!
...or you could just buy a Fuchs and spend the rest of the money on a Porsche
I couldn't agree more. This whole Dumble thing is nothing more than the selling of mystique, which I am totally opposed to. I think a lot of it is really about selling Dumble clones. This Dumble has Fet overdrive! Ha Ha! And people will sell their souls for these things. Pathetic. I would say if you really like the Dumble tone, get a Fender, or get one of countless Dumble clones. I tried a Dumble years ago and while it did sound good, I can't say I haven't heard better, for a lot less money.
I will have to say that Mick Taylor seems to have aged the best of anyone in the band...
lol
My HOFRAITER PROVERB Amp sounds BETTER.
Boy Mick Taylor is looking pretty young after his years in the Rolling Stones!
Excellent comment
Ik who the fuck is this prick, I wanted to see Mick from the Stones
@@AlbPerNil LMAO
@@AlbPerNil 😂😂😂
@@AlbPerNil THIS IS GOLDEN COMMENT
Ahhh i see
not that Mick Taylor
@Scotty Good damm bro. Thats a nice fucking line up. I imagine with a lp. Strat. And tele. And maybe something with filterts like tvjones and a es 3xx. You could cover any sound perfectly. I honestly think dumbles are overated. Nice sure. Id buy one if it was a 2-3k. Paying 200k for these fuckers. Lol. Olay. The only things id spend that kinda money on is. A 52 goldtop for 25k. A 59 burst for 500k. A 64 strat. And a 30s martin d-28. And id get a vintage super and plexi. With a dual tone late 50s early 60s gibson ga 20 and ga 40. And a early 60s ga 5. I could get every dream vintage amp i want for under the price of a dumble. With its weird ass cheetah print lol. Id use it to play slow cheetah hahaha
No doubt clickbait lol!!!
,,My disappointment is immesurable"
Haha, me too!!
Vivian Stanshall no it isn’t but this MICK is very good too
2:45 *flips £20, 000 switches to activate £2.50 capacitors*
You crack me up
if anyone needs those £20,000 switches, I can get them and I've got a special on at the moment 2 for 1 ;-)
Also, seeing this green, super whimsy patch cable plugged into the delay pedal, that’s just savage. 😂
Asking the really important questions: Did you try it with a Metal Zone? ;)
Nef LOOOOOLLLLLL!!!!!!! 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂
But really, how would BB King sound through a metal zone.
Like B. B. Metal King of course!
Kerry king lol
Funny, but you can buy a kit that turns your metal zone into a nice pedal that isnt over the top. Theres only about 9 resistor/cap changes to solder in.
Micks playing is what shines for me here
ARE YOU AN IDIOT?..........THAT'S NOT THE FORMER GUITAR PLAYER FOR THE ROLLING STONES.
scott bowling it’s also not Kirk Hammett, Steve Vai, Guthrie Govan or Richie Kotzen, what’s your point?
Wow. The OD tone is just killer. I think any guitar would sound heavenly through that thing. Beautiful.
I love the clean sounds. Really nice definition, it lets the Strat shine.
this is something else, really, everything that's played hits a spot for me. Bass an overtones together, wow.
This amp can't produce a bad tone...and neither can Mick! Well done, great pairing!
Any noise in that signal? Nope! None. So sick.
In Mick Taylor's hands, the Dumble really is the sound I hear in my head. Excellent playing. Incredible tone. Best review of an amplifier I've ever watched. Now we all want (need?) a Dumble...
Mick is such a cool player... he makes it all sound so easy, but DAMN.. that man can play!
It must have something I have never heard Mick sound so fluid.
Great amp and I miss playing through it the 1-2 times per year I was able to as it was in my extended family. I was never a huge fan of the Dumble overdrive tones but the clean sound was otherworldly, That's what made it special to my ears and you have to be in the room to appreciate it. Even against my vintage Fenders, this was on another level.
u chucks fam?
@@muthapluckinnathan 👍
I think this is the best Dumble video on youtube, thanks Mick!
Sounds great. You can hear that "Bloom" of the notes sustaining. Like your fingers are controlling a wild beast!!
You can definitely hear what the ZenDrive was trying to accomplish, or, what Robben Ford heard in the Zen that reminded him of Dumble. For what it's worth, the dynamic range mentioned, did not come through in the vid. In fact, it almost sounded dark/muffled.
Wowza. what a clean clear deep tone. Holy wow. Mr. D. you were a wizard, a true gift to every musician.
Yeah, Mick!!
Ariel, next time you see Mick, just say "Lucky B*astard" in a very English voice! Bet +Peter Honoré is disappointed he didn't get invited !-)
You did the Dumble proud, Mick... Played some classy stuff.
I got to watch Howard hand build an amplifier for Jackson Browne, when I lived at Alley Rehearsal in North Hollywood, CA at 5066 Lankershim Blvd, just down the street from The Palomino club, a long time ago .....
gotta be one of the greatest strat tones I have ever heard...
Want one! not gonna happen, but thanks for sharing this experience Mick!!
Beautiful tone and killer playing Mick! The harmonics came through on the recording. Thank you for sharing!
Great sounding amp, no question about it. But worth $100,000? Not in a million years. One thing is for sure -- guitarists sure know how to waste money.
Matt Stottmann - Guitarists excel at blowing through cash while hunting for the elusive white whale...
Gee, maybe I should write a book along those lines..., hmmm?
Tell Eric Clapton that his was not worth it to him. I'm sure he is tight for cash and has better things to do with his money, right? I got to try a Lafitte '66 once. Awesome stuff but the bottle was worth more than my car. Still just wine to most people. Were I able to afford wine like that I'd be glad to drink it all the time. I certainly don't need it. I do need to play one of these one day though, if just for 5 minutes...and even if only to prove, like the wine, that it is still just an amp. THE amp...but just an amp.
Agreed! Tonally, it's no better than any other high priced amps. It's the mystique & big names (great players with or without the aid of this amp) attached to the Dumble amp that dictates the ridiculous price tag. Of course, the fact that they're almost as rare as rocking horse shit will, also dictate the price! The listener doesn't 'feel the responsiveness'....
This may have been a good investment to make 30 years ago, but trends today are dictating otherwise. The older generation that still fuels the sales of high dollar guitar gear isn't going to be around forever. While there will still be younger, millionaire music artists that may be interested in this sort of thing you can't deny that the guitar is no longer at the forefront of big money popular music. Ferraris are a different matter altogether; there will always be classic car collectors because cars are a part of everyone's everyday life and have much broader appeal.
100k? Holy shit...I was thinking maybe $3000. Shows what a noob I am. Thanks for the eye opener. If I see one in a garage sale...I will definitely pick it up.
I come back once a month to watch, or LISTEN to this video, such a treat.
Mick's playing is next level here. And the tone is awesome. Is it $50,000 awesome? Who cares, I'll never own it, but it sounds great.
@audiosamples good thing you own a quite preposterous opinion and one that is equally racist. Projecting your own inadequacies as a player I assume
@user One thing that never changes is the music culture's ability to create toxic gatekeeping.
Of course to add fucking nationalism to the equation (particularly since blues came from America lol) is just the icing on top. Enjoy your Brexit dipshit.
@@BollocksUtwat what are you talking about
You get diminishing returns in terms of cost to benefit as the price rises of guitars and amps. It is what it is
Yes because he doesn’t have”the other guy”next to him so he can just let loose.
Great clean compression. For my ears sounds amazing clean on low input. Overdrive sounds just as well, smooth as butter.
I played a clone of this amp recently. The builder has studied this amp for about a decade and followed all the known steps that Dumble followed. This thing was UN believable. 3D sound, sustain, perfect EQ curve. Just amazing.
Amplified Nation’s Bombshell Overdrive is really close
Thanks for the demo. As so many have already commented - the Dumble sounds great but there are dozens of other amps that cost literally 50 times less and sound subjectively just as good. I have a 1973 Traynor YGM-3 combo with a replacement Celestion speaker, and, whilst the amount of control of the sound is less versatile (no overdrive channel) and the reverb is not as classy (small tank) - the overall tone is fantastic and, with a few decent overdrive pedals similar types of sounds can be produced. This cost me £350 and just needed a basic service and some simple mods to the tone stack (changed a few caps and a couple of resistors). This fixed the very bright sound these amps have as standard. I also changed the value of a couple of caps in the tremolo circuit which runs rather fast as standard.
Since moving back to canada i got a chance to try some old traynors and theyre fun stuff, theyre also bombproof and weigh as much as a rhino, in sound and in weight they remind me of some of the old ampegs. I ended up deciding on getting a '77 super reverb and its HUMONGOUS and unfortunately also pretty heavy and super awkward to carry lol
A tone to die for. Espacially with the 335.
Never knowingly heard a dumble before but straight away I thought it sounded crazy close to the clean channel of my Mkiii boogie. Then you revealed the EV12L speaker which explained the similarities. It's clarity and defined bottom end clunk is unmistakable.
6:28 My God. That's the tone.
Marlon Borreo yep
Or as Mick himself would say, "That's all day, that one is!"
start playing at 2.30
For me it was 5:49. shame he only play like 1 chord...
SRV tonesssss :)
Thanks, Mick. You were able to draw attention to what distinguishes the Dumble from everything else. It was easy to see your expressive playing emphasized in a tool that captured all the nuance that sometimes goes missing in other amps. Great job of getting to the heart of the matter.
I mean, sound really amazing. I would be interested if they had a Hot Rod or something as benchmark next to it.
Imagine they are showing this amp mic'd up, but him playing on a Hot Rod Deluxe lmao.
Instructive. Good playing in reviewing this amp. The Dumble sounds great (as far I can tell through my computer speakers). It seems very well thought in design and versatility. I'm sure that is the main reason why top musicians ordered them in the past.
I like it; its a nice sounding amp that can cover a lot of ground tone wise and would be very cool for recording work.
i cant beleive how rich / percusive and dynamic the overdrive is...my genelecs do the job
Klon Centaur into a Dumble "didn't feel like the right thing to do"..??????
- it would literally be the only properly recorded instance on RUclips
7thString more in reference that adding an overdrive/clean boost to an amp that is revered for its natural tone would be sacrilege.
Not all great pedals fit all great amps. In addition, some amps need no pedals at all.
Yep. HUGE opportunity wasted here.
You could say that for almost every pedal ever made. Why stop at outrage over the Klon?
Well and why didn't he borrow some great guitars to make it sound great? He just vastly improved tat Strat by putting Ron Ellis pickups in to compete with a Vintage Strat.
It is the warmth in the drive which tickles me. I would say a big thanks to Guitarist for this. Mick, as usual delivers a quality review. No bs, no potty humour, just intelligent and considered thoughts.
Is it worth it? Of course it is.......If I could afford it I would buy one. Ant that finish is the best!!!!!
sounded great but like many others, i couldnt hear anything that made me say WOW thats a dumble!
steve hudson : You almost nailed it: If you can't hear anything that makes you say WOW, it's a Dumble Overpriced Special.
Finally! I have been waiting for this for a long time! The NAMM videos will have to wait!
Videography deserves an award.
The thing about super high quality amps is that you only need one channel and can control the full range of tones based on the tone / volume / pickup selection and how hard you hit the strings and dig in. The amp becomes part of the instrument and gives you a different dimension of expression that you just have to play / feel to understand. I can go from a FULL BALLS OUT distorted tone, with the bridge pickup and volume full, to super clean fender on the neck pickup with volume at 5. The amp stays the same volume because when you push into the pre / post amps it compresses and adds such a rich overtone to the sound. I have a Redplate RP50Dou and it's just ridiculous how amazing it is. The amp is so full of overtones that feed into itself it just rings on forever.
Lovely amp, outstanding demo! Two thumbs up Mick, really superb!
I think that's the most beautiful, versatile amp I've heard on youtube.
Nothing SPECIAL here, except for the shear number of views and comments.....Well done Guitarist Magazine.
holy fuck its beautiful sounding!! that overdrive is really something out of this world!
The tone at 14:46...holy shit! THAT'S it.
Yep, that's it.... and it brings out the finest in your playing, Mick... lovely
At least you got a trip to Clitheroe out of it.
Paired with a nice fluent player like Mick. This thing is awesome! love that tone versatility dude!
sounds just like my blues junior
whiskeyboy no,no it dont honey
whiskeyboy Lmao! 😅😅😅😅
This is the comment that made me give up on the internet.... Jesus Christ bro....
LMAO.......still LMAO.....just getting my breath......BC Rich practise amp.........geez, Drew, thanks for that, I needed a good laugh!
whiskeyboy You sound just like my mother.
Always nice to hear Mick tasteful licks ;)
No one ever comments on the fact that Alexander Dumble makes no $$$ for the overpriced resales, and that when he did make amps a fundamental agreement was not to re-sell. Think about it. He made these amps for specific people and then the upsell market makes insane profits, that he never ever sees!
well he could do what that klon guy did, just farm out the work to a 3rd party vendor.. He would be rollin in the dough!!! ;)
Why would they? Stradavari or Picaso never saw revenue in the resale market either. It's not how it works. Additionally, Howard could have continued making amps at any time. He had no interest. According to interviews by Josh Smith, who called Dumble to get an amp built, he was more interested in panning for gold and collecting vintage guns from the 1800's.
TheZenguitarguy who cares, he was probably shit at marketing, his problem he couldnt sell for big money
too late. the ship has sailed
Trust me in the 80's he was living on a cliff overlooking the Pacific, he's doing very well.
That thing does sound amazing great playing too Mick.
Cork-sniffing nonsense. Nice sounding amp but there's no shortage of nice sounding amps available for a tiny fraction of the price.
Boutique, top of the line products are always wildly over-priced, shit for brains.
hammondsphoto sounds like any generic guitar plugin
Aurora Borealis get an axefx or kemper and play somewhat well
Aurora Borealis absolutely, unless you're chasing that last 0.01%, im guessing most of that is placebo though
Aurora Borealis profile it and buy a Kemper
I had no idea Mick was still at Guitarist.. awesome. I dig all of these videos. This especially..
Nice tone but nothing struck me as so unique that it couldn't be duplicated by a Fender Custom Shop model or a Boogie. I thought Mick's playing was the key ingredient here.
While the amp sounds great, I'm wondering how many folks in a club could hear the difference over drinks, dinner, and conversations...
Paul Simmons What you said is true, but I think this definitely is not an amp you would take everywhere you gig. No. This is an amp you keep, play and love at home, and in the quiet of your basement or room or whatever, you hear the small nuances and "imperfections" that just make you smile.
That's my two cents, might be wrong!
Yeah, this would be an amp that I'd stash away for a rainy day. If I were a lottery winner, there are a bunch of cool toys out there and amps like this one fall into the "if I had money to burn" category. Take care!
Paul Simmons great point! Cheers!
I'm with you man, doesn't sound $50,000 worth. But I know YT videos don't always do the best job at demonstrating amp tones even with good mics. I'd still love to play one, maybe if I was a multi-millionaire I'd buy one, but there'd be a good 20 amps I'd buy first.
LANo $50k??? No no no
This also reminds me of the Mesa Boogie Mark IIb from back in the late seventies. The clean sound was like this. Everything almost psychedelic clean with blooming notes everywhere.
Reminds me of my Peavy Rage.
lol
Mick, you really made this one count. Congratulations!
Lovely review. You deserve to have one. Maybe a rich benefactor will be inspired to give you one!!
Nice review Mick and good to meet you on the day. Best Steve.
I've owned a Dumble clone, you can get all it's tones out of a Mesa Boogie mk II or III plus a lot more. I can't believe the Mesa's are any less touch sensitive, they excel in that dept. as well.
@7:16 man for all the world that sounds like a Fender twin with a TS808 pushing it. The overdrive channel definitely has a tubescreamery sound to it. Nice job Mick, great playing as always.
As I recall: Dumble made his amp after the tone of Robben Ford through bassman with TS... so guess yer right!
He hasn't aged a day since the Stones
Amazing
Lol
The Dumble Overdrive Special I used to play through, Alexander built a 2 12" cabinet loaded with my most favorite speakers - Electro Voice 12L's. The cabinet is a partial open back, (like the Two Rock vertical 2 - 12's cabinet). I have never heard a guitar tone so "big, open, deep, dynamic, and clean" as the tones coming from that Dumble. (I used to play this amp at sound checks after I had tuned in the room). Sonny's guitar tech would tune one of Sonny's Strats in standard tuning for me and I got to have tons of fun. (I miss those days - a lot!) The tone doesn't come through nearly as well as "Live" testing. I am glad that you got to take it for a "drive" Mick. ;) (I did get to talk with Alexander about this amp at a gig in L.A. Very insightful. Alexander built his amps so that the guitarists could "sound like themselves'.) This first time I heard Sonny playing through his Dumble at sound check, my jaw "hit the floor" in amazement from "that tone". Good for you Mick!!
Can't say anything about the feel and behavior of the amp, as well as for the playability but, sonically I can't actually find anything so rare in this amp. As ever, it's personal taste and feel that matters...
Mick , I really wish you owned one of those amps. you can hear the connection you have with that amp and that connection is the goal of musicians and their gear . stay real and thanks for sharing !
I feel like there's so much that we're missing. I can't imagine how good it sounded in that room.
This is a great review, Mick, thanks so much. Very clear and your enthusiasm makes it all the more enjoyable and informative.
No crystal lattices were harmed in the filming of this.
intrsoul hahahaha
How about all those super rare endangered poached threatened cheetahs gave up their hides and pelts for these amp covers???
Electrons flow freely in a vacuum than a crystal lattice...
Until the electrons flowed through a semiconductor with logic gates and became 1s and 0s, and 1s and 0s went through more gates and became electrons again in an analog world.
i find myself repeatedly coming back to this video. God id love to have one
I guess the closest/cheapest option would be to get Synergy OS module tube preamp based on Dumble. Obviously I have no idea how close it gets to original, I never played one.
That amp sounds fantastic to me. I don't care what it cost, that shit sounds great!!
Beautifully said, reportage was pitch perfect and the amp sounds great too. I’m used to you from TPS. I found this refreshing.
I'm thinking a vintage RAT pedal would really bring this amp to life.
Glorious tone. I hope to one day play through a Dumble. Lucky you!
Howard Dumble could take a stock Fender Vibrolux chassis out of a brand-new built amp, put it in one of his cabinets and people would be tripping over each other to give him $7000.00 for it.
jma111000 re-read , he said switch the cabinet, that's all.
Yes, with 3 resistor value changes in the tone section. Resistors would cost you under $1.
But Dumble used concentrated dark matter to get that smooth OD tone.
Maybe add another zero on there
Lol try 100k
So glad to see this, Mick is a great guy.
I do hope you got a Kemper impulse response.
The last couple of times I saw Robben Ford, he used the clean channel and the Zendrive for 99% of the show. His sound was very clear and bright sounding. He really didn't have "that" sound so much, except for one or two solos when he kicked in the OD section and "boom", killed it. I forgot to ask him why he does that. Not a personal friend, but he comes out after his show and signs CDs, etc., and you can ask him a couple of questions.
My custom Mesa sounds just as good. As far as the standard line I keep hearing: "It makes the player sound like himself.", yep, that's definitely my Mesa, & it has an effects loop.
Absolutely impressed by these EQ controls! So effective
By far the best sounding Dumble demo I've seen! Great job Mick! You sold me to kingsley stuff but this time, my bank account can't follow!!! :)
I'm sure this Dumble also sounds better than some of the others i've heard, but, I sooo appreciate the effort you made to get a clean, amazing recording of this amp. Just wonderful. Peace.
You can't play this amp without an original 59 Lester. Everybody knows the hide glue molecules during the ageing process vibrate IN sequence to the unique mid frequencies of the Dumble, leading to an increased long tenon vibration which is enhanced by the aged (almost lack of) nitro finish to the east coast hard rock half-quartershawn flame maple top (NEEDS to be NO more than 3A) thus dramatically increasing sustain. The Brazilian fretboard is the only rosewood species available to synchronise with the amps unique bass frequencies, however it needs to be supplemented by the Honduras aged mahogany neck..... The only way to appreciate a 100.000$ amp is to actually play it through a 250.000$ guitar.....FFS...
Every affordable Dumbledore and boutique has been demoed on a '59 style or similar (but more affordable) Les but ZERO on an ES 335. At least the tables are turned here to establish what an ES 335 played clean could sound like with high end gear. Lots of players actually play their guitars not the reverb, effects, compression and high gain of their amps. To them, the idea of an un-muffled, clear tone thru which jazz chords and melodies can ring with nice note separation and that magical amount of pick attack is a dream. And to them, Tele's, Strat's and LP's are not the guitars of choice. Certainly you can get such great pure guitar tone with this Dumble and an ES 335. Maybe you could also with a $6k clone if you are willing to risk $5 or $10K's searching blindly (i.e. w/o ES 335 demo's) for one that would work.
Careful. There are people dumb enough to believe you.
lol, best comment ever!!
I must admit, there's a certain clarity there in the overdrive which isn't present in other amps I've heard. Great vid thanks!
Did you take the opportunity to profile it with a Kemper?
Michael Britt did he has awesome od special profiles in his page.
David Dyte I wonder how well the Kemper can play it back?
I have heard a lot of good things about them, but I've seen a few of them for sale which makes me wonder about them.
Mark70609 Kempers are insanely accurate. Go to Rob Chapman’s channel and watch his blind fold tests. The man is savant like with identifying amps and guitars by tone, he couldn’t tell the difference! There isn’t really any digital compression that you get with a lot of modelers, and the profiles don’t sound digi at all!
Yeah I can attest that they sound amazing! I've got the MBritt Kemper pack and I'm able to get the tones at 6:28 spot on.
@@ethanschafer4684 Quite frankly, I have blindly been able to tell the difference with kempers in video audio. Real life is probably harder due to how much bass will flub up the sound and muddy the interpretation, but with high quality audio, Kempers have a very particular mid hump which is noticeable and kind of... Annoying.
I think you can hear that this is much more musical and inviting than most amps made today. I have to believe it's largely because Dumble knew how to voice amps to specific speakers; change the speaker and it can be totally different. It still can sound bad though - 12:49 - the low notes are just mud (too much distortion). I like the clean sound best. Amazing.
Mick, that sounds great. But does it Djent?
If it did, it would suck, as it is an amp for guitar.
For djent cleans, yes
Love to see Mick getting his shot at finally playing one!
Sounds like a guitar amp
Thru my iMac it sounded like the sound was tailored for single coils,but It may have sounded diff in the room with Mick.Mick seemed mighty happy with the sound.From where i sit the strat sounded great.Better than the humbuckers.Thank you Mick!
The hum buckers sounded sweet ,but i preferred the hums in the upper registers than the lower.My opinion ,take it with a grain of salt please.
Ok now WHAT did this box of guitar voodoo sell for???
There's one up on Reverb.com right now for over $100,000.... so, a lot.
Derek Heidemann
Oh FUCK me!
That's just ridiculous! It's an AMP for god's sake!
DMSProduktions . Not as much as a '58 les Paul Burst. 300k plus. And that's just a guitar. Hold on to your vintage gear.
+Groove Duude
A guitar i can understand, but an amplifier? They aren't even that old! Most are 1980's manufacture.
Surely some1 can melt the epoxy Dumby coated his circuit boards with and find out what the exact components and circuit are. Any1 thought to Xray or CT the circuit board?
DMSProduktions Agreed. Tone originates from hands to guitar. I know some people that would make this amp sound like crap at any setting. it is nice. Unfortunately I have the exact same snow leopard pattern on a blanket I bought in T.J. In the early 90's. still have it. It is actually a backdrop on my latest telecaster video. I have a dumble comforter! Ha!
It is very nice of Mick Taylor to exhibit this rare Dumble amplifier but what I wish would happen is to really turn it up and dig in. As many of us know there is something special that happens between the instrument and amplifier which can only be heard by doing so. I don't mean ear bleed loud for the sake of being loud but enough to make the hair on your arms tingle. Thank you for showing us this Unicorn of amplifiers.
sounds good, but boy, it's UGLY :)
*** GurrGurr that's a retolex.
the amps sounds really good and watching the demo for the second time I'm starting to like the tolex :)
Dude no need to talk about Mick that way, his mom said he's handsome.
he did not mean to say Mick it's just a phrase in English to draw attention to something.
If he wanted to say Mick is ugly, he'd put in this way, "Sounds good but THE boy is ugly." one little word, huge diff.
Or have I just misunderstood you and totally ruined your joke? :D
clapton79 Definitely the latter, and skilfully, I might add.
Kept hearing Mick name drop playing this amp and I'm so happy to finally get to absorb it all! The Dumble made him play the best I've ever heard him play. Really happy with the video, thank you!
Expensive gear makes people play better?
Awesome amp, no doubt. But I will say, I was about to spend $2,800 on a Fuchs ODS 50 (another Dumble clone) to replace my Fender Super-Sonic 22. But then, my saint of a girlfriend had an Ethos Overdrive pedal built for me, and it turned my world upside down. It so changed the voice of my Super-Sonic, that I no longer had any need for the Fuchs. Moral of the story is, if you're like me, owning a Dumble might be out of reach, so expensive clones are the only thing we can come close to- but for 500-700 (I know, still not cheap.) you can get very, satisfyingly close. And it beats 50 grand for an amp. Beats 2800 too.
If you want to hear what a Dumble can really do go see Robben Ford. Just listening to him warm up was an experience in itself. That deep warm rich midrange growl rattled all the glasses on my table and got my pulse racing like crazy. THAT SOUND.(quick edit) Oh and hearing him on the computer is not even close.