You get to hear all the notes, the full spectrum of the signal.. more So is that box of tubes just something you ordered in bulk? For years people have said that a Dumble sounds a lot like a Fender + tubescreamer anyways. Every month we feature interviews with the biggest names and hottest new acts in guitar land, plus Guest Lessons from the stars. After his passing, another recent picture of Mr. Dumble emerged, apparently taken by Orianthi (see below). The Gear Page is the leading online community and marketplace for guitars, amps, pedals, effects and associated gear. It was actually really good for the price. England and Wales company registration number 2008885. The Gladio SC is available at several quality retailers and of course direct from the Cornerstone Music Gear Webtore, priced at 279. Rich is the co-author of the best-selling Nthin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion. The jazz and blues great walks us through his array of Strymon, Fulltone, Electro-Harmonix effects and more. On top of resembling the sound and circuitry of a Dumble as much as possible, it also matches the aesthetics of the original. I will sell you a Plush Drive from FUCHS. Ford keeps this sweet baby safe by plugging it into a variable voltage regulator. My electric drums have a hard time going full on retro but this is what I got: Hmmmmroll off the treble some. And now a fine example of Robben Ford's more recent Telecaster tone going through very little effects: Finally, Guthrie Govan explains why it's so hard to sound like Robben Ford, classic: Boss Heavy Metal ^^ Boss Angry Driver !^^John MayerSRVRobben FordDUMBLE! talks about his Dumble-modified original Fender Deluxe Amp from the 60s as his desert island amplifier in yet another Premier Guitar Rig-Rundown. I believe he was using an early Telecaster and the signature model Fender did for him - carved top . --Rob, If you dont know about Dumble amplifiers then. QUOTE (improviduto @ Aug 7 2009, 01:38 PM). What I have found with my Zendrive that it is finicky but when dialed in correctly it puts you in Dumble Nirvana. I think its about the closest sound to a dumble or Joe Tone your gonna find without spending an arm or a leg. Been listening back to that stuff and he has a fantastic sound. Robben Ford was born on 16 December, 1951 in Woodlake, CA. Find effects pedal ads in our Books, Music & Games category. Yamaha was giving everyone free gear, and it was a lot of trial and error. Currently, he is experimenting with the construction of a Dumble clone. GuitarPlayer is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. There is no Dumble on the entire album, Ford told GP back in 2019. Yesterday by The Beatles is a legendary song, The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd is a legendary album, Jimi Hendrix is a legendary guitar player, a 1959 Gibson Les Paul is a legendary guitar, and the mythical pact between Robert Johnson and Mr. 666 himself is considered to be legendary as well. Never noticed the plexiglass shield before. My experience with it is that it is a finicky pedal to dial in. This approach also extends to Fords studio gear. Good price, good customer service, they even gave me a ive got nothing at all against plastic cabs He couldn't have been using a ZenDrive in the late 80s. He acquired one of these two by David Lindley (as he said during an interview with Premier Guitar), the former owner of two Dumble amps: serial numbers #2 and #8. Let's face it, Robben Ford has one of the greatest and iconic tones in modern guitar playing. All of the solos on the record, save one, were done with a 64 [Gibson] SG and a Fender Vibrolux Reverb reissue with the white knobs. According to legend, Dumbles ideas for the ODS came from hearing Ford play. I tried the Ethos as well and didn't find magic there, either. It hasnt changed very much in quite some time, Ford says of his board. I stopped using it for tracking and used an early 60s Fender Pro Reverb that I borrowed from a guitar store in Nashville. My first guitar hero was Mike Bloomfield. This is a two-channel amp, and it has a clean channel and an overdrive channel. ive got and use a few Two songs on that record are particularly amazing, tone wise. We had to get up and stand off to the side while Eric sat in. From there, Ford demonstrates his Electro-Harmonix POG (It sounds kind of like steel drum), his Vertex Boost (it can have a little bit of a bite on top) and his Hermida Audio Zendrive, which, he says is still to me the most together sounding overdrive. I'm also having trouble getting a "Dumble" tone out of it, it kinda just sounds like a low gain Tubescreamer. The red Epiphone is Jorma's not RF's. Location. We dont know much about Dumble amps, its a highly obscure subject due to the small number of amplifiers ever built and Alexander Dumbles very mysterious nature and personality, yet everything about this is fascinating to the guitar community. The box is crisp and new looking. Based in Santa Cruz, California, Dumbles origins were repairing guitar amps for the local music community, which led to his first amp design-related work for Mosrite. I mean, they check all of the boxes: theyre expensive, rare, unbelievably good, and on top of that theyre used by some of the greatest players that we all want to sound like, so, as you can expect, there are quite a few different Dumble Style alternatives available on the market for us mere humans to enjoy. Share Reply Quote 15th February 2011 | Show parent # 5 CrownBox Gear Nut Hermida didn't build the first ZenDrive for him until 2003 (. Here's what he had; and then a question for all you Robben-philes: I had a similar seat when he was here in CT last year - it was awesome to see him that close and really watch what he does. Total Guitar is Europe's best-selling guitar magazine. I would favor the ZD and Marshall Blues Breaker in front of any blackface. The unique characteristics that make up the so-called Dumble Sound could be derived from the traditional American sound of Fender amp line from the 60s. As you can see, the British Sound, best exemplified by Marshall amps, presents quite an even line across the frequency spectrum. @Zen Guitar Very tasty chops indeed. Cobb says that Dumble used a new Greenback speaker and new tubes, underlining that it is not the single parts that make his amps sound great, but it is more of a cocktail, where the ability is in finding the right balance between the different components. Heres how it works. It sounded better to me as I was sitting more on the opposite said of him and not receiving a direct hit. Sounds kind of like Robben Ford's Gibson through a Dumble tone too. Answer: As I mentioned earlier, quite a few brands make Dumble clones (more or less), and it wouldnt be too hard to find one of these amps for yourself. Trust us, Robben, you have nothing to apologize for. All rights reserved. . Thank you for signing up to The Pick. Its a very sophisticated art form and should be approached seriously. There are two inputs: a "normal" input and FET input where the signal from the guitar goes to a J-FET line level booster pre-amplifier before entering the first tube stage (originally intended for use with acoustic guitars and other instruments with low output levels). The amp came without a Reverb circuit, but it is possible to find a few that have it built-in. I still need to order some more parts to finish it (PT, trimmers, a pot, footswitch jack and other random ######). Also, if you own a Kemper or a Neural DSP Quad Cortex, you can find some original Dumble profiles, so (theoretically) you should be able to get an idea of that sound. My Super Reverb is finicky like my wife going shoe shopping, have tried every OD under the sun including modded TS9s, Fulltone OCD, Boss Overdrive without much luck. When I would go record an album, I would use basic rhythm charts with an occasional bass line. We may earn a commission on any affiliated purchases. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. However, I did finally find a tone that I like very much, which is really stellar (to my ears anyway) with my Strat in the second pickup selector position (neck + middle). Request Chords. Must be tricky to wire everything that way. Bath I'll try running a TS before as a boost like you suggested but as far as the Zendrive, what setting should I use for the Jb tone? Sorry I dont have a more interesting pedalboard.. I hope things improve. This arrangement is not easy to set up and requires a degree of compromise to get the best overall clean/ overdrive combination. I was at the Austin show, too! Effects 1. J.Rockett's The Dude is designed to capture the tone of the Dumble Overdrive Special amplifier. On top of this flightcase, and on the right beside the flightcase of his Dumble head, stands his black 2x12" cabinet. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. My info came from another working pro and Ford fan, who told me about this in mid 2000's. OopsYou are correct, John. This is one of the earliest models built by Alexander Dumble, and you can listen to it on almost every guitar track on Texas Flood, the very famous debut album by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. Also check out the Fulltone OCD, Fuchs Plush Drive/Creme OD, Carl Martin Hot Drive and Boost, BK Butler Tube Driver, or any high quality medium/high gain overdrive unit. Wonderful pedal. If it can get anywhere near Joyo's bold claims, then it could be a decent drive pedal for those of us that are gigging and cannot afford to lug around a $70,000 amp! The Zendrive is a little overhyped IMO and to me sounds very similar to what you described: A lower gain/more refined tubescreamer. Further Reading on Guitar Amplifier Options & Tone Settings. We are used to this thought and thats what were going to implement in our Dumble Amp guide. Jimi Hendrix is a unique stylist of the electric guitar, and is a huge influence on my rhythm playing., 2. I had the newer Chinese version and actually really liked it. This was easy enough and all good until his speakers got stuck in customs! Age. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Just look at the description of the re-finished Johnny Smith for a paltry $6000. #5. odourboy said: I think the selection of Dumblesque amps in the FM3 is fantastic but I can't quite dial in a killer Robben Ford patch. Lindley probably took that same amp on the road with many of the artists that he played for in the 70s, including Jackson Browne, and thats the kind of history you can expect to witness when presented with a Dumble amplifier. While playing with the Yellowjackets, Fords gear was in flux. by Guy77 Thu Aug 15, 2019 8:58 pm. Perhaps try stacking it with a TS9 or TS808 as well and see where that gets you. Chords can really open up the whole picture, and playing songs will help you learn ways to use those chords effectively in your writing., 9. That is a big-time first for me. The cabinet houses a pair of Celestion G12-65 8-ohm speakers. I think we suffered a bit by being right on-axis with the speakers. I definitely would need a reverb, but not sure which it would be. Got the power transformer yesterday, it's a beast. There is no return from the Super back to the Dumble. Cons: Just to follow up here with my anti-climactic purchase -- I decided that I don't quite know enough about what jazz guitar I want. He started gigging when he was 14 years old and hasnt yet put his guitar down. Tones that typify this sound can be heard on Jing Chi Live 'That Road', The Miller's Son or the OD sound on Life Song (to name a few). 894. It works perfectly when tested under load, gives a steady 12V DC. On top of that, after his work started to get noticed, Alexander Dumble decided to cover the preamp circuit of his amps with a thick layer of opaque epoxy, probably to prevent competitors from stealing his very much appreciated designs, so theres even more of a mystery around the components used inside Dumble amps. The Zendrive has found a way to reduce the compression I hear in a lot of other pedals, creating a more natural sound. Sorry to go off topic but I'm putting together another strat. Looks like someone finally added information to the Wiki page, last time I viewed it there was almost no information. Key to the Dumble sound is the way the clean preamp cascades into the overdrive section. We had a very healthy relationship. He is also a recording and performing musician, and a former editor of Guitar World magazine and executive editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine. I hope this helps. His latest album, Into the Sun, is a guest-filled affair with cameos by Warren Haynes, Sonny Landreth, and pop/rock chanteuse ZZ Ward. a lot of amps! . BA1 1UA. This pedal looks almost brand new. Its really a wonderful experience to play with a musical hero. Ford keeps this sweet baby safe by plugging it into a variable voltage regulator. Would have loved to have an original. Supposedly they are still involved. G. Em. There is one more curious detail about Robben Ford and his Dumbles mentioned by his guitar tech in a Premier Guitar Rig Rundown: they always try to use a Variac (Variable AC Power Supply) to provide precisely 122 Volts of power to the amp, because thats when this amp is happiest. Crossrock Fiberglass "Archtop" Case Review, Nu Korg/Vox aimed at hollow bodies - Clubman 60. The official forum for all things Joe Bonamassa, guitars and blues music. I make sure to just play the instrument, and that seems to work for me., 5. 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