Stevie Ray Vaughan's Dumble and the Return of Dumble Amplifiers at NAMM 2025
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VonBonfire
Well-known member
So basically they made a couple amps just to give his designs some kind of legal protection? Extra retarded. Almost seems greedy seeing as how the dude ain't even alive anymore. So it's just a bunch of curmudgeonly gatekeepers.
I was talking to my tech the other day and he was claiming most of what he did in terms of modding amps was no big secret. Playing with cathode bypass resistor values, input cap values, etc. I mean I guess he had some of his own circuit designs but from my understanding most of it was based out of previous Fender stuff i.e modded Twins.
There are some good sounding dumble-esque amps out there but part of the problem is apartment-suburb dwelling influencers demo the amp with the vol on about 3. You cannot get a good sound out of a BF Fender until you hit 4, and that is just kind of where it starts sounding acceptable and 4 starts to get louder than most pussies can handle. Man there are a lotta lousy "dumble" demos out there for this reason. I was watching some Sweetwater-Amplified Nation stuff and even they failed to crank them into the amp's sweet spot so those clips were pretty lousy sounding, small, thin, and squeezed, for someone trying to sell 4000 dollar amps. It's kinda pathetic these will mostly be some rich dude's toy and never get used properly for the intended purpose cause TGP are too sissy to let it rip.
I was talking to my tech the other day and he was claiming most of what he did in terms of modding amps was no big secret. Playing with cathode bypass resistor values, input cap values, etc. I mean I guess he had some of his own circuit designs but from my understanding most of it was based out of previous Fender stuff i.e modded Twins.
There are some good sounding dumble-esque amps out there but part of the problem is apartment-suburb dwelling influencers demo the amp with the vol on about 3. You cannot get a good sound out of a BF Fender until you hit 4, and that is just kind of where it starts sounding acceptable and 4 starts to get louder than most pussies can handle. Man there are a lotta lousy "dumble" demos out there for this reason. I was watching some Sweetwater-Amplified Nation stuff and even they failed to crank them into the amp's sweet spot so those clips were pretty lousy sounding, small, thin, and squeezed, for someone trying to sell 4000 dollar amps. It's kinda pathetic these will mostly be some rich dude's toy and never get used properly for the intended purpose cause TGP are too sissy to let it rip.
dcburn
Well-known member
Honest questions:
So they follow HAD schematics and put the Dumble name on them?
Wonder what kind of price when you could go get great replicas thru Amplified Nation?
This seems kinda like the Trainwreck situation?
So they follow HAD schematics and put the Dumble name on them?
Wonder what kind of price when you could go get great replicas thru Amplified Nation?
This seems kinda like the Trainwreck situation?
dcburn
Well-known member
Never go full retard Von!
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VonBonfire
Well-known member
I wouldn't bet the farm on that.
I bet they run double to triple the price of Amplified Nation based on the name alone. I'm guessing they are near unobtanium.
Too late, I woke up this morning!
dcburn
Well-known member
Fuck it!
I’m going to assemble my next amp with a HAD schematics and call it Dumble Nation and undercut the fuckers!
Overdrive Special-Ed
I’m Dumble Nation!
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VonBonfire
Well-known member
The Amplified Nation dirty wonderland looks like my kinda amp. Single channel. But 4k, man I could buy a house in Mississippi for that almost!
dcburn
Well-known member
I had a guy trying to trade me one. There were limited videos then, but from the little I saw I dug it.
I was selling a CS ‘62 SG.
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VonBonfire
Well-known member
Was it the 100, 50, or 22 watt? I don't see how the 22 would be the same amp as the bigger models. I'm gonna guess he wanted to trade cause he didn't realize you're going to have to be pretty loud with a single channel 50 or 100 watt if you want any gain out of the amp.
dcburn
Well-known member
I can’t remember.
But I also use a Fryette PS.
DanTravis62
Well-known member
I've played the 50 and hundred watt ones. They are killer.
Like all dumble circuits, they need volume to breathe at all though. They're made for stages, not bedrooms.
If you want a lower watt dumble-esque sound, the ceriatone one and the two rock 22 watt are supposed to be the best - I haven't played the AN 22 watt
Personally I think they all sound very similar - two rock, AN, fuchs, bludotone, at least the ones i've played
They definitely sound better with strats and teles though, humbuckers are mud city with any dumble circuit i've ever played lol
Rdodson
Well-known member
I played a Two Rock 22w Coral the other day that I definitely got into the sweet spot and it ripped. Really dug it.
DanTravis62
Well-known member
how loud was it at the sweet spot? I've played a 22w studio pro and it seemed to get "Right" at about 3-4 (11 o clock) on the master - but i'm not a connoisseur of dumble tones so idk
IMO they sound fantastic with strats and teles, but i'm a les paul guy through and through and that's a lot of dosh for an amp that sounds that muddy with humbuckers
Rdodson
Well-known member
It was louder than my Deluxe, but I was playing through a Suhr 2x12 with V30s
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VonBonfire
Well-known member
I 100 percent take your word on that but for 4 grand my tech would mod my Twins to my hearts content.
I'm just kinda dreaming about the future. An EVM loaded 1x12 50 watt would be pretty versatile and portable. I don't think I could live with a 22 watt model unless I was mic'ed out and fed back through the monitors at anything other than a small club. I hate having to rely on sound dudes to hear myself.
shar-vell Dan
Well-known member
Id rather Friedman's Jose;.
DanTravis62
Well-known member
I 100 percent take your word on that but for 4 grand my tech would mod my Twins to my hearts content.
I'm just kinda dreaming about the future. An EVM loaded 1x12 50 watt would be pretty versatile and portable. I don't think I could live with a 22 watt model unless I was mic'ed out and fed back through the monitors at anything other than a small club. I hate having to rely on sound dudes to hear myself.
Same, I feel you about small amps. It's funny, when you actually play gigs in front of actual people, the tiny amps always end up fucking you over lol
Different D-style circuits react to players differently, but just from what I've heard from your playing
If I were you (and I liked combos like you do, ick
) there's a couple of dream amps from the future i'd try to find and play to try:1. one of the two rock 50 watt classic reverb combos
2. Amplified Nation Overdrive 50 watt
3. Ceriatone Overtone Special Combo
They all are gonna sound great, and if you really like the idea of the EV you could buy the Ceriatone combo unloaded.
Rdodson
Well-known member
These are all going to get you into that John Mayer “smoky Deluxe/Super on steroids” tone.
Which is a great tone.
The Ceriatone will also do the cascaded Robben Ford thing.
I have always wanted to try a Larry Carlton HRM styled circuit like the Bludotone Ripper, but those are rare as hen’s teeth.
Which is a great tone.
The Ceriatone will also do the cascaded Robben Ford thing.
I have always wanted to try a Larry Carlton HRM styled circuit like the Bludotone Ripper, but those are rare as hen’s teeth.
DanTravis62
Well-known member
I've heard stories about those but never even seen a pic of one - VBF's playing definitely fits the fender style, and those d styles are all "fender but more" in various ways, so that's the angle that makes the most sense to me
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VonBonfire
Well-known member
I like head-cab arrangements but combos are convenient for gigs and jams. I've looked at the Ceriatone stuff, it's definitely more affordable and seems to sound good. Not sure an amp will be in the cards this year but I figured at the new MSRP prices I have plenty of time to look first, lol.Same, I feel you about small amps. It's funny, when you actually play gigs in front of actual people, the tiny amps always end up fucking you over lol
Different D-style circuits react to players differently, but just from what I've heard from your playing
If I were you (and I liked combos like you do, ick
1. one of the two rock 50 watt classic reverb combos
2. Amplified Nation Overdrive 50 watt
3. Ceriatone Overtone Special Combo
They all are gonna sound great, and if you really like the idea of the EV you could buy the Ceriatone combo unloaded.
Hearing you say this makes me feel better. I never know which way to go but I do love a good cranked up Twin with a nice OD set to boost. Wayne/Griffin Analog is working on an improved version of the Cornerstone Labs Gladio that I plan on picking up so my thought was using that in conjunction with my Twin and maybe some more modding of my amp and see where it goes until I have more money. Last show it was sounding pretty good but I'm still waiting for my bro to sort through the footage so I can check to see just how good after the fact.