Cheap Dumble

Adamski

It sounds ok. Obviously YouTube sound isn't the best but it's nowt special to my ears. It's an even and rich amp sonically though so I can understand why some players like them. Id' still take my Shiva over it and it costs 74,000 less! 

ddlooping

impmann said:

Apparently its this amp:

Great video showing what a difference the player makes.
The amp is ok, I don't hear (you might have had to be there) what's so special about it from a sound point of view.

[Deleted User]

I thought it sounded 'farty' with the Les Pauls, as Fender derived amps often can. Sounded good with the semi and superb with the old Strat and Esquire, yet much less so with the CS Nocaster...

I think it made me want a vintage Fender more than a Dumble.

I doubt a Fuchs (or similar) would sound much different in an A/B comparison.

Interesting vid though! Thanks for posting.

impmann

richardhomer said:

I thought it sounded 'farty' with the Les Pauls, as Fender derived amps often can. 

I'm glad someone else said it... personally I thought the humbucker tones were awful. OK the YT compression won't help but I've heard a lot better on there... in fact a Hot Rod Deluxe isn't far off in terms of tone, and unless you a prize plonker with the bass control won't go as flubby as that sounded. 

I can't get excited about an amp that sounds like that... no matter what price tag or which naff 80s TV theme tune was recorded with it!

[Deleted User]

I'm glad someone else said it... personally I thought the humbucker tones were awful.

I have a Mesa Lonestar Special, the pre-amp stage of which is very 'Blackface'-like. BF and Silverface Fenders seem to have (to borrow hi fi terminology) very extended lows. I believe this is why they match Fender guitars so well, with which they give a rich, well-balanced response. With humbucking guitars like 335s and PRS double-cuts (neither of which put out masses of 'deep' low-end) they continue to sound really well balanced. Plug in a Les Paul (which has a lot of 'low' low-end) and they start to sound indistinct and farty/flubby, in a way which can't be entirely dialled out with the amp's bass control, without making things sound scratchy/harsh. The tight, less extended low-end of a Marshall seems to gel with an LP perfectly. I'm sure ICBM will tell us it is all due to the 'centre' frequencies of the tone controls, the damping factors of their output stages and the resonant frequencies of the drivers themselves in open vs closed-back cabs and other things that I have a vague understanding of. My observations come from a player's perspective; I am not expert on the technical stuff....

ICBM

Adamski said:

Id' still take my Shiva over it and it costs 74,000 less! 

I could buy approximately a hundred Mesa Trem-o-verbs with that money... now there's an idea...

Right now I only have ninety-eight to go.

hywelg

richardhomer said:

I thought it sounded 'farty' with the Les Pauls,

Thats because the caps are f****d. Been reported elsewhere

impmann

So, $75k... sounds like a farty Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and needing repair work.

Wow - what a bargain.

dindude

Back in '83, I can kinda see what the appeal was with these, it was a different sound from your usual suspects. But now, with the massive choice of D-influenced boutique amps, as well as a pedal for every occasion, you would have to be nuts to pay anywhere near that price.

 

Heartfeltdawn

impmann said:

271 watchers and no bids. 

Speaks volumes.

Something is worth what someone else is prepared to pay.

And so far, no is prepared to pay this.

Nuff said, IMHO.

...and all it takes is one buyer with a stack of cash and suddenly you're quids in. It's the same for countless musical instruments. I don't think the price is idiotic. There's a high chance it will sell at that price. When you have something rare, only a fool would give it up cheap. 

So the price is fine. Is the amp good? Not to me. Whether it's Youtube clips or 'Dumble type pedals', I keep getting this image of dull wealthy white men playing the blues. 

hywelg

Heartfeltdawn said:

So the price is fine. Is the amp good? Not to me. Whether it's Youtube clips or 'Dumble type pedals', I keep getting this image of dull wealthy white men playing the blues. 

What like Robben Ford or Joe Bonamassa? Dull as ditchwater. I wish I was as dull

Heartfeltdawn

hywelg said:

Heartfeltdawn said:

So the price is fine. Is the amp good? Not to me. Whether it's Youtube clips or 'Dumble type pedals', I keep getting this image of dull wealthy white men playing the blues. 

What like Robben Ford or Joe Bonamassa? Dull as ditchwater. I wish I was as dull

Yes, like them. Give me Freddie King any day of the week. 

[Deleted User]

hywelg;34060" said:

What like Robben Ford or Joe Bonamassa? Dull as ditchwater. I wish I was as dull

Not really a fan of JB but would LOVE to play as badly as Robben Ford - or Larry Carlton....

dindude

Er, yes, reality check time, they may not be to everyone's taste but there are some very good white blues players out there. They're as easy and as cliche a target as the dentists* 

*never quite got people's obsession with using Dentists as an example of "all the gear and no idea", as if that is any less valid than someone with a different (lesser paid?) job who also doesnt make money out of music but has it as their hobby. Less gear = more integrity? #-o

Heartfeltdawn

dindude said:

Er, yes, reality check time, they may not be to everyone's taste but there are some very good white blues players out there. They're as easy and as cliche a target as the dentists* 

The only cliche is the music they play. 

Axe_meister

dindude;34223" said:

Er, yes, reality check time, they may not be to everyone's taste but there are some very good white blues players out there. They're as easy and as cliche a target as the dentists* 





*never quite got people's obsession with using Dentists as an example of "all the gear and no idea", as if that is any less valid than someone with a different (lesser paid?) job who also doesnt make money out of music but has it as their hobby. Less gear = more integrity? #-o

I'd say I fall into the all the gear and no idea category. I'm the same with all my hobbies. But I get my enjoyment from the technology as well as the playing. Most companies probably make most of their money from the likes of me. Without us they wouldn't be able to make great gear to pros can use or produce lower cost gear that still plays great.

[Deleted User]

dindude;34223" said:

I'd say I fall into the all the gear and no idea category. I'm the same with all my hobbies. But I get my enjoyment from the technology as well as the playing. Most companies probably make most of their money from the likes of me. Without us they wouldn't be able to make great gear to pros can use or produce lower cost gear that still plays great.

There's a friend of mine who's an okay but far from astounding player who's got an amazing collection of high end guitars. He gigs occasionally and thoroughly enjoys himself.

To be honest, anyone who takes issue with him owning so many good guitars is probably just jealous - and that is an unpleasant character trait at the best of times.

jaygtr

I would imagine 95% of people with fast cars, can't drive them anywhere near their full potential, but so what ! I bet they still gain huge amounts of pleasure from them.
Guitars are no different.

Heartfeltdawn

richardhomer said:

There's a friend of mine who's an okay but far from astounding player who's got an amazing collection of high end guitars. He gigs occasionally and thoroughly enjoys himself.

To be honest, anyone who takes issue with him owning so many good guitars is probably just jealous - and that is an unpleasant character trait at the best of times.

I doubt that many people are jealous of a bloke with a ton of great gear and average ability. In the sporting world, the dude who turns up with a sack of the best golf clubs known to man and who then takes 6 off the tee looks like a right pillock. 

[Deleted User]

Heartfeltdawn;34393" said:

In the sporting world, the dude who turns up with a sack of the best golf clubs known to man and who then takes 6 off the tee looks like a right pillock. 

Why?

Surely in any endeavour there are people who are highly capable and those who aren't?

I have no understanding of golf but I assume, given it is a sport that generally requires participants to be members of a club that most players are 'comfortable' financially. So why not buy the best tools for the job, regardless of their ability?