Cheap Dumble

Heartfeltdawn

richardhomer said:

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?

Incorrect assumption. Yes, there are those clubs that require people of a certain affluence. Around my area, a lot of those went under. Those who diversified and made themselves accessible survived and thrived and became better clubs for it. 

Most golfers would have seen a player who comes along with everything in the bag. The latest clubs, the latest ridiculous headed driver, perhaps the most obnoxious outfit known to fairways. He flashes the gear. Everyone knows he has cash. The car invariably is the giveaway. 

The hilarity that ensues when he duck hooks his tee shot out of bounds, quickly followed by his replacement ball and maybe even a third, is great. For all his wealth and equipment, that is the type of man who usually a) lacks talent and b) lacks the humility to go to a decent golf professional in order to improve his game. The best tool for his job would be golf lessons, something he eschews in favour of the latest putter. 

Music is no different. The guy with zero talent who pours his cash into some multi-thousand pound amp when the greatest investment he could make would be to take lessons is a fool. 

In guitar forums, you see people raving about new guitars, amps, pedals. How often do you ever see a thread talking about finding a new teacher?

ddlooping

I personally believe ear training can be as if not more important as guitar lessons.

JohnPerry

The guy with zero talent who pours his cash into some multi-thousand pound amp when the greatest investment he could make would be to take lessons is a fool. 

Not if he's enjoying himself anyway. Music lessons can be terribly dull. Buying gear generally isn't

DannyP

Back to the eBay Dumble - it's saying it's SOLD now?!?

ThePrettyDamned

I wouldn't envy someone with a dumble. But a Bognor? Anyone who can get a Tremonti sound is someone I envy

As for music lessons, I've never bothered and I'm fairly mediocre for playing. But I love it. And I do have an ear for good tone, regardless of genre (though, I think it's often hard to quantify what a sound should be for a genre - funk is still funky with balls loads of gain!). So I have nice kit (far from the best, but good enough). I have a USA bass I hardly play compared to guitar, but as I only paid 3)) squids, I'm happy to keep it.

I even built a guitar. It's not that good - I'm mediocre at everything I do. But it sounds amazing (cheers ash) and it works (which makes me feel awesome). Music doesn't need to be about being able to play music.

I find it odd when people like Hugh Laurie sing the blues, but he must enjoy it. Luckily, I don't need to buy him, or Joe B I spend my money on tasteless loud music like Protest the Hero. Who have talent coming out of every pore of the band.

stonevibe

DannyP said:

Back to the eBay Dumble - it's saying it's SOLD now?!?

Yeah, sorry about that.

I just couldn't resist...

frankus

JohnPerry said:

The guy with zero talent who pours his cash into some multi-thousand pound amp when the greatest investment he could make would be to take lessons is a fool. 

Not if he's enjoying himself anyway. Music lessons can be terribly dull. Buying gear generally isn't

Interestingly (and it accounts for the unquenchable aspect of GAS) the joy of ownership isn't in owning - it's in the chase and obtaining of a thing ... once we have it it's not so special... so we chase and obtain something else.

impmann

/\I'm not sure that's true.

I wanted a Goldtop. Went on line. I bought a Goldtop. It arrived. Its great. I'm not selling it. The end.

No chase, really...

JohnPerry

^ Oh but it is true. I wanted a goldtop deluxe. Found one at vintage and rare in Bath. Haggled for days over the price. Got them down to a suitable level (no mean feat down there). Phoned up for the final transaction - they'd just sold it for what they were originally asking. Downcast, found another on eBay, secured it after frenzied bidding. Went to london to rendezvous. Picked it up, absolute beauty. Got it home, played it for hours, preferred my Standard. Six months later, sold it for what i paid. Now i want another.

monquixote

frankus said:

Interestingly (and it accounts for the unquenchable aspect of GAS) the joy of ownership isn't in owning - it's in the chase and obtaining of a thing ... once we have it it's not so special... so we chase and obtain something else.

“Well," said Pooh, "what I like best," and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called.” 
― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

I think people fall into two camps with the liking "getting" more than "having". Tending very strongly to the former is a route to unhappiness. 

I thought the Dumble in the video sounded pretty shit with everything other than the Tele. 

JohnPerry

monquixote said:

I think people fall into two camps with the liking "getting" more than "having". Tending very strongly to the former is a route to unhappiness. 

I have one foot firmly planted in both camps.

ToneControl

martinw said:

A very clever guy, old HAD.

 

Only sold his amps to extremely talented players; either big names, top session men, or you had to submit a recording to him for approval.

Thence springs the myth that there is something special about the amps*, rather than the obvious reality: that great players sound great.

* Of which there are several different types, many of which were tweaked to the player's taste. yet the miracle applies to all of them.

(Amp mythology, like other religions, is flexible enough to cope with any level of debunking. For instance in the case of Dumbles, these have now been thoroughly analysed and duplicated, and the copies, such as Two Rock, Carol Ann etc are acknowledged as being great amps. The 'magic' therefore must be in the circuit and component choice. Of course.

In the case of Trainwrecks, the circuit is extremely simple....surely there can't be any 'magic' in there? No, apparently only KF can build a TW that sounds 'right'. None of the many copies and clones have been acknowledged by the cognoscenti as sounding as good. However, the 'magic' must be contagious, because recently a guy who worked with KF now and again has been turning out Trainwrecks that have the 'magic'. Yay!)

Clever enough to build a myth, not clever enough to make much money out of it

I don't think there was any business plan behind it, just he thought he'd rather make less money and only sell to people he liked, when was the last one made? He was a big guy and he'd be 68 now. I would be unsurprised to find out he was living in relative poverty

He should have licensed the design to a larger firm, as it is none of this cash goes to him, Two Rock, Fuchs, and Ceriatone all charge what they can for well made amps, quite reasonably, and used ones go for silly money.

I don't believe in the snake oil about assembly either, there's no way that HAD or KF had assembly skills that no one else can match

stonevibe

I thought in theory he was still making them, just that he had decided to take his time....

ICBM

ToneControl said:

I don't believe in the snake oil about assembly either, there's no way that HAD or KF had assembly skills that no one else can match

Particularly not if you look at the pics of the insides. Trainwrecks are a bit better-made than Dumbles, but still not as good as even many mass-produced amps using the same methods.

AlexToft

Had the opportunity to play one in a guitar place in LA earlier this year. The shop owner was seriously picky about who he let play it; must have been the accent which swung it as it certainly wasn't my playing.

Anyway, big let down. Nothing special.

57Deluxe

...if you missed the ebay sale then there;s this available currently...

https://reverb.com/item/262246-dumble-overdrive-special-1977-brown-suede

Voxman

spacecadet said:

I came very close to buying one a few years back. I had the opportunity to get one for silly money. Silly money being £18k. At the same time I was offered an original 52 blackguard Tele in MINT condition for the same price.

My wife said I couldn't buy either of them.
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Mate, only one thing for it - you gotta change your wife!  

   ) 

Voxman

I saw a Dumble for sale a few years back for £100,000!!  Does anyone here REALLY think that any amp is worth the type of crazy money that some of these Dumbles can go for?!