GearDump

For many guitar players Dumble’s name is legendary. He has crafted amplifiers for SRV, Larry Carlton, Robben Ford, and some of his other amps have ended up in the hands of many others, particularly John  Mayer who reportedly has several of them. Dumble amplifiers are notoriously expensive because of their rarity. Alexander Dumble can only produce two or three of them per year. On the used market their prices are in the tens of thousands. When most people think of Dumble amplifiers they refer to the ODS or Overdrive Special but their are other models he has produced as well.

Since I have never had the good fortune to play through or near a Dumble most of my opinions are based on the accounts of others. As I understand it, Dumbles are extremely touch sensitive. Many players who have used them call them unforgiving. When picking lightly the amp barely distorts. If picked roughly the amp (again based on clips) has a glorious overdrive devoid of icepicking but with just enough presence to cut through the mix. Perhaps that is the reason so many great blues and jazz artists covet these amps as the tonal holy grail. Adding to the confusion is the fact that each Dumble is built to suit a player. That means the Dumble that Santana has will not sound exactly the same as Larry Carlton or Robben Ford’s.

Dumble’s have become so appreciated that attempts have been made to clone the ODS. Two-Rock & Fuchs are two well known company’s doing just that. Dumble himself has attempted to stop these cloning attempts through the use of resin or epoxy coatings covering all the components on the amp internals. Nevertheless Two-Rock and Fuchs have at least come close since their amps are so popular. It is well known that John Mayer often pairs his Dumble with a Two-Rock as well. Frankly, even these boutique clones are far to expensive for me to investigate on my limited budget but perhaps someday I will. Nevertheless, I believe it only a matter of time before a manufacturer like Fender, Peavey, Marshall, or even Bugera release an amp sounding very similar to one. Until that time we will all sit and drool.

Special Thanks to youtube user peterguitlerche for allowing me to use his dumble clip.

Related posts:

1. Guitarist Spotlight: Robben Ford
2. Dumble Clone Roundup
3. How to sell your soul: Alexander Dumble’s 1990’s Contract