GearDump

After last nights roundup and the article on Alexander Dumble’s supposedly fantastic amplifiers I thought it only appropriate to revisit that subject matter with a look at two of the great dumble clones on the market.

Fuchs Audio ODS

The first examination is pointed at Fuchs Audio. Fuchs makes a range of other amplifiers and pedals but among them is the ODS or Overdrive Supreme (not to be confused with Dumbles Over Drive Special). This unabashed clone of a Dumble sounds fairly tasty too based on the clips I gathered on youtube. The Fuchs ODS actually comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. When I say a variety I mean it, the amp can vary from 20 watts all the way to 140 watts and comes in either a combo or stack version. It’s not clear what Dumble Fuchs got his hands on, but those guys have sure made a lucrative business out of it. Many discussion forums have been spent lampooning his handy work, but as they say, the proof is in the pudding.

Kind of like the Fulltone OCD, this amp has undergone some revisions over time. Several years ago they went into production on the SLX version of the ODS. The SLX changed some of the internals to modify the tonality of the amp. Fuchs offers conversion for pre SLX ODS amplifiers. There is also now an HRM Variant of the amp which allows for Post Pre-Amp EQ. Many Modern amps incorporate this kind of preamp for wider tonal shaping.

The Fuchs has some interesting options that may or may not be related to the actual dumble. For one it can come with an optional power supply to run pedals on your board. This little option costs an extra $200, but in some clubs where you only have a few outlets it could be a life saver. Fuchs also uses a fancy DC power supply scheme that apparantly reduces the background noise of the amplifier. That is certainly a nice feature that High Gain amps should really have! There is also a Triple Drive Supreme which is loosely based on the ODS SLX version. This is a 3 channel monster that incorporates Dumble tones into it’s channels. I have not heard any of these three amps except in clips and I must say, compared to a Dumble they are very close.

Overall it looks as if Fuchs has become interested in developing a product that goes beyond the standard Dumble design to incorporate more modern & luxurious appointments.

TWO-ROCK

If FUCHS is the king of ODS clones then Two-Rock is not a clone at all but something unique and different. Alexander Dumble crafts his amps by hand and takes many months to do it. Two-Rock offers handbuilt amps with about 1/12th the lead time. Finding a Two-Rock demo, or clips that don’t have John Mayer in them, can be difficult. Overal the amplifier does the Fender on steroids sound very well.

In the clip you can see how bell like and clear the clean tones on this amp can be. When cranked the amp never gets to gainy or saturated. SRV did use a Dumble just not an ODS. He had what he called “king tone consul” which was a Dumble SSS. The SSS is basically an attempt to make an amp with pure headroom right up until ten. SRV would often mix this with his overdriven amps to get more clarity. Anyway, This amp accomplishes the drive sound that SRV used a lot of the time with some clarity and snap that simply couldn’t be accomplished with only a Vibroverb. If anyone knows of better Two-Rock clips I’d be happy to post them up here (and get you some exposure!) because frankly there are hardly any of decent quality.

The biggest problem with Two-Rock is since they are still all hand made amps by a handfull of skilled artisans they are incredibly expensive. I have seen Two-Rocks go for upwards of $3,000 on Ebay. I know they do go for less at times, but that is an incredible price to pay to get a piece of Dumble’s designs. Also, almost everything in the Two-Rock line bares some Dumble resemblence, so even their tiniest amp which for a time was around 20 Watts is very Dumble-esque.

Two-Rock has some hefty endorsers. Joe Bonomassa has played through one and allegedly thinks the Fuchs is less forgiving. He has even gone as far to mention that his two-rock may be broken since it has very little clean headroom. John Mayer is the most obvious Two-Rock endorser though he also owns at least one Dumble amplifier too. He has interchangeably used Two-Rock and Dumble amps on stage, likely because he doesn’t want his Dumbles to be damaged during touring.

If what Bonomassa believes is true, the Two-Rock is the hard-rock version of a Dumble where the Fuchs is more versatile. Either way both amps are filled with Tasty tone and are at price points that induce mortgages.

Edit: I just found some great information on Bonamassa’s Boards. He explicitly says don’t bother spending $40,000 on a dumble and talks about some of the clones he’s used:

I like the Two rock amps for a very direct tone. I prefer the custom signature reverb 1 with the presence knob over the CSR 2 with the contour. I dont know why but I do. They do a very good ^ type of tone. Not a lot of lows or highs but great mids that blend well with the Marshall Jubilee. I have two of them and I actually like the European one better. Its a little cleaner. Joe and the guys over there are really nice and helpful. A very honest amp. You hear your good days and you hear your bad days very clearly. The VanWeelden is a bit more true to a Overdrive Special I think. Its rounder and has less gain, although Peter makes this pre amp called a gainland which is so great. Peter’s amp is top notch and built like a tank.. You must get the Twinklelator though. The compression that the outboard tube effects loop creates is beautiful and so Robben Ford ish.. The Carol Ann is the same situation a most expertly built Dumble style amp that is does the full saturation with high articulation thing. The main difference between Alan’s amp is that he uses EL 34s instead of 6L6s. The Red one with the Eric Johnson tweak is my favorite of the two I have. Its all what you like. The amps that I have described are not cheap but do that thing very well. I will say that “Thing” is not for everybody. Some people prefer less articulation and more compression, some dont like all that midrange that you get. I hope this helps… I will say this. I just played a gig with Robben Ford and he had his Dumble ODS and TC 2290. I also saw him with two reissue twins and he sounded the same. Great!! Save $40,000 on a real Dumble that may or may not be authentic and buy yourself a nice 3 series BMW. Girls will dig the car better than the black box with Vox grille on it.
Just my thoughts
Thanks Joe Bonamassa

You can view the post at: Joe Bonomassa’s Official Forums

Robben Ford is an unforgettable modern blues/jazz player. Honing his chops with Miles Davis and Larry Carlton will do that to most players. Carlton has an uncanny ability to take a normal blues progression and infuse it with color tones the likes of which most human brains can’t even comprehend.

Ford tends to favor Gibson Les Pauls and owns, among quite a few Fender Twins, at least two Dumble Overdrive Specials. Lately he has also been playing a Telecaster and some 335’s. There are also a few Japanese custom guitars he uses on stage as well.

He usually runs some sort of Rack with high quality reverbs and delays being a component of the Rack.

Despite Robben Ford’s extraordinary array of instruments and Amplifiers, it is his talent that captures most imaginations. Ford is one of the few players who can really take a chord progression and simply lay waste to it with nearly any instrument. Despite his unrelenting skill, he, unlike some guitar players, has an excellent ear for tone. His musical style is really a tasty hybrid of Jazz and Blues. If you are familiar with Larry Carlton, he sounds similar to Carlton but takes what Carlton has done and goes a step farther.

If you don’t know Robben Ford I highly suggest you check his music out.

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.