AMPLIFIER
DUMBLE,ROBBEN FORD RACK SYSTEM
CUSTOM/MOD AMP/EFFECS PAGE
MY AMPLIFIER COLLECTION for Recording
CUSTOM/MOD AMP/EFFECS PAGE
MY AMPLIFIER COLLECTION for Recording
Here is the list of Dumble products as I know.
STEEL STRING SINGER DATA SHEET
"Standard" was not available at that time.
Mr.Henry Kaiser
Overdrive Special 100W/OD-100
Overdrive Special 50W/OD-50
Steel String Singer/SSS-100
s/n001!
Steel String Singer/SSS-100
s/n004!
DUMBLELATOR and UMBLE RACK PRE-AMP #1
DUMBLELATOR and UMBLE RACK PRE-AMP #1
DUMBLELATOR and UMBLE RACK PRE-AMP #1
Another picture
DUMBLELATOR and UMBLE RACK PRE-AMP #1
Another picture
DUMBLE/ROBBEN FORD's Overdrive Special 100W head
SRV DUMBLE/STEEL STRING SINGER
STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN'S STEEL STRING SINGER.
On this picture you see SRV in front of his 1983 Dumble Steel String Singer
that stands on his Dumble 4x12" cabinet with 4 EV 12-L speakers (SRV used EV
speakers in all his Fender amps, too!).
SRV first came to know Dumble amps when he recorded "Texas Flood" in Jackson
Browne's Studio. For the guitar tracks on "Texas Flood" he used Jackson
Browne's "Dumbleland" that he found in this studio. He was so impressed by
this "Dumbleland" that he contacted Dumble to order an amp. So Dumble made
for him a "Steel String Singer" with a preamp that is a bit different than
the preamp of a usual Steel String Singer. Let's hear what Dumble says about
Stevie's Steel String Singer in a interview for "Guitar Player"/September
1985:
"There are some different things about Stevie's. His is set up more like a
bass amp, modified to accommodate the guitar range. It's not the usual lead
guitar 'singer' approach. One thing he liked was that he could turn the
volume control all the way up, and it didn't distort - it just got louder.
He does make it distort sometimes because he has about 50 megatons of pressure
when he attacks the strings (laughs). He gets an incredible amount of signal
out his guitar, and most amplifiers can't take it. He did his first album
with a bass amp I'd made for Jackson Browne."
So far Mr. Dumble himself.
SRV called his first Steel String Singer "King Tone Consoul". These are the
words he wrote on the decal that you see on his Steel String Singer (in the
place where you usually find the words "Steel String Singer").
SRV's LATE 80s AMP SET with DUMBLE/STEEL STRING SINGER
Here you see SRV and the same Steel String Singer as in picture one (but
without the "King Tone Consoul" decal) standing on his second blackface
"Steel String Singer" which Dumble made for him later.
Both are 150 Watt models with 4x6550A power tubes.
Controls and switches on both amps are from left to right:
fet-volume, volume, bright, deep, rock/jazz, treble, middle, bass, hi step
filter, low step filter, reverb send reverb return, master, presence (small
knob).
As you see SRV used the "normal" input (not "fet"). The "volume" setting is
quite low (for low preamp distortion) but the master setting is very high.
Now let's hear what SRV and Larry Carlton say about their "Steel String
Singers":
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Meanwhile, Vaughan has had a custom amp built by Dumble of Los Angeles.
"I destroy everything eventually, because I play so hard," he explains. "I
run 'em so hot. The thing about the Dumble is that it doesn't run hot, and
so I don't have to worry about it."
(Guitar Player, August 1983)
You don't use the Super Reverbs now?
"Right now, I use a Dumble 150 watt. He calls it the Steel String Singer; I
call it the King Tone Consoul [laughs] - that's s-o-u-l. It's like an
overgrown Fender tube amp. Some Dumbles - like the Overdrive Special - you
've got to know what you 're doing with them, because they'll get away from
you and take you with 'em."
(Guitar Player, October 1984)
Are your Dumbles Overdrive Specials?
"Steel String Singers. I like them much better."
(Guitar Player, Spring 1998)
"For a long time... I just used two Vibroverbs... to run the Leslie... and a
Dumble with one cabinet."
(Guitar Player, February 1990)
Larry Carlton
"TCC: It seems like your guitars and amps on that album ("Renegade
Gentleman") have more of a raw sound. Where you using the Dumble at all?
..... It seems so much more unrefined. The Dumble gets that sweet glow to
it. This is like all hell breaks loose.
LC: I had Dumble make me an amplifier for the second half of the Album. I
explained to Dumble what I was looking for in terms of energy and punch with
my Strat. He said you want a Steel String Singer. He brought Eric's over for
me to play through before he was going to ship it to Eric (Johnson) in
Texas. As soon as I played through it, I said that's it, I need that. That's
what I used on a lot of the cuts we did down in Nashville."
(20th Century Guitar, November / December 1994, page 88)
STEVE LUKATHER DUMBLE/OCERDRIVE SPECIAL COMBO
DUMBLE/Jackson Browne's Dumbleland Special
DUMBLE/DS-150 Jackson Browne's Dumbleland Special
Rear of DS-150
DUMBLE
Early days Dumble head.
DUMBLE
The speakers are Jensen 10" x 4
DUMBLE
Rear of the head above.
DUMBLE/Overdrive Special stack
The speaker is EVM-12L.
DUMBLE/Overdrive Special 50W combo
DUMBLE/Overdrive Special 50W combo
The speaker is Altec 12" 417-8H.
DUMBLE/Overdrive Special 6V6 Type
DUMBLE/Overdrive Special 6V6 Type
Dumble made one for first owner and one for Larry Carlton. It is a 50 watt head that switches down to
25 watts for recording. The tubes are 6V6's.
DUMBLE/Overdrive Special 6V6 Type
Rear.
DUMBLE/Overdrive Special
Larry Carlton has used this ODS. There is his name on interior of the chassis.
DUMBLE/Overdrive Special
This ODS is Robben Ford model. I heard that it was ordered by Eric Johnson.
The speaker cabinet for this ODS has 2x12" Celesion speakers.
DUMBLE/Overdrive Special
Overdrive Special covered with a black back skin.
DUMBLE/Overdrive Special "Skyliner EQ model"
New Overdrive Special.This is "Skyliner EQ model".
It has individual EQ section. It has eq circuit for overdrive channel inside of the amp.
DUMBLE/Overdrive Special "Skyliner EQ model"
New logo.
DUMBLE/Odyssey power amplifier
"Odyssey" was the name of a Disco in Santa Cruz were Dumble had his shop in the seventies.
He made the first "Odyssey" power amp for the P.A. system of this Disco.
That is where the name comes from.
DUMBLE/Odyssey power amplifier
Rear of the Odyssey.
DUMBLE/OVERDRIVE SPECIAL COMBO 50W
This ODS was made in 1976. Early model. No RATIO control knob.
DUMBLE/OVERDRIVE SPECIAL COMBO 50W
Rear of ODS.
DUMBLE/OVERDRIVE SPECIAL COMBO 50W
Altec speaker.
Dumbleland 300SL(300sl2.jpg 36k)
Another type of 300SL.
DUMBLE/Dumbleland 300SL
Rear of the 300SL.
DUMBLE/Dumbleland 300SL
300SL front panel.
DUMBLE/Dumbleland 300SL
Rear panel of 300SL.
DUMBLE/OVERDRIVE SPECIAL 100W HEAD
Overdrive Special 100W head.
DUMBLE/OVERDRIVE SPECIAL 100W COMBO
Overdrive Special 100W combo.
DUMBLE/OVERDRIVE SPECIAL(od-sp.jpg 46k)
Best known model 100W OVERDRIVE SPECIAL.It coverd with back skin and has 6L6GC output tubes.This amp is based on Fender amp.
DUMBLE/OVERDRIVE SPECIAL REAR(34k)
OVERDRIVE SPECIAL Rear
OVERDRIVE SPECIAL(31k)
New OVERDRIVE SPECIAL. S/N# is 160s.I have never seen S/N# 170s.
FOOT SWITCH FOR OVERDRIVE SPECIAL(25k)
Channel select and boost swich for OVERDRIVE SPECIAL.
OVERDRIVE REVERB HEAD(25k)
This is great!!! I have never heard the sound like this. Steve Ray sound.
OVERDRIVE REVERB AND SPEAKER(25k)
Head and Cab. Two EVM-12L inside.
DUMBLE/300SL(300sl.jpg 47k)
Very heavy amplifier. This model is Dumble Land/300SL.Very clean and rich sound.This amp is based on Ampeg/SVT.
This is new info of 300SL from Jeff. The Dumble Land 300SL amp appears to be
patterned after an Ampeg V-9 amp head. The V-9 was made in limited
quantities in the 70's sometime (late 70s I would guess) and is a guitar
amp. Basically it has a SVT power section (6-6550 output tubes) with a
guitar preamp section and a reverb, just like the Dumble 300SL.
DUMBLE/300SL rear(25k)
300SL Rear
DUMBLE/SPECIAL100(s100.jpg 27k)
Early '70s model
DUMBLE/SPECIAL100 inside(23k)
INSIDE of SPECIAL100
DUMBLE/SPECIAL100 rear(13k)
SPECIAL100 Rear
DUMBLE/OVERDRIVE SPECIAL COMBO(41.6k)
OVERDRIVE SPECIAL COMBO 50W. This Dumbe ODS50W combo was made for Beach Boys.
DUMBLE/OVERDRIVE SPECIAL AMPS!!!(23.1k)
OVERDRIVE SPECIAL STACK
DUMBLE/OVERDRIVE SPECIAL STACK(17.2k)
OVERDRIVE SPECIAL STACK
DUMBLE SPEAKER UNIT(27k)
SPEAKER CABINET FOR OVERDRIVE SPECIAL. EV speaker is mounted.
" Atelier der Tonkunst", Michael Tauber, Darmstadt, Germany
DUMBLE AMPS!
TBA
DUMBLE/OVERDRIVE SPECIAL HEAD
TBA
DUMBLE/OVERDRIVE SPECIAL OD150/150W HEAD
This is a picture of an Overdrive Special 150 Watt that was completed by
Alexander Dumble in the second half of the eighties. As far as I know he
made only very very few of these amplifiers. Indeed I know of only this
single specimen.
The overdrive section of the preamp is very sophisticated. The overdrive
tube is a 7247 and not a 7025 as usual. It has four (staggered) pots:
trigger, taper, level, and ratio.
Trigger adjusts how much of the scale of signal is fed into the first triode
of the overdrive tube. Level adjusts how much of the signal is fed into the
second triode of the overdrive tube. Taper adjusts the scale of high
frequencies in the overdrive section. Ratio adjusts how much of the
overdrive circuit's signals is fed back into the preamp circuit.
These controls provide an extremely useful control of the harmonic content
in order to fine-tune the overdrive circuit's voicing. So you can adjust the
overdrive section for a vast spectrum of tonal colors from aggressive to
warm and thick. That means e. g. that the harmonic content can be adjusted
in a way that the tone has the harmonic character of a singing human voice.
It's really amazing.
The reverb section is similar to the reverb section of a Steel String
Singer. The send and return controls make possible the perfect blending of
the reverb signal and the dry signal in a way that adds a warm singing tone
to a huge clean or overdriven guitar tone.
The tremolo has a wide range of operation from very slow to very fast. It is
extremely useful to achieve beautiful textures for all sorts of Blues or
ballads together with the sophisticated reverb.
The power amp is similar to a 150 W Dumbleland (same transformers), but the
phase inverter and driver tubes both are 7025s as in a Steel String Singer.
The output power can be switched from 150 Watts to 75 Watts.
The output impedance is switchable to 4,8 and 16 Ohms.
The footswitch provides the possibility to switch on and off the overdrive,
the preamp boost, the reverb, and the tremolo.
Because this amplifier is very heavy the bias and the dynamic balance can be
measured and adjusted without removing the amp chassis.
As you see this amplifier blends the qualities of a very sophisticated
version of the Dumble overdrive circuit with the harmonically extremely
rich, huge and mighty clean sounds of the Dumblelands and Steel String
Singers. So maybe this is the ultimate and for sure the most versatile
Dumble amp. I can't imagine a tonal color that cannot be achieved with this
wonderful musical instrument.
There is a signal path diagram of this amplifier on page 730 of the 4th
edition of "The Tube Amp Book" by Aspen Pittman.
DUMBLE/OVERDRIVE SPECIAL OD150/150W HEAD REAR
Rear of the OD150.
DUMBLE/FOOT SWITCH FOR OD150
The foot switch for the OD150.
DUMBLE/STEEL STRING SINGER
TBA
DUMBLE/STEEL STRING SINGER
TBA
DUMBLE/STEEL STRING SINGER
TBA
DUMBLE/OVERDRIVE SPECIAL 50W
S/N004!TBA
DUMBLE/ODYSSEY POWER AMP
"Odyssey" was the name of a Disco in Santa Cruz were Dumble had his shop in
the seventies. He made the first "Odyssey" power amp for the P.A. system of
this Disco. That is where the name comes from.
DUMBLE/OVERDRIVE REVERB 100W HEAD
TBA
Mr. Dumble/German magazine
The text under the photograph says: "Howard Dumble at work on an amplifier
for Ry Cooder. By the way it now belongs to Eric Johnson."
Copyright by " Atelier der Tonkunst", Michael Tauber, Darmstadt, Germany
DUMBLE/OVERDRIVE SPECIAL(d1.jpg 80k)
This is a mid 70's (approx. '77) Dumble Overdrive special.
It's a 50W model.
The speaker is an EV and the cabinet is hardwood.
These 3 pictures were taken by Mr.Rob Livesey. Thank you Rob!
DUMBLE/OVERDRIVE SPECIAL(d2.jpg 28k)
It has Bassman power and output transformers and a Super Reverb choke.
DUMBLE/OVERDRIVE SPECIAL(d3.jpg 54k)
Inseide of the amp. This amplifier was modified by someone. This
amp was far away from original condition!
OVERDRIVE DELUX(dumble1.jpg 60k)
This Overdrive delux built in a old brown fender Deluxe chassie.Very early model.
OVERDRIVE DELUX(dumble2.jpg 60k)
The front panel is gold with black lettering.
OVERDRIVE DELUX(dumble3.jpg 52k)
Rear side.On the right side of the amp chassie,you can see dumbles engraved dating and signature the amp is built in Santa Cruz, C.A.1975
ROBBEN FORD SYSTEM(forddumble.jpg 42k)
ROBBEN FORD RACK SYSTEM(54.9k)
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Overdrive Special 100W/OD-100
Overdrive Special 50W/OD-50
Steel String Singer/SSS-100
Steel String Singer/SSS-100
DUMBLE/Small Special 100
DUMBLE/Dumblelator 
DUMBLE/DUMBLELAND SPECIAL
DUMBLE/ODYSSEY POWER AMP
DUMBLE/DUMBLELATOR II
