Music Producer tells the story of how he met Howard Alexander Dumble and his amps
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.ย. 2024
- Record Producer Dennis Herring sits down with Techno Empire to tell us his story of how he met and became friends with the legendary Amp builder Howard Dumble and the amps he built for him.
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As a young man hearing this big dude rambling on about the difference in rca and we
stern electric was foreign at the time..he understood things..😊
Wow can't beleive what I've just seen. This story is a gem for Dumble-tone lovers!
Thank you so much for the interview. I really like the emotional connection between the man and it's amp. But it's also makes me feels that it's useless to ask for a scematics or even some inside pics... XD
I'm working on builing my own Dumble inspired amp... The presence here is quiet exclusive! Usually some component value are susceptible to change from a model to the other, we can see that on models #102, #124, #183 schematics (that are known).
Thank you again!!
Knew a guy in Cally who owned a R Ford model D U N B L E..NO idea how he came X the ciruit, but i wil tell you its the ONLY amp ive heard along w/this one ( vertex has done 2 vdeos on SN-0022) that i call BEYOND BELIEF.............it was SO good, its hard ta describe
This man is one of the genies of the business.
That console… whoa! 😮
I had your Fender Bassman Dennis. Howard fixed it up to run with my Gibson EB-3 which he wired Stereo HI/Z Low/Z. In Spring of 1974 he cut out the body and installed a Les Paul Low/Z Recording Pickup in the bass and matched it to the Fender Bassman by installing a Low/Z transformer in the Second Channel. I played it with a XLR jack out to split 1/4 inch jacks Hi/Low into both channels of the Bassman. Grreat rig. I have the Gibson still. The Bassman I sold to a shop in Indiana. LOL He converted it back to Straight even knowing it was a Dumble amp.
PS You said Howard was......has he died? He was a terrific guy. I could barely pry my bass out of his hands after he finished it.
passed away Jan 16 2022 after a stroke.
This is a really interesting account. Guitar lore would have you believe that Alex Dumble was this awkward tech wizard with a phantom of the operaesque existence…or maybe that wizard from Monty Python’s Grail “they call me…Tim…” *BOOM BOOM BOOM*
Hearing Dumble spoken of as a charming music nerd is something thats novel to me. I guess it should be obvious given the success he had…
I really like your basement analogy. I remember in the old days getting ready to sell them for whatever reason and throwing a new tubes just to show it off and then deciding not to sell it because it came back to life
Holy Grail! I wish he made more, but they are special. And cost as much as a Lamborghini.
Thank you for this story! Music history
GREAT interview.
I tried an Overdrive Special in '87. Sounded amazing. Before that I knew nothing about Dumbles, just heard good word of mouth. But a Dumble owner let me try the amp and see what it can do. Just an amazing tone and very, very loud, but still musical at high volume.
There is so much wisdom here. "It"
"It's 'it'."
"What is 'it'?"
what a cool video, great stories, intersting to listen to and not too long. please make more :) greetings
Thanks for sharing that 👍
This is an awesome story thanks for sharing, now... is this the one that Jason Isbell features on the new PG rig rundown?
Thanks! Yes, this is now Jason's amp!
@@TechnoEmpire that’s very cool
Thinking about getting a clone from Ceriatone. Very nice amps, affordable, and lots of choices. Check out the Overtone series, that’s their dumbles.
Otis, you are killin' it. Great stuff!
That was very cool. I'm just an average player but I know what "it" is. Very elusive! I love amps and I'm on a lifelong quest for "it..."
Lucky Man
Brilliant ! absolutely a treasure. He may just have 'THE' Dumble
I have that Fender Bassman he's talkin' bout. Silverface'73
It'll will be a dream for me to play one some day
Love this!!
this is very interesting. I wonder how Jason Isbell ended up with this amp, considering Dennis didn't sound in this interview like he wanted to part with it?
Man never knew he had a dumble all this time! Should have asked about it.
I WISHED I COULD OWN AN ORIGINAL DUMBLE OD SPECIAL BUT NOWADAYS THEY GO FOR 250000 DOLLARS AND I CANT BELIEVE THESE CLONES FROM HRM OR CERIATONE WILL COME NEAR
how convienant “ I don’t remember how much it was” funny I know the price of everything I’ve ever bought guitar wise because I had to work my ass off for it
Is that studio in a Home Depot ?
Nice one! This is our warehouse in North Hollywood, come by some time!
@@TechnoEmpire haha good one. Hollywood "warehouse"
"I don't remember how much it was."
-sure bud, sure. 🤣
Probably around 1500usd. They were expensive when bought directly.
@@BobbyGeneric145 Looking at how old that tank is Dennis is next to I am guessing it was made near the time I met Howard in the 1970's. Yeah $1500 would be about right. A JBL speaker in it could cost $200=300 even then and there is the head and cab lumber. I.E. the amp after that is not so expensive.
pretty cool... any audio of the amp anywhere?
Yes, Vertex Effects recorded some extensive video of the amp and will be releasing the video on their TH-cam channel very soon!
instagram.com/reel/CuaCLkJLVDW/
www.youtube.com/@VertexEffectsInc/videos
There's something odd about his story. Dumble shows up to see him, a stranger, and offers to build an amp for him, not even to gift or to let him try it out. And apparently for a small fortune.
And the guy just says OK, no problem...
There are so many talented people out there making amps, if we were to do this with everyone, it would cost a lot...
Yes I agree.....I think the guy is embellishing his account mixing some fiction and fact. He doesn't remember how much he paid for the amp? But it was a lot of money? C'mon!! You're gonna remember how much you paid for a Dumble amp!
I knew Howard. This is TOTALLY his style. Howard re-made my Fender Bassman and Gibson EB-3 the Spring of 1974. Totally a "Hippies" Hippie. My bass and amp cost $300 a pretty good check in 1974. I still play it. A lot.
I am selling a 1964/65 Fender Super Reverb modded by Dumble in Santa Cruz, CA in in the early 70s. Any suggestions or inquiries are welcome. Photos, serial numbers of amp etc.
Casually drops: " I ended up with a Dumble amp."
I'm not even a big fan of the Dumble amplifier sound. But if Howard had offered to build me an amp, of course I'd figure out how to fund it and say OK. What guitar player wouldn't?
Do you know why he didn't put Overdrive Special on that amp?
Not sure. Each of his builds were different and custom in some way
Probably because it's not an Overdrive Special, but the Blackface combo he sold might have been one.
I got a "Dumbler" mini pedal off Amazon for 26.00. I'm not sure, but I don't think it has "it".
Does anyone know what speaker is in the cab?
It has an EVM12S
reverb.com/item/68691023-1970-s-dumble-od-50w-overdrive-special-guitar-amp-head-cabinet-dennis-herring-49193?show_sold=true
Is this the #22 Dumble?
Yes it is!
We don't get to hear the amp?????
You Bet! th-cam.com/video/BjmcczaRAZ4/w-d-xo.html
Imagine if he decided it was too expensive. Would have been a huge mistake.
Can this happen to me please lol this rules
3:08 CAP
Get a zendrive and save 20k
Many years ago, when I went to his shop in cali, an amp and speaker were $5000. He was not there at the time, but returning the next day. My flight was leaving the next day as well, but I had to go back to the east coast. Normal amps were a few hundred. Years later I passed him leaving an audio store in Baltimore. He was a massive, massive guy, like a wrestler. Had to have been seven foot tall, and all of 350 pounds; but drove off in an older Toyota Corolla. I went in, and the sales guy said he sold-traded in a few amps, but said they didn't sound that good. We made fun of the goop on the circuit boards. I said, how in the hell will I ever fix this thing when it breaks? Years later, I found out that that amp was most likely the SRV amp that SRV refused to pay for. When I tried to buy the SSS, the manager found out about it, then bought the amp from under me. The sales rep also said you needed to sign a contract so not to disclose the circuit. I bought the other (no name amp) Dumble sold. At that time, I fixed computers, and I thought I knew everything about electronics. The amp had bad pots, so I tried to fix the pots, but instead inadvertantly wired the high voltage supply to the guitar input. I licked my fingers before I started to play because I kept dropping the pick; then I found myself on the floor steering at the ceiling. Long story short, I threw the amp away because I had young boys, and if any of them played with the amp....... To note; the amp had a tremolo, but when you turned it up. the entire speaker moved in and out 1/2" (with no input sound) and you could lower the speed down to almost nothing. I still have the speakers; Jensen 10", but I removed the aluminum center domes. One other thing, the amp and guitar (Epiphone Les Paul no s# demo) that I still have, sounded exactly like the Who's won't get fooled again, and the tremolo from Crimson and Clover. Who knows, it may have been... -true story-
Howard is nothing like seven foot tall.....LOL. I knew Howard. 350 lbs maybe if he really let himself go. He was about 225 when I knew him in '74. If you are around Baltimore there is an equally good amp guy. He is the grandson of Enoch Light the inventor of Stereo. And there was also the maker of the Blues Seas recording board which ended up on the bottom of Baltimore's Inner Harbor.
Who is this?
Producer Dennis Herring, listed in description…
We didn't hear it either...
th-cam.com/video/BjmcczaRAZ4/w-d-xo.html
....... not one note lol..... biggest tease ever
th-cam.com/video/BjmcczaRAZ4/w-d-xo.html
Play it! Don’t just talk about it.
You bet! th-cam.com/video/BjmcczaRAZ4/w-d-xo.html
Dumble attacked me on eBay for selling a USED pedal inspired by a Dumble amp. I exchanged several emails with him. He was pompous and narcissistic. He took many deposits for 10-15k, kept people waiting for literal decades and never built them an amp. But he built Madonna’s amp immediately. He may have been a great amp builder, but he was a horrible human being.
cool story bro
I knew him... He was a real asshole.
When was that exactly? Howard got his 15 minutes of fame over his amps. You know you can't live on the past. If people are stealing your intellectual material you still got to pay the rent. Howard was a gentle giant when I knew him.
Dumble's business practices boarded on criminality. He made a decent amp, but the money those amps command is completely absurd. I have played several Dumble amps. I can name plenty of amps, that in my opinion sound better. It's all B.S. hype.
Dumble sold his amps for a fair price. He can't control secondary market.
You are correct. I talked to him about thay very subject. Possibly farming out some of the work and building amps. He wasn't into it. @@GuitarCPA
@@GuitarCPA I would agree with what you have said. My Fender bassman and Gibson bass mod cost $300 in 1974.
Just remember the guy ate, slept, and dreamed amps with a vision . All the sweat , money 💵 and resources he invested back into his business! His amps didn't sound like Fender, Marshall , Vox , Boogie ect . They are different and that is history
Do you have any recommendations?