Affordable Dumble ODS clone from VHT is about to drop

Hari Seldon

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https://www.musicradar.com/news/cla...aughan-talks-texas-blues-strats-and-addiction

"I liked the Dumble a whole lot when I first got it, but the first one I had built, which is the best sounding one, is messed up right now – that’s the one that’s out on stage right now. But every one I’ve had since then, they’ve all sounded worse in different ways I don’t know what it is."


Interesting comment about these heavenly amps...
 

Endless Mike

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I don't really care about the Dumble part of it. If it sounds good (and it may not) then a amp of those specs for 850.00 is something I'm interested in. A head a a small cabinet would be ideal for me.

The drive sound in the demo sounds kinda' fuzzy, and not in a pleasant way.
 

telemnemonics

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Looks interesting!

I hope the internet bashes the hell out of them so they go cheap on the used market!
Bless you all who bash Dumble and hand wiring!

...Still not certain I'm smart enough to dial one in, my $300 hobby built clone has sounded great and also sounded terrible.
With I think 20 knobs and switches I just get confused and can't remember what the settings were that sounded good last week.
 

trxx

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I don't care what it is trying to be. If that video is representative of what it sounds like in person, it sounds respectable to me. If $849 will be the price, that is reasonable. And hand-wired = serviceable. If I were to buy a new production amp, I would buy something like that over anything else I am seeing from the big manufacturers.
 

telemnemonics

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I don't really care about the Dumble part of it. If it sounds good (and it may not) then a amp of those specs for 850.00 is something I'm interested in. A head a a small cabinet would be ideal for me.

The drive sound in the demo sounds kinda' fuzzy, and not in a pleasant way.

There are so durn many controls that add or subtract gain, and max gain everywhere isn't a good sound.
AFAIK you can't even really get a good sound without cutting some controls if you want to boost others.
Old four hole Marshall you can turn everything all the way up and it sounds like Rock.

I think another factor in using a D style is playing technique.
My sense was that it's important to use a light touch on the guitar and let the amp do the work. Hitting the strings hard can make fuzzy toanz at otherwise good settings.

The idea of bloom and note flipping is very much based on a light touch with a fairly high volume setting as opposed to hard picking at a lower volume setting.
I'm no expert on them though and my clone has some problems.
 

ReverendRevolver

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You have me at 50w and 6L6. That means a major amp maker is doing "dumble clones" at prices rivaling smaller companies. Not even fender is smart enough to target this part of the market.
I'll give one a listen. $850 new means that 2years out, used ones will be in a reasonable price range for me to get one. And if it's used, I can make it say "3-Fitty" and put a loch ness monster on it.

Selectable ohm impedance is great, self biasing is cool. Seems solid.
 

telemnemonics

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Good on VHT for bringing some sanity to this type of amp for the market. Played through some of their amps before and they are really nice.

The price is in line with the good quality Ceriatone hand wired D style and other amps, but because Nik seels direct we have to pay retail individual world shipping.
VHT putting them on a container ship makes sense if we buy them.

Sadly I suppose, the VHT hand wired 18w and 36w Marshall clones fared poorly in the market.
 

telemnemonics

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My Zen Drive sounds the same through my Blackface Deluxe Reverb. Oh, the DR is a 1980, and it’s Handwired!

I wish!

I ran my Zen Drive into another amp and it didn't sound the same as my Dumble clone.
But my Dumble clone seldom sounds the same as my Dumble clone.

I have a hard time believing claims that a pedal into this amp sounds the same as no pedal into that amp.

OTOH listening to playback it seems I can make a Tube Screamer sound "the same" as a Big muff, so there's that.
 

Blrfl

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This vintage style amp has some helpful modern features like an effects loop and bias points so you can effortlessly change your tubes without having to open up your amp or hire a pro.

Yeah, sorry, that makes it not a "real" amp then. :rolleyes:

Pass the popcorn. :twisted:
 

muchxs

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There are so durn many controls that add or subtract gain, and max gain everywhere isn't a good sound.

AFAIK you can't even really get a good sound without cutting some controls if you want to boost others.
Old four hole Marshall you can turn everything all the way up and it sounds like Rock.

Just click "PAB" and turn it up. Except for one little thing it's a Bassman with an enormous sack in that mode.

The one little thing is Uncle Howie's filter. Couple snips and it's gone if I ever get in the same room with that amp.

That's what you said I guess.
 

Endless Mike

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There are so durn many controls that add or subtract gain, and max gain everywhere isn't a good sound.
AFAIK you can't even really get a good sound without cutting some controls if you want to boost others.
Old four hole Marshall you can turn everything all the way up and it sounds like Rock.

I think another factor in using a D style is playing technique.
My sense was that it's important to use a light touch on the guitar and let the amp do the work. Hitting the strings hard can make fuzzy toanz at otherwise good settings.

The idea of bloom and note flipping is very much based on a light touch with a fairly high volume setting as opposed to hard picking at a lower volume setting.
I'm no expert on them though and my clone has some problems.

Interesting. I've always had a light touch, and only dig in when I want a little emphasis, but that's not referring to causing and amp to go over the edge in to break up. I always use a pristine clean, with tons of headroom. Having said that, I played through a Dumble some time around the beginning of the 90s. I remember thinking it was really harsh sounding and didn't like it. I'd be interested in trying one again, but at the time I was really smitten with my Duncan Convertible (set up for a blackface type sound) so that may tell you where my ears' head was at.
 

telemnemonics

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Just click "PAB" and turn it up. Except for one little thing it's a Bassman with an enormous sack in that mode.

The one little thing is Uncle Howie's filter. Couple snips and it's gone if I ever get in the same room with that amp.

That's what you said I guess.

Well the one real problem mine has is some sort of I guess parastitic oscillation with the PAB engaged, maybe that's the wrong term though, what happens is the speaker beats back and forth at something like 2 c/s.
Some settings this doesn't happen but it usually does so I just don't use PAB.
I really don't use it much, just frustrating but more a reflection on the hobby builder trying to learn the circuit than on Howard.
It's also the HRM with the extra 3 band eq hidden inside, but I mounted it on its side with an access hole so I could adjust that while playing, big big rabbit hole of knobs & switches.
 

telemnemonics

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Interesting. I've always had a light touch, and only dig in when I want a little emphasis, but that's not referring to causing and amp to go over the edge in to break up. I always use a pristine clean, with tons of headroom. Having said that, I played through a Dumble some time around the beginning of the 90s. I remember thinking it was really harsh sounding and didn't like it. I'd be interested in trying one again, but at the time I was really smitten with my Duncan Convertible (set up for a blackface type sound) so that may tell you where my ears' head was at.

I really don't know why the demo sounded so fizzy but it's not at all a sound I'm interested in, I just feel pretty sure the circuit has more in it than that sound the guy was getting.

Convertible eh?
I bought the 100 at Mannys when it was discontinued and kept going back for more modules at $25 each.
I almost loved it and played it a lot but I guess I got more Marshalls and liked them better.
Another endless exercise in tweaking and changing modules.
I recall at that time I found a blue sparkle diamond pleat Plush head with a quad of steel 6L6 for ten bucks at a flea market.
New cord, new tubes and OMFG it just screamed on ten and killed the Duncan amp.
Supposed to be a Twin circuit but sounded more HPTT than BFTR.
I think i sold the Convertible to a pawn shop for more than I paid.
 

alathIN

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Hand-wiring of course means nothing , as far as sound goes

Some stuff isn't significant in and of itself, but is a marker of other stuff that is.

No doubt Dumble could make a great amp using PCB's if he was so motivated - being hand wired isn't what makes his amps so good.
But being hand wired is an element of his painstaking and individualized process - which certainly is what makes his amps so good.

Making exactly the same circuit with the same components, one version PCB and one version hand wired, you're right, the hand wired one wouldn't necessarily be any better.
But it is safe to say that any given hand wired amp is not the product of a design and manufacture process driven by the intention to produce marginal quality amplifiers as cheaply as possible. It could of course be a failed attempt to produce a high quality product using more expensive methods, but even if the attempt failed, you know at least the intention was there.
 
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