Dumble amp tone scaleability?

[guitar_paul1]

In the recent Premier Guitar video on Dumble amps, I noticed Robben Ford said the tone (including the distortion I assume) is the same at low or high volumes. This implies to me it occurs before the power stage or speakers.

Any thoughts?

Maybe it's just the way he built Robben's?

Dumble Amps: 10 Guitarists on the Late Legend’s Designs

Jason Isbell, Joe Bonamassa, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Robben Ford, and more top string benders talk about how much they loved Howard Dumble's amps and what made them so special to plug into.

www.premierguitar.com

 

[Tim S]

From my reading of various forums, yes, the magic mostly happens in the pre-amp. People who use the external Dumbleator (or work-alikes) are able increase the preamp volume and then attenuate it the loop via the Dumbleator. Of course the buffer in it as well being able to set the incoming and outgoing levels in the Dumbleator complicate an amp that’s already challenging to dial-in.

At least that’s my understanding, but I’m sure some more knowledgeable folks will chime in.

Edit: On second thought, being able to drop the gain in the loop also allows you to turn up the master volume higher than you’d normally would. I don’t know if that matters much, but it’s an option.

 

[Telekarster]

No clue unfortunately, other than what @Tim S says about the pre-amp areas of his amps. What I do know is I love how Ford sounds through his Dumbles! So... whatever Dumble did for him, he did it right. Of course, Ford could probably be hooked up to a playstation and make it sound awesome too... so there's that LOL!