All of the Dumbles that we can find are utterly different from each other, even if the model name is the same. This assumption would require one amp to be taken as the primary reference, but Howard Alexander Dumble never built two amps to be the same. First of all, I have to point out that it is too simplistic to talk about THE “dumble sound”. What is the Dumble Sound?ĭefining what people think of when the words Dumble and Sound are pronounced together is challenging. His work will always be remembered as a crucial part of some of the most excellent guitar tones ever crafted, and that’s why today I want to talk to you about the legendary Dumble Amplifiers. I’m going to talk about them later on.Īlexander Dumble sadly passed away earlier this year, leaving behind a legacy that inspired many young players to pursue the famous Dumble Sound, including myself. Luckily for us, more than a few different manufacturers are building Dumble-style amplifiers that you could afford without necessarily having to sell a kidney. You should not consider this article a “buyer’s guide”, that would be rather exclusive considering that only a tiny group of people can afford to spend this kind of money on an amp. The prices of these units can range from 50k$ to more than 100k$, depending on the specific model and previous owners. These fantastic pieces of gear are unbelievably rare, and even if you’re lucky enough to find one for sale, you should be prepared to sell your house if you want to buy it. We don’t know much about Dumble amps, it’s a highly obscure subject due to the small number of amplifiers ever built and Alexander Dumble’s very mysterious nature and personality, yet everything about this is fascinating to the guitar community. I think that it’s a combination of all of these factors, and when you take a look at Howard “Alexander” Dumble’s work, you have one man who influenced the guitar world so much by building only around 300-350 guitar amps entirely by himself, taking months and months (if not years) to build the perfect tailor-made amplifier to suit the different playing styles of some of the best guitar players in history, including Stevie Ray Vaughan, Robben Ford, Larry Carlton, Eric Johnson, etc…if that’s not legendary, then I don’t know what is. How can something music-related acquire legendary status? Is it mysteriousness? Is it rareness? Or is it the perceived value and overall impact on the general public?

666 himself is considered to be legendary as well. “Yesterday” by The Beatles is a legendary song, “The Dark Side of the Moon” by Pink Floyd is a legendary album, Jimi Hendrix is a legendary guitar player, a 1959 Gibson Les Paul is a legendary guitar, and the mythical pact between Robert Johnson and Mr. We are used to this thought and that’s what we’re going to implement in our Dumble Amp guide. Dumble had circled a washer and dryer unit and told Cross that if he bought those for him, they were square.The idea that something or somebody could be considered legendary within the music world isn’t anything new. “When I asked him what I owed him, he handed me a torn-out page from a Sears catalog,” recalls Cross.

At the time, Dumble was living in a house owned by Jackson Browne and Cross headed up there to pay for the custom relay box. “I really couldn’t afford to mess around with pedals at that time,” says Cross. An oversized cord went to a blue two-space rack unit that housed mechanical relays to control which amp was engaged.

Each guitar only had a middle and bridge pickup and was outfitted with a heavy-duty switch-imagine the massive switches on the back of vintage Fender amps. The solution was based around a pair of Japan-made Strats that were modified by Valley Arts. Naturally, Cross needed a way to switch between sounds easily. Cross and Dumble decided on two KT88-loaded heads (a first for Dumble at the time) with matching 2x12 cabinets in orange suede for a clean sound and an Overdrive Special with a 4x12 cab for a lead sound. One of the early users of his amps was singer/songwriter Christopher Cross, who was brought in by Bonnie Raitt. His off-the-grid lifestyle forced Dumble to frequently look at alternate payment arrangements with clients.

Dumble amp price