Dumble distortion — is there any value to this?

[Mack_Again]

I know i should have account about gear somewhere but i feels like i trust you guys more....and finally I'm posting relevant to gear.

So i recently see tons of pedals that claim to reproduce "Dumble tone." I know Edge never uses that kind of amp that's as expensive as an average house but Edge uses tons of Fender amps especially in distorted passages. Dumble tends to be very American sounding so I feel like there might be some value in terms of Edge related use. what do you guys think??

the example is recent pedal from Way Huge: Dunlop Manufacturing :: Electronics :: :: Overrated Special® Overdrive

 

[Muad'zin]

If it sounds good to you, if it sounds good on your gear, then roll with it. I don't think its a sound in Edge's arsenal, but I also think nailing the exact tone right down to the letter is not as important as most people think. The timing of delays are obviously crucial, and some sounds are more important then others (Mysterious Ways obviously) but as long as the rendition of a song is right, if the singer sounds like Bono and the band manages to capture the feel of a U2 song then I don't think it matters one damn bit if you used a Dumble style overdrive or your average run of the mill Tubescreamer.

 

[Mack_Again]

I just thought that it's kinda convenient for practicing-at-the-home guy like me to have gain-y sound just in case I feel like I want to play one. This boutique amp business is very insane, though. I never fully understand the point, as Larry Carlton just sounds as good with cranked Tweed as he does in cranked Dumble.

 

[the tourist]

Well I'll tell you this much about boutique amps: my Carr amps sound way closer to the Fender sound I hear in my head than modern production Fender amps, and are more reliable than old amps (and don't smell like mildew and musty cigarettes). They also run quieter and have some modern features like half power and quarter power.

That being said, I've tried and owned many Vox variants and the best I've played is a 2003 Vox AC30 Top Boost amp made in the UK with Celestion Greenbacks. Much better than the Vox variant boutiques I've tried. The variants were way more harsh and brittle in the top end and had a lot more bass that flubbed out if you hit the input of the amp hard.

Can't comment on Marshall or Dumble stuff as I've never owned the real thing or clones of either.

Oh and I dislike Mesa based on my one truly bad experience with a Mesa amp (which I've heard is somewhat Dumble-esque?).

 

[Mack_Again]

As far as I remember, Dumble tends to get very Fender-esque? I mean considering that Carlos Santana uses both Mesa and Dumble/its clone so makes sense that they sounds like over-driven Fender amps.

I know that lots of people who used Dumble are mostly Fender users like Larry Carlton or SRV.

 

[Muad'zin]

I just thought that it's kinda convenient for practicing-at-the-home guy like me to have gain-y sound just in case I feel like I want to play one.

If you're an at home practicing guy methinks you're far better served investing into a good modeling multi-FX then laying down hundreds of $$$$ on a single pedal for a sound that has little to no connection to the Edge. Unless of course you know what sound is in your head and how you want to bring it out. And that sound of course is a dumble sound.

This boutique amp business is very insane, though. I never fully understand the point, as Larry Carlton just sounds as good with cranked Tweed as he does in cranked Dumble.

Do not underestimate psychological phenomenons like confirmation bias. If you're convinced X will sound superior to Y chances are you will perceive it as such. Which is why any A/B test that isn't a blind test, where the listener doesn't know which is which beforehand, is basically useless.

 

[Mack_Again]

I create this thread assuming that Overrated Special (funny name) from Way Huge was relatively cheap but realized that it's limited edition and not all that different from Green Rhino (pedal that I can totally buy).

 

[Mack_Again]

have you used any "boutique" amps, Muad'zin? I thought they were quite popular for last 2 or 3 years

 

[the tourist]

have you used any "boutique" amps, Muad'zin? I thought they were quite popular for last 2 or 3 years

2 or 3? Try 20 or 30. Ever since Matchless, Dr. Z and the Trainwreck

 

[the tourist]

Do not underestimate psychological phenomenons like confirmation bias. If you're convinced X will sound superior to Y chances are you will perceive it as such. Which is why any A/B test that isn't a blind test, where the listener doesn't know which is which beforehand, is basically useless.

For me it has less to do with sound. It has more to do with the reliability and ease of fixing handwired vs. PCB, better cab materials (solid vs. MDF), and the features (power scaling, effects loops, etc.). Also boutique amps are more aesthetically pleasing since they can be customized in the amp cabinet cover material to your specific liking. After having horrible luck with PCB amps, I'll never own one again.

 

[Mack_Again]

oooh right totally forgot about that. i should have said "resurgent" or something along those lines.

do Friedman amps count as boutique or is it just "one of those damn marshall mods"?

 

[the tourist]

oooh right totally forgot about that. i should have said "resurgent" or something along those lines.

do Friedman amps count as boutique or is it just "one of those damn marshall mods"?

If you've ever been to thegearpage, you'll know boutique amps aren't resurgent. They were just as popular 10 years ago as they are now.

 

[Muad'zin]

have you used any "boutique" amps, Muad'zin? I thought they were quite popular for last 2 or 3 years

None at all. I've always used regular Fender amps and lately my quest has been to eliminate amps from my live rig altogether. I just hate hauling heavy amps along. Plus its really satisfying to put your pedal board on the ground and just plug directly into the mixing desk. Yeah, I'm pretty sure using solid state technology with cab sims does not equal the sound of a real tube amp being miked up, but I'm not really interested in chasing the perfect tone. I never really was. I'm more interested in sounds. In my opinion chasing tone detracts from writing interesting songs, whereas interesting sounds at least helps in writing interesting songs.

If you've ever been to thegearpage, you'll know boutique amps aren't resurgent. They were just as popular 10 years ago as they are now.

If you value your sanity, Mack, don't go there. It's a silly place. Seriously though, don't go there, it's one of those forums that will easily consume most of your time.

 

[Mack_Again]

If you value your sanity, Mack, don't go there. It's a silly place. Seriously though, don't go there, it's one of those forums that will easily consume most of your time.

i considered joining that kind of forum (gearsluts and gear page) but I'm too lazy doing so.

kinda different topic, but the pedal I originally posted (Overrated Special) wasn't apparently not Dumble-in-a-box type of thing but it's just tweaked Green Rhino. well this whole conversation seems pointless now. it's apparently made with input of Joe Bonamassa, kinda opposite of Edge in terms of gear and play style. kinda makes sense that it has name of boutique amp as he's that kind of guy.

by the way, I love how progressive you are about the gear, Muad'zin. opposite of people in the comment section of Rig Rundown who are bitching about the existence of Axe-Fx/Kemper in most artists' gear.

 

[the tourist]

I think the thing that keeps me from AxeFx and Kemper is that these things I could spend thousands of dollars on would be outdated in a year.

 

[Muad'zin]

i considered joining that kind of forum (gearsluts and gear page) but I'm too lazy doing so.

kinda different topic, but the pedal I originally posted (Overrated Special) wasn't apparently not Dumble-in-a-box type of thing but it's just tweaked Green Rhino. well this whole conversation seems pointless now. it's apparently made with input of Joe Bonamassa, kinda opposite of Edge in terms of gear and play style. kinda makes sense that it has name of boutique amp as he's that kind of guy.

by the way, I love how progressive you are about the gear, Muad'zin. opposite of people in the comment section of Rig Rundown who are bitching about the existence of Axe-Fx/Kemper in most artists' gear.

I've seen a lot of bands and did the mixing on quite some bands and I've noticed that having the best gear does not make you the best guitarist nor get the best sound. Tone is very much in your hands, which is why any famous guitarist can be recognized regardless on what gear they play. Good gear should be of help to you, never be a goal onto itself. Because in the end the goal is soul. It's all about making some great songs that express who you are and hopefully touch others as well.

I've occasionally read some of the comment sections on youtube vids. It's mostly an act of masochism as they never fail to disappoint. Methinks people who are busy criticizing artists for having certain gear are missing a few points. Firstly, different tastes, different people. Choice of gear is always a subjective thing. What is anathema to some is perfectly fine to others. Secondly live rigs by professional artists are always a compromise of necessity, practicality, economics and reliability. The goal is to recreate certain sounds, sometimes very opposite to another, in a way that is practical (the less pedal tap dancing the better), which can be transported via land, sea or air, build up/taken down on a nightly basis, and despite all of that keep on working for a whole lengthy tour, even if the very heavens are opening up on top of it and pouring down a deluge of water (anyone seen the 360 tour Moscow show?).

 

[Mack_Again]

The goal is to recreate certain sounds, sometimes very opposite to another, in a way that is practical (the less pedal tap dancing the better), which can be transported via land, sea or air, build up/taken down on a nightly basis, and despite all of that keep on working for a whole lengthy tour, even if the very heavens are opening up on top of it and pouring down a deluge of water (anyone seen the 360 tour Moscow show?).

I really haven't seen the Moscow footage but I've seen footages from Minneapolis show (U2 360, of course) which was pretty rainy and Edge used creme strat for Streets, which was pretty rare occasion, I reckon. The show I went was Chicago show and it wasn't raining so Edge used normal gear.

Comment section is pretty weird place, though. but I sometimes can't help it as it's sometimes (or very occasionally) helpful to figure out certain info. missing from the video.

 

[the tourist]

If you do ever want a Dumble pedal, watch for Lovepedal's Saturday Night Sales. I got two Red Dot Zendrives last Saturday night for $50 apiece. They're normally $225. Also got a gold Amp 11 for $100, normally $200.

 

[Mack_Again]

zen drive, yes! i totally forgot about them. seems like Edge aren't really using those trendy boutique pedals except for couple of them

 

[the tourist]

zen drive, yes! i totally forgot about them. seems like Edge aren't really using those trendy boutique pedals except for couple of them

I dunno. I've seen him with Death By Audio, Pigtronix, and Strymon stuff. I'm sure there's more that I'm not remembering.

 

[Mack_Again]

DBA and Pigtronix are(or used to be) in his actual rig but strymon seemed to be just a replacement for his actual fancy rig.

 

[Muad'zin]

zen drive, yes! i totally forgot about them. seems like Edge aren't really using those trendy boutique pedals except for couple of them

I'm kinda surprised by that as well. And on the other hand profoundly grateful for that as well. Him using DBA pedals had all the tribute Edge's do a mad scramble for them. I'd shudder to think what it would do your average tribute Edge's bank account if he had gone fully boutique.

 

[Mack_Again]

I'm kinda surprised by that as well. And on the other hand profoundly grateful for that as well. Him using DBA pedals had all the tribute Edge's do a mad scramble for them. I'd shudder to think what it would do your average tribute Edge's bank account if he had gone fully boutique.

well I was really considering DBA pedals, but I felt like DBA pedals or any other "weirdo" pedals seemed like they're gonna end up as flavors of the month. obviously it was for the Edge as he (mostly) ditched DBA pedals in IE tour. especially the fuzz gun.

yeah if Edge start making weird noise with EartuQuaker Dvice or other overly-expensive pedals, i will be pretty angry for that

 

[the tourist]

I think it all depends on what you want pedals for? Is your goal to be a clone of The Edge, or do you just want good pedals and have your own sound? Maybe I just am a weirdo, but I base 0% of my gear purchases on getting Edge tones. That doesn't mean I can't get some spot on Edge tones with my 8-pedal board and 6L6 boutique amps.

 

[Mack_Again]

probably what I originally tried to say was that some people who are "tone freak" or whatever tends to use most boutique-est rig and surround themselves with pedals made by companies you've never heard of, and Edge isn't one, apparently. well Johnny Marr isn't really using boutique rig either, so it kinda relives me that using my cheap multi-effect is kinda acceptable. (Johnny uses multi-effect from Boss and fender super reverb and it sounds marvelous). but people like Robben Ford, John Mayer, Phillip Sayce, Carlos Santana, etc has pretty fancy, analog rig. yeah this convo probably belongs to thegearpage more than anywhere, doesn't it? sorry for the distraction.