Dumble Overdrive 112 Combo

I believe the amp was made in the 90's. It is not quite versatile enough for me but with my setup it does the job. I play rock.

I use this with a 1959 LP and a '57 Strat as well as a 1962 Gibson L5
and a 2001 Bennedetto Manhatten. My setup is as follows; effects rack is as such;I have a Manley Variable MU compressor modded with true-bypass fotswitch, Universal Audio 610 pre amp with fs for clean boost, Manley Massive Passive EQ also with fs, Original Echo-Plex (once owned by Jimmy Page),Koch pedaltone for extra overdrive, Cezar Diaz tube reverb and tremelo heads , custom made SSL noise reduction/gate to a Morley George Lynch Tripler into an Allessandro Italian for clean sounds, the Dumble for my bluesy overdrive and a Trainwreck Express for heavier overdrives, I also have a 1972 Leslie for phase sounds.
This setup is the best in the world (or at least that's what Phil (producer friend of my fathers)told my dad. I believe it though. I get better sound than most albums I have heard! My dad told me that with this I would never have to buy another amp or effect. I guess I'm lucky, my dad is SUPER RICH and as soon as I told him I wanted to play guitar he started asking his producer friends what the best setup would be; I got it for my 15th birthday last year. The setup is not noisy as far as I have played it (I'm not good enough to play out yet. Still working on "Cat Scratch Fever" and "Iron Man" and a E pentatonic scale.) I'm sure alot of this has to do with the SSL since I've never played the Dumble by itself. In my setup the amp has a super smooth and warm sound with lovely sustain. When John (studio guitarist friend of my fathers) played through it, it was unbelievable. It sounded so good I think it made him cry because he went directly to the bathroom afterwords and I swear I heard sobbing.

I've never had a problem yet;

No idea

I've been playing a little over a year. I'm sure dad would buy another if it was stolen but that would be difficult with my body gaurd around. I love it because it sounds so good. It is as good as my other amps.

Dumble Overdrive Special built around 1975/76 serial number 0020. Has a 15" not 12" speaker. Clean channel, switchable overdrive channel, presence boost with a taper pot in the rear, master volume and channel volume, seperate master volume for the overdrive channel located in the rear. Builtin in "Dumbleator" effects loop in the rear. Treble boost, bass boost. FET input (useful if you have old pedal effects and need to get the signal boosted before going into the pre-amp)which I don't use as I have an FET boost built into myu pedal board. I rate the features 9 because I would prefer the mastetr volume overdrive to be in the front of the amp as I adjust it often while playing. Also, an amp this expensive should have a built in reverb tank. Each Dumble is bult for one player and includes the features that player desires. I bought my used some (and then some) years ago so it was not exactly to my specs, but I fell in love with the overdrive sound immediately not realizing that what was once considered a quirky idea - buying a used amp built in a garage by "some dude" in California would later be considered "vintage."

I use a 1959 Strat, Ribbecke "Testadura" (ES 335 based custom guitar), Buscarino Nova Starlight (before he made archtops). Other guitars I play through either my Evans AE200 (my Benedetto) or an Alessandro Houndog (mostly acoustic guitars). I use an RMC "Wheels of Fire" Wah, Ernie Ball Volume Pedal, Keeley Compressor (best pedal ever made - a must for every guitarist) and a Keeley modified Voodoo Sparkle Drive (the TS-808 mod), and a TC Electronics Chorus/Flanger. I use an outboard Kendrick Reverb tank and "The Plex" tube Echoplex clone with the effects loop. Great sound at every volume - the overdrive crunches at a whisper. Most amps display their signature tone at only one target volume, this one maintains its character at every volume level and after years of AB-ing I've decided that in some respects this is the single most distinguishing characteristic of a Dumble.

I have had one 12ax7 tube replaced twice - both times with Dumble authorized and signed replacement tube (most recently by Andy Brauer - a real star) otherwise it is built like a tank. In fact, it is entirely too much like a tank and weighs over 85 pounds. At my current age and physical condition its actually kind of pain to move around so I am thinking of having the amp itself put in a different head cabinet so I can transport the amp and speaker seperately.

What can I say....Alexander cannot be contacted unless you are a name player. I have tried recently many times and he even called back once when I was out but not since. I don't know him and the comments on the message board are cleanly divided into two categories: 1) People who do know him who universally think he's a great guy if a bit tough to connect with; and, 2) People who've "heard" he's not but are actually clueless. I withold judgement. It would help if he returned calls if only to say he can't work on my amp - but thus is the price of Diva-dom. I once saw a major opera singer order the air conditioning turned off in a large under-stage, poorly-ventilated dressing area, making the remaining company sweat like pigs. When I asked one of the dancers what she thought about it the response was, "She's the Diva..without her I don't work." So if Alexander is busy with Santana or Robben Ford I suppose the rest of us have to stomache it. In any event, there are a few other highly qualified techs like Andy Fuchs or the guys at K&M who are more than willing to take care of your amp if Alexander is too busy. That said.......a 2 for this category because the "1-useless" seems like an insult.

The greatest amp ever made bar none. My other amps and gear are listed above - only the best. I've owned Fenders, Marshalls, Vox etc. Great if you can't afford the custom gear but no contest once you can get in that game. This kind of equipment is horses for courses - My Evans is 200w RMS but quieter than my 50w Dumble. The Alessandro at 55w has bone chilling volume levels but the most sparkly clean tone almost all the way up - brilliant in its own, different way. I wouldn't trade this gear for anything. If the Dumble was stolen I would cry like a baby because I would never be able to replace it (see above, customer service). In addition to the effects listed above I use an Alessandro "Muzzle" to crank down the volume in practice sessions. The Alessandro Muzzle is the best attenuator on the market and everybody should own at least one. The only onther one even remotely as good is a prototype Trainwreck Airbrake built one-off for me before they came out with the production model. My guitars include the '59 Strat, the Ribbecke (a blues monster), Buscarino Nova Starlight (solid body chambered electric with s-s-h and piezo pickup with a unique heel-less neck and string-through design using an acoustic guitar bridge), Kirk Sand nylon electric, Kevin Ryan Mission Grand Concert using a Baggs dual pickup with stereo output and onboard mix control, Benedetto Fratello with a Bartolini floating pickup. Amps include Alessandro Houndog and Evans AE200 playing through a Raezer's Edge 2x10.

everything you need to make any guitar sound you want.

I have more amps then anyone in the world. The Dumble Overcrive Special 1X12 combos are my favorite. They are that much better. Every sound you can imagine plus more.

I was in the armed forces.... Dumble builds amps better then tanks!

He has always been great to me.

I paid 20K for my newest one here at the end of 2003. I got it direct from Dumble. It is the best amp ever built. I have all the other great amps, and I have tried all the BS clones. There is a huge difference. The clones all sound weak and brittle in comparison. The greatest amp ever. THis is the Strativarous of guitar amps. This is the best. If you want the best, it costs money. The Ferrari of amps. WORTH EVERY CENT! People are bitter due to the price. It is taht good. It is only for pros. That is where they belong.

The amp was made between 1988 and 1992. I ordered it in the spring of '88 after reading an article about Howard (when I ordered my amp he still called himself 'Howard') in Guitar Player, and it took 4 years and a nasty letter from an attorney friend of mine before it was delivered. To be honest, I don't remember how many channels it had, probably two, there was no effects loop or headphone jack.

I played a Strat (mid-70's) and a 1981 Emmons D-10 pedal steel guitar through the amp. It sounded fine, like a decent amp, but then my opinion of the sound was hopelessly bound up in the fairly negative feelings I had for Howard and his business methods by the time I took delivery. The one strange thing was that the tone controls seemed really passive when I played either the Strat or the Emmons through the amp, it just didn't matter too much where you dialed them in, the sound pretty much stayed the same. When I plugged my Ensonique DS-10 synth into it however, the tone controls became very responsive, leading me to believe the output from either of my guitars was not adequate or matched properly to whatever input stuff Howard had going on.

Well, I never really gave it much of a chance to prove if it could handle gigging or not. I sold the thing about a year after I got it. I used it at about half a dozen gigs; it wasn't really built to handle steel guitar work (my 70's-era Webb Custom Steel Guitar Amp really put the Dumble to shame), and again, the lack of any tone control made for a fairly 'flat' approach to guitar amplification which I didn't care for.

Is this where my ass laughs out loud?

In case you hadn't figured it out yet, I'm not your local Dumble rep. Apparently I got an incredible bargain back there in '88. I sold the thing to a guy in town who loved it, and for all I know still loves it. You can read as many glowing reports about Dumble amps as you can find, they're out there for sure. I'm sure that under different circumtances I would have appreciated the amp more. Two things I regret the most:
a. Allowing my personal dis-satisfaction with the Dumble experience to color my judgment when it came time to move on to a more rewarding relationship, amp-wise - I sold the thing for a song because I wanted it out of my sight. The guy who bought it couldn't believe his incredible fortune but I had all the paper work to prove it wasn't stolen or 'forged'. This is where you can call me a dumb-ass.
b. Thinking that because I wire-transferred a couple grand into Howard's bank account I'd get a great amp (in something shy of say, oh, 4 years). Well, I DID get the amp eventually, (and next time you curse lawyers, save a little bit back for the occassion when you really need one).
Sour grapes? Of course. Nobody likes to be effed-over. But hey, it's a cold cruel world and caveat emptor, and all that. It was great having this chance to vent a little. Good luck with your Dumble search...

This is the kind of amp that features everything that a Pro player needs and more the only feature not available it was reverb or delay that you can get out of a Rack unit.

This is indeed a great amp no question about it.
The only problem I encountered it was: after playing side by side with a TWO ROCK AMETHYST SPECIAL 1x12" combo I no longer could go back to the DUMBLE, not only the TWO ROCK included a Reverb sound that will make say "incredible sound" never before duplicate by no other amp company and I allways believed Fender makes the best reverb out there for combos. But the Two Rock really offers a beautifull reverb for a PRO player that likes to play with reverb or add that touch of $$$ studio reverb. All tones out this amp where just outstanding not a bad sound out my STRAT/ES345/TELE. This incredible amp also includes trim pots inside of chassis for all kinds of adjustment for EQ or Drive and a Switch for CLASS A 1X8" speaker for recording. This amp really has the most impressive variety of sounds I ever seen in COMBO. If been for SRV, Robben Ford, Carlton and others look no further because this amp is really going to blow your mind.
Not only offered 3 diferente sounds with a footswitch + fx loop, reverb, master volume, boost switch, feedback swicth and more.
$3500 later is now in my collection I love my TWO ROCK and couldn't find a good reason to spend 10k ++ for a Dumble.

For what I understand stand from speaking to working musicians that are not famous like Carlos Santana. Service is not very good.

I must say if looking for a great amp with all tones and more: play them side by side and you will be surprised.
If you are a musician consider yourself very lucky to be living in the USA in 2003 with the variety of great gear from amps, guitars and etc. we must be dreaming.