Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 16 to 24 of 24

Thread: Hollow Body Electric Guitar

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Williamsburg,Va.
    Posts
    12,402
    I am always going back to that orange Gretsch model I made. It just sounds right.

    I haven't played a Dumble,but I did buy myself a Standel tube amp a few years ago. It was considered the world's best amp back in the 50,s. Only about 50 were ever made. All the great players had one. Chet Atkins,Johnny Mathis,Buddy Merrill(sp?)(of Lawrence Welk's orchestra), everyone I can think of.

    Mine is an exact copy of the originals,right down to having an original JBL 15" speaker with the aluminum dome. They are made by a very nice guy in California,named Kinney,who worked with the old owner,IIRC,and bought or inherited the company name.

    It is only for clean playing,and it is so crystal clear,it will pick out little mistakes in your playing like no other amp ever made. It does not have a big bass,but I jack it through my Roland Jazz Chorus 120,and the tone is perfectly reproduced,but with great bass. I have had about 25 amps,and this is the most remarkable outfit I ever had. It is not for rock,though. I never could play rock.

    Standel lost out when players started playing distorted. They listened to their engineers instead of musicians. And,when they went solid state (In the 60's,I guess),they made little cast,solid "cubes" with their transistors in them,so no one could copy them,I suppose. When the electronic values of those cubes drifted a bit, their amps started making noises,and no replacements.
    Last edited by george wilson; 07-31-2014 at 8:52 AM.

  2. #17
    The Dumble ODS kind of sounds like a cranked Fender Bassman, but with more gain and a really tight bass. The clean channel is very "stiff" and not particularly forgiving...very uncompressed. If you like playing acoustically (like me) you'll like the clean channel too because it is very dynamic and reproduces nuances very well. If you like a more forgiving, Marshall kind of compressed sound, you would HATE the Dumble and you'll find it difficult to control in terms of getting nice, even sounds out of it. It sounds like the Standel is similar.

    I had a Fuchs ODS for a while. That's basically a copy of the Dumble circuit. I really liked it, but it's very expensive and frankly, so many people have now gotten into that tone that I dumped it and now play through a Fender Blues Deluxe. I'm looking for another nice clean amp. I don't use amp overdrive anymore. It's just not convenient. It far more convenient to get whatever I need from a small pedal board. The Blues Deluxe is nice...breaks up a little early and it's a bit raunchy. It's perfect for a nice, bluesy tone with just a little grit. I really need a good, loud clean amp now, though. I just got rid of a Fender Twin...it's just too loud, AND way too heavy.

    I'm thinking of just designing one, actually, and adding it to my product line. I have features in mind that no one else is doing, I think.

    Here's the Dumble in action. Nice tone, but it can get fatiguing after a while unless you're a really nuanced player and turn the gain way back. The Dumble is the second one, but also on this clip is a Bruno. They make some of the nicest clean amps today.


  3. #18
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Williamsburg,Va.
    Posts
    12,402
    It is hard to really tell anything about the Dumble over a video,with some rocker playing a bit distorted. But,thank you for putting it up.

    I can't play right now due to a worn out and very painful right thumb joint(from finger picking for 60 years),and two broken fingers on my right hand. I don't know if they are eve going to get better. At least I'm left handed. But,I was trying to do something the other day,and my hand felt more like a club than anything useful.

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    Punta Gorda, FL
    Posts
    3,028
    You never get this kind of in depth talk any where else. You guys rock! And roll.

    Now get your butt over to the bass thread and tell me if I'm in for a disaster.

  5. #20
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Mandalay Shores, CA
    Posts
    2,690
    Blog Entries
    26
    I've never had the opportunity to play a Standel, but I like the Dumble. I had the pleasure of playing a Matchless DC30 which is an outstanding amp. Tweed and blackface Twins can get a decent sound but they are too loud and can get very shrill easily. There are a few Mesa models with good dynamic clean sounds but the heavy metal line I hate (as I do Marshalls).

    Unlike John, I favor power tube overdrive rather than pedals for a dirty sound. For this, I favor low power, Class A amps such a Tweed Champ (5F1) and mic it through the PA or in an amp closet in the studio. AC30's and Hiwatts (vintage) are nice sounding, but like twins are too loud and too heavy. I used to play a 1970 Ampeg 4x10 but it proved unreliable. Lately I've used a Mesa 5/25 express through a VHT Pitbull 2x12 closed back cabinet. It has two class A 5 watt channels. I run one clean with some reverb, the other I run dirty but in Class A so it has a lot of dynamics. Play softly it has a creamy sound, hit the strings hard and you get a great growl. Currently, I am not using any pedals, and have a real simple signal chain.
    Shawn

    "no trees were harmed in the creation of this message, however some electrons were temporarily inconvenienced."

    "I resent having to use my brain to do your thinking"

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Williamsburg,Va.
    Posts
    12,402
    I have a Matchless DC 30,but it really is an amp for rock and roll. Mine is covered in burgundy colored leather. It weighs a ton,from the chassis being made of thick steel,ceramic tube sockets,and a massive 12" Celestion speaker. The Standel 25L15 is no lightweight either at 65# for a not real high powered amp(25 watts). It's that 15" heavy JBL speaker that does it. Mine has the usual cream colored covering like most of the originals.
    Last edited by george wilson; 08-01-2014 at 9:10 AM.

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Mandalay Shores, CA
    Posts
    2,690
    Blog Entries
    26
    Yes, an amp for rock & roll, but that is what I play most. Of course, there are almost an infinite number of sounds in "rock & roll." This can range from pure noise distortion to the cleanest sound possible.

    Chassis, speakers and output transformers are the heavy items. Nearly all good amps are pretty heavy unless it is a very low wattage amp. There is a cottage industry for very low watt amps (1/8 to 1/4 watt). But they are for getting power tube saturation at low sound levels.
    Shawn

    "no trees were harmed in the creation of this message, however some electrons were temporarily inconvenienced."

    "I resent having to use my brain to do your thinking"

  8. #23
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Williamsburg,Va.
    Posts
    12,402
    The cleanest sound possible that I have found,after being an amp pig for many years,is the Standel ,followed by the Roland JC 120. The 120 is more forgiving of little playing technique mistakes,though,because it is not as clean as the Standel. It will mimic the Standel perfectly,if the Standel is jacked into it. Mr. McKinney graciously sent me a special cord that jacks the chassis of the Standel directly into the JC 120.

    I love the sound of the older JC 120,s aluminum dome speakers so much,I bought about 5 just to have on hand. I'm thinking about building an aux. speaker cabinet,using one of these speakers for the Standel,just to see how the amp sounds through it. The 15" JBL does not "propagate" a lot,you see,leading to a surprising lack of bass response from such a large speaker. The 15" JBL that McKinney found for my amp(He has to hunt these expensive vintage JBL's down one at a time),is in immaculate condition. It is incredible how much treble response the 15" JBL has. It's due to the aluminum dome.

    Unfortunately,the new Roland JC 120 amps do not have the aluminum dome speakers. I haven't played through one of them,but I'm pretty sure the upper range has suffered because of that(unless they've done something else to keep that response).

  9. #24
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Mandalay Shores, CA
    Posts
    2,690
    Blog Entries
    26
    There is a sort of "magic" that happens with certain amps and certain speakers. The Hiwatt amps and the Fane speakers give a particular sound that others have difficulty duplicating. The old Fender tweeds and the Jensons celestions in a closed back cabinet also have a desireable sound.

    Somewhere I have an old Crown high end ower amp sitting around. I have run a guitar into it and then into single Altec Lansing speaker. It would give pretty perfect reproduction. There is no control except for volume and It had enough headroom that there was no distortion. I recorded it once by setting it up in one corner of a high school gym and then close micing it and another mic out in the gym through a second channel. It gave a really nice sound with the two tracks blended together.
    Shawn

    "no trees were harmed in the creation of this message, however some electrons were temporarily inconvenienced."

    "I resent having to use my brain to do your thinking"

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •