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"