Dean Farley recounts his first meeting with Alexander Dumble
In the mid-‘70s, I was a sales rep for a local
electronics parts supply house in South San
Francisco called Edisco. What happened
during my first day on the job as I was
making sales calls in and around Santa Cruz,
California, would alter my musical life forever.
I’ll never forget the ritual of going from one
retail electronics store to another, showing
my prospects Edisco’s extensive catalog of
capacitors, resistors, solder, new-old-stock
tubes, and a staggering array of different
types of hook-up wire. Before heading south
on Highway 1, I had been given a computer
printout of stores to call on that day. To make
things easier for myself, I started calling on
these stores in alphabetical order, working
down the long list one-by-one.
As it turned out, that first day was quite
successful for me, as I knocked out A through C
in the morning hours. As I sat in my car wolfing
down my lunch, I pulled out the printout to see
where I was going next. The first call on the “D”
portion of the list was Dumble Amplification.
It may seem funny now, but at that time I had
never heard of the company.
Dumble was located on a very scenic drive, in
an unforgettable house overlooking the waters
of Monterey Bay. It was one of those classic
California cliffside homes that was supported
by stilts driven deep into the sand way below
the main structure. I had a very strange feeling
about this house as I vividly imagined it in
my mind’s eye tumbling into the sea—as if
it could’ve if an earthquake had struck the
local vicinity (this was approximately 13 years
before we were jolted beyond belief by the
earthquake known as Loma Prieta).
As that wobbly, vertigo-laden vision played
in my head I approached the front door and
hesitantly rang the doorbell. After a moment
or so, Alexander Dumble answered the door
and said, “What’d ya got? Come on in!”
He led me down to his shop area/lair, where
I saw a really cool-looking 1x12 combo
amplifier perched up on the workbench,
fresh from assembly. On the face plate were
the silkscreened words, “Overdrive Special”
and, from that moment forward, I was keenly
interested in hearing what this unknown
amplifier (to me, anyway) could do.
When asked if I could try it out, Mr. Dumble
was more than happy to hand me the shop
guitar, which appeared to be a late ‘60s-era
Les Paul Custom. Another detail that I clearly
remember was an Altec-Lansing 417-8C
12-inch speaker mounted inside the combo.
It was the same Altec-Lansing speaker as the
ones that suffered their untimely “deaths by
microphone” in my Twin Reverb. The burning
question in my mind was whether he had
another pair of Altecs that I might buy (turns
out he didn’t).
And so, without further adieu, I plugged straight
in to see what I might discover. Wow! I was
completely stunned at how well the amplifier
responded to my touch. Not only that, but I
could immediately detect something very unique
about the tone. It was definitely large and in
charge, putting it mildly. It was the very first
time that I heard that voice—what you might
call “Flugelhorn midrange”—and the overdriven
tone was thick, rich, and elastic. It was an
amazing sonic texture to behold that could best
be described like this: Imagine for a second the
way a nice chunk of premium European milk
chocolate, or freshly churned butter, melts down
the sides of your mouth when it warms up.
That’s the way this amplifier sounded to my ears.
The second thing I noticed was the remarkable
speed of its response to what I played through
it. The term now used to describe this is what
Ken Fischer would call a fast response amplifier.
This is in stark comparison to any Fender
amplifier, which he referred to as slow, or
gradual, response. The actual “feel” between
these two types of amplifiers is markedly
different. With a fast response amplifier, any
mistakes you make will come out loud and
clear. You cannot hide this in any way! They
are extremely unforgiving to your fingers and
as such, you must get used to this lack of time
delay. Quick reactions are required to tame
the Dumble animal! By contrast, any Fender
amplifier is much more forgiving, thus allowing
you to get away with many more clams.
Of course, I inquired as to the price of
these special amplifiers. Back in those early
days, the price of a Dumble amplifier was
somewhere in the $1250-$1300 range.
Just to give you a little perspective, a new
Mesa Boogie Mark I combo amplifier (also
handmade) was approximately $300 less, and
came fully loaded with all the options (that
said, these two brands of amplifiers do not
sound similar to each other in any way).
An interesting side note: The afternoon I spent
with Dumble was illuminating for yet another
reason. His Les Paul Custom felt really odd to
me. When I handed it back to its owner, he told
me that the high E string was an .018, yet he
bent it like it was a rubber band! No wonder my
fingers had a very hard time bending the E.
Next month we’re going to talk more about the
origins of the first fast response amplifier circuits
and how they influenced Alexander Dumble
(and a few others) to develop killer sounding
tools for the electric guitarist. There will be some
more surprises in store, so stay tuned!
Dean Farley is the chief designer of "Snake Oil Brand Strings" (sobstrings.net) and has had a profound influence on the trends in the strings of today.
Stompboxtober continues! Enter below for your chance to WIN today's featured pedal from LR Baggs: The Align Series Reverb! Come back each day during the month of October for more chances to win!
LR Baggs Align Reverb Acoustic Reverb Pedal
The Align Series Reverb was built from the ground up to complement the natural body dynamics and warmth of acoustic instruments that we love so much. The circuit seamlessly integrates the wet and dry signals with the effect in side chain so that it never overwhelms the original signal. We shaped the reverb with analog EQ to reflect the natural voice inherent in acoustic instruments. Additionally, the tone control adds versatility by sweeping from warm and muted to open and present. The result is an organic reverb that maintains the audiophile purity of the original signal with the controls set in any position.
Fuchs Audio introduces the ODH Hybrid amp, featuring a True High Voltage all-tube preamp and Ice Power module for high-powered tones in a compact size. With D-Style overdrive, Spin reverb, and versatile controls, the ODH offers exceptional tone shaping and flexibility at an affordable price point.
Fuchs Audio has introduced their latest amp the ODH © Hybrid. Assembled in USA.
Featuring an ODS-style all-tube preamp, operating at True High Voltage into a fan-cooled Ice power module, the ODH brings high-powered clean and overdrive tones to an extremely compact size and a truly affordable price point.
Like the Fuchs ODS amps, the ODH clean preamp features 3-position brite switch, amid-boost switch, an EQ switch, high, mid and low controls. The clean preamp drives theoverdrive section in D-Style fashion. The OD channel has an input gain and outputmaster with an overdrive tone control. This ensures perfect tuning of both the clean andoverdrive channels. A unique tube limiter circuit controls the Ice Power module input.Any signal clipping is (intentionally) non-linear so it responds just like a real tube amp.
The ODH includes a two-way footswitch for channels and gain boost. A 30-second mute timer ensures the tubes are warmed up before the power amp goes live. The ODH features our lush and warm Spin reverb. A subsonic filter eliminates out-of-band low frequencies which would normally waste amplifier power, which assures tons of clean headroom. The amp also features Accent and Depth controls, allowing contouring of the high and low response of the power amp section, to match speakers, cabinets andenvironments. The ODH features a front panel fully buffered series effects loop and aline out jack, allowing for home recording or feeding a slave amp. A three-position muteswitch mutes the amp, the line out or mute neither.
Built on the same solid steel chassis platform as the Fuchs FB series bass amps, the amps feature a steel chassis and aluminum front and rear panels, Alpha potentiometers, ceramic tube sockets, high-grade circuit boards and Neutrik jacks. The ICE power amp is 150 watts into 8 ohms and 300 watts into 4 ohms, and nearly 500 watts into 2.65 ohms (4 and8 ohms in parallel) and operates on universal AC voltage, so it’s fully globallycompatible. The chassis is fan-cooled to ensure hours of cool operation under any circumstances. The all-tube preamp uses dual-selected 12AX7 tubes and a 6AL5 limiter tube.
MAP: $ 1,299
For more information, please visit fuchsaudiotechnology.com.
Cort Guitars introduces the GB-Fusion Bass Series, featuring innovative design and affordable pricing.
Cort Guitars have long been synonymous with creating instruments that are innovative yet affordably priced. Cort has done it again with the GB-Fusion Bass series. The GB-Fusion builds upon Cort’s illustrious GB-Modern series and infuses it with its own distinctive style and sound.
It starts with the J-style bass design. The GB-Fusion features a solid alder body – the most balanced of all the tonewoods – providing a fantastic balance of low, mid, and high frequencies. The visually stunning Spalted maple top extends the dynamic range of the bass. A see-through pickguard allows for its spalted beauty to show through. The four-string version of the GB-Fusion is lacquered in a supreme Blue Burst stained finish to show off its natural wood grain. The five-string version features a classic Antique Brown Burst stained finish. A bolt-on Hard maple neck allows for a punchier mid-range. An Indian rosewood fretboard with white dot inlays adorns the 4-string Blue Burst version of the GB-Fusion with an overall width of 1 ½” (38mm) at the nut, while the GB-Fusion 5 Antique Brown Burst features a Birdseye Maple fretboard with black dot inlays and an overall width of 1 7/8” (47.6mm) at the nut. Both come with glow in the dark side dot position markers to help musicians see their fretboard in the dark. The headstock features Hipshot® Ultralite Tuners in classic 20:1 ratio. They are cast of zinc with aluminum string posts making them 30% lighter than regular tuners providing better balance and tuning accuracy.
Cort’s brand-new Voiced Tone VTB-ST pickups are the perfect J-style single coil with clear and robust bass sounds and classic warmth. The GB-Fusion comes with a 9-volt battery-powered active preamp to dial in the sound. With push/pull volume, blend knob, and 3-band active electronics, players can access a wide array of tones. The MetalCraft M Bridge is a solid, high-mass bridge. It provides better tone transfer and makes string changes easy. Strings can be loaded through the body or from the top giving players their choice of best string tension. The MetalCraft M4 for 4-string has a string spacing of 19mm (0.748”) while the MetalCraft M5 is 18mm (0.708”). Speaking of strings, D’Addario® EXL 165 strings complete the GB-Fusion 4. D’Addario EXL 170-5SL strings complete the GB-Fusion 5.
Cort Guitars prides itself on creating inventive instruments musicians love to play. The GB-Fusion Bass Series is the latest and greatest for musicians looking for a stellar bass guitar that is not only economical, but has the reliable robust sound needed to hold up the back end in any playing situation.
GB-Fusion 4 Street Price: $699.99
GB-Fusion 5 Street Price: $849.99
For more information, please visit cortguitars.com.
Here’s a look under the hood of the funky rhythm-guitar master’s signature 6-string.
Hello and welcome back to Mod Garage. Since we’re still celebrating the 70th birthday of the Stratocaster, this month we will have a look under the hood of the Fender Cory Wong model to see just what’s so special about it. (I can tell you—it’s special!)
Guitarist, songwriter, and producer Cory Wong is renowned for his solo work, his band Fearless Flyers (with Mark Lettieri, Joe Dart, and Nate Smith), and collaborations with artists such as Vulfpeck, Jon Batiste, and Dave Koz. His playing style is deeply rooted in funk rhythm guitar, with a heavy dose of rock and jazz. Well-known for playing a Stratocaster, his signature model was released in 2021, and it’s a unique offering. If you want to build your personal Cory Wong Strat, here is your shopping list, starting with the primary structure:
• Alder body, scaled down to slightly smaller than a regular Stratocaster, with Fender American Ultra body contours
• Maple neck with a rosewood fretboard with rolled edges, modern Fender American Ultra D neck profile, slightly larger headstock, 25.5" scale, 10" to 14" compound radius, 22 medium jumbo frets
• Locking tuners with all short posts, a bone nut, and two roller string trees
• Vintage-style 6-screw synchronized tremolo
• Hair tie around the tremolo springs (which mutes them to enhance the rhythm tone)
• .010–.046 strings (nickel-plated steel)
“While these are all interesting features, resulting in a very comfortable guitar, you don’t need to copy every detail to transform one of your Stratocasters into a Cory Wong-style Strat.”
For the physical build, as you can see, Wong and Fender created a real signature instrument to his specs and wishes. While these are all interesting features, resulting in a very comfortable guitar, you don’t need to copy every detail to transform one of your Stratocasters into a Cory Wong-style Strat. My personal favorite of these is the hair tie for muting the tremolo springs. A lot of my funk-playing customers are doing similar things on their Strats to get a dry sound, and they’re using all kinds of funny things in there, like foam, rubber bands, and pieces of cotton, as well as hair ties.
Now, let’s have a look at the electronics:
• Seymour Duncan Cory Wong Clean Machine SSS pickup set
• Standard 5-way pickup-selector switch with classic Strat switching matrix
• 250k master volume pot with a 90/10 audio taper and Fender treble-bleed circuit PCB
• 250k tone pot with a 90/10 audio taper and Fender Greasebucket tone control PCB for only the neck pickup
• 250k audio push-push tone pot with Fender Greasebucket tone control PCB for only the bridge pickup; the push-push switch overrides the 5-way switch and defaults to middle + neck pickup (in parallel) as a preset
• Middle pickup is without tone control
Let’s break this down piece-by-piece to decode it:
Pickups
The pickup set is a custom SSS set from the Seymour Duncan company with the following specs:
• Overwound hum-canceling stacked bridge pickup with a 3-conductor wire and shield in permanent hum-canceling mode (red wire taped off), bevelled alnico 5 magnets, approximately 14.5k-ohm DCR
• Overwound middle single-coil, RWRP, beveled alnico 4 magnets, approximately 7.1k-ohm DCR
• Overwound neck single-coil, bevelled alnico 4 magnets, approx. 7.0k-ohm DCR
The pickups are voiced for clear highs, which perfectly suits Wong’s funky playing style and tone. While a lot of pickup companies will have pickups in that ballpark, it will be difficult to put together a full set that really works as intended. The Duncans in the Cory Wong Strat are available as a balanced set, so if you want to get as close as possible, I think this is your best bet.
5-Way Pickup Selector Switch
Nothing special here, just the standard 5-way switch with two switching stages that is wired like a classic Stratocaster:
bridge
bridge + middle in parallel
middle
middle + neck in parallel
neck
The upper tone pot is assigned to the neck pickup, while the lower tone pot is connected to the bridge pickup, leaving the middle pickup without tone control.
Master volume pot and treble-bleed circuit.
The 250k master volume pot is a standard CTS pot with a 90/10 audio taper found in all U.S.-made Fender guitars. The volume pot has the treble-bleed circuit from the Fender American Pro series, but uses a ready-to-solder PCB from Fender instead of individual electronic parts. The PCB is available from Fender individually (part #7711092000), but I have some thoughts about it. While using a PCB makes a lot of sense for mass production, it has some downsides for us mortal human beings:
• Soldering on PCBs requires some training and also special soldering tools.
• The PCB is quite expensive, while the individual electronic parts are only a few cents.
• The PCB uses ultra-tiny surface-mount parts, so it’s very difficult to repair or mod it to your personal taste.
I don’t think we need a PCB for adding a treble-bleed circuit, so let’s do this project using conventional electronic parts. The treble-bleed PCB contains a 1200 pF capacitor with a 150k-ohm resistor in parallel, plus another 20k-ohm resistor in series. Using individual parts, it looks like this:
Courtesy of single-coil.com
In general, a treble-bleed circuit will help you to combat the “volume vs. tone problem” when using passive single-coil pickups. When you turn down the volume (even just a bit), the high end or treble loss is not proportionate. In other words, a small cut in volume creates a far greater loss in your guitar’s treble response. Using a treble-bleed circuit is an easy way to get rid of this problem, as long as it is calculated carefully.
ONLINE ONLY: If you want to find out more about treble bleed circuits please have a look here: https://www.premierguitar.com/diy/mod-garage/treble-bleed-mod
Next month, we will continue with part two of the Cory Wong Stratocaster wiring, bringing it all together, so stay tuned!
Until then ... keep on modding!