HeeBGB wrote:Part of the reason I added new sections and WANTED (past tense) to add more sections was to increase traffic.
I certainly don't mind them being there. I'll eventually build the JTM-45 from hell. I do believe the two long lived sections have been scoured by the long lived here. That's all. Perhaps we should come up with a collaboration amp? A "Mister Potato" head of all our liking. Then blueprint and build it.
Dibs on the name, by the way......
I think what is missing is the spirit of discovery and the excitement of exploring the unknown.
If you look all the way back to the beginning posts of the Dumble forum no one knew anything. They were kind of like kids trying to avoid electrocution while sharing amp porn. Over years thousands of posts were shared as amps were revealed, dissected and analyzed.
Amateurs turned pro as the different versions of the amps of HAD and Fisher were taken from mystery to the point were a novice could consider building one. That fact strangers were able to meet on the internet and share knowledge in order to develop the amps remains the outstanding social contribution of this forum.
From this work dozens of companies were launched and profit models were explored, the spirit of discovery fell by the way side to the idea the one company may have a one up on the other. Friends became competitors and the sharing dried up. When people complained and asked why the now pro builders don't share anymore they replied by saying that they didn't want to share because every time they did Nik of Ceritone would "steal" the information.
Consiquentky, Nik and his company were verbally flogged repetitively. At times Nik was physically threatened and racially insulted. I'm really not interested in dragging out the debate on Nik's ethics but the fact remains that all Nik did, like everyone else here, was take information posted on a public domain and use it to his advantage.
Somehow, de gooping an amp, studying photos, making a layout or schematic turned into a sense of ownership of the information. I've always wondered how Alexander Dumble feels about "bootleggers" taking the information they got from his work and making it their proprietary information. The more knowledge was revealed they more people tired to hold on to secrets. The apex of this unsavory behavior was the fuss over the SSS.
The reality of it is that most of the Dumble designs have been dissected and stripped of their hype and the truth is that the man only made 5-8 variations on the ODS and a handful of other designs which were never popular enough to get past the single digit serial numbers. We can only talk about these amps so long before the conversation becomes redundant.
Newbee questions became annoying because they had been ask so many times that asking them again implied laziness on the part of the poster. After all, do we really need another 10 page thread on coax cable? The new answer became "learn to use the search function".
A while ago I started my SSS build as an experiment. I wanted to see if I built the amp slowly and post as I went if anyone would come to my aid. Specifically would any of the "pros" some of who know the bugs in the layout and schematic would be big enough men to share. It is sad that my SSS remains nonfunctional (soon to change). What is even sadder is that I received over 20 PMs from guys telling what a**holes the pros were for not helping me.
Sorry, I didn't mean for this to turn into such a rant, remember "its just my opinion"
These things tend to come in cycles, until then there's always "garage talk"
Eric
1949 Zenith, Zenith Toggle Recoil, Zenith 55 & 440
I discovered after building Trainwrecks and Dumbles that I love Marshalls more
Then I discovered I like simple PTP amps even more so my focus changed to working on old amps.
I need to find two different step filter switches before I can button up my SSS, I need 7 position switches and I got 12 position. Oh well live and learn.
I'll probably build a Ceriatone SSS kit next the layout seems easy enough.
dreric wrote:The reality of it is that most of the Dumble designs have been dissected and stripped of their hype and the truth is that the man only made 5-8 variations on the ODS and a handful of other designs which were never popular enough to get past the single digit serial numbers. We can only talk about these amps so long before the conversation becomes redundant.
Newbee questions became annoying because they had been ask so many times that asking them again implied laziness on the part of the poster. After all, do we really need another 10 page thread on coax cable? The new answer became "learn to use the search function".
Have people stopped tweaking their amps? You can learn something from most tweaks, which is something that is often worth discussing. As a first-time builder, I relied heavily on Gil, dogears etc. writing "comparing value or component A and B, I preferred value or component B". I've done some tweaks myself, of course, but I don't have the money or patience to start testing transformers, NOS resistors, rare non-ROHS capacitors (6PS are way too expensive and hard to find in Europe) etc. etc.. I also often feel like I simply don't have the ear to do the more subtle tweaks.
We've still got the whole self-feedbacking mystery to solve (Feedback City), and the SSS isn't fully explored yet. Who here can make their own ODS without copying a serial number? I tried it, and the more similar I made it to #102 and #124, the better it started sounding. I've read more than 75% (maybe even all of it) of the entire dumble discussion forum, but I don't know enough to crack the code.
There is still a lot of amps I wanna build.Time and money is an issue.
I agree with Mark less is more.
I remeber when I was a young teen going into a shop and seeing all these tweed fenders and thinking who would want one of those little stupid lookin things?There's only like 3 knobs
I like amps with 8 controls. I don't like cutting IEC holes. I think the bias supply and maybe the outup section need a board but everything else either fits nicely on the pots or the sockets. I used to think caps and resistors were the most important thing ever. Resistors still might be. I don't know.
I used to think I needed more tubes for more gain. I used to think I needed more gain. I don't need more gain.
Eric, replace anything that looks funny in the SSS with Marshall stuff. It will sound better and SSsing.
Signatures have a 255 character limit that I could abuse, but I am not Cecil B. DeMille.
Structo wrote:I'm not sure how many amps, if any, I will build in the future but I still enjoy the camaraderie here and talking about all things tubes.
I'm in the same boat. I'm may suck at the camaraderie, but I come here for my Structo fix since I don't see you at ReRanch much anymore.
Yeah, I haven't built any more guitars since I left there.
A few members there ruined the experience for me and besides, I already had a million posts there.
Got more into the amps side of the equation and I love electronics more.
I admire you guys that can take a piece of wood and make a guitar.
When I had patience I could woodwork but not anymore and never to the degree of the talented builders I've seen. Wood finishing is a whole other discipline I appreciate.
