chewy notes on D-style amps

[Structo]

You will find the Ford #102 circuit in the Files section.

I also recommend a Dumbleator if you want to add any reverb or delay to the mix.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edOCecK7v5A

[greg54]

I've had several Dumble clones, and some were chewy, others not so much. Volume had nothing to do with it, though. It was the individual amps, the way they were voiced.

Thanks anyways, guys. I appreciate the help.

[greg54]

You will find the Ford #102 circuit in the Files section.

I also recommend a Dumbleator if you want to add any reverb or delay to the mix.

I do have a Dumbleator. Thanks.

[dcribbs1412]

Hi greg54
Nice amp...my 2 cents from small amount of experience and reading here.
not sure if you are wanting to do any changes yourself or not.
tubes(power and pre,NOS or new) and voltages matter...you can use the lay out for voltages..DMM required.
Speaker or speakers matter, have an original(old) 12-65 and it is different than the newer 12-65 and EV12L
Also I do think a 100 watt has a different feel to it than a 50 watter.

Up to you if you are going to go further and
heat up a soldering iron and experiment with your amp...that is when
I learned most about getting the tones I was looking for. This is place
with the people, knowledge, and experience that can guide you.

Darin

[greg54]

Hi Darin -

I currently have NOS tubes but use a newer 12-65. I downloaded the #102 layout. I figured I would learn by just getting in there and trying a couple of things.
Thanks for your suggestions.

Greg

Hi greg54
Nice amp...my 2 cents from small amount of experience and reading here.
not sure if you are wanting to do any changes yourself or not.
tubes(power and pre,NOS or new) and voltages matter...you can use the lay out for voltages..DMM required.
Speaker or speakers matter, have an original(old) 12-65 and it is different than the newer 12-65 and EV12L
Also I do think a 100 watt has a different feel to it than a 50 watter.

Up to you if you are going to go further and
heat up a soldering iron and experiment with your amp...that is when
I learned most about getting the tones I was looking for. This is place
with the people, knowledge, and experience that can guide you.

Darin

[dcribbs1412]

greg54
Not sure about your experience with amps.
So take your time and be mindful of high voltages.
Always have a load on the OT or speaker plugged in.
And ask questions.

Darin

[greg54]

greg54
Not sure about your experience with amps.
So take your time and be mindful of high voltages.
Always have a load on the OT or speaker plugged in.
And ask questions.

Darin

I'm new, but I'm trying to be careful. Thanks, Darin, I appreciate it.

Greg

[Structo]

Greg, my first D style amp, if you can call it that, was a 2x 6L6 Brown Note D'lite 44 kit.
I learned a lot on that amp about tuning and tweaking the circuit with the great help offered here.

Many guys here recommended that I build a 100w ODS amp because there is just something about four 6L6GC tubes, even at lower volume.
There is just "more" tone with four 6L6's to use one adjective.
In this case, more is better.

But I thought, I don't need a 100 watt amp because they are just too loud.
Well when you double the power from 50 watts, you only gain a 6db increase in volume.

So I built one and I can totally agree with what they told me.
This is the perfect amp for me.
And a very versatile amp depending where you set the knobs.

There is just more "tone".
It sounds bigger/ fuller, even at lower volumes.
Most of the time I play at louder bedroom levels.
I know when I have exceeded the "house volume" levels when my wife yells at me.

And with a Dumbleator, you can set the amp controls up in the sweet spot.
For me that is preamp volume around 1:00 and the Master about the same or higher.

Then I control the actual volume of the amp with the output pot on the Dumbleator.

Another thing to keep in mind if you want that Ford sound is playing technique.
Robben uses kind of a unique picking style not to mention he uses the guitar volume a lot to either clean up or to increase overdrive.

Ever notice he sounds pretty much the same whether he is playing his tele or LP type guitar?

You would have to study his playing to get those same type of phrasing.
And since everybody plays different it can be a challenge to get that same tone.

Now I don't come close to his level of playing but for me this amp is just perfect with very good blackface clean tones and a great overdrive.

Robben uses old Celestion G12-65 speakers and is very picky about which ones he uses.

Supposedly the newer Heritage line of G12-65's are close to the originals.

http://celestion.com/product/26/heritage_series_g1265/

I use two EV 12L Classics and I like them because they are pretty transparent and really let the amp tone shine through.

So I encourage you to hang out here and read all the past threads about Dumble amps here.
You will learn a lot and you should be able to gain the knowledge to tune your amp to your tastes.

Sorry for the long winded reply but there is a lot to learn about these amps and how to play them.

[greg54]

I appreciate all the info you've given, Structo.
I love Robben's playing and tone, but I don't even try to do what he does.

I've been reading some older posts here, and trying to gather info. I'm just going to take it slowly and do a little here and there.

Right now, my 50 watter is good enough for me. Maybe down the line I'll look into a 100 watt.

Thanks again.

Greg

[Structo]

You are welcome Greg.

This forum is not the best organized forum as far as the structure goes but sometimes we feel that is for the best, since it takes a bit of work to find the answers to some questions asked here.

So dig in and the older threads can be real game changers as far as the information provided goes.

Can I infer from your username that you were born in 1954?
If so you are in good company because I think most members here are in their early to late 50's.

I'm a 1956 kid.

[greg54]

Can I infer from your username that you were born in 1954?
If so you are in good company because I think most members here are in their early to late 50's.

I'm a 1956 kid.

Good guess, Structo. Yes, 59 years young.

Greg

[telentubes]

me too, 1954

[rogb]

...

Can I infer from your username that you were born in 1954?
If so you are in good company because I think most members here are in their early to late 50's.

I'm a 1956 kid.

The 56ers - a great vintage

[10thTx]

1950

[da Geezer]

Birth = very early 1960

However, I've always considered myself a 59 model, as that's when I was conceived.....sorta reverse from how the automakers do it!