Oak Cliff Special (SSS Derivative)

[ok matt]

So I was was intrigued by the video that mayer did for buyers of the 83 one off black1 strats.

Part 1:
http://youtu.be/4g7J9q8ePkg

Part 2:
http://youtu.be/ElCa5xaay5Y

I saw what appeared to be the typical 2 Alessandro cabs and a steel string singer sized amp. However, I noticed in a non-hd version listed above that it did not appear to have the vox grill cloth. I chased down a higher quality version put out by the custom shop and managed to confirm that it is not his normal singer at 0:45 seconds. Make sure to turn on 720p

http://youtu.be/0atm5fVnk4M?t=45s

I originally could not make out the first line of the model name but realized that the second two lines said "cliff special". A quick google search reveals that SRV grew up in a town or neighborhood called Oak Cliff.

So what? Well I would be interested to know who made this amp: HAD, Brandon, Alessandro? Has it shown up anywhere else? Either way it is very intriguing. Furthermore, the first two videos I posted are stellar examples of an SSS amp by itself with no pedals.

[ok matt]

A little more digging... It appears to have come from Two Rock:

http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?s ... 3001699384

Supposedly an exact replica of the Texas Flood amp. 3 in existence.

[10thTx]

I originally could not make out the first line of the model name but realized that the second two lines said "cliff special". A quick google search reveals that SRV grew up in a town or neighborhood called Oak Cliff

Oak Cliff as in/by Dallas, Tx.

With respect, 10thtx

[Max]

Supposedly an exact replica of the Texas Flood amp.

IMO it's rather unlikely that the circuit of the Two Rock Oak Cliff you see in this video is an "exact replica" of the circuit of Jackson Browne's Dumbleland, which reportedly has been used by SRV for the "Texas Flood" recordings:

The Two Rock "Oak Cliff" you see in this video obviously is a toploaded amp like SRV's SSS's and based on the number of pots you see in this video IMO it seems to have a reverb, just like SRV's SSS's, too. And Jackson Brownes's Dumbleland doesn't have a reverb (see the attached pictures of the Jackson Browne's Dumbleland, which SRV reportedly used for the "Texas Flood" recordings in Jackson Browne's studio. Picture source: http://www.roblivesey.com/dumble/ ).

Cheers,

Max

[ok matt]

You are the expert Max! I agree that it doesn't look like a Dumbleland. However, I'm confused as to why Two Rock would bother to make a new named variant... They already have the Sterling Signature etc.. Wonder which SSS it is a copy of? Nonetheless interesting to hear the amp with no other accompaniment. Some really nice singing bends at the start of part 2 video.

[Max]

I'm confused as to why Two Rock would bother to make a new named variant... They already have the Sterling Signature etc.. Wonder which SSS it is a copy of?

Perhaps the Two Rock "Oak Cliff Special" is just a 150W version of the 100W "Sterling Signature"? But this is of course only speculating.

There has IMO been (and perhaps still is) some confusion in regard to the "Texas Flood" tone and SRV's SSS's in general:

AFAIK many guitar players and Dumble enthusiasts - SRV fans in special - got intrigued by the Dumble SSS, because they thought that the Dumble amp which has been used for many years by SRV has been a usual SSS (if there's a "usual SSS" anyway).

By this misunderstanding SRV's tone became associated with this Dumble model name (SSS), because many people haven't (or perhaps still aren't) aware that the tone of the 150W SSS's Alexander Dumble built for SRV is more like a sort of a "recreation" or "replica" of the tone of Jackson Browne's Dumbleland than the tone of a usual 150W SSS like e.g. Eric Johnson's (now used by Carlos Santana).

IMO someone who chases the "Texas Flood" tone and the tones of SRV's many live performances with his "Dumbleland - Steel String Singers" will perhaps be more happy with a "usual" 150W Dumbleland Special than with a "usual" 150W Steel String Singer. This is the reason why Brandon - AFAIR what he once posted concerning this - builds (at least) two different versions of his 150W High Plains Drifter - one with the unique "SRV-DL-style-circuit" and one with the more "usual" "EJ-style-circuit".

IMO one should be aware anyway that even these special "Dumbleland-Singers" built for SRV aren't 100% "tonal replicas" of Jackson Browne's Dumbleland. Just listen to SRV's "Texas Flood" tone with this Dumbleland and then to his "Dumbleland-SSS" tone of one of his later live performances where he did use only his SSS and the Fenders you see on stage are only used to run the Leslie. If you compare his record "Texas Flood" with e.g. his live performance in Montreux 1985 (2nd DVD of the two DVD set "SRV and DT Live At Montreux 1982 & 1985") you might get an idea about the differences between the tone of a Dumbleland ("Texas Flood") and the tone of his "DL-SSS" (Montreux 1985).

AFAIK there aren't many recordings where you can listen to someone using a more "usual" original Dumble SSS 150W - like the one of EJ - used for "singing" lead guitar solo work. Larry Carlton's "Renegade Gentleman" is indeed the only one that comes to my mind right now.

Or does someone here know other recordings for which an original "usual" (EJ-style) Dumble SSS 150W has been used for "singing" lead guitar solo parts?

Cheers,

Max

[tictac]

Is there any info about the Dumbleland circuitry other than the schematic posted in the Dumble Files section?

There have been several comments about that circuit not being 100% accurate.

Looking at the 12AU7/12BH7 phase inverter of the Dumbleland the plateload

resistors don't seem like the correct values either...

TT