What happens now?

[Synesthesia]

With the unfortunate passing of Mr. Dumble recently, there has been a fair number of discussion on the internet (podcasts, articles, etc.) about the man himself where some very interesting new information and even photographs have now seen the light of day.

I hope that this is not a "too soon" moment but.... This has all led me to ponder the future of several things regarding both the man himself and his creations.

1. What's going to happen to all of the (finished, older, sold-back, etc.) amps that may still be lying around the house/shop? Ditto for all of the other electronic equipment? If he had a will, is it more likely that he'd leave it with family given his private nature? Or if there was no will, what becomes of all that stuff? Will the extremely rare Dumble stuff (Explosion, Winterland, Angel's Breath, etc.) make appearances at auctions? For that matter, if he had any amps still pending completion, what becomes of those?

2. I'm not certain of the pre-2022 status of this as it was, but would "unmolested" Dumble amps (completely original and/or only ever worked on by him) increase in value because of the now impossibility of him working on them? For example, would #XYZ now be more valuable than #ABC because the latter had been modified by someone not named Dumble?

3. Did he leave behind a network, however small or large, of technicians that he trusted to work on his amps with discretion? Did he ever have this kind of network? I recall a story Bruce Egnater told about SRV in the 80's where Egnater already had Dumble's number even before SRV came in for amp repairs.

4. Did he leave behind a family of which we were unaware? I faintly recall reading or listening to something that mentioned an (apparently still-living?) older brother named Allan/Allen/Alan. This may partially answer #1 but not really. Either way, I feel for them losing a loved one and I'm sure all of us do as well.

[dbharris]

1. If he doesn't have a Will or Trust, all of his assets would pass to his closest relatives under California law. I am not privy to what his family composition is. If he did proper estate planning, he would leave his property anyway he desired and to anyone he chose. Who knows. Will that person or entity sell this stuff? Again who knows. More likely that a licensing deal, with say Fender custom shop, would be far more lucrative in the long run. He was not super aggresive with legal enforcement, with a new owner to his IP that could change. I think it's certain we will see more fakes passed off as the man's work. Will the amps skyrocket in value now? I don't think so. The likelihood of having HAD make you an amp is the same today as it was a year or 10 years ago for 99.9999% of us. Will values continue to increase over time? Most likely.

2. Perhaps. But amps need regular service and anyone wanting to play them, not sit them out for show only, will understand certain parts have a useful life and then require replacement. If I had the scratch, I would choose an amp that sounded best with me playing it, whether it had been recapped or not. Circuit modifications are a different story.

3. I have no info on this.

4. Not sure.

All of this is just my two pfs.

-Dan

[martin manning]

Unfortunate, but true:

[Synesthesia]

Unfortunate, but true:

You expect the belongings to get "picked apart by the birds", I take it? Or that companies will pick his designs (and possibly product names) apart like vultures and use them much more obviously than ever before due to the nonexistent legal threats?

[Charlie Wilson]

Hmmm, guy just passed away and we are worried about his stuff. Aint humanity great?
CW

[martin manning]

Unfortunate, but true:

You expect the belongings to get "picked apart by the birds", I take it? Or that companies will pick his designs (and possibly product names) apart like vultures and use them much more obviously than ever before due to the nonexistent legal threats?

I’m saying I don’t think there will be any shortage of scavengers arriving for whatever bits of his legacy they can get.

[dbharris]

No disrespect was intended on my part. I'm an estate planning and business attorney, so these thoughts are just part of my trade and training.

-Dan

[martin manning]

That's all necessary and good. I hope he had things in order.

[Synesthesia]

There was no disrespect intended on my part either; I was curious about the fate of the "stuff" merely because his amps are at the center of conversation here.

[ChopSauce]

Well not "his amps", more "building amps like him". Yet some people were lucky enough to own/use/repair real Dumble amps, your matter does not really seem to be what this forum is about. You may have been mistaken ...

[j0k3335]

Well not "his amps", more "building amps like him". Yet some people were lucky enough to own/use/repair real Dumble amps, your matter does not really seem to be what this forum is about. You may have been mistaken ...

however, it concerns a little around this forum:
after the pain, the affect, the owners of Dumble will wonder about the maintenance of their Dumble amps.

... and there, I think that inevitably people on this forum will be concerned for their mastery, their skills.

[Synesthesia]

Well not "his amps", more "building amps like him". Yet some people were lucky enough to own/use/repair real Dumble amps, your matter does not really seem to be what this forum is about. You may have been mistaken ...

I agree that much of the discussion is "building amps like his", but that does immediately imply discussion of "his amps", does it not? Are there not threads dedicated to sound examples of "his amps" with only secondary or tertiary mention of "building amps like his"? Any rarities that never were public knowledge before might well be of some interest now (especially if they sound good) to those interested in "building amps like his".

[dgrainger]

I would be more concerned with someone like Gibson acquiring the trademark/IP and aggressively going after builders of derivative work and clones.

[rccolgan]

I would be more concerned with someone like Gibson acquiring the trademark/IP and aggressively going after builders of derivative work and clones.

Now this really makes ya think....

[drew]

I predict that what happens now is that his cremated remains will be mounded on a strip of woodgrain Formica, encased in goop, and sold to Jim Irsay for $3 million (outbidding John Mayer).