'Dumble Lives On' Drew Berlin Premier Guitar interview

[ThePanda]

Some insights into Dumble from Drew Berlin.

https://www.premierguitar.com/features/ ... e-lives-on

[martin manning]

Interesting, still telling pretty much the same story and still no specifics around future production. A couple of numbers were quoted that are of interest: "There were 11 Steel String Singers, and I think 12 Overdrive Reverbs were made" [D. Berlin]. Can't help but wonder who those inner circle techs are ;^)

[Bombacaototal]

Interesting, still telling pretty much the same story and still no specifics around future production. A couple of numbers were quoted that are of interest: "There were 11 Steel String Singers, and I think 12 Overdrive Reverbs were made" [D. Berlin]. Can't help but wonder who those inner circle techs are ;^)

There were actually 12 SSS amps (at least)

[martin manning]

There were actually 12 SSS amps (at least)

Source?

[Bombacaototal]

#1 is the combo
#2 and 4 are with Mayer
#3 is David Lindley now with Santana
#5 is EJ/Santana now with a new owner
#6 is SRV Silver face
#7 is first SRV blackface
#8 is dumble own one that was at namm
#9 is SRV second blackface (Austin City Limits 88).
#10 is Kirk Hammet
#11 is Larry Carlton SSS which was a copy of 005
#12 is Santana gold faceplate SSS from 2000's

[martin manning]

Maybe one has been counted twice? the Dumble Preservation Society (DPS) has all the records, so if Berlin says "there were 11 Steel String Singers," I would tend to believe him.

[Max]

...the Dumble Preservation Society (DPS) has all the records,...

Source?

[martin manning]

...the Dumble Preservation Society (DPS) has all the records,...

Source?

In recent interviews Berlin has said that he and his partner Matt Swanson, AKA the DPS, have all of HAD's records and schematics. There are links on the forum to the YouTube video where he said that.

[Max]

Given the alleged completeness of these documents, how do you explain the fact that the expert report signed by D. Berlin for the "Dumbleland Concert Amplifier" linked below (the expert report is shown in the last image) states, "It is believed that no more than 30 Dumbleland Amplifiers were ever made." https://reverb.com/item/82891931-dumble ... eamp-54163 Why doesn't he simply write down exactly how many were ever made according to his complete documents?

And why then does he not say in this Premier Guitar interview exactly how many overdrive amplifiers with reverb were made according to his documents, but instead says, "I think 12 overdrive reverbs were made"? How do you explain this vagueness when he has all the documents, including the circuit diagrams, at his disposal?

[pottedplant]

Given the alleged completeness of these documents, how do you explain the fact that the expert report signed by D. Berlin for the "Dumbleland Concert Amplifier" linked below (the expert report is shown in the last image) states, "It is believed that no more than 30 Dumbleland Amplifiers were ever made." https://reverb.com/item/82891931-dumble ... eamp-54163 Why doesn't he simply write down exactly how many were ever made according to his complete documents?

And why then does he not say in this Premier Guitar interview exactly how many overdrive amplifiers with reverb were made according to his documents, but instead says, "I think 12 overdrive reverbs were made"? How do you explain this vagueness when he has all the documents, including the circuit diagrams, at his disposal?

Maybe the priority for them was to locate/research the records for the more common amplifiers like ODS so they haven't studied how many Dumblelands there were exactly when that statement was given. There are so many explanations but we have no other source than the people who are in control of Dumble's records. You kinda have to just go with it. It's 2 guys after all...

[ChopSauce]

In my book there is no such thing as an expert claiming that he knows everything in his field. On the contrary, as soon as he starts to think that he knows everything he ceases to learn and starts to loose something of his expertise - when dealing with Dumble's stuff, especially ... precaution seems to be advisable - though I wrote this just out of my ignorance of the subject ... (-;

[Max]

There were actually 12 SSS amps (at least)

Maybe one has been counted twice?

In my opinion, a discussion about the correct number of SSS, ODR, DL, etc. amplifiers built by Alexander Dumble during his lifetime makes little sense without the participants in that discussion first agreeing on which kind of amplifier should be included in each list.

Some examples of what I mean by this:

Should the "Dumbleland Concert" power amplifier be counted among the DL amplifiers because the word "Dumbleland" is on the front panel, or not because it is only a power amplifier?
Should the SSS, DL, and ODR amplifiers exported to Europe be included in the lists or not?
Should the ODS 150W #0121 be counted among the ODR amplifiers because it has overdrive and reverb, or not because the front panel does not say "Overdrive Reverb"?
Should the Silver Alligator 150W amp be included in the DL amplifier count because it has the model name "DL-150VG" on the back, or not because it has no filters?
Should the “Dumble Special” 008 with the gold front panel be included in the SSS amplifier count even though it has no reverb?
etc.

[martin manning]

Max, of course I do not know how truthfully or precisely Berlin is likely to be speaking in these interviews, and he may actually have reasons to speak imprecisely there or in a statement attached to a Dumble amplifier offered for sale. Maintaining some level of uncertainty around the exact production figures adds to the cachet that drives the monetary value of existing and future production amps up. In any case he quoted an exact number of SSS produced. I have heard that HAD kept a file folder of information including the schematic for each amp he built. If that is true, and the DPS now has that information, they know everything that the rest of us have been guessing about for decades.

Edit: The points you make above might explain why “I think” prefaced the quoted number of ODR.

[Bombacaototal]

Max, why do you overcomplicate?

Whatever he called an ODS is an ODS (incl. 121)

Whatever he called a SSS is a SSS

Whatever he called a DL is a DL (incl the alligator)

[Max]

... Whatever he called a SSS is a SSS ...

And how do you know he called #8 in your SSS list "Steel String Singer" and not “Dumble Special”?