Funkalicousgroove wrote: topology sounds pretty identical to the SSS, aside from the Iron, My curiosity lies in what makes a SSS a SSS vs a Dumbleland?
Have they all had reverb?
BTW, recovery amp is the correct term
Hi Brandon,
Let's go on:
My personal opinion is, that to understand the differences btween a SSS and a DL it is a good idea to have a look on the "history" of these amps.
In a short cut as I perceive this:
Mr. Dumble, as a guitarplayer, did like fender amps but obviously found tone and dynamics of the blackface fender amps of the sixties not "state of the art": They did not move enough air for his taste, their tone was not "broad" enough, less bottom end as he liked and less open harmonic richness.
Mr. Dumble decided to build (for himself and other musicians) his own guitar amp in a way to correct these insufficencies (for his taste) of the blackface fender amps of his time: Well known example of these mighty early monsters: The "Winterland", that was offered sometimes on the bay. The sound of this Winterland should be very similar to the clean sound of the preamp of your small "Overdrive Deluxe" on your shelf fed into a high (at least 130) wattage 6550A or KT88 "High-Fidelity" tube Amp. Make a try (if you did not already) and let me know if I am right.
The idea behind this "Winterland" concept is to create a beautiful sustaining an harmonically rich guitar tone by making a state of the art (from a technical point of view) preamp, that does not ruin and twist the tone already in his first stages of amplification and processing, and apply tone shaping by EQ in a careful way to compliment the guitar tone with rich fundamentals sparkle and shine in a way without hampering the Mids, that are so important to "carry" a guitar tone to the audience. If you have such a preamp you just need a powerfull Hifi amp for the amplification of the preamp sound. The job of a Winterland, Dumbleland and SSS Power amp is not to ruin the already harmonically rich an sustaining guitar tone of the preamp and not to compensate for a lack of harmonically richness and sustain by power amp distortion and compression.
But at the time , when these early Dumble monsters (there is a "Winterland" power amp with 8 x 6550A!!) surfaced, a guy in good old england had made use of the 59' Bassman for something different and Hendrix and Clapton made good use of it: Harmonic richness (like the rich and blooming harmonics a bow creates scratching a string of a violin) by power amp distortion! Very different way to achieve harmonically richness!!
A Winterland was "too silky clean" (Dumble) for the guitarplayers of the sixties what led at least to the "Overdrive" concept.
But Dumble never abandoned his best beloved mighty babies and they grew up to the Dumblelands (Step Filters added, three tone knobs etc., it is all on the pics in the net). Dumblelands are alway at least 150 watt or more (300SL = 300W) and you could order them (Dumble catalogue of the late seventies) with or without reverb. But I don't know of a Dumbleland 150 Watt with reverb. But Dumbleland 300SLs with options (reverb and FET input) have been made. As far as I know at least one of the 300SLs has a true plate reverb (instead of springs).
A Dumbleland you could order for bass or for guitar. Some, that have been made for guitar later where used by bass players and vice-versa.
Besides the 4x12 cabinets Dumble made some great folded horn cabinets loaded with 2JBLs. Its unbelievable.
The SSS was introduced almost 10 years after the first Dumble monsters appeared. At first (look at #001) it was made as a "Twin reverb, as it should be, if they only had some engeneers at the Fender factory!"
So #001 is 100 Watt 4 x 6L6 (of course!) a combo (of course!) with reverb (of course!) and (a #1 special) true frequency "Vibrato" (of course?).
I will look at my attic, but as far as I remember now, SSSs in the first time all have been 100 Watt and all with typical Dumble reverb.
As a "clean amp with step filters" the preamp of a SSS has a lot in common with the Dumblelands of the same time. But in my ears even the early SSSs have a tiny bit more "glass" in the sound, while in direct comparision a Dumbleland preamp sounds a tiny bit more "natural" (I dont find a better word), broader and orchestral. And beeing introduced after the ODS they all had FET inputs.
A SSS is a (lead-) guitar amp, period.
Read the introduction of the SSS data sheet on Bill Morgans site.
A Dumbleland is a broader concept.
As guitarists liked the SSS, they evolved into a own family (100 watt, 120 watt, 150 Watt) and the SSS 150 watt replaced the 150 Watt version of the Dumbleland Special for Guitar, when around 1980 the production of the 150W version of Dumblelands was finished (Blackface 300SLs have still been produced for some time after the 150Watt was stopped, some for guitar (preamp very similar to SSS) and some for bass.
To be continued...
All the best
Max
