Favourite clips

[Stephen1966]

So guys, I have a proposition for you. What are the tunes you go to when you really want to put a Dumble through its paces?

Dynamics, attack, register, harmonics, sustain, clean, OD, timbre, FX???

I love hearing you guys play so YouTube, scratchy cell-phone recordings, anything is possible. Even famous artist's clips if that's your bag. Clips please, the "picture" paints a thousand words.

Stephen

[talbany]

Not sure I know what you mean by put it through it's paces? but there are a few of 102 I shoot for, there are of course many others
That Road for me is the sound!
ODS/ 102
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efJL3ilkJpA
SSS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga6RAwIMxD4


Tony

[Stephen1966]

RFs tone is off the scale - meaty, crunchy lows and glassy highs. Great dynamic range and as he's going up the neck it's got a great transparency - the transition from the growling, energetic lows to the harmonic laden highs is as smooth as Swiss chocolate. There was a moment towards the end, it was starting to develop that hollow, tubey, rich mid sound, it sailed by in the blink of an eye... More MrRF, more please! [Listened again, couldn't find - literally, blink and you miss it.] That's the 102 right? I'm guessing also, he's paired it up with Celestion speakers (G12-65s???). I've got a Vintage 30 in my Tweedle Dee and it pushes out the higher frequencies. The G12-65s seem to push the mid range better.

The SSS clip took me back, so that was Ry Cooder playing through a SSS? Who would have thunk it! I don't ever remember Ralph Macchio having anything more than a crappy, no-name practice amp... the magic of movies! It was the earlier scene with William Kanengiser's playing of the classical guitar that got me started: Mozart, Turkish March - looong story! Along the way, I heard Ry Cooder got a raw deal from that gig. Always loved his sound though. On Bop 'Til You Drop - a favourite album way back - it was a completely different kettle of fish. The SSS is more my cup of tea now, though I'm not well-versed enough to separate the raw sound from the post production effects. Beautifully clean and a ton of upper partials are what I hear. Makes a nice change from the sheer power of SRV. Love it all.

You've done some tasty clips as well Tony, there's one with a Tele I really like, which is really dynamic. Feel like sharing?

Stephen

[talbany]

This is as close as I can get to the Jing Chi growl (w/Telecaster spank)Ideally I would like to get slightly hotter Pups with fatter mids!
but you get the idea.



Tony

[Stephen1966]

This is as close as I can get to the Jing Chi growl (w/Telecaster spank)Ideally I would like to get slightly hotter Pups with fatter mids!
but you get the idea.
...

Tony

Very cool! Yeah! Hotter pups? It's got a really clear but unobtrusive attack, not ice-pick like to my ears at all. Hotter might get you closer to that gnarly bass and deeper mid sound, but could it also be a bit of a trade off with more penetrating attack? Seems the way to go but it might lead to you adapting your playing style slightly. More headroom when you dig in though. Win-win
[It would be interesting to hear how you sound with it, using a pick]

[j0k3335]

... I will keep this one

[talbany]

This is as close as I can get to the Jing Chi growl (w/Telecaster spank)Ideally I would like to get slightly hotter Pups with fatter mids!
but you get the idea.
...

Tony

Very cool! Yeah! Hotter pups? It's got a really clear but unobtrusive attack, not ice-pick like to my ears at all. Hotter might get you closer to that gnarly bass and deeper mid sound, but could it also be a bit of a trade off with more penetrating attack? Seems the way to go but it might lead to you adapting your playing style slightly. More headroom when you dig in though. Win-win
[It would be interesting to hear how you sound with it, using a pick]

Yeah that's exactly right! you lose a bit of the clarity and chime on the top end, so it's a trade off. I have other guitars that are a bit hotter so? If your asking about the nuances that are inherent in the design build aspects of a high plate Skyline that shapes my playing in a way that inspires me would first and foremost be the response, a soft lite touch is all you need, i never feel like I am fighting with it to get a clear sound, mistakes and all ( why i don't use a pick), when you dig in or do double stops the amps starts to growl, so in that respect it's very organic. The high plate Skyliners for me still have plenty of lower mids, even with underwound Pups, which it why i dig the Tele/102 combo, low plates are thinner sounding in the mids but work better for neck position pickups.
The high plates also seem to want to sustain longer than the low plates could be the different frequency response and gain structure/headroom (this is what it feels like) the last attribute is the balance. There is not a big shift in tone between the clean and OD side other than a slight reduction it top end clarity and of course the added gain sustain, breakup etc, it's just more of the same. With the right parts and built to spec, the amp is clear, balanced never harsh, fuzzy.
102 is also not a perfect amp for me either it has it's weaknesses too. Low plates/Classics/Music Mans/ 183 all have different personalities. Unfortunately not everyone knows what's right for them until they play the thing, this is why I built as many of the different model ODS's as I could afford to see which one best suited me.

Always interested in hearing someone else's take on the same amp

Tony

[Stephen1966]

... I will keep this one
...

This is why I like these amps so much. Edgy - another great demonstration of fingerstyle technique. Trained as a classical guitarist, all that tone and dynamics came from the right hand. I once used to think I would never become and el. guitarist because of all the gear I would need to cart around - "Just give me the guitar!" But thankfully, I now see that the amp, guitar, pickups etc work as a system to extend/augment the possibilities of the tonal palette. Take us right to the edge, and beyond. I'm thinking of the amp as an instrument as well, in much the same way as the guitar. Seems to me, a lot of people don't necessarily think that. They plug their custom-shop-whatever, they sold a kidney for, into any old amp and they get what they're given. More likely, they plug in to something their idol plays, thinking that will be the magic ingredient. There are so many original artists out there that project a unique sound, a signature sound. And it came to me late, after practicing scales and arpeggios until my fingers bled, that the music doesn't just come from the page, and it certainly doesn't just come from technique, it comes because of who you are. So as an experiment, we could plug RF into the worst amp you could imagine, give him a guitar all twisted and worn, maybe snip one of the strings off as well, and then see what happens. My money is on RF sounding just as compelling.

Good instruments, like these amps, don't hold the player back. They fit right in with the creative imagination allowing you to reach your musical goals, and exceed them. Tales of MrD tuning the amps to the player, makes me think this is what he was doing too. I'm speculating of course, but maybe this is why your average player couldn't just walk in off the street and ask him to build them an amp. In a sense, the people he made the amps for, didn't actually need them to sound great. What they got, was something that liberated their creative impulses. So does it do it for you? In the kindest way possible, I hope so.

So, come on guys, we are all looking for something... are your amps doing the job you intended them for? It's great to have clips of established artists. Love 'em! But I'm interested in hearing you put your creations to work as well. Trust me, when you hear me, you will realise it has nothing to do with being able to play well

Stephen