My son like me and a lot of guitarist are obsessed with Dumble tone or tone in general. He's on his second amp build.
This is a bad punctuation dyslexic ramble yet this morning over coffee I’m sitting smiling thinking of our one son and his obsession.
As home players we play through all tube one to 10 watts. And the latter 10 watts can be too much for use at home at times.
Yet me personally i need headroom as I’m a clean player yet i do enjoy pedals and in my line up for pedals are several Overdrives that pays homage to Howard Dumble.
Now playing through either a black star studio 10 watt with celestial 12 inch and 6L6 tubes of a clone 57 tweed my friend built for me it is around 12 watts eminence 12 inch speaker with 6v6 tubes. Then at times a Marshall 1 watt.
The pedals I use
Veretex ultra phonix that is awesome with my humbuckers.
NUX Steel singer for single coils $30 used I played through it yea I’ll take it.
And Nux boost $ 25 used
And at times a Wah pedal that my amp build friend made for me.
So our one son who is first year college maybe 6 years ago started hanging out with my friend and his son Kelly who father and son both awesome guitarist they lives two miles from us.
I met Jay through local blues association at Saturday open jams back in the late 90’s and he our son would hang with Jay and help him with his projects of amps and pedals.
Jay even winds pickups i have two sets of his pickups humbuckers with Alnico 5 in a Japan Lester les Paul and a set of what he calls his 69’s single coils in mexi strat.
So our son who was what maybe 12 or 13 at that time was really fascinated with amp or pedal builds even working with Jay adding upgrades on guitars at that time he was probably three years into his journey on fretboard.
And he really is into Howard’s tones and amps maybe in 10th grade Kelly and my boy opened my vertex slight return apart at jays work shop studied it and started tweaking it experimenting with builds of their own with Dumble pedals.
So last night I took my boy and his girlfriend out for Saturday night prime rib. These two beautiful humans they have known each other since kindergarten I coached these kids in little league. Then her and family moved yet they moved back maybe 5 years ago and they been friends then couple ever since. They both are like an old couple I often wonder if they were in love in a previous life.
So at dinner last night she’s telling us about her quest for bachelor of science in nursing my son he’s going to college for mathematics. He’s so social yet i could tell his head was somewhere else his girl gets up to use the ladies room.
And dude launches into his next quest of amp build the fellas first attempt at a low watt Howard was sound wise I’d compare it to a VOX that is 15 watts anyway at dinner he pulls pen out his coat starts drawing on napkin his idea of point to point wiring I think I have idea on how I can get more headroom in this next 5 watt build.
And what do you think dad the 57 clone Kelly and I built a tweedle dee a hybrid of tweed tone and Dumble I got home from jersey yesterday with mother in law walk through the door. Dad it’s done the amp come here listen to this oh hey grandma how was your trip.
Yea awesome tone kiddo yet I’ve never jammed through one of Howard’s amps and I don’t have $80 grand to blow on one if I did I wouldn’t. So now more humor we’re home last night and his young lady goes do you wanna go upstairs to your room and watch TV.
Subliminal messaging from her I wanna be alone with you and dude keeps on talking to me as we watched college ball. You know dad jays is cool with Kelly jays son and my sons best friend in using his shop to build more Amps.
They actually sold a 20 watt VHT they upgraded few months ago then received couple phone calls from other guitarists In wanting to know if they could do their amps.
And now these two both 19 in age both boys great fine young men go same local university. And they are trying to figure out maybe how to get their pedals and amps into the public how could we get into Namm.
So I go total Dad last night look dude you go school full time you bust freight casual part time on teamster freight dock his choice yet do not neglect college stay focused . Your Mom and i like your sisters paid for their education as long as they went in state and lived at home that’s what I’m trying to do for you. And your mother was wise with our dollars in investing for kid’s education and our retirement.
Liz and I are both defined pension my teamsters her time with Lehman brothers as a attorney yea that’s going back yet she was smart and I miss her she had that kind of mind and in bed last night I’m thinking dude is so much like his two sisters they are so much like Elizabeth.
Then you have our middle daughter who is so much like I am she’s attorney like her mother yet just so free as a spirit.
So this morning over coffee with our son I explained to him I wasn’t coming down on you telling you stay focused you’re a great guy and I did not do it in front of his girl she was in bathroom.
Then I added you know keep at it you and Kelly on pedal and amp builds because you know look at Paul reed smith he started building guitars in his garage. Life is short do not end up like me a teamster truck driver I want you to excel like your mother and sisters have in careers and that was because of education.
Then I added and your brother is what 7 weeks into Paris island he dropped out of electrical engineering studies at university to enlist and I hope after his time as Marine he goes back to college.
Yet this post is humor because Liz said to me once our son is like me when it comes to guitar (Guitarted) collecting fine made japan guitars has been my hobby since I bought my first tokai les Paul off another soldier in what was then West Germany.
And I’ve always preached never get arrogant thinking you’re a great player over these 46 years I’ve studied anything from my youth if jamming with others from classical guitar and today especially online true fire or other websites to blues always add to your chops.
Anyway just rambling Du community remember love the one your with.
= new reply since forum marked as read
But Howard is now Alexander Dumble. Also just my two cents, but you can buy a BLUDOTONE that while pricey, is not $100K like Dumble's. I've used a slightly modded Traynor YGA-1 for over 50 years, these days also have a small Peavey 40 watt VYPYR, for friends & when playing out. The Traynor has all the bark, knarl, bite , growl & grit one could hope for, also it depends on the P/Us...I've had many, many pedals over the years, these days I'm down to a Johnson J Station, set up for my likes, I'm used to it...had a Boss GT3.
The fun we had in the 1960s, 70s, playing with pots, P/Us, amp circuity...kids have to too easy these days, just buy an effect pedal, cause so & so uses it. No fun at all....
I'm the loudest kid on my block. 
I used to have my own private security guard too. 
did as parents was giving it to our two sons desire to start a band. One was a drummer, and we held out for a while getting a 'real' drum set, but it turned out to be great. Because it was too much hassle to take it to other kid's homes, that meant the band always practiced at our place. It was often loud and kinda painfully amateur. Their band played a few neighborhood events, but ultimately diminished as kids moved away, college, etc. Now, looking back, those were some of the best days of our (parenting) life!
Rock On! 
