I Gigged the VHT D50 - Here's My Verdict on this Dumble Clone

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only if you wanted, you could buy me a coffee!

only if you wanted, you could buy me a coffee!

[markw]

I wanted to thank you for showcasing this amp. Based upon what I’ve seen of your videos here I decided to gamble and buy one having never played through it, which I never do with guitar amps, and I just love it, it’s an incredible value as well. I don’t think I would like it through an EV however, my Boogie came with one of those while it did give a good lead sound, I never could get a good crunchy rhythm sound out of it with that speaker. I’m still experimenting with speakers with the D50.

You are correct, this thing handles petals magnificently. I stuck a Cornerstone Gladio pedal on the clean channel and it sounded fantastic: though I do prefer the amp’s overdrive channel more, it certainly sung like a bird with this pedal, and I am sure it would with the ZenDrive as well (I haven’t tried mine on it yet, but I’m sure it sounds great as well).

[peterkjallman]

Since I never use a clean channel, the "clean" I use is with the guitar's volume rolled off into a mid crunchy lead channel, I always mod my amps with a relay and usually a 500k pot connected to the master volume, then I can drop the volume for rhythm and get lead volume via a footswitch. I've done that on my trusty Boogie Mk IIB and my Ceriatone Bluesmaster HRM 50 and it works excellent for me. I use overdrive and fuzz to get different textures and more drive.

[bruunm]

Killer playing and sounds. Love your mix of fast runs and musicality.

Recently went from Full FRFR Helix setup to REVV D25 with a ODD pedal as my always on edge of breakup, into Tilt OD into amp. Couldn’t be happier. Just cuts different.

[KlimeKovaceski]

When playing through an overdriven tube preamp, you don’t want to boost the input for more volume—it will just distort more at the same volume.
You also don’t want to increase the volume using a second master control, as it will result in too much bass.
What you need is another tube preamp, properly EQ'd for louder playing.

[DBroce]

I love your playing and you received 20 extra points for the Thin Lizzy.

[JarickL]

You've got a hell of a good band! Drummer has awesome feel, bassist right in the pocket, solid vocals, and you're ripping on top.

[MADRE-GUY]

Being old and retired other than buying and selling gear as a living - having owned two dumble's ODS an '80 and an '83.. kicking myself constantly for selling them as I wasn't playing professionally any longer and building a new vintage Music store business money was tight. They were definitely an avenue for cash. FYI I paid $1400 for the '80 back in 84 and I sold it for $2000 in 86 at the time I was still gigging playing and I was using a modified 65 fender deluxe reverb that had been boogied with an EV which I loved. Thinking that it might've been a lee jackson mod I bought it used for $250 with EV.. my second Dumble purchased in 2000 with two ev loaded 1x12 thiel design cabs and one 2x12 ev loaded thiel design cab all built by Dumble covered in cream tolex with Vox grill cloths I purchased it for 4500 sold it for 8500.. of course now it's worth a kings ransom and the guy who bought it who was already very very wealthy is now even more wealthy and he's not even a player. He's a hobbiest
do I wish I had the 83 yes, just so I can sell it and pay off my house .
Now in my mid 70s, I still play an occasional gig. I'm using a 67 Fender Vibroluxe Reverb. or one of Two.Suhr Hombres a 1x12 Combo and a Hd -2x12 cab.. and a 2016 mesa MKV 25 head and a mini 112 rectifier cabinet in purple. ( as a vintage dealer since '77 I still have a collection of every brown fender amp and every black fender amp and a couple tweed deluxe a '66 blues breaker and a 67 jmp 50 W tremolo hd... I'll be taking a few of them to the Vintage shows this year and liquidating my stock as I'd hate them to be sold at an auction after I'm gone

[NickGranville]

I haven’t gigged using a drive channel for over 15 years for all the reasons you point out. I’ve gone the whole clean (ish) amp fender way and add pedals to it. Gets the job done. But the last few years it’s pretty much all fractal direct now with an frfr as my monitor.

[Adventuresingearland]

8:53 - I use the drive in my Reverb Deluxe II set to give a tiny bit of grit rather than using the pristine sound of the clean channel which is the same circuit as the DR which Rivera based this amp on. With the guitar volume rolled off a little, I have clean, of full there’s just a little love there to play with especially when digging in.

[SteveKuhMusic]

If you’re going to store and carry cables etc. in the back of your speaker cab you might want to put them in a soft / padded bag to keep them from puncturing the speaker cone.

[bigideaslittlefocus]

The gig tones remind me of Joe Bonamassa with Rock Candy Funk Party. There's a live show from the end of 2014 where he's using a dumble and this sounds very much in the same vein

[petedechop]

Awesome playing, the clips are so good

[donlennon]

Band and Guitar sounds great to me. I would always my Lonestar clean and use my pedal board for drives too. Keep on Rockin.

[hartlee]

Amp gain just does it for me wayyyy more than any pedal to be honest.
I like pedals on the drive channel to change voicing and amount of gain more than dealing with volume differences.

[gregwatts]

I pretty much stay on the drive channel with my Fuchs. It can clean up when needed and I don’t have a problem with getting more volume from a drive pedal if I set the pedal volume above unity.

[DragonBiscuit]

You were really shredding in that live clip - very nice - 😄

[demokraatti]

I like to used the mid boost to lift up my drive channel. I also have a Tone king Iron Man, which gives 3 dB clean boost. My Damp is Ceriatone OTS Mini 20. Love that small amp.

[gigifara]

Best tone I’ve ever got is a fuzz face into a vhtd50 clean channel. I never turn the fuzz off and just control all the gain with volume knob. They really had this whole gain pedal thing sorted with the fuzz face from the start

[justinneafsey]

I mean I know what you mean about an amp head going down on gig but you could also have the same thing happen to your digital modeler so if a failure is going to happen it's inevitable and it doesn't really matter what you're using your bone either way lol. Got some really nice tones out of this thing though!

[raykeefe]

I either use a clean amp and manage the drive with boost ahead of that, of go straight to front of house and use ear buds if that is available. My main rig is Helix to Spark 40 (keep volume on stage low) with FOH from Helix XLR or just Helix to FOH. I have a higher output amp (Carvin MTS212 valve) but we have gotten used to not being loud on stage.