Robben Ford Discussion

Aeolian · Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2004 10:50 am Post subject:

Okay, here's a curveball. The Zinky Superfly. While not a Dumble clone in the sense of some others, as they say in the Prego commercial, "It's in there!". Unlike a modeling amp that tries to shove any input down a highly eq'd and effected soda straw to get a particular sound, the Superfly realizes the promise of a reconfigurable boutique amp. At the amps introduction at last year's NAMM, Bruce punched up what he called his "Robben" patch. After fiddling with a Baker he had in the booth I picked up a Trusarrt Tele and there it was! Moldable, workable tone in that Robben Tele vein. Responding to every variation of pops and mutes. A couple of booths away someone started playing a funk track through a PA and I was having so much fun noodleing along with it that I didn't notice the crowd that gathered. I immediately handed the guitar to some guy with a music store's name on his badge but I remember how great it was to play. I still have the prototype Bruce sold me with 4 preset gain levels and without the reconfigurability switching. While I love my Fuchs and use it all the time, there is something special in the colors and response of the Zinky. If I had a corporate gig and needed lots of tones, I'd grab a Superfly in a heartbeat. If Bruce ever makes this 4 channel amp, you'll have a real alternative for a blues/fusion rig. Also, his cabinets have a thick midrange growl and color that is reminscent of Robben's Blue Line tone. I have a 2-12 that is convertible from closed to half back (which is the way I use it).

I also wouldn't discount the Two Rock until you play one. My issue is the amount of knob twidling necessary. But they seem to have more variations available. I like that the Fuch's is pretty foolproof and I don't have to worry about a knob being bumped a bit this way or that. I'm not the kind or person to fine tune a knob between 6 1/4 and 6 1/3. I just like to plug in and play, and the Fuchs is voiced in a way that I like. I got rid of my Mark III because it was so sensitive. But if I was doing a lot of recording and had the money, I'd have a Custom 50 as well.
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kirk95 · Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2004 2:36 pm Post subject:

Check out my latest Two Rock Opal clip! Scott Lerner inspired me to do a Larry Carlton clip. Carlton was my main man back in the day......early 80's.

http://www.dhenderson.com/Clips.htm

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Zappa · Member Joined: 05 Feb 2004 Posts: 14

Hmmmm. I've played a Bogner Shiva head at the weekend and thats knocked me over, I really liked it. I think I'll be going for it, unless the Fuchs (If and when I get to try it) blows me away even further.

Been an interesting thread this chaps, its great hearing first hand opinions, better than Harmony Central Smile

I've kind of made my mind up but, whats everyone elses opinion of the Shiva? (6L6 btw)

Aeolian · Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2004 3:17 am Post subject:

kirk95 · Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2004 6:51 am Post subject:

Crash · Member Joined: 04 Feb 2004 Posts: 15

Man, what a great link. I just went over to the Gear page and I could spend all day rummaging through all the info. on various things over there. Thanks for the link!

Crash

JoeB63 · Member Joined: 17 Jul 2003 Posts: 42 Location: Austin, TX

I have a Two Rock Custom Reverb, and to my ear it sure gives me bit, fat smoooooth overdrive, which can get a little hairy if you set it that way and dig in just right. To me, that's what RF's tone sounds like. Even before I ever heard of RF or Dumble, the tone I heard in my head was smooth, singing overdrive, with no buzz or fuzz. I get that from the Two Rock. I will warn you though, it took months of playing with this amp before I figured out optimal settings for me (who knows, I might still not be there!).

I have some clips of the amp at this link: www.joebarkan.tk. Scroll about halfway down the page for the clips. These were done several months ago before I found my current amp settings. Also note that these are guitar-straight into the amp, at reasonable volumes, and I'm no recording engineer, so you don't get the real room feel in these clips at all. I've since figured out how to make the amp sound fatter than this - even with a Strat!

And for what it's worth, I agree with Kirk, the Shiva sounds nothing like a Dumble to me. I think it's buzz city - but I never got one really loud.

tonemaster2_11 · Member Joined: 07 Dec 2003 Posts: 37

TO BLUESMAN:
Man those clips sound great....no the Koch sounds....no maybe YOU sound great. I'm confused.

TO ZAPPA:
If you haven't bought an amp yet you should talk to Harri Koske in Finland.
www.custom-sounds.com
I've corresponded with Harri since he sold me a Roger Mayer fuzz back before there was an American distributor. He's very cool to deal with and the last time I was at his site I seem to recall him dealing in the Mystic Blues amps and digging the sound clips.

THAT BEING SAID:

I posted this on one of the other threads before I read the "it's in the hands" dicussion on this thread. Maybe it's more appropriate here.

IM(not quite so)HO…

I went to see Larry Carlton back in 1991. He played a 45 minute set through a borrowed Roland JC-120 with that Valley Arts guitar ( with the P-90’s) he used to play. Guess what he sounded like… LARRY CARLTON. Yeah, JUST LIKE HIM! Go figure. That set changed my life. You see I was actually P***** off that there was no Dumble to be heard. I felt like I should get a partial refund or something. What I got for the price of admission however was a $5000 ( I think that’s what Dumbles cost back then) lesson in “guitarmanship”.
All this talk about amps and settings is silly. If you want to sound like Robben Ford then LEARN TO PLAY LIKE ROBBEN FORD. No matter what you plug into, things like phrasing, note choices, muting and picking techniques and melodic content will get you a lot further toward your goal than ANY amplifier ever will. Who knows, you might even develop a style and sound you like BETTER than Robben’s. ( I know….Sacrilegious!!! )
Don’t get me wrong. Good amps make a difference for sure but 99% of it is in your hands and YOUR EARS! Took me a lot of years and A LOT of $$$ to figure that out even after my lesson from Mr. Carlton. I just didn’t want to believe it.
The greatest compliment I’ve ever gotten at a gig is when someone says “I hear a lot of Robben Ford influence in your playing”. That sure sounds better to me than “Hey man your amps sounds just like a Dumble”.
Maybe someone could start a thread wherein we swap licks and techniques instead of settings and rig descriptions.

THANKS.

sheadan · Member Joined: 21 Feb 2004 Posts: 20

Hey guys,
What's all this talk of Dumble amps.I saw a photo of him once and found him to be very descript.I'm not sure why people need to get all worked up over things they can't have.Kind of like playing the lottery every day and naver winning.Pick the appropriate wattage of mid 60's Fender black face amp(cheaper and more available)and get on with your life.Dumble's amps don't rock,that's the player's job.