Robben Ford Discussion

kirk95

Robben has the two basic rigs.

Dumble Head
2x12 Cab
TC2290

Dumble Combo 1x12
TC2290

What are the differences between the Dumbles? Was Robben looking for something different tonewise with the combo? I often hear that the combo doesn't have the same singing lead tones as the head?

Speaker questions:
What is Robben using for speakers these days?
What are the dimensions of his 2x12 cab? Was that built special for Robben?

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Daved

johan · Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2003 11:12 am Post subject:

Hi Daved,

That's a good start Wink

Thanks!
We all wanna hear the nitty-gritty on the mighty Dumbles.

On the last tour there were lots of talk on the internet (we all know how that can be) , PRS Forum in particular, regarding Robbens "new" combo. People who loved his tones felt it was all gone and something was lacking. Thin, buzzy and bright was the word I heard. Unfortunately I missed that tour (first time since the first Blue Line CD) so I'm not sure how it sounded. Guess this is not how Robben felt?! Is the amp tweaked by Mr Dumble every now or then or is it just tubes/speakers change from now on?

Regarding speakers, we heard about the old Celestion G12-65 he was so fond of. The kept blowing up with the 100W head. I know Celestion has re-released them but I guess that won't make much difference. Also heard they won't sound the same as the old ones (maybe needs time to break in). Weber VST on the other hand has made it's version of the 65 as well. Ted W makes them 4, 8 or 16 ohm versions. Have you tried those? You can get them with AlNiCo or ceramic magnet for different feel. Give Ted a call if you haven't tried them. May be worth a try. http://www.webervst.com/store/v12.htm

See you in Copenhagen Daved! Will be my 8th gig I think. It's always a blast. Take care and have great tour. Cool

// johan

Daved · Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2003 12:48 pm Post subject:

edpesco · Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2003 1:16 pm Post subject:

The sound very much depends on where you are in the room.
I remember Morning Paris 2001 where I almost died so good was the sound in the audience behind the dance floor and when I whatch the tv broadcast there is nothing like it, it's a good sound on the broadcast but you miss that fat bass-end that I enjoyed there. Can you tell me what happened to the first half hour of that gig? it was not broadcasted but it was magic.
Edmund

HHB · Member Joined: 18 Jul 2003 Posts: 24 Location: Western NC

David, how loud does Robben typicly play? I suffer from the " turn it down " message from the club manager alot, so much that I'll gig w/ a 15 watt amp and still they want it lower, something I'm sure RF does'nt have to go through. How much of his rich vocal tone is volume dependant? HHB
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Daved · Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2003 6:20 pm Post subject:

Robben is quite loud and he knows it. He wishes he could be quieter, but there is a threshold that he needs to exceed to get the response he wants.

We do what we can to accomodate band mates (baffles/gobos), the venue (the volume knob to a limited point), and the audience (angling the amp away/earplugs), but there is only so much we can do.
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kirk95 · Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2003 6:36 pm Post subject:

I think that is a guitar player thing. I always get the turn it down..for the last 31 years.

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edpesco · Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2003 11:58 pm Post subject:

Leftbender · Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2003 3:33 am Post subject:

"Turn It Down!" usualy comes from folks who have other priorities then making a good guitar sound! For instance shaky soundmen who doesn't have a clue what the individual needs of musicians are. Funny that they never ask a drummer to turn it down. I always treat these kind of guys with my 135W vintage Twin Reverb! Twisted Evil

elizabeth · Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2003 5:16 am Post subject: Shows you how strange I am...

I'm always wanting them to turn it UP! Ah well. You can't please everybody.

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edpesco · Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2003 6:45 am Post subject:

leftbender wrote:. I always treat these kind of guys with my 135W vintage Twin Reverb!

That's not treatment, that's punishment

Daved · Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2003 7:15 am Post subject: ( }:-D Guitar Volume Theory

Aeolian · Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2003 10:26 am Post subject: Turn it down, no turn it up

One of the big things about Robben's style is that he plays very dynamically. That is, the volume and tone of any note is going to be very different that the notes that preceed or follow it. Some note will be guiet and then he'll pop a note with his finger to make that part of the phrase stand out. On average it isn't that loud. High end audio guys call this "microdynamicsIf you turn things down so that the peaks aren't loud, you don't have the headroom to play dynamically without the softer notes getting burried. This happened to Robben at the Santa Cruz blues festival. I think he has been spoiled having soundmen turn him down during comp parts and back up for solos. The sound guy at the festival didn't know the material and didn't couldn't recognize when Robben was soloing.
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Aeolian · Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2003 3:36 pm Post subject: soundmen and guitars

I should probably clarify the "spoiled" comment. In large venues, you are totaly at the mercy of the soundman. In an organized tour, the soundman knows the material, and the cues, and works the board to get the best presentation to the audience. When this is worked out and rehearsed the results are a totally professional show. If a guitarist were to start turning himself up and down it would throw off the soundmen and result in chaos. Even in smaller venues like Yoshi's I've noticed if you sit right in front (not a good thing as Daved suggests) Robben doesn't turn down while comping (although being Robben and more interested in the music, he often completely sits out during others solos). He usually has a known quanity in the sound booth who turns down the house in these parts. This is how the pros do it. Up there, you are also dependant on the monitor mix near you as you often can't hear your own rig so if you turned down, you wouldn't be able to hear yourself at all. This is another reason I can appreciate Robben's stage volume. I hate the sound of my guitar coming through a monitor. It is so disconnected from my fingers. I think Robben needs to hear his rig to work the tone the way he does.
Although this is how the pros do it, most of us mortals have been subjected to amateur sound folks who try to ride the board without understanding what is happening on stage. When I see one of these guys putting a mike in front of my amp I see two choices, turn it up so loud that he turns the mike off (reinforcing the loud guitarist stereotype) or turn down so much in comp parts that they might turn it up and give me enough headroom to solo. This can backfire as one sustained loud chorus can get you turned down into oblivion for the rest of the night. At the Santa Cruz blues festival, Chris Cain was getting away with this, turning way down before the soundman could remember which mike he was then interjecting solos that could be heard. But Chris usually plays in smaller venues where he has to control his own volume all the time. He doesn't get to be "spoiled" by the professional support Robben rightfully expects. This ruined the SC festival for me. After watching the build from the local folks, through Coco Montoya, I was anticipating my favorite guitarist to bring down the house. Instead it was murder by soundman. Crying or Very sad

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