Seldom does an amp arrive that causes a genuine stir across the entire vintage community. It’s been 4 long years since we last hosted a piece from the most prestigious name in the history of amplification - Howard Alexander Dumble. The inventory is few, and the clientele is exclusive, as Dumble didn’t take orders for builds; he chose you. Should your playing inspire and impress him, Alexander would reach out to discuss the potential of making an amplifier for -you-. What this meant was a purely individual experience, with a genius level engineering knowledge and a set of golden ears the amplifier was designed specifically for the style of each player. The client list features nothing but the legends of electric guitar, featuring the likes of Stevie Ray Vaughn, Robben Ford, and Carlos Santana, just to name a few.
Sadly, Alexander is no longer with us, but his legacy lives on in his body of work. This features all too few examples, with a manufacture count sitting in the 300 range. Among those is the Dumble “Tweedle-Dee” - which as it’s form factor indicates is based on the Fender Tweed Deluxe. This particular amp came about as an attempted collaboration between Dumble and the previous Fender CEO Larry Thomas, along with Chief Product Officer Rich McDonald. This particular amp belonged to Rich, who personally delivered 2 Deluxe amps to Dumble without knowing an expected outcome. Time had passed without much word, when suddenly in 2013 the two amps returned, one for Rich and one for Larry, which had undergone the “Tweedle-Dee” circuit treatment. Included with the amp is a signed letter from Rich, detailing it’s story of origin.
Unlike most “mods” this amp is a complete rebuild in terms of circuitry, built off the bones of a modern 5E3 reissue amp. The cabinet, speaker, pots, and Mercury Magnetics transformers were used, while Dumble handled the rest. A schematic of this build has been floating around the internet for some time now, and while it is close, the real thing presented here speaks for itself as an individual build - for Rich McDonald. Circuits such as the Overdrive Special started in a similar way, being built off the skeleton of vintage Fender amps. This showcases the 5E3 in it’s optimal form, from soft clipping on the preamp side, into beautiful, symmetrical clipping from the 6V6 power section. It sounds and feels like a much bigger amp than it’s 12 Watts indicates!
The authentication of this amp was verified personally by the Dumble Estate. The friendship between Larry Thomas and Alexander is well known, as was the collaboration which brought this amp to fruition. Production wise this amp sits as number 2, with the serial number TD-002.
