Joe Bonamassa has bought his ninth Dumble amp in five years, but promises himself that it will be his “the last big amp acquisition of the Nerdville Museum.”
Over the years, the decorated blues guitarist has become deeply associated with Howard ‘Alexander’ Dumble’s fabled amp builds – adored by everyone from Kenny Wayne Shepherd to Orianthi and Mark Tremonti. However, in 2016 he changed tack, wanting to sever ties with what was expected of him.
“I sold all my Dumbles,” he revealed at the time. “I had three at one point and I sold them all. I mothballed that whole cliché of the rig I’m most associated with – the two Marshalls and the two Van Weeldens and the Dumbles and the effects board and everything.”
Four years later, however, he went back on himself, and before he knew it, he was the proud owner of eight Dumbles, more than doubling his original collection. Chief among those is Lowell George’s Overdrive Special Reverb, the purchase of which ended a 15-year quest to track it down. It’s an amp he calls “the crown jewel of my amplifier collection.”
“You don’t get many opportunities to own your guitar hero’s amp, let alone the one and only,” he said of his significant acquisition, while taking it for a test drive at Norman’s Rare Guitars.
It now has one more stablemate – though Bonamassa swears his hoarding won’t reach double figures.
“This is it kids!” he says via Instagram. “The last big amp acquisition of the Nerdville Museum of salt and pepper shakers and fine tube amplifier devices. Swan song folks, it’s been a great ride.”
The amp in question is a 1996 Overdrive Special complete with Dumble’s famous skyliner tone stack and EL34 tubes. It was acquired, he says, from Nashville store Carter Vintage Guitars and rounds out what is a very pricey cluster of tube amps.
Despite telling MusicRadar that “you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get a great sound” when it comes to choosing the right amplifier, Bonamassa’s own live rig is, in his own words, “the world’s most expensive three-channel amp.”
Featuring three Dumbles, two 1987 Silver Marshall Jubilee heads, a rare Mesa/Boogie rotary speaker, and an original Klon Centaur, it packs a hell of a lot of tone, but at a cost that would give Ebenezer Scrooge multiple heart attacks.
Amid a slew of comments from users skeptical that this marks the end of his rampant buying streak, Bonamassa was also asked about the amp’s character.
“It’s grumpy like me,” he replied. Fair enough.
Time will tell whether he’ll stay true to his word or not.
For Dumble fans, Guitar World has spoken to the people behind the brand’s surprise return to the market, and what new leadership means following Alexander Dumble’s passing.
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