Alot of players have settled on the EV12L or Celestion G12-65's for their dumble inspired tones.  The Eminence RW&B has also been tried with varying degrees of success.  I prefer the G12-65.

Speaker cabinets are also critical in my experience.  They're more then just a box.

Happy hunting,
Jim

Buy it built by Nik's team.  Wonderful work.  Benefit is it will work properly and  you get to spend more time making music.

jim

OK from memory after a late night gig.  :-)
Green light is off - sound is non boosted and normal, tone controls engaged
Green light is on - sound is boosted as preamp is not engaged
Red light is off - sound is clean. (assuming green light is also off)
Red light is on - sound is overdriven.
Both lights on - screaming lead tone

Jim

Great idea for a youtube upload.  You did real nice work as well.  How does she sound to you?  What did you set the bias at?

Jim

I heard one of the later prototypes of this unit and thought that it was pretty darn good for the coin.

Jim

Steven, having that analog dry signal is a big deal.  Me thinks you will learn to work around the other stuff!  :-)

I don't understand the love for the EVM12 either.  Closed or open back doesn't matter.  Dry sound indeed.  No love here.

Jim

IMO first thing you should do is lose the JJ power tubes.  Keep 'em as spares, sell them on Ebay, give them to you neighbors kid.  Replace with Winged "C" 6L6's.  Bias them up around 32-34ma and enjoy a remarkably creamier, more authentic "Dumble" tone if you will.

Then and only then mess with the preamp tubes.  Why you might ask?  You have to give yourself a good baseline for subsequent changes in the preamp section.  The amp is night and day different with the Winged "C" 6L6's in place.  The difference is so large and unexpected, you might be happy with your current preamp tubes.

The PI preamp slot is also of critical importance I am learning.  Triodes within the PI should be matched closely, then the trimmer (on the board) has to be adjusted to a certain voltage level.  I'm admittedly foggy on this one.  I know the "experts" adjust for a 6 volt difference, but I don't know where to measure with a DMM at this point.  If someone could chime in here with pictures and further rational, we would all be ahead...tonewise.

Jim

Only listened to it once between football plays but to these aging ears the non-HRM was pleasantly "thicker / creamier" sounding.  Darn nice tone.

Wish I could help you.  All I can tell you is where not to ask!   

Jim

Hello Nik, your team deserves a vacation.  Come back refreshed.  Continued success to you and yours.

Jim

That is my experience also.  Tone takes a rather dramatic hit when running at low power. The amp gets darker, certain frequencies get attenuated and the feel just goes out the door.

I think another solution to consider is either a Hot Plate or the Ultimate Attenuator.  Just a click or two of attenuation is probably all you need.  My OTS needs to breath i.e., crank it up slightly to get those smokey lead tones.

Jim

Hey Nick, I'm not so certain that the amp is voiced for 12s, but I don't have more then a hunch.  HAD used nothing but 12s as far as I know in the 200+ amps he sold.

However, it is my strong belief that the amp is extremely reactive to both speakers used and cabinets.  I have heard my OTS sound glorious and like poo just by changing cabinets alone.

Best I've heard so far is easily a Glasworks 2x12 oval back cab with G1265s.  I don't want to lug around a 2x12 cabinet if I don't have to, so I'm chasing 1x12s at the current time.

So I guess what I'm saying is that in the right cabinet with the right speakers 10s would probably kill just like 12s.

Jim

At a minimum about a 5' section of cable.  This is always connected.  The OTS sounds fuller and punchier with this "mod".  Can anyone explain to me why this is.

If I want to get a little more carried away into the loop goes the Redplateamps D' lator.  This adds another gain stage and tone shaping option.  I have bulk cable on order to make up some short cables for this valued accessory.

Jury is out what I want to put actually into the D'lator.  TC2290 is out of the question cost wise.  I want delay, verb and some chorus on occasion to flesh things out.  TC Electronics has the G sharp for some pretty cheap pricing, but I'm also interested in the Axe-FX as well so I'm leaning there.

Money is an object and first on the list I'm afraid is a proper speaker cabinet which will be north of $500 alone.

should be a good thread,
Jim

Marin would tell you, "The OD is smoother and thicker than before. The cleans are as buttery are before."

I say Marin needs a couple of weeks with the amp to really sort it out.

I want to see the layout and get an understanding of this amps "pedigree" or lineage.  What is it cloned after i.e. specific number Dumble.  Many questions have I...

jim