OVERDRIVE- VERTEX Ultraphonix MK II ..this may be the ultimate Dumble

 VERTEX ULTRAPHONIX MK II OD 

$200.00 USD

Every few months there is another Dumble-in -a-Box and many are from pricey to WTF amounts of money.

Basically most guys that use an OD for their dirt are a Marshall or a Fender player. These are the two designs that most tube amps are derived from. Yes Vox is in the mix but they are a small player in the game.

The Fender Bassman is the most dirty of Fender amps and although as the name suggests it was designed for bass players it was much too dirty and at 30 watts underpowered for bass. I bought one myself. I had a black faced head and used it as a backup in the 60's until I moved to the UK in '71. 

Howard Dumble had a small business repairing and modding amps in the late 60's. He loved Robben Ford's tone and decided he would design his own amp using the Bassman as it's basic blueprint.

From 1971 to 1990 he made a couple of basic amps but no two were alike. They were all redesigned to fit the guy that bought it. In fact part of buying it working with Howard in person to nail down every detail.

Used these same amps sell to as much as $150,000.00 USD.

So making a pedal is a daunting task. Vertex literally got loan of a Dumble and cloned the sound. Even so this does not guarantee a great sound. Dumble was not 'just' about sound but about 'touch sensitivity'. It simply means the force you hit the strings of your guitar. This varys with every player but all players hit degrees of harder and louder and softer and quieter. The big deal with the Vertex is not just the tone. It is more about the the 'Touch Sensitivity.'

CONCLUSION

The same only different. If it's not broke don't fix it. My guess  except for making the pedal more pedalboard friendly it has not been changed The original is not so old that 

'the' parts are redundant and this is the big seller for Vertex.