For anyone looking for a start in getting great Dumble-esque tone without a Dumble, Nick Greer makes a pedal called the “Special Request” which is a circuit based off a Dumble’s FET preamp section. It’s amazing how much of a difference it makes in the depth of your tone and it’s clarity. If there were a way to wire into every amp I own, I would because it never gets turned off. Also, for the cats with programmable delays, Robben’s slapback setting is around 116ms according to an old interview with him I read years back. Give it a shot guys and gals 👍

The Ultra Phonix has a special "something"! The video that you had previously done on this pedal was one of the best sounding reviews of this. It helps that your personal tone is so articulate. Great job, as always!

@ApakukiNayacakalou

3 жыл бұрын

I gotta 2nd that!

Very very impressed with the Quilter. I'm going to buy one as soon ad possibile. Thank you so much for your great videos and playing. Cheers from Italy!!! Alberto

RJ, last March I attended a six hour group lesson with Robben Ford in Austin, TX. He's an amazing, passionate teacher. He was humble when the students praised him and said that his playing is really simple, only using the pentatonics. But that phrasing! Thanks for the video.

I thought you did an admirable job of capturing the vibe of Robben's sound.

Good for you seeing Robben, he's phenomenal live! I caught him years ago at a blues festival in Albany NY. He's doing some tunes with my guitar teacher Jeff McErlain on Jeff's new album that's coming out in February. Robben also does a summertime guitar clinic in the Catskill mountain area in case you're interested and never heard of it.

Damn dude. I made my living playing guitar for years growing up so I recognize info that is truly useful to musicians vs info just out there for clicks. You bring us honest to goodness info that working and pro guitarists can really benefit from. You don’t sit and bore us for an hour with tuning or other BS that anyone who would be watching a Robben Ford video needs help with. Just wanted to say I appreciate you sharing your knowledge so freely along with the other cats on KZread. You don’t have to do it by any means and it being free is just the icing on the cake. You deserve 250k subs and I hope you get there soon! 🤘🏼😛 🤘🏼 FYI - Nice caffeine delivery system product placement 😂

@RJRonquillo

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks John!! 😀👍

@BDK27970

4 жыл бұрын

No kidding, I couldn't agree more. He's also a damn good guitar player. I subbed!

@jupitermoongauge4055

2 жыл бұрын

How is trying using a quilter solid state amp to sound like a guy playing through one of the most revered tube amps of all time useful ?

Thank you for all you do,your videos are awesome and thank you for the travel/tour vlogs I know it takes a lot.

Kabayan RJ! Continue inspiring bro! You definitely inspired me to practice more. Rock on 🤘🤘🤘

Very cool, very informative on new gear I’d like to check 🤘🏼😎

Great Video Man!! Thankyou.!!❤❤

Hell yes. Thanks for posting this one!!!!!!!

Great playin man, great tone and content!

Great playing. Thanks.

I saw Robben Ford play with Gregg Allman's solo band back in 2005 @ the Alabama Theater. I was in the 4th row. Willie Weeks was on bass. Incredible show

I have heard a Local player play Robben's tone thru an old Music Man amp from the late 70's Combo. He did a couple Robben's songs in his band. the old Music mans were hybrid amps. Solid state pre amp, tube power amp. They are real durable amps.

Wow... really loved the sound of the Ultra Phonix! Very cool!

Great playing by the way.

I had forgotten what Robben Ford sounds like; I had to pull up some KZread videos to hear and liked one from last year. When he's doing a jazz style instrumental, as was in the video, it's great. Thanks, R.J., for reminding me and thanks for another teaching video; I'm watching those fretboard positions and learning about your equipment setups. Good stuff!

Sounds awesome man

Nice! Love it! 😍😍😍

dude, this was really good stuff

This channel is getting big....and I like that!!! Quality Content = a sh**load of subscribers....I bet at least a 100.000 by the end of 2019! Keep the good stuff comin'!

good job man !!!

Have fun at Rudy's Jazz Room tomorrow! I've been lucky to see Robben Ford twice here in LA -- at the Catalina Bar and Grill in Hollywood and at the Raymond Kabbaz Theatre. I also ran into him at Norm's Rare Guitars and he was very gracious in showing me the intro chords to Freedom!

I think the Quilter on its own was the best tone. The tone was getting to compressed with the pedals hitting the Quilter.

I just bought a Black Magic Zendrive this past week. That pedal sounds amazing!!! I ran it through an old Roland Jazz Chorus with a little reverb. After watching Premiere Guitar's rig run down on Robben Ford's guitar, amp and pedal board, I setup the pedal like how he had on the video and its very close to his "violin" tone. I dialed up the tone control and the voice from what he had it on and that upper mid-range smooth as silk violin tone was coming through. Gain was at about 11 o' clock. The Zendrive Black Magic pedal has a lot of sustain even with only half the gain turned up. Turned the tone knob down on my ESP LTD EC 256 with Epiphone Probucker pickups and that Eric Clapton "woman tone" mixed with that warm creamy violin sustained tone was there in spades!!! I have a Vertex Ultraphonix and the Zendrive sounds better for that Robben Ford tone. I have a Revv Purple overdrive/distortion as well as a Friedman BE-OD. They all have their unique sounds. But if your looking to get very very close to a Dumble Overdrive Special overdrive; get a Zendrive!!!! One of these days I hope to get either a Ceriatone or an Amplified nation D-style clone but for now the Zendrive will keep me happy all things Robben Ford tone.

The Zendrive to me was the best combination of sound and value, but honestly I'd be happy with any of these. I've read elsewhere that you can get a Dumblesque sound by putting an eq pedal in front of an old-school warm overdrive (e.g., Boss Blues Driver) and tweaking the pre-overdrive eq to emphasise mids, which the Dumble amps allow you to do. It would be interesting to hear this combination into the type of Fender (alternatively, Fender-clone pedal) that Robben Ford was using. I wonder how close you could get to his Dumble tone?

I've had a Zendrive (built by Alf and signed by him on the inside) since 2008 and only recently got a Vertex Ultraphonix. Both are great but the Ultraphonix is now my favourite. Just a bit creamier and fatter. Going to have to check out a Quilter now too. The tone quest is never ending!

All sounding great! There’s a certain “chewiness” or “waxy” sound to the D-Style tones. JUST got the Mad Professor Simble and loving it! Not sure why, but I’m hearing a bit of compression here. You may have covered that, and I missed it, or perhaps it’s a KZread thing. Great work!

Nice Video Man!!! Sick Tones!

Great video, the most interesting of the three seems the Vertex, although for the moment I'm using the Jhs Moonshine v2 and it's not bad for the Dumble sounds.

Cool vid !! RF fan since '73 and i was just reading about him in GP. Knew he had 'soul' (even if he hated Rock). Glad you mention the various eras and your picks were on the money. It pretty much boils down to HB's and SC's and for that i used of all things a Squire Jagmaster, IBZ AS73 and a Squire Fat Tele. Still the same Bad Monkey and CyberTwin i mentioned before. Granted, this is bedroom stereo jams but sounded pretty good. ha, a little btw, i once turned off at the Ford Road exit from 101 at Ukiah when driving by to visit family. Wondered if this was name after Charles Ford's kin. Fast food guy said the name went back over 100 years. hmm :)

Liked the tone from the zendrive

They all were cool but I really liked just the Quilter 200 with the gain up a bit! Sweet but cutting! Also always love your playing. Hope you don't mind I pinched a couple licks off ya around the 5 min. area awesome! Thanks!

Amazing .Who dislikes the videos? The video is educational a litlle. People want always more. Sorry my english.

I have an old Zendrive and a Quilter Overdrive 200 I’ve had for about 18 months. I prefer the Quilter. The Vertex isn’t bad but I rank it in 3rd place of the three.

Dude, you nailed it, that singing lead tone Robben is famous for! I have an incoming TB 202. You think I can get there with it?

Love when you play a tele. Would also love to see you dial in something like a line 6 helix just for the hell of it?

U should try the mad professor twimble, i use one thru a super reverb, my favorite od

Nice Video 🥃🥃👍👍

That was great! I own the Rockin with RJ and the Del Guapos album, it's really fun music and tastfully done. Lessons on playing those songs would be very cool. You could have a small army of people playing your songs at clubs after a while. Couldn't hurt! Anyway, thanks for these videos!

@RJRonquillo

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks Rick, good idea, I'll try to plan some videos around the Del Guapos material!

@RickMcCargar

5 жыл бұрын

@@RJRonquillo That's awesome, thanks!

You are my man🤘

Hey RJ!!! Chris CI'll ermont from Detroit. As always, excellent vid, my brother. I am not a huge fan of the Dumble (You said it right...Dumb Bell!!!) amps. I went to a seminar with Robben in Ojai, CA years ago. He played the old Epiphone Riviera with mini humbuckers. He simply had a ZenDrive going through an old Fender Deluxe using the onboard reverb, and he sounded like he always sounds, Dumble or not. ;-D See you this week at NAMM.

I think they all sounded great. 😀

Very usefull, thank you !!! What is our opinion on the Quilter Overdrive 202 ? does it do the job as well or is it more "agressive tones" oriented ?

Love your Telly tone. Peace.

Quilter and zen drive, were a tossup. Great clean sounding drive. I like those drives that sound clean even though there is the added sustain and enough compression to make the notes sing. It doesn't sound dirty , oh but it is, just like a preachers daughter...😆

There is a reason Robben got the Dumble amp. Yes, he is a great player and he gets the best out of the amp. So, for us that can't afford "The Amp", get the pedal (as I have) and enjoy playing through it. Good video and great playing.

I may also recommend the german amp manufacturer Kitty Hawk´. Their model "Supreme Counterpoint" is a Dumble OS clone and sometimes appears on ebay for around 600€. It is a great amplifier. And the Berlin based company Amp-Fx builds a Dumble in a box OD pedal. Fly by Albert's site if you spare the time.

Thanks R.J. Great demo of how to get that type of sound. Nice playing also. You play some cool stuff when your'e just improvising off the cuff. So many tones so little time. I want them all. I want as many as R.J. has guitars. but where would I put them. And my wife limits me to an amount of gear that I use. Which makes sense I think........Rock on! bye for now

I love the sounds you get out of Knaggs axe. I also own Knaggs Kenai T2 and its amazing guitar!! What about the JRAD the DUDE pedal? Providence Stampede OD pedal? What about the plate reverb settings he uses with TC Electronic Hall of fame pedal?

ever tried an Ethos overdrive? might make sense to throw that in too. i have an Ethos, a Zendrive, Menatone Howie and a Ceriatone ODS. Out if those the Zendrive is easiest to use - always great tone - bit the Ethos has some magic to it that motivates.

another fan of the mad professor Simble OD

You mean other than a mind meld or 10000 hours of practice? On a side note, I discovered RJ years ago when he was doing most of the Eastwood guitar demos. I totally love the Warren Ellis tenor demos. I think I watched it at least once a day for a week or so.... One of my top five KZread guitarists along with Mike Hermans (PopIntoTheChemist), Andy Martin (ProGuitarShop/Reverb), Brad Linzy (The Guitologist), and Fil Henley (Wings of Pegasus). Thanks for all the great content over the years.

@RJRonquillo

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks!! 😀👍

RJ one of my favorite guitar solo is Robben playing Imperial Strut from the first Yellowjackets album. I wonder what amp and guitar he was using! Check it out!

Great video, do you have any setting recommendation for a Boss DD3 if I wanted to get a RF delay tone out of it?

R.J. - great rundown, thank you. Long time Robben Ford fan here, and new to your channel - subbed! I've been more a fan of Robben's "heavier" tones, like the live Soul on Ten. Sounds like you're getting pretty close here. I just got a deal on a Dude, which has gotten good press for a Dumble-like tone. It'll be interesting to see how it compares to your solutions (though I am nowhere near good enough to make a real comparison!).

@RJRonquillo

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks for subscribing! Love that record too!

listen to your video thanks for sharing your expertise . Would you be able to duplicate Robben ford Yellowjackets album tone and what would you recommend Regards JL

Hey RJ wow unless I come into some lottery money I'm not going dial into that tonal landscape that you have at your disposal in your studio or those guys you know who've designed exclusive hardware for guitarists with wads of cash. Nice video RJ.

Very interesting and instructive video. I really love the sound especially the relic tele with the quilter. Thanks!

@RJRonquillo

5 жыл бұрын

Thanks Bonnie!! 😀👍

Is it a fender super reverb and a very smooth , zendrive . Crap there u said it. Like the vids.

Quilter, then ultra phonix, then zendrive. I have the zendrive. It can sound much less fizzy

So I have a question between this and a 101 reverb I've seen you review. If I'm doing gigs that a deluxe reverb can handle mic'd from sweet compressed cleans to singing overdrive with pedals which quilter would be better suited the reverb 101 mini or overdrive 200?

@RJRonquillo

5 жыл бұрын

I would go with the 101 Reverb.

The Vertex was it for me. But they all get you there I guess.

Awesome RJ, as always. I have one of the older "gooped" Zendrives and it sounds phenomenal. I've had ODs come and go but not this one.

Where does the corner stone Gladio come in, now but it’s available? 🔥 ✌🏼

Sounds great RJ-love your phrasing. My favorite was the Knaggs with the Ultra Phonix on.

I think I can make anything sound great! I’d like to see I demo some cheap gear. I bet it’ll sound killer!

Either pedal sounds as good or better than the quilter imo. The ultra sounded best to my ears. Have a dumble clone pedal from "built by Ryan" that's sounds killer.

Rarely have my eyes gotten so wide as when you started playing. That’s the tone right there. To be honest though the tone is really in the hair.

All the videos I've seen, my favorite sound is Ford playing the 335 or SG.

Curious as to what gauge strings he uses on his Tele…?

Now do a Tone Chasing Tutorial video on Green Day's guitar tone!

That headline is like "3 ways to fly just by flipping your hands". Nice Quilter ad tho, I'm sure some people would like that over-compressed sound.

What pick ups are on your Tele Custom Shop?

Zendrive for the win!

@vmat1000

5 жыл бұрын

That's the one!!! Twin and this and its on!!

Tone is all in that Newsy Hat. 😄

Do you give Skype lessons RJ?

See you at the Robben show

@RJRonquillo

5 жыл бұрын

Cool!

What is the riff starting at 3:06? It's absolutely filthy

@RJRonquillo

5 жыл бұрын

"He Don't Play Nothin' But the Blues" from the Mystic Mile album

@__Beant__

5 жыл бұрын

@@RJRonquillo Thanks RJ, you rock!

Awesome video. When your updating ir’s in torpedo live. Which are you downloading 48 k ? Sorry random question

@RJRonquillo

5 жыл бұрын

I haven't updated the IR's oops!

@bradly373

5 жыл бұрын

Probably my problem. Need to stop dinkering with things

Man, that Ultraphonix is FAT. Love it

Where is he playing next week?

Wow Robben Ford got me clicking so quick

@wearashirt

5 жыл бұрын

Rj, tone is in the HAIR

What tele is that blonde one?

@RJRonquillo

5 жыл бұрын

It's a Fender custom shop relic.

Think your info re Mason and Robben is a bit outdated. I’m pretty sure Robben wouldn’t let Mason anywhere near his rig again. He even taped over the vertex logo

Nice ad.

Ultraphonix

Quite the salesman.

but RJ I don't have some money to buy an apartment in LA

What I have learned from this video is don't use a Quilter amp if you want to sound like Robben Ford. In fact I really can't understand why anyone would use a bland sounding solid state amp in their quest to sound like a guy who is renowned for having one of the purest, amazing valve amp tones of all time. Pretty strange.

@totallyunmemorable

Жыл бұрын

I played one 4-5 years ago and it sounded like that. Its distortion sounds like clipping diodes, it sounds like a pedal. I listened to a recent RF show (with a modded Fender amp and Tele) seconds before watching this. None of these tones gets all that close. RF has a big, clean dynamic tone. Clipping diodes make your sound small, dull and compressed. Kudos to RJR for tackling this, and he captures some of the RF sound, but it's mostly his playing that is what's working - the equipment not so much.

no shade intended! Those may sound like Robben's amp and are great tones but that sounds nothing like his tone to me.

Warm Drive mks a serious zen clone .

Need to run this stuff into an amp. Tones sound like there's a pillow in front of a cab. Run this stuff into a old silverface or something of the ubiquitous blues/hot rod deluxe genre. I don't mean to bitch, I love your videos but this one lacks a bit in true relativity going direct in cab sim. It would have meant a lot more knowing how it pushed a known amp. More of a suggestion than a complaint. Keep the good stuff coming.

Both the Quilter and the Zendrive have a lack of openness and harmonically rich midrange. At least to my old ears.

Nice tone, lacking the harmonics of Robben Ford sound!!! All those pedals are good, with all honesty Shin Suzuki (Shin'sMusic Dumbloid Special) is the closest to Ford an true dumble sound! If these pedals cant hit harmonic in opening to "talk to your daughter"/misunderstood their not on the level of a Shin'sMusic..🤘

Robben's sound is in his hands entirely. I have seen him pull a piece of crap guitar off the wall with action so high you cannot imagine playing it, plug into whatever lame amp was available and sounded like he was playing through his Dumble. The lesson from Robben is that every note has an equal value, equal importance, and that tone is when you have control over the way each and every note sounds. Just my 2 cents...

@TheZenguitarguy

5 жыл бұрын

LOL that may be the fastest KZread reaction ever! We should play sometime. This is me and Mike Finnigan(Hendrix, Etta James, Bonnie, etc...), Steve Ferrone( Tom Petty, Eric Clapton...) Tim Scott (Jack Mack, Robben, TOP, etc...) doing my best "Robben" tone ...lol...Just Kidding...;) kzread.info/dash/bejne/k6aYyMqdpa3NZtY.html

@GaiaBuzz

5 жыл бұрын

Yes, pertinent comments and point of view. Robben also has a mostly clean tone with some OD hair on it, and, a whisper of deep reverb to provide depth and resonance to his already amazing guitar sound, which for the most part, is articulated through his hands and his deep knowledge and soulful creativity as a musician.

His 'sound' is the Dumble, Tele etc. His 'tone' is his amazing right hand technique. It really is in his touch-sensitive right hand. Work on your pick, making it light and chewy and you'll get there on most guitars.

ron-key-lee-oh? here I thought your name was pronounced ron-key-yo :D

@RJRonquillo

5 жыл бұрын

Depends what part of the world I'm in lol, but i'm pronouncing it the Filipino way. I accept all forms of pronunciation though.

@gitaaa7740

5 жыл бұрын

R.J. Ronquillo are you pinoy?