Review: Mojo Hand FX | DMBL Overdrive Pedal
The Howard Dumble Overdrive Special boutique amplifiers are some of the most sought after guitar gear of all-time. Early 1970s Dumble amplifiers fetch upwards of $175,000.00 on the open market today. Mr. Dumble, now known as “Alex”, still builds a handful of amplifiers today. In 2015, another giant in the industry, Mr. Jon Cusack, purchased Mojo Hand FX and has continued the legacy started by Mo Handy and the gang. Recreating vintage pedals and amplifier tones is commonplace in the effect pedal industry, but very few have accurately created a Dumble version. I am guessing that it is probably difficult (and expensive) getting hands on an original Dumble for comparison. So, I put the pedal side-by-side with my Dumble amplifier and let ’em rip…. Alright, I do not have a Dumble amplifier, but I did play through the DMBL pedal settings through multiple amplifiers and stacked it with a few different pedals to see how is sounded.
Early 1970s Dumble amplifiers fetch upwards of $175,000.00 on the open market today.
The controls are the DMBL are pretty straightforward. The Gain Knob controls the overdrive and will be used the most on the pedal. There is a Volume Knob, Treble Knob and Bass Knob. A really cool addition to this overdrive gem is the two-position toggle switch. Some call it a Jazz or Rock switch, I will refer to it simply as a Clean and Dirty switch. When placed in the Up position, this switch keeps retains the gain of a classic overdrive pedal. When placed in the Down position, you really get that Dumble Mid-Range tone. There is a significant difference between Up and Down. I really got some amazing overdrive crackle between the 1:00 and 2:00 position on the Gain Knob through a Marshal amplifier. That same drive happened between the 3:00 and 4:00 position of the Gain Knob through my ’65 Fender Twin Reverb amplifier. In my opinion, the Mojo Hand FX DMBL overdrive pedal did react through the Marshal amplifier much better than the Fender. I am sure this is because Marshal amplifiers have very rich mid-tones. Combine that with the DMBL set in the Down position to drive more mids, and something magical happens. This is why I always play my pedals through various amplifiers to get the best results.
- Treble and Bass EQ knobs are always a plus to fine tune your own tone.
- Great looking pedal. The color scheme and knob positions are excellent.
- Tons of swag in the bag! A button, stickers, beer cousy, can opener and rubber feet. Oh, my!
- The 2-position toggle switch makes the magic happen. This is why you will buy this pedal.
- Very few manufacturers have succeeded in emulating the Dumble Amplifier sound. I believe this is the best of them all.
- Most importantly, this pedal sounds amazing and is low-priced. Win – Win.
I stacked the Mojo Hand FX pedal with a few high-gain overdrive pedals and a distortion. It sounded great stacked with all of these pedals.
