The Enigmatic ’92 Overdrive Special Amp carries a story unlike any other. Howard Dumble’s hand-built amps have been shrouded in mystery for decades—rare, idiosyncratic, and often reserved only for those lucky enough to earn his trust. Revered by players for their touch sensitivity and dynamic tone, each Dumble was one of a kind, made in his small shop along the California coast.

Universal Audio set out to capture that spirit with an unprecedented digital recreation of a Dumble Overdrive Special, and we were tasked with bringing its mythology to life onscreen. We chose to film on the cliffs of Santa Cruz, not far from where Dumble himself worked, rooting the campaign in the landscape that shaped the amp’s legend.

To expand the narrative, we combined live performance with AI-driven illustration, creating spectral characters that echoed the amp’s mystique—half myth, half memory. The result was a campaign that felt both historical and otherworldly, celebrating the lore of Howard Dumble while ushering his legacy into a new era of sound.