Heres the tube driver made famous by david gilmour. Bk butler tube driver page 2 joes guitars, amps and. Butler tube works real tube overdrive rt902 preamp. Bk butler tube driver by groovenut 28 may 2015, 04. Never tried an original bk butler tube driver but always wanted to give one a go. The tube driver is placed after the muff with an equally mild setting butoer a slight crunch and the volume slightly above unity with the amp. Nov 23, 2018 these sound more like the 5 knob real tube circuit, minus the mids knob. Vintage 1987 bk butler tube driver overdrive pedal. Ive looked to compile the best and most reliable for this post. It might not be identical to the tube driver but its in the same sort of area. Th custom effects diy boutique effects and little helpers. Butler also known as built by tube works, chandler.
Real tube by tube works other than one being in super cool enclosure, and the other in a buttugly enclosure, the 4 knob 911 tube drivers and 5 knob real tube versions are basically the same patented b. Its kind of like having a section of your amp right in a pedal. Fuzz face guitar effect pedal pcb distortion vintage diy. It was designed and built by audio electronics engineer b. Butler real tube overdrive the tube driver is a boosteroverdrive pedal with an ic and vacuum tube driven preamp circuit inside, used by guitarists such as david gilmour of pink floyd, eric johnson, billy gibbons, joe bonamassa, joe satriani, kenny wayne shepherd, j mascis, david holt, keith urban, and others.
These pedals have to be dialed in for each individual amp and guitar combination as they are relatively low output and the tube drive tends to kick in at a lower level than some pedals. Overall in great shape considering the age of the pedal. The only other problem i have had is getting it to cut through in a band situation. Feb 19, 2020 never tried an original bk butler tube driver but always wanted to give one a go. Able to organically create the tone of a tube amp at the point of breakup, the tube driver has been loved by guitarists since its inception decades ago for that allnatural tone and feel. Discussion in the effect effect started by jeepjones85, sep 10, 2011. The mosfet driver is based on the legendary bk butler tube driver. Hi andrea, i have the bk butler tube driver with bias mod as well, i use a nos yugo real tube tho 12ax7. Tube driver real tube overdrive bk butler chandler the original, classic 4 knob tube driver with the iconic case color and graphics, made circa 1985 to 1987. Supposedly he gets inquiries to fix them all the time and wont.
This pedal is legendary, used by eric johnson, kenny wayne. The mids control will be sacrificed and replaced by the bias control. Compatible with all electric guitars and amplifiers. Preamp 12ax7s in my guitar amps are warm to the touch but 12au7s in my hifi preamp if i recall correctly are very very hot. Ive got the super rare 3 knob with the epoxy coated pcb that i exposed. It can be a little harsh and raspy and i assume that is because i still have a 12ax7 in it. Featuring a diehard metal chassis, intuitive control interface, and highlow eq control, the tube works tube driver overdrive captures magic in a box. If you investigate the colorsound and similar, you might have a look at the basic audio futureman and the black arts toneworks black forest overdrive.
The post discusses a simple, cheap single mosfet class a power amplifier circuit which can be used for any small scale audio amplifier appl. The cornish mode sounds more like something in between a bk butler tube driver and cornish g2 tone, but perhaps a bit too thin and nasally. Bk butler tube driver perf and pcb effects layouts. What other items do customers buy after viewing this item. Each pedal takes me several hours of my personal time. Bk butler tube driver page 2 joes guitars, amps and gear joe bonamassa forum the official forum for all things joe bonamassa, guitars and blues music. After doing some research, i decided to order the parts for two builds.
Its a great tube drive and im very happy i happened upon it, thanks duke i dont use the blue tube much for drive but i do dial a little bit of dirt into the signal. This product is not manufactured or distributed by butler audio, inc. It uses a 12ax7 which is pushed by a dual opamp followed by a fenderstyle tone stack. This is the original model, designed by bk butler, built by chandler industries with the power supply built. Due to the fact that my tube drivers are oneoff limited production items, i do not offer a return policy. I have an old 3 knob tube driver by bk butler tube works which has a broken potentiometer in the.
Bk butler tubeworks blue tube bass driver whos using them. The tube driver houses a preamp tube and it generates distortion by overdriving the tube rather than conventional pedal methods. The tk999us, was made in the 90s, and actually had bk butler s name and license info, imprinted right on the ibanez pcb. I also have a realtube bk butler driver here to compare my build to, and it is silent. I kept the power section from john ks version of the blue tube. We are confident this unit will be a welcome addition to your tube sound. The knobs shown on the photo are not included in the kit. The b k butler tube driver has been used by several of rock. The chandler tube driver is an overdrive pedal most famously used by eric johnson, david gilmour, billy gibbons and joe satriani. A bk butler tube driver fabbed board would be great handmade ones suck, really hard to get them right. For those interested, my diamond memory lane settings.
This is the older original version of the tube driver pedal by bk butler. Gilmour used a colorsound for a long time before the tube driver. But the blue tube will be part of my collection for years to come, its a great keeper the way it is stock imo. Feb 28, 2012 the b k butler tube driver has been used by several of rock guitars greats david gilmour and eric johnson to name just two. Butler tube driver real tube overdrive effects database. I have a bunch of preamp tubes ive been wanting to swap around in it, but it just sounds so good asis that ive never gotten around to messing with it. The bk butler 911 tube driver has been one of those items for me.
The pedal had already been used by gilmour, satriani, bonamassa, j mascis. Nov 02, 2016 nov 2, 2016 bk butlerchandler tube driver current draw. A tube is not included in the kit, you can select it suitably to your project. Vintage 1987 bk butler tube driver overdrive pedal gilmour free shipping. The pcb is pretty accurate to the original, with a few small improvements, mainly to the power rail and tone control. Bk butler tube driver clone pcb and overlay photo by. In my experience, any of the bk butler tube designs, even the pedals, all sound phat. Unfollow butler tube driver to stop getting updates on your ebay feed. The tube driver is a holy grail type pedal, but many people, especially younger players, have never heard of it. Diy clone klon centaur overdrive effect pedal kit for sale. With this kit you can build both variants written in the docs.
This is the only handmade and authentic tube driver. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. Ive been running the 904 as my preamp for 4 years now and i love it. It features controls for out level, eq sometimes split into high and low eq, and tube drive level. The tube driver is our own creation following the bk butler or chandler models but taking it to new levels regarding flexibility and noise reduction. Tube driver new direct from bk butler with bias covid.
I have never seen one dated earlier than 1985, but butler said he first designed this version in 1983. There are some great youtube demos of this device online, check it out. Hi guys, i will upload a schematic and pcb layout from a traced. There are many schematics out there as well as a wealth of pcb projects. For the bias control my favorite settings are maximum for gilmour tones and 10 notches below maximum for my original tones, which is roughly 2. Butler, tube driver, distortion pedal, msm workshop by msm workshop 20150401 bk butler tube driver demo through marshall class 5 by laurelwood effects. The b k butler tube driver has been used by several of rock guitars greats david gilmour and eric johnson to name just two. Bk butlers original hand made tube driver guitar pedal used by eric johnson, david gilmour, billy gibbons, joe satriani, kenny wayne.
Bk butler is still making these pedals today and his calls his real tube overdrive the tube driver pedal. Bk butler tube driver 910 schematicpot value discussion in burnt fingers diy effects started by tatittle, nov 17, 2011. I have the real tube pedal and was hoping you can you shed some light on the differences between the real tube and the tube driver pedal. The first one had a light tan colored pcb with components of both sides, marked 93151. A pair of adjustablebias mosfet gain stages take the place of the 12ax7 vacuum tube, otherwise the circuit is true to the original schematic. This is a library of perfboard and singlesided pcb effect layouts for guitar and bass. An ongoing library of perf board and pcb layouts for hundreds of effects circuits. Now ibanez offers the tk999ht12v ac, internally boosted a high voltage model bja. Its a great time to upgrade your home music studio gear with the largest selection at. One vintage 1987 bk butler tube driver overdrive guitar effects pedal. I am on again off again with my bk butler tube driver wbias mod. Differences between tube driver and real tube hi bk. Never played out lived in a smokefree climate controlled studio. Bk butler tube driver 910 schematicpot value telecaster.
Resistors are soldered on the back side, capacitors and other components on the front. This kit is a creation by th custom effects in cooperation with. I bought a bk butler tube driver 5 years ago with the intention of swapping out the stock tube. Discussion in the tone zone started by liquid, jan 26, 2011. Tube pilot is, according to tc electronic, a legendary tube overdrive modelled, but then further developed by them. I found this one at guitar resurrection in austin texas. Secrets revealedwhats inside this bk butler tube driver real. The blue channel is round and chewy the middle channel with no clipping gives you that nice low gain tube overdrive the red channel reminds me of a high gain el34 brit sound. Beware of inferior clones and used worn out pedals.
Check out these unsolicited customer videos on youtube. The tube driver is not an extremely versatile pedal but what it does it does very well. Well, that stock tube is still in there and it sounds glorious. The tube driver is an overdrive with real tube sound. Shown above left to right the 1985 bk butler tube driver, the revised 198687 bk butler tube driver, the unauthorized 1988 knockoff made by chandler after butler parted ways with them, the 1990s tube works 911 tube driver, and a b. During its long life the tube driver has appeared in many forms. I suspect by the reference legendary that they are hinting at the tube driver by b. This is the original model, designed by bk butler, built by chandler industries with the power supply built in. Im not an electrical engineer by any stretch of the imagination, just a diyer who likes drawing layouts. Is the real tube basically a tube driver with the addition of the midrange control to the tone stack or are they completely different. Tc electronics tube pilot budget valve overdrive pedal. Butler designed tube driver circuit with some component differences.
Used bk butler tube works tube driver, vintage tube overdrive pedal from the 1980s. This is the ultimate bias model inspired by requests from eric johnson in 1985. This is a pedal that has been around for over thirty years and has become a longstanding favorite amongst some of the most elite players in the business for its smooth distortion and boost capabilities. The real tube includes a mid range knob, allowing for a wider range of tones to be dialed in. Hi guys, i will upload a schematic and pcb layout from a traced chandler tube driver soon. Now butler says that the real tube overdrive pedals made by tube works from back in the day are unreliable. I definitely need to try a 12at7 or a 12au7 in mine. Nov 2, 2016 bk butlerchandler tube driver current draw. Bk butler tube driver 1989 guitar pedals, electronics. Pages from a mid s tube works catalog featuring theand tube driver pedals. The most recent posted schematic appears to be more accurate than the previous ones based on my old tube driver. Ive just opened mine up and the circuit board quite clearly reads patented. Butler tube works rt902 rack mount real tube overdrive preamp a favorite of artists such as david gilmour, eric johnson, jimi bell, etc.
This version was made by him for chandler before chandler cut him out and started making these pedals on their own in 1988. Depending on the pedal, such as those by tc electronic, mxr, and electroharmonix, you can get anything from a warm, rich overtone to a harsh and. This rack is an updated and more costeffective design from the originator of the tube driver concept, b. They are available as outside and inside tube variations. Pcb only 6 diy effect pedal kit triangle big muff fuzzdistortion clone. Tube driver pedals, real tube overdrive, tube works, etc. The tube king is reputed to be a very similar circuit design to the tube driver and the patent there certainly backs that notion up. Im thinking about replacing the pcb and build this one but im afraid. Heart of the tube driver is a real handselected 12ax7 tube by bk butler himself.
The layout included is for an offboard tube socket not mounted on the pcb. If youre wondering how these things sound heres a demo for you. Sep 02, 2014 the tube driver is not an extremely versatile pedal but what it does it does very well. An electronic project is basically a circuit project built using a handful of passive and active electronic parts by soldering them on a printed circuit broad or pcb. Heart of the tube driver is a real handselected 12ax7 tube by bk butler himself controls. Bk butler s original hand made tube driver guitar pedal used by eric johnson, david gilmour, billy gibbons, joe satriani, kenny wayne shepherd, robbie krieger, and many other pros. Bk butler tube driver page 1 joes guitars, amps and. Oct 27, 2008 20111119 guitar tube overdrive bk butler tube driver strat demo by jokeandrazz 20150204 r.
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