Heres the tube driver made famous by david gilmour. Unlike typical effect pedals, the tube driver includes a built in power cord, as it uses. Comparable in concept to precision racecar active power steering, bk butler allows the tubes to power steer the audio output signal directly into your speakers. With this kit you can build both variants written in the docs. I got a bk butler tube driver several weeks ago and either it just doesnt work with my equipment or ive got a bum one, i was wondering if you guys could help me decide. Unless the driver is carefully designed to clip before this can happen, it will. It spins all the way around and pulls out some too. Both of these are realisations of b k butler s original us patent for a tube driver circuit they are not the final realised circuit that b k butler builds.
Aug, 2012 i also have a realtube bk butler driver here to compare my build to, and it is silent. It will draw 4x the power it needs, causing it to overheat and damage the circuit. When chandler copied the bk butler design they totally messed up the tone stack section all schematics to compare the different versions are here on this thread. Chandler tube driver vs tube works 911 telecaster guitar. If it says tube driver on it as a model name, its one way or the other supposed to be under the auspices of or royalties to one mr. Unfollow tube works tube driver to stop getting updates on your ebay feed. Guitar effects pedalsguitar pedalsdiy electronics electronics projectselectrical workaudio amplifierguitar ampcircuitdistortion. I know kit rae says its inferior, different circuit, not the real deal etc. The tube operates at about 15 volts and basically takes the place of clipping diodes in the circuit. You say that your amp operates in a1 and that wont happen. Tube driver bottom pcb layer parts placement and bias mod. Guitar effects pedalsguitar pedalsdiy electronicselectronics projectselectrical workaudio amplifierguitar ampcircuitdistortion. I purchased it back in 1994 at guitar center in san bernardino, ca.
Bk butler real tube blue tube tube driver tube works. The pcb was dark green on the trace side and had no identifying numbers or letters. I prefer it not because its all tube but because the high voltage power supply gives me plenty of headroom with my high output bass. Tubeworks tube driver sounds like ripped speaker music. The real tube overdrive is a bk butler guitar pedal manufactured by tube works back in the 70s and 80s. Previous designs generally employed vacuum tubes in impedanceisolated preamp or pre driver stages. I think its designed for ax7 but mine is getting a lot of gain quickly. After receiving an enthusiastic response at the 2002 ces to the first prototype home amplifiers incorporating the now patented tube driver blue technology, butler audio introduced the tube driver blue series of home theater amplifiers. The tube driver is a somewhat famous pedal, id guess it to be the most wellknown tube based distortion pedal. This is the big daddy of tube overdrive pedals the classic tube driver from b. Bk butler tube works tube driver early 3 knob modeloriginal yugoslavian 12ax7 tube includednever thought this day would come but i just dont use this pedal at all anymore. There are many schematics out there as well as a wealth of pcb projects.
Bk butler tube driver with bias knob, get that awesome violin tone lead best tube driver ive ever played through the delivery man dropped off my brand new bk butler tube driver about 4 hours ago 11 am and im still going, 3 pm. A superlative marriage of tube and solidstate technology. Baja real tube driver 12v dc online stripboard layout editor. You will need a suitable 12vac power pack for this pedal the original has a. Im hand building only limited production numbers every week.
Conversely, if you plug a tube driver with a 220240v transformer meant for the. Chandler tube driver rack i know there is some controversy over the bk butler situation but that none withstanding the 1 up racks are reasonably rare to come by and have the famed bias control. If your chandler tube driver includes bk butler s name, its the real deal, built by butler and distributed by chandler. Whats your take on the bk butlertube worksmos valve design. I wrote to butler s company and a technician there verified it as a genuine butler pedal. 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. 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. I personally autograph each tube driver on the bottoms side. The first, original, one was the bk butler chandler tube driver. This novel design allows the tubes to safely produce authentic power vacuum tube dynamic characteristics hundreds of times greater than their original design capabilities.
Ive heard au7 is pretty popular and that bk butler would give clients a yugo au7 from his secret stash. Tube works and chandler tube drivers have been on the market at different times, and in different versions. The pedal has no power switch because butler believes that it is fine to. At some point butler started using a toroid transformer that runs from 120240vac which works with either mains power. The tube driver is a somewhat famous pedal, id guess it to be the most wellknown tubebased distortion pedal. Butler has been making since 2005 could be ordered with either voltage, so be sure you are buying a tube driver with the correct voltage for your country. When chandler copied the bk butler design they totally messed up the tone stack section all schematics to compare the different versions are here on. I have an old 3 knob tube driver by bk butler tube works which has a broken potentiometer in the tube gain position.
Then someone modified it to match with the 911 pedal. Butler designed tube driver circuit with some component differences. The mosfet driver is based on the legendary bk butler tube driver. Power amplifier circuit is very nice used for subwoofer applications with powerful bass tones. The tube driver is an overdrive with real tube sound. Used bk butler tube works tube driver effect pedal guitar. The mids control will be sacrificed and replaced by the bias control. 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. Vintage 1990s bk butler tube driver works original 910 circuit valve 12ax7 rare. If you know of a tube pedal not listed here, please let me know. Pedals with separate ac power supplies or wall warts are not original and do not sound the same. Therefore, the tubes are positioned to naturally and actively respond to the dynamic speaker load. I have never seen one dated earlier than 1985, but butler said he first designed this version in 1983.
The layout included is for an offboard tube socket not mounted on the pcb. It no longer functions correctly to change the gain. Bk butler tube driver perf and pcb effects layouts. Bk butler tube driver 910 schematicpot value telecaster. This is required for the tube to operate properly, but you still need to provide the rest of the circuit, including some of the other tube pins, with power. Bk butler s tube driver blue technology places the triodes exactly where they should be. 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. Most people do not seem to be aware of the history or that the chandler versions are not up to par. A problem exists in all vacuum tube power amplifiers when the input signal reaches the point where the driver tube attempts to drive the grid of the output tube positive. Good luck if you want to build it it uses a double sided circuit board. If youre wondering how these things sound heres a demo for you. This is a favourite of eric johnson, david gilmour, joe. It runs the 12ax7 stages at very low plate voltageabout 9 volts.
Find great deals on ebay for butler tube driver and butler tube driver car amp. The original project runs on an 16v ac adapter so chances are that the original will sound better than my 12v dc version. The real tube includes a mid range knob, allowing for a wider range of tones to be dialed in. In fact, the original tube kings were just a slight variation on the bk butler tube driver, designed and built by butler himself, for ibanez, in denver. He is still handbuilding tube driver pedals, and says he still does the occasional td with the eq points set for bass, as well as with lower gain. I dont play guitar much but my friend has tried it out and was able to get very eric johnson. Order here and get a real bk butler handmade tube driver. Ive simplified each circuit into block diagrams to illustrate their architecture. 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. I actually got it used on evilbay should have just bought a new one direct from bk. Bk butler 911 tube driver beigeblack for sale online ebay. Some used 4knob tube drivers marked chandler are not the original design by bk butler. Chandler tube driver vs tube works 911 telecaster guitar forum. For greater savings check out our used bk butler tube works tube driver effect pedal and get a great deal today.
The hard clipping part of the distortion comes from the integrated circuit chip, or opamp. Feb 27, 2018 about the bk butler real tube overdrive guitar pedal. I am not surprised that the ggg tube driver sounds bad it is basicly the same as the behringer vt911 vintage overdrive that also sounds bad. The core of the pedal is a handselected 12ax7 tube which gives you a lovely sort of fuzzdrive sound than can sound amazingly smooth and textured in the hands of masters like david gilmour who still features 2 of these within his rig. The knobs shown on the photo are not included in the kit. The original ibanez tube king overdrive was a very different beast than the reissued version in the red diamondshaped box, which seems to be a rather bland, metaloriented high gain distortion. The only reason they are big is because the power supply is built inside. Butler tube driver circuits 1985 circuit on left, 1986 in middle, and 1987 on right. Chandler tube drivers still command high prices on ebay, for example. 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. Jan 26, 2011 hey, i have a butler blue tube pedal similar to the tube driver that runs off ac power. The image above shows my recently purchased real tube pedal case disassembled, because in the video below im about to show you how to clean it. I kept the power section from john ks version of the blue tube.
Bk butler tube driver 1989 guitar pedals, electronics. The tube glowing means youve got the heater up and running pins 4 and 5, and technically also 9,but were not using that. He recommends the 5 knob model with the added bias control. View and download tube works mosvalve rt2100 owners manual online. Any input on this amp, called the bk butler, tdb2250 highbred tube amp, i want to use my receiver as a preamp with the bk butler for two channel. Here we have a combo amp with a solid state power section, fed by two separate preamp circuits. Ive just opened mine up and the circuit board quite clearly reads patented. 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. Maybe its a correct schematic for the pedal being analysed here.
Decided to buy the spire, martinlogans, and depth i for sub, they are four ohm speakers that will. Sounds ok, better after i changed the tube to a 12au7. This kit is a creation by th custom effects in cooperation with. Ive only ever heard one, and it sounded good but i had nothing to ab it against. It is made in the usa has a 14 inch input and output and i believe is has a 12ax7 type tube. Apr 06, 2012 dean markley overlord to b k butler tube driver so, ive got one of these and ive got to admit i agree with the advert its ugly as sin but it does sure cook an amp nicely, but it could be better. This was traced from a recent b k butler pedal and has the bias pot modification which. I wrote to butler s company and a technician there verified it as a genuine butler pedal, as opposed to the chandler fakes.
This is a little different than the bk butler tube driver im told. A pair of adjustablebias mosfet gain stages take the place of the 12ax7 vacuum tube, otherwise the circuit is true to the original schematic. Guitar pedal x gpx blog 6 of the best butler tube driver. I dont think it is any of those schematics mozwell, and i havent yet found one that looks correct. Chandler tube driver rack gearslutz pro audio community. Bk butler real tube overdrive the tube driver is a boosteroverdrive pedal with a simple vacuum tube driven preamp circuit inside, used by david gilmour of pink floyd, eric johnson, billy gibbons, joe satriani, kenny wayne shepherd, j. It definitely doesnt sound like a stock tube driver at least in terms of the amount of. The pcb is pretty accurate to the original, with a few small improvements, mainly to the power rail and tone control. Do note that this effect requires 12v ac power and not dc like most other effects. Tdb 475 t h e r m i o n i c vacuum tube driven mobile power amplifier design with authentic vacuum tube response and an openended design, zero global negative feedback, tube driver blue overcomes one of the most universally agreed upon sonic problems plaguing virtually all current amplifier designs.
The colorsound power boost and tube driver are very similar, which may. Power is quite high power amplifier, power power issued about 500 watt high quality power amplifier circuit of 1500 watt high power amplifier is very nice to talk about single power amplifier circuit is therefore not o be outdone by the classa amplifiers. The bk butler 911 tube driver has been one of those items for me. The chandler tube driver is a real tube based overdrive guitar pedal. During its long life the tube driver has appeared in many forms. The use of ultralinear architecture, the output of each channel cattle connected five lines, together with the feedback and the filament, the pcb wiring will appear much more, but does not affect its excellent replay. Utilization the general configuration of the tube driver is really easy to follow, and it is easy to get a good sound from this. It uses a 12ax7 which is pushed by a dual opamp followed by a fenderstyle tone stack. It might not be identical to the tube driver but its in the same sort of area.
It also has an optically controlled circuit with a vactrol. Pedals with separate ac power supplies or wall warts are not original and do not. Jun 23, 2009 id say theyre really solid sounding no pun intended. Butler then had a firm in california manufacture a third version of the circuit board for him sometime in 1987. Rackmount bk butler tube works blue tube rt904 rackmount bk butler tube works blue tube ii rt924 tube works rt4001 di direct box wps bk butler tube works real tube overdrive 12ax7 stomp pedal but had never seen bk butler tube works all tube amp. Used bk butler tube works tube driver, vintage tube overdrive pedal from the 1980s. You will need to get either a simple plug adaptor or reinstall the correct type of plug on the power cord for ac mains in your country. Unfollow butler tube driver to stop getting updates on your ebay feed. Forgot to mention before, if you have a chandler wall mart tube driver you can easily convert it to a authentic tube driver by rebuilding the tone stack section. It was 9v powered, like most pedals, making it more marketable to a larger crowd.
Currently, im using a lee jackson sp 1u rackmount power amp. Jul 02, 2016 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. We are confident this unit will be a welcome addition to your tube. Bk butler s original hand made tube driver guitar pedal used by eric johnson, david gilmour. The b k butler tube driver has been used by several of rock guitars greats david gilmour and eric johnson to name just two. Tube works mosvalve rt2100 owners manual pdf download. This rack is an updated and more costeffective design from the originator of the tube driver concept, b.
K butler tubeworks tube driver real tube overdrive effects pedal. It is unkown which circuit was inside the 1980s tube driver, as butler stated shipped david four 911 td circuits in 2005, requested to replace the circuits in his old tube drivers. But looks like it originally was a schematic of the tube driver from 1986 done by mr. This is a selfverified layout of the famous baja version of the bk butler chandler tube drive. Due to the continuing requests for my limited production original design tube driver pedal, here are the details. Butler tube driver famously used by david gilmour, eric johnson, billy gibbons and joe satriani to name a few. The tube driver is a legendary pedal used by players like eric. After doing some research, i decided to order the parts for two builds. Overall in great shape considering the age of the pedal. A tube is not included in the kit, you can select it suitably to your project. Never tried an original bk butler tube driver but always wanted to give one a go. Ive looked to compile the best and most reliable for this post. Dc coupled through the output power devices to the speakers.
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