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. This pedal is legendary, used by eric johnson, kenny wayne shepherd, david gilmour, and many. 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. Tube pilot is, according to tc electronic, a legendary tube overdrive modelled, but then further developed by them. Butler audio inc is not responsible for customs charges, delays due to general delivery andor customs clearance issues.
They then decided that they were the owners of the product and took butler to court where they promptly lost their suit. Its strong point is to add a bit of oomph to an overdrive channel. Bk butlers 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. This pedal is legendary, used by eric johnson, kenny wayne. The tube driver is not an extremely versatile pedal but what it does it does very well. Compatible with all electric guitars and amplifiers. The mosfet driver is based on the legendary bk butler tube driver. Anyways i got a bass driver, real tube tube overdrive, and tube enhancer, all the older versionsthe blue boxnot the fancy 80s ones, and i spent a good few days experimenting with settings, and writing down my faves, one thing i noticed is that on all 3 the controls are highly interactive with each other, the bass driver and real tube the. Page 2 of 2 butler called those 1970 nos yugo tubes, meaning new old stock tubes made in yugoslavia in the 1970s. Chandler marketed his product for a while using their name. 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.
Tc electronics tube pilot budget valve overdrive pedal. I actually got it used on evilbay should have just bought a new one direct from bk. A pair of adjustablebias mosfet gain stages take the place of the 12ax7 vacuum tube, otherwise the circuit is true to the original schematic. Get the best deals on bk butler when you shop the largest online selection at. Tonewise, i would perhaps place the chandler somewhere between a tube screamer and a bk tube driver. Due to the continuing requests for my limited production original design tube driver pedal, here are the details.
This is the big daddy of tube overdrive pedals the classic tube driver from b. 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. Bk butler tube driver feature requests kemper profiler forum. Some used 4 knob tube drivers marked chandler are not the original design by bk butler. The speaker is rated for 75 watts and was custom made for tube driver by. It uses a 12ax7 which is pushed by a dual opamp followed by a fenderstyle tone stack.
He owns one of the first tube drivers made by butler, which is marked chander electronics patent pend. I found this one at guitar resurrection in austin, texas. Bk butler tube driver txba gear index texas blues alley. This item tube driver original by bk butler with bias control. 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. Bk butler has been designing vacuum tube related musical. We are confident this unit will be a welcome addition to your tube sound. The tube driver houses a preamp tube and it generates distortion by overdriving the tube rather than conventional pedal methods. Featuring a diehard metal chassis, intuitive control interface, and highlow eq control, the tube works tube driver overdrive captures magic in a box. Eric johnson interview guitars amp effects on up close album. Mar 28, 20 ive got the bk tube driver with the bias mod. Used a low gain 6av6 or 12av6 tube for distortion and transistor stage for compression.
I cant remember which tubes i tried, but it would have been a mix of nos mullards and amperex and tfk 12ax7s and 12au7s. I found this one at guitar resurrection in austin texas. Tis is the only handmade and authentic tube driver which i personally designed in 1983. 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. 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. Heres the tube driver made famous by david gilmour. They then decided that they were the owners of the product and took butler. Bk butler tube driver vs ibanez ts808 tube screamer duration. Used bk butler tube works tube driver, vintage tube overdrive pedal from the 1980s. Would love to see the tube driver compared to the mxr fet driver. Its kind of like having a section of your amp right in a pedal. 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. Butler real tube overdrive the tube driver is a boosteroverdrive pedal with an ic and vacuum tube driven preamp circuit inside, used by.
Butler also known as built by tube works, chandler. The tube works company is now owned by genz benz, and i contacted them for some extra information on it and this is what they told me. Eric johnson and bk butler cliffs of dover wikipedia. I wrote to butler s company and a technician there verified it as a genuine butler pedal. We are confident this unit will be a welcome addition to your tube. Check out these unsolicited customer videos on youtube. The layout included is for an offboard tube socket not mounted on the pcb. The tube driver runs it in starved plate mode, so it only gets around 30 volts. This is the original model, designed by bk butler, built by chandler industries with the power supply built in.
This is the original model, designed by bk butler, built by. I wrote to butler s company and a technician there verified it as a genuine butler pedal, as opposed to the chandler fakes. To me, the bk butler tube driver is one of the best around both for leads, taming a muff and for a clean volume boost that adds some. Works best through my hitone dg amp, which is basically a handwired, pointtopoint dr103 circuit. The words tube driver are marked with a tm, as the tredemark registration had not gone through yet. I know the fet driver was based on the butler design. I will say the box didnt make me able to play like eric johnson but i finally got that violin tone ive been. Imo, as a pedal in front of a clean channel it sounds notsospecial.
Heart of the tube driver is a real handselected 12ax7 tube by bk butler himself. Each one is hand made and checked out carefully by bk himself. The bk butler comes as a tube driver model and is available with a bias knob for 12ax7, 12at7, and 12au6 preamp tubes. But to be fair, almost any drive pedal sounds great.
Im hand building only limited production numbers every week. It is now possible to get the best vacuum tube home audio sound in your car. I suspect by the reference legendary that they are hinting at the tube driver by b. Heres your chance to own this legendary holy grail of overdrive pedals. Bk butler tube driver page 2 feature requests kemper. Tube driver original by bk butler with bias control. Bk butler tubeworks blue tube bass driver whos using them. Bk butler tube driver page 1 joes guitars, amps and. 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. Page 2 of 2 bk butler blue tube rack unit and the last time i pulled it out of my rack, i tried swapping about 4 or 5 tubes to see which sounded best. This amp was made in denver in the 90s and designed by bk butler of the tube driver pedal fame.
Pulse tube drivers david used two original 198687 bk butler chandler branded tube drivers in his 1994 division bell live rig. 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. The bk butler tube driver is the quintessential overdrivebooster pedal and comes with an ic. Heart of the tube driver is a real handselected 12ax7 tube by bk butler himself controls. Butler designed tube driver circuit with some component differences. 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. But the blue tube will be part of my collection for years to come, its a great keeper the way it is stock imo. Bk butler tube driver page 2 joes guitars, amps and gear. Reverb is a marketplace bringing together a widespanning community to buy, sell, and discuss all things music gear. The tube driver is a holy grail type pedal, but many people, especially younger players, have never heard of it. Some used 4knob tube drivers marked chandler are not the original design by bk butler.
Four different tube drivers have been seen in his recording studio. 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. 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. Those who want to reserve a unit, please contact me via email. Bk butler 911 tube driver beigeblack for sale online ebay. 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. The bk butler 911 tube driver has been one of those items for me. I personally autograph each tube driver on the bottoms side. Sep 02, 2014 the tube driver is not an extremely versatile pedal but what it does it does very well. Tube works valve distortion guitar bass keyboard pedal overdrive bk butler bk butler tube works tube driver td. This rack is an updated and more costeffective design from the originator of the tube driver concept, b.
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. Driver back when tube works made it it was a good sounding pedal you figure andy timmons still uses one but i dont think they are in production anymore the 4 knob does sound better though. Mar 30, 2012 below is an interview with bk that explains the whole butler vs. The stock tube that ships with the 911 tube driver made since 2006 is a golden dragon 12ax7 a low noise, hifi preamp tube. This is the original model, designed by bk butler, built by chandler industries with the power supply built. 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. 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.
Ive got an 80s bk butler blue tube rack unit and the last time i pulled it out of my rack, i tried swapping about 4 or 5 tubes to see which sounded best. Tube driver with bias control original design by bk butler. During its long life the tube driver has appeared in many forms. Ultra rare 1985 bk butler tube driver patent pending 1 of 1st 50. Butler tube driver famously used by david gilmour, eric johnson, billy gibbons and joe satriani to name a few. The earliest tube driver, hand made by bk butler in escondido, california, circa 19791980. Bk butler tubeworks blue tube bass driver whos using. Overall in great shape considering the age of the pedal. Bk butler tube driver page 1 joes guitars, amps and gear. Essentially, bk is the designer of the tube driver.
Professional celebrity users include billy gibbons zz top, david gilmour pink floyd, eric clapton, elton john, eric johnson and hundreds more. Bk butler tube driver page 1 joes guitars, amps and gear joe bonamassa forum the official forum for all things joe bonamassa, guitars and blues music. I kept the power section from john ks version of the blue tube. These have become known as the pulse tube drivers, as that is the name of pink floyds popular live concert video and album from the 1994 tour. 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.