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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on May 2, 2019 8:24:35 GMT -7
I was looking around last night and saw that BK Butler is making the real deal Tube Drivers, and they are on sale right now. So I caved and bought the one with the 'Bias' control on back. I saw a lot of comments on this forum but not much recently. Back in the 90's I had a black and yellow striped one from Tube Works that I ended up selling. I found that it sounded way better with a 12AU7, but it wasn't getting the sound I wanted so I dumped it. I hope that's because it wasn't the same circuit as the one the Butler is selling now. The clips I've seen are very good sounding.
So how many of you have had the Tube Driver stand the test of time? Do you still use it?
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Post by Maddog on May 2, 2019 9:43:52 GMT -7
Dave.....here's the same old "had one, sold it, wish I had it back" saga. I did enjoy mine for the way it could feed back. I mostly used it to add a lot of background sounds (spooky noises) for songs like the following...We recorded a lot of these types of tunes with it and used the recordings to tweak our live sound. I really liked how controllable the Tube Driver was....
Plus, in this song where I'm actually playing a short, conservative lead or two, it's pretty decent sounding as well. I could coax sounds very Synth-like out of it (way cool)....there's some of that in this recording too.
Ultimately, it took up too much real estate on the pedal board, plus needed AC, so I ditched it.
My take: Great for recording, too big for gigging....(Mine had the bias control fyi)...
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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on May 2, 2019 10:35:01 GMT -7
Sounds great, Lee. I like your style, brother!
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Post by zpilot on May 2, 2019 12:13:56 GMT -7
A little info for you.
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Post by LT on May 2, 2019 13:35:55 GMT -7
I had one as well (with bias) and ultimately sold it. Man, do these have some gain on tap if you want it! Let us know your thoughts Dave.
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Post by cheycaster on May 2, 2019 15:41:01 GMT -7
I've still got a BK Butler Tube works--?? Rack mount with the Bias knob. I love it but I haven't used it for years but always considered getting the floor pedal model with the Bias knob. THATS what to me makes it or brakes it as far as using it. The Bias feature really opened up the Bias on amps for tone and feel and as much sag or stiffness you could want. Keep us in the know about how your liking it ....or not.
chey
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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on May 2, 2019 16:20:17 GMT -7
It really sounds great in this demo. Thanks for putting that up, ZP! |
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Post by detuned on May 3, 2019 7:41:56 GMT -7
I have one of the Chandler ones, but it's non-functional.
I'd broken about three power supplies for it when I handed it over to our sound guy. He brought it back with this crazy mod, where he modified a mic cable to plug into the unit, then Frankensteined that into a power supply. Looked like heck, but it worked.
A few years later, it started to sound like broken glass - really unpleasant. I tried changing the tube, but that wasn't the issue.
At the time, there were fewer repair-type options, so I bought a "new" one, but it didn't sound the same.
Flash forward to a couple of years back, and I heard Butler was back in business, sort of. I emailed him asking if he could take a look, but never heard back. No doubt I got put in his spam folder. I forgot about it until I saw this thread.
/story time
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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on May 5, 2019 17:00:15 GMT -7
BK Butler has been very responsive to emails. Try here: info@butleraudio.com
He seems like a really nice guy, very accessible and readily answers questions. I'm getting my new Tube Driver tomorrow and I'll post my review after I get accustomed to it. Tuesday I'm getting my Amos Flying V so it's going to be a fun week at Dave's house!
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Post by Lefty on May 6, 2019 7:22:44 GMT -7
I've had one for years, and yes a 12AU7 is required to smooth it out. I would use mine for a dirty rhythm sound and boost it with a clean box for a lead.
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Post by skydog958 on May 6, 2019 8:31:41 GMT -7
I have one of the 3 knob versions which is a completely different beast. Tons of gain, high noise floor. I may see if there are any ways to mod it.
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Post by zpilot on May 6, 2019 11:09:21 GMT -7
I have one of the 3 knob versions which is a completely different beast. Tons of gain, high noise floor. I may see if there are any ways to mod it. I bought a bunch of those from the Musicians Friend Outlet Store that had been returned for those reasons. I replaced the tube with a 12AU7 to tame the gain. That is a pretty standard mod. For the noise I found that it could be reduced with a change in lead dress. I sold them all. I wish now I had kept one. |
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Post by skydog958 on May 6, 2019 13:06:21 GMT -7
I have one of the 3 knob versions which is a completely different beast. Tons of gain, high noise floor. I may see if there are any ways to mod it. I bought a bunch of those from the Musicians Friend Outlet Store that had been returned for those reasons. I replaced the tube with a 12AU7 to tame the gain. That is a pretty standard mod. For the noise I found that it could be reduced with a change in lead dress. I sold them all. I wish now I had kept one. Care to make me an offer?  |
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Post by zpilot on May 6, 2019 14:22:52 GMT -7
I bought a bunch of those from the Musicians Friend Outlet Store that had been returned for those reasons. I replaced the tube with a 12AU7 to tame the gain. That is a pretty standard mod. For the noise I found that it could be reduced with a change in lead dress. I sold them all. I wish now I had kept one. Care to make me an offer? I'll bite. They were tagged as "non-functioning" and I bought at least 10 of them at $25 a piece. MF figured that was what the parts were worth. |
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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on May 8, 2019 12:42:13 GMT -7
It came Monday and I've been trying different tubes in it since then. I ended up with a 12AU7 as most people do. I like it better with a Strat than I do with humbuckers.
With the stock 12AX7 it sounds more like a fuzz; kind of Muff like.
It has it's own thing going, and time will tell if it makes it to the stage. Right now it looks like a toss up.
It does sound very good with the Nova and a Strat. That might be the combination that works best for me.
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