Tube Driver pedals, Real Tube Overdrive, Tube Works, etc.

[tu6edriver]

Hello,
Just joined the forum as I spending more time in music these days...
BK Butler signing in...
Any questions about Tube Driver, Real Tube, Tube Works, Dean Markley amps, etc., etc, Let me know. I know there have been some quesitons over the years...
Best to ya!

[ruger9]

Welcome, BK! Your "new" "reissue" sure has caused a stir over at The Gear Page! You'll find the crew here at TDPRI very cool & friendly!

Again, WELCOME!

[winny pooh]

Good to have you here. Now i have no excuse to get a 911 re-issue from you to further pursue my hopeless EJ tone quest!
So what guitars do ya play? P.S if you dont own a tele, then lie, or its trouble... Capice?

[BB]

Originally Posted by tu6edriver

Hello,
Just joined the forum as I spending more time in music these days...
BK Butler signing in...
Any questions about Tube Driver, Real Tube, Tube Works, Dean Markley amps, etc., etc, Let me know. I know there have been some quesitons over the years...
Best to ya!

Welcome BK! I bought one of the very first Real Tubes years ago at my buddy's music store. It was my faithful companion for many years. It now resides with a good bud in Chicago.....still going strong.

I have two Markley amps from the 80's. An RM-40 and a RD-80....both have a 12AX7. The RM-40 was a workhorse ( along with the 901 RT ) throughout the 80's. I recently dusted it off and started using it again. It has now developed a bad fuzzy, crakeling noise after it's been on for a few minutes. Turning the power switch on/off several times very fast eliminates the noise for a short time, then it comes back again. I thought it may stem from the midrange knob, but I know little about the inner workings of amps, so I have to delve into it, other than trying several new tubes to see it that was aprt of the problem.

The RD-80 makes a horrible buzz all the time. Again, changed the tube out, but no go.....still "BZZZZZZZZZZZ" all the time. The RD-80 has a very nice sounding overdrive channel, but alas, I can't use it due to the noise. I've yet to take em to a repair shop..since I'm a very poor SOB, but any tips or insight would be greatly appreciated.

[tu6edriver]

The new 911s (Tube Drivers) are relly nice. I'm sending another one to David Gilmour next week... Really hate to blow this news, but I'm not a guitarist. Keyboards have been my passion since 3 yrs old, but believe me, I've spent countless of hours with some very skilled guitarists and would have learned guitar if I'd had the time. Instead, I designed lots of amps & effects that make them sing! Of interest perhaps: - Re. Tele's: That was Dean Markley's personal fave and I'll bet I listened to him play the opening phrase to 'Pretty Woman' at least 5 thousand times while I designed his amps! He used to love that song... probably still does.

Re: The DM amps. Sounds like power supply issues. I remember most of the circuits in my head almost, but don't have much if any written documentaion left for them. Contact me privately via email if you want to pursue repairs. I'm not soliciting work as I really hate to repair amps, but I can possibly help you.

[Graybeard27]

Do you have a website or anything for these effects/amps?

[Big Mike Simpson]

BK, Welcome!

I have a Tube Driver that I have never used much because the tone is ... not what I expected.... perhaps I have the wrong pedal for what I wanted. It has a more harsh heavy metal tone than I expected. I play Blues mostly and was looking for an overdriven tube sound, maybe that is not what this pedal was aimed at. Are there any changes that can be made to make the pedal more "creamy" sounding and less like heavy metal?

It says on the pedal...
TUBE
DRIVER
Real Tube Overdrive
Concept and Design: B.K. Butler
Made In Taiwan
Tube Works
On the botton it says it was made 04-17-98 and it is black and tan in color.

Thanks for your help.

[Bill]

I have a couple of Blue Tube pedals that I got because they are designed more for lower overdrive for blues players. You might try that.

Oh, I just realized that the designer is the person writing in. So I will gracefully bow out right now.

(But I did use the Blue Tube, so there. And I seem to remember trying different tubes for different drive levels.)

[Brick]

Try replacing the 12ax 7 with one of the lower gain varients. I did this with my Tube driver for a less gainy range. With the ax7 I had it turned almost all the way down.

[Big Mike Simpson]

Originally Posted by Brick

Try replacing the 12ax 7 with one of the lower gain varients. I did this with my Tube driver for a less gainy range. With the ax7 I had it turned almost all the way down.

That sounds like mine... anything above 11/2 or 2 (of 10) and it is way beyond the amout of distortion that I would associate with a "tube" circuit. It's more like an on/off switch. I play blues mostly and was looking for a little tube sounding overdrive for places where I can't get the amp "workin".

What tube did you substitute? 12AY7 ?

[tu6edriver]

In answer to the past few posts:
* I don't have a website other than www.butleraudio.com at this time but it has a link for the new Tube Drivers. I really didn't expect to get back into the MI business again, but am considering it due to the interest in the TDs.

* The TD pedals that were made in Taiwan were done after Tube Works (Originally my company) changed hands. While I was running the company, we did all the production by hand here in Denver. So probably your pedal is technically OK, but the execution (wiring, jacks, etc) could use upgrading, as I've seen some of those off-shore units with a rat's next inside compared to what it should be. Contact me privately if you want me to work on it.

* As far as gain goes, the TD was designed to be 'balls to the wall' originally. The Bias mod unit takes care of a lot of that as it varies the current to the tube like changing to a weaker one. For the older or standard model, the best way (without a factory mod) to reduce gain would be to try some weaker tubes. Remember that each brand of tube will have a different overall gain, and very often tubes of the same brand will vary a LOT too. That's why I finally had my new tubes made custom and they vary less than 1%. They are pretty high gain, but if I know what a player wants, I can mod his/her TD to almost any gain range with almost any particular tube. It's an 'artsy' thing, I know, but we're dealing with a lot of variables and everyone has their own subjective opinion. I try to hit it somewhere in the middle with the fatory settings, and remember there's nothing wrong using the TD on lower "Drive" settings, its purely a gain pot there and it doesn't load the EQ controls at all.
Hope this was helpful... BK

[tlpruitt]

Hi BK.
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. Is the Real Tube basically a Tube Driver with the addition of the midrange control to the tone stack or are they completely different?

As I said I have a Real Tube pedal but I am wondering what I am missing having not tried a Tube Driver.

Thanks,
Tim

[Jean-Baptiste]

Hey! Welcome to TDPRI BK!!

I had a Dean Markley Overlord when they first came out, and the thought of Dean playing the opening riff to "Pretty Woman" over & over thru' one of those brings a tear of laughter to my eye. I tried every type of tube I could find; EUs, AYs, Ts, but couldn't 'tame' the tones.

What were they, anyway? A Tube Driver on steroids? They just had far more distortion than I'd ever need.

I still use the Blue Tube that I traded the Overlord in for. I removed the stock 12XA7 and replaced it with a lower output tube - can't recall which right now and I'm too lazy to get out the screwdriver.

My Blue Tube says "Enhancer" on the label, but I've also seen ones that say "Bass Driver", or something to that effect. Is there any difference between the two versions of this pedal?

[namida]

Wow, I have not tried this but this sure looks like a very good drive pedal :D

[twangquack]

Boy, have I used my Blue Tube over the years! I have a selection of various NOS tubes of various gains (I really like the 12AU7, but for crunchy fun the mid-60's RCA 12AX7A is great!) ... and talk about versatility.

I've used it in guitar amps, as a better overdrive/"grit-addition" for my Voce Micro B/Spin combo (Hammond B-3/Leslie clone modules), as a pre-amp for recording bass tracks ... and even to add some juice to my little Fender Amp Can when I don't want to drag out a whole bunch of gear (sounds wonderful with my old Strat).

Seriously, this little unit rocks! If I messed around a bit more with it, I could probably find a whole bunch more uses for my little blue friend ...

[winker]

I'm trying to find out the difference between the Ibanez TS808 and TS9 modern tube screamers. I mainly use a Marshall TSL 602 and less often a Marshall TSL 100 with a 1930 4x4 cab and would also like to know how much either of these pedals would add to the crunch and lead channels.

Thanks

Winker

[Tele295]

Winker, you're asking about "Tube Screamer" type pedals, which are solid state devices. This thread is about the "Tube Driver" pedals, which contain a real 12AX7 tube. Different beast than what you're talking about.

BK, any chance you'll release an old style Blue Tube pedal?

[Jean-Baptiste]

Originally Posted by Tele295

BK, any chance you'll release an old style Blue Tube pedal?

BK started this thread on April 27th and hasn't responded since the following day.

I, too, have some questions about the BlueTube, which I posted on April 29th..

...paging - BK Butler....

[lamusician]

ok i have an earlier real tube pedal (seril #54502 also this one is gold/brass in color not black and there is a three prong cord not a two prong) which i placed a lower gain tube in the ax7 was way too much gain my question is this
"whats with this switch is so sponggy, were ya going for a silent switching thing?"
i would like to replace it with a heavier duty metal true bypass type
any suggestions
by the way i love your pedal ! i also use a modded ts 10 which has the jrc4558 op amp in it
before the tube driver mostly when i ue the strat thanks again in advance