TC Electronics Tube Pilot Overdrive...$49 with a tube...

[bluesholyman]

Just announced, looks suspiciously similar to something else. The rest of this line seems to have crashed and burned....maybe this one will have a safe landing...

(link removed)

Here is the promo video (the eagle head is a nice touch....?????):

 

[BigDaddyLH]

How well can 9V drive a 12AX7 tube? TC has drifted a long distance from their digital days.

 

[xafinity]

Isn't the 9 volt powering the 12ax7 heater?
The pickups do the driving?

 

[TNO]

I really like that series of pedals...perfect form factor and affordable takes on classic designs. Looks like they finally introduced a tremolo...

 

[Tele Slacker]

Don't get me wrong... I looooove tubes and I like tc electronic. But that sounds .... "unpleasant" is the best I can offer. And I'd make the case that the sound of rocknroll is not preamp tube 12ax7 distortion, but instead power tubes sweatiness (6v6, 6L6, EL-84, -34).

 

[VintageSG]

How well can 9V drive a 12AX7 tube? TC has drifted a long distance from their digital days.

They are quoting 9V and 300mA, which'll just about cover the heaters. No mention of voltage boosters to kick the B+, so I'd hazard a guess at starved plate operation.
Starved plate can sound good. So can a FET stage. Starved plate can also sound like fried bungholes very quickly. In this configuration, it's basically a FET run undervolt but with a pilot light. It'll get some break up, but pound to a piece of poop it'll have a very narrow sweet spot.

 

[bluesholyman]

I used to have a presonus tube preamp which had a tube in it and it definitely warmed it up, with whatever circuit trickery they were doing...

I think this is probably there to warm things up and not really doing any sort of "driving." The description on their web page reads like typical marketing prose.

Fro $50, I'd give it a try but I don't think it can live up to the hype - I am sure there will be a set of clipping diodes somewhere after that tube in the signal chain to provide the "authentic amp response."

Who knows, maybe it actually will sound good, but that video hardly provides any good demonstration of it - the guitar tone in there is rather mediocre...

 

[DaveKS]

Sorry, watching that video made me do this.

 

[bluesholyman]

View media item 39151

 

[TNO]

Subbing a lower-gain tube to get more warmth/smoothness
is a common mod for the pedal the TC is based on.

 

[valvestate]

Looks cheap and big. I'd still buy it because that's all I can afford!

 

[bluesholyman]

Looks cheap and big. I'd still buy it because that's all I can afford!

You can put together a nice board with some seriously cheap pedals...

 

[DougM]

You guys are a lot kinder than the thrashing it got on the Gear Page. I don't think it sounds great (the rhythm sound is kinda fuzzy, but the lead sounds like it might be tweakable). I have the Behringer VTM, and the stock Bugera tube was unusable, but after I put an EH in it, it improved a lot. still. like most starved plate pedals, at higher gain, it gets fizzy and fuzzy, but at lower gain, it can sound pretty good. I'll give this one a try when it comes out. I like to base my opinion on personal experience, not YouTube videos.

 

[zombiwoof]

One thing I notice on that pedal is it doesn't seem to have any vent slots for the tube to get air flow to the tube, which must put out some heat when in use. Most tube pedals either have the tube exposed or vents in the case by the tube. Is this a potential problem?.
Al

 

[xafinity]

I think as soon as you say tube there is a certain embedded tonal expectation. Its not an amp emulator so peoples ears are disappointed. That's just the way its going to be. I think its like any other pedal, its great for this and crap for that.

 

[lefty73]

Nope. TC has certainly earned the right to try out "new" things, but this one is a miss/dud/fail/mulligan. Companies have tried the "tube-powered pedal" thing off and on for a long time.

Now, if they'd only sink R&D into making a double-shot overdrive pedal (two MojoMojo overdrives in a single enclosure, for example) then I think they'd have yet another winner.

 

[tele_pathic]

Yeah, this pedal doesn't make any sense to me. The price is tempting, but I don't think I'd every buy it.

 

[Frodebro]

How well can 9V drive a 12AX7 tube? TC has drifted a long distance from their digital days.

TC Electronic was sold to Behringer back in mid 2015. What impact this has had on their R&D and product line I'm not sure of. It could be completely hands-off (such as how Yamaha is with Line 6, which they own), or it could be a brand killer (such as Gibson with, well, every brand they have ever acquired).

 

[bluesholyman]

TC Electronic was sold to Behringer back in mid 2015. What impact this has had on their R&D and product line I'm not sure of. It could be completely hands-off (such as how Yamaha is with Line 6, which they own), or it could be a brand killer (such as Gibson with, well, every brand they have ever acquired).

I have not been impressed with them lately. These are the guys gave The Edge his sound in the 80s and that was some impressive gear - seems like they are catering to mass market now, like most everyone else and its showing. Their latest line of pedals are ok, but GC is getting rid of / reducing them after only about 6 months...when has a $50 Boss pedal ever been discounted....never....how long did it take for TC's $50 pedals...

 

[Frodebro]

I have not been impressed with them lately. These are the guys gave The Edge his sound in the 80s and that was some impressive gear - seems like they are catering to mass market now, like most everyone else and its showing. Their latest line of pedals are ok, but GC is getting rid of / reducing them after only about 6 months...when has a $50 Boss pedal ever been discounted....never....how long did it take for TC's $50 pedals...

Tell you what, I was a huge fan of TC Electronics before they sold out to the Wal-Mart of the music industry (I have a G-System, a D-Two rack delay, and about eight of their older pedals). I'll never buy another of their products out of principal alone, as I will not support a (parent) company that made its mark in the industry by ripping off other companies designs and undercutting them with cheap Chinese knockoffs.