Butler, tube driver, distortion pedal, msm workshop by msm workshop 20150415 bk butler tube driver by shnobel tone. Its the rawest one here and has a significant current draw, but still plenty of appeal. Tubes typically will not have to be replaced for 23 years under normal conditions. With careful attention given to the attainment of all tube response characteristics in a mobile environment, tube driver blue. 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. The mini driver can either be used to boost other pedals, drive your tube amp or. These were essentially improved, 5 knob versions of the tube driver circuit. This is a very simple circuit that uses a 12au7 valve, running at a low voltage.
Used models are also plentiful and easy to find online. Id keep your tube driver original and pick up one of the 3knob tube worksbk butler tube drivers. For the bias control my favorite settings are maximum for gilmour tones and 10 notches below maximum for my original tones, which is roughly 2. The dirty angel is based on the classic rat circuit, with lots of gain, compression and mid range. This is the original model, designed by bk butler, built by chandler industries with the power supply built. The core of the pedal is a handselected 12ax7 tube which gives you a. It adds a whole other dimension and is hard to imagine the pedal without.
Both are possible with a little patience and a schematic. It might not be identical to the tube driver but its in the same sort of area. What other items do customers buy after viewing this item. Compatible with all electric guitars and amplifiers. Butler tube driver with malekko e600d delay by simplexiammine 20150204 r.
Tube driverd blueu 475 congratulations thank you for choosing tube driver blue. 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. Bk butler tube driver vs ibanez ts808 tube screamer duration. Bk butler s original hand made tube driver guitar pedal used by eric johnson, david gilmour, billy gibbons, joe satriani, kenny wayne shepherd. Case designs, colors, and graphics varied throughout production for each. Currently, im using a lee jackson sp 1u rackmount power amp, a great rack amp, but am seeking the tube flavor from lee jackson, peavey triumph or rockmaster, or. I kept the power section from john ks version of the blue tube. Sorted bk butler tube driver and hartman flanger with. 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. Hi guys, i will upload a schematic and pcb layout from a traced chandler tube driver soon.
Maybe its a correct schematic for the pedal being analysed here. I got this from tube works as a schematic of their 911 pedal. On the new tube drivers, both david gilmour and eric johnson use ei. 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. The tube operates at about 15 volts and basically takes the place of clipping diodes in the circuit. David gilmour of pink floyd was seen using two 1980s tube drivers in the studio and on tour in. The tube driver is a somewhat famous pedal, id guess it to be the most wellknown tube based distortion pedal. Around 2006 butler started making the four knob 911 tube drivers again through his butler audio company. 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 only reason they are big is because the power supply is built inside.
According to butler it controls the amount of current draw of the cathode youre supposed to be able to dial in the bias for different tube types seems like it would be easy enough. Butler tube driver famously used by david gilmour, eric johnson, billy gibbons and joe satriani to name a few. Butler designed tube driver circuit with some component differences. Lower plate voltages insure greatly extended tube life. Heart of the tube driver is a real handselected 12ax7 tube by bk butler himself controls. I also have a realtube bk butler driver here to compare my build to, and it is silent. It runs the 12ax7 stages at very low plate voltageabout 9 volts. Conversely, if you plug a tube driver with a 220240v transformer meant for the. 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. Case designs, colors, and graphics for each changed over time. The layout included is for an offboard tube socket not mounted on the pcb. Eric johnson studio interview effects pt 1 duration. The b k butler tube driver has been used by several of rock. The tube driver is not an extremely versatile pedal but what it does it does very well.
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 wiring explanation is a bit convoluted as well, sorry. Tube driver amp 3 pages amplifier tube works 6025 operation. At some point butler started using a toroid transformer that runs from 120240vac which works with either mains power. Butler started making the 4 knob tube drivers again as a production model under the tube works brand around 199394. This latest patent pending creation of bk butler, promises to become a classic just as his former tube driver designs have. The 2 triode stages appear to be fixed biasedtheir cathodes are grounded, with the first stage getting grid bias voltage with a 3. They are a little smaller than the 4 knob versions and also run off. Heres the tube driver made famous by david gilmour.
At some point butler started using a toroid transformer that runs from 120. Hi andrea, i have the bk butler tube driver with bias mod as well, i use a nos yugo real tube tho 12ax7. Butler still makes 911 tube drivers by hand at the time this article was written through his butler audio company, here. Is it actually different from the baja schematic of the bk butler td reissue. Tube driver original by bk butler with bias control. The core of the pedal is a handselected 12ax7 tube which gives you a lovely sort of fuzzdrive sound than can sound.
Bk butler is the pioneer of lowvoltage designs for. Butler and the tube driver, there is a good interview over on the fantastic tone from heaven website. Nov 2, 2016 bk butlerchandler tube driver current draw. I purchased it back in 1994 at guitar center in san bernardino, ca. Tube driverd blueu 275 congratulations thank you for choosing tube driver blue. It will draw 4x the power it needs, causing it to overheat and damage the circuit.
Then someone modified it to match with the 911 pedal. Butler tube driver famously used by david gilmour, eric. The mids control will be sacrificed and replaced by the bias control. Dear bk, gday there bk, just got the tube driver in my hot lil hands this morning. I wrote to butler s company and a technician there verified it as a genuine butler pedal. With careful attention given to the attainment of all tube response characteristics in a. Due to the fact that my tube drivers are oneoff limited production items, i do not offer a return policy.
Hi, could you draw on the picture showing where are going traces under. Check out these unsolicited customer videos on youtube. Each pedal takes me several hours of my personal time. Here are some of the various version of the tube driver that have been made. 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. I had stumbled across the valvecaster schematic and layout at beavis audio. But looks like it originally was a schematic of the tube driver from 1986 done by mr. Eric johnsons pedal board sports a bk butler tube driver in this premier guitar interview at 2. Bk butler tube driver 1989 guitar pedals, electronics. It uses a 12ax7 which is pushed by a dual opamp followed by a fenderstyle tone stack. There are many schematics out there as well as a wealth of pcb projects.