Ive had a bk butler tube driver for quite a few years, love it. Check out these unsolicited customer videos on youtube. Tube driver with bias control original design by bk butler. 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 the official forum for all things joe bonamassa, guitars and blues music.
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. David gilmour tones david gilmour has been an avid tube driver user since the 1990s. Overall in great shape considering the age of the pedal. Nov 2, 2016 bk butlerchandler tube driver current draw. A very thick, rich overdrive, with the added advantage that one can swap in various tubes for different tonal flavors and gain. Related searches driver hitler butler and teen farm interracial vintage butler limo driver maid hotel maid servant butler daughter butler and maid the boss buttler butler maid maid and butler black butler servent butler vintage waiter butler teen rich teen maid butler spoiled brat.
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. Need help, bk butler tube driver fender stratocaster. But the blue tube will be part of my collection for years to come, its a great keeper the way it is stock imo. Diy guitar amp diy guitar pedal guitar pedals circuit drawing diy amplifier vintage guitars. Heres your chance to own this legendary holy grail of overdrive pedals. I have the bk butler version is a little easier to maneuver with a. 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. This pedal is legendary, used by eric johnson, kenny wayne. This is the big daddy of tube overdrive pedals the classic tube driver from b. If it says tube driver on it as a model name, its one way or the other supposed to be under the auspices of or royalties to one mr.
I personally handbuild all the original tube drivers eric johnson, david gilmour and the other pros use. Any experience with an original bk butler tube driver. Butler designed tube driver circuit with some component differences. The tube driver is not an extremely versatile pedal but what it does it does very well. It doesnt sound like a lot of gain in the video, but its more than enough at gigging volume.
Feb 27, 2018 about the bk butler real tube overdrive guitar pedal. Jan, 2017 ive had a bk butler tube driver for quite a few years, love it. For sale is a 1987 chandlerbk butler tube driver tube driven overdrive effects pedal. 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. He used 911 tube drivers extensively for his 2006 album on an island. Is there anythig similar to a bk butler tube driver and. Make offer ultra rare 1985 bk butler tube driver patent pending. Behringer vintage tube monster vt999 classic vacuum tube overdrive. Apr 01, 2011 chandler tube driver wsiemens ecc82 b. David uses two tube drivers in his rig but you could easily substitute one of them with a power boost for a hint of that vintage flavour.
Over the years, tube driver has become the standard tube pedal of. Allows me to go from dirty rhythm to soaring lead with a few knob twists. Nov 02, 2016 nov 2, 2016 bk butler chandler tube driver current draw. Bk butler tube driver page 2 joes guitars, amps and. 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. We are confident this unit will be a welcome addition to your tube sound. The bk butler tube driver is the quintessential overdrivebooster pedal and comes with an ic.
This pedal is legendary, used by eric johnson, kenny wayne shepherd, david gilmour, and many. 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. Hi, im bk butler, the real live designer and creator of my original tube driver pedal back in the early 1980s. Utilization the general configuration of the tube driver is really easy to follow, and it is easy to get a good sound from this. Most modern muffs and some vintage muffs can really benefit from this type of boost.
This rack is an updated and more costeffective design from the originator of the tube driver concept, b. Yep midrange all the way up and treble bass off is flat for the blue tube bass driver or real tube enhancer both exactly the same. I would think it would play nice with just about any amp, since it has a full array of tone and level adjustments. The image above shows my recently purchased real tube pedal case disassembled, because in the video below im about to show you how to clean it. Bk butler tube driver pedal, some of the best sounds that. The bk butler tube drive circuit is based on a opamp gainstage driven into two triodestages of 12ax7 tube, using low plate voltage about 16volts there are lot of similar products, such as chandler tube driver, dean markley overlord classic tube overdrive and many others. 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. Below is an interview with bk that explains the whole butler vs. 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. This is the original model, designed by bk butler, built by chandler industries with the power supply built in. The tube driver is a holy grail type pedal, but many people, especially younger players, have never heard of it. Mar 30, 2012 below is an interview with bk that explains the whole butler vs.
There are many schematics out there as well as a wealth of pcb projects. I personally autograph each tube driver on the bottoms side. Its a great wall of sound with balanced lows, mids and highs. About the bk butler real tube overdrive guitar pedal.
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. The bk butler comes as a tube driver model and is available with a bias knob for 12ax7, 12at7, and 12au6 preamp tubes. I have a 4 knob bk tube driver with bias control that i bought is new condition. He first used them for the recording sessions for pink floys division bell album in 1993. Super aggressive tones that bridge the gap between overdrive and fuzz. There is some tonal variation between these early models, and this is a great. So the bk butler tube driver is great for those one pedal gig situations, it is all you need for most shows just playing pop, rock or blues tunes. That cool joe, i also prefer a lower gain nos preamp tube in my tube driver. The real tube overdrive is a bk butler guitar pedal manufactured by tube works back in the 70s and 80s.
They then decided that they were the owners of the product and took butler to court where they promptly lost their suit. Those same sessions also resulted in pink floyds the endless river album, which was not completed until 2015. I found this one at guitar resurrection in austin texas. The b k butler tube driver has been used by several of rock guitars greats david gilmour and eric johnson to name just two. Featuring a diehard metal chassis, intuitive control interface, and highlow eq control, the tube works tube driver overdrive captures magic in a box. It is in used condition with some cosmetic wear from use.
Another good one is the bk butler real tube overdriveblack pedal, just make sure its not the genz benz version or anything but a usa made one as the import ones terrible for bass. Essentially, bk is the designer of the tube driver. 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. Behringer vintage tube monster vt999 classic vacuum tube overdrive instrument effects. Yup, just my opinion that the pedal i have the bk butler version is a little easier to maneuver with a 12au7. Chandler marketed his product for a while using their name. Bk butler tube driver page 1 joes guitars, amps and. Vintage chandler rack tube driver 12ax7 overdrive rackmount effects chandler tube driver chandler tube driver pedal vintage 1987 chandler tube driver tdr10 vintage 1987 chandler tube driver tdr10 effector rackmount type effector japan tube works real tube overdrive bk butler rt 9 rack version rare old school. That being said i dont want to drop 300 bones on the butler if its not what i had hoped. Im hand building only limited production numbers every week. Bk butler tube driver page 2 joes guitars, amps and gear.
Used bk butler tube works tube driver, vintage tube overdrive pedal from the 1980s. Bk butler tube driver by whopperplate 28 may 2018, 16. For sale is a vintage, original 1986 bk butlerchandler tube driver tube driven overdrive effects pedal. Its a great time to upgrade your home music studio gear with the largest selection at. 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.
If youre wondering how these things sound heres a demo for you. Bk butler tube driver pedal, some of the best sounds that i. The tube driver houses a preamp tube and it generates distortion by overdriving the tube rather than conventional pedal methods. The bk butler tube works tube driver is a favorite among many legendary guitarist like david gilmour and eric johnson. Known the world over for creating the eric johnson violin tone and as one of two main pedals used by david gilmour. Vintage bk butler tube driver overdrive, with real tube inside for true valve bite.
The level and hi pots are scratchy as is common with these pedals. 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 works and chandler tube drivers have been on the market at different times, and in different versions. Those who want to reserve a unit, please contact me via email. I would recommend any gilmore fan or any one who enjoys a vintage type overdrive pedal for classic rock. The bk butler 911 tube driver has been one of those items for me. I actually got it used on evilbay should have just bought a new one direct from bk. 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. 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. Over the years, tube driver has become the standard tube pedal of the industry. Due to the continuing requests for my limited production original design tube driver pedal, here are the details.
Its kind of like having a section of your amp right in a pedal. The chandler tube driver is a real tube based overdrive guitar pedal. Vintage 1987 chandler bk butler tube driver 12ax7 overdrive. 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. During its long life the tube driver has appeared in many forms. Bk butler tube works tube driver, vintage effects pedal.
It is made in the usa has a 14 inch input and output and i believe is has a 12ax7 type tube. Make offer ultra rare 1985 bk butler tube driver patent pending 1 of 1st 50. I found this one at guitar resurrection in austin, texas. I put the gain at 10 oclock and the guitar down for cleans if the tube driver is all i have.
This pedal works perfectly and is in used condition with some cosmetic wear from use. Need help, bk butler tube driver fender stratocaster guitar. Each one is hand made and checked out carefully by bk himself. There is some tonal variation between these early models, and this is a great sounding example. This unit has some dings and scratches but sounds really sweet.