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. Mar 24, 2014 the 12by7a is a 1950s video amplifier output valve designed for boosting wideband tv video signals to a sufficiently high level to be transmitted over a considerable length of cable without loss of quality. I wasnt impressed at all, they didnt sound any better than ss overdrive pedals to my ears. Yes,back when i did pump a heavy sound with a hardcore band,it was real tube,with the 12ax7 through a dr103. The overall voltage gain of the circuit is about 8. As i mentioned earlier, you might be surprised to find that you can actually buy an original b. 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. One of the most commonly found driver tubes found in pushpull tube audio power amplifiers is the 12au7 tube. The reissue my words, not bk butlers, is the new bk butler tube driver, which is the original design. What other items do customers buy after viewing this item. With a 12ax7,it gives some of the heaviest chunk,industrial heavy, you could want. The only other problem i have had is getting it to cut through in a band situation. To me 12au7ecc81 is the way to go with this pedals. To have a cleaner, more vintage sound, you can substitute a 12au7 tube.
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. Today, were going to swap the stock 12ax7 in the b. Bk butler tube driver 12au7 tube rolling the gear page. Bk butler tube driver page 2 joes guitars, amps and. Text in other languages may differ dimensions whd incl. It is unmarked, other than bk written on it with a sharpie. This makes it ideal as a driver for power tubes in modern audio amplifiers. Ecc8212au7 page 1 of 4 franks electron tube data sheets. In fact, i have them in the preamp tube and 12au7 drivers. Butler has been making since 2005 could be ordered. It was 9v powered, like most pedals, making it more marketable to a larger crowd. Guitars on stock tube have a slight harsh quality, that is gone with this inexspensive tube.
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. Butler tube driver the core circuit design on the 2000s reissue 911 tube driver is similar to the original 198587 versions, but there are some minor changes and component value differences, as well as different pots. The 12ay7 and 6072 are the tube designations for a dual triode with medium gain that shares the same pinout configuration as the 12ax7 and its variants. At some point butler started using a toroid transformer that runs from 120240vac which works with either mains power. I definitely need to try a 12at7 or a 12au7 in mine. This better than the stock tube in the bravo v2 headphone amp. As a sidenote, i remember doing some signaltracing of the bk butler 4knob tube driver using a scope and signalgenerator, and found that the opamp gainstage in the 4knob tube driver circuit had a tendency to sharpclip the signal on the top peak at high drive settings, when this happens the 4knob tube driver circuit tends to sound a bit. Recommended for hifi and for getting that sweet spot and usable gain in those tube based overdrive pedals an amazing tube. A beginning section which seems a bit off topic for phase inverters has been moved to a page of its own titled considerations in inverter and driver design. But the problem is you arent even getting the tube s available 14 mu per side, the tube is running really cold. Tube driver original by bk butler with bias control. Chandler tube driver and bk butler real tube i have the gray and yellow version of your blue tube, the real tube 901. Each pedal takes me several hours of my personal time.
Right now on my clone i use a 1960 nos general electrics 12au7, and i found it far superior to all the 12ax7 tubes that ive tried. If the page is blank click here ge 12au7 datasheet. Due to the combination of low gridplate capacitance and medium gain, it is suited for use in audio voltage amplifier with an extended frequency range. I just bought a second butler tube driver and im loving loving loving the tone im getting by stacking it with the first one, but space on. I did a factory visittour at rogue and they suggested the clear tops. If you know of a tube pedal not listed here, please let me know. Used bk butler tube works tube driver, vintage tube overdrive pedal from the 1980s. I purchased it back in 1994 at guitar center in san bernardino, ca. This is a suitable replacement for any 12au7 tube type. Nos mullard 12au7 mij sq squier strat solid state harmony student model no. This is used much less as a preamp tube because of the low gain, and more as a driver for the tube driven spring reverb.
Absolute sound quality of a tube itself isnt critical in this position so expensive nos isnt a must, its just a matter of degree of drive gain, how that makes the reverb tank sound both tonally and in terms of sproingyness, and how it affects the useful setting range of the reverb control knob. The layout included is for an offboard tube socket not mounted on the pcb. I tried 12ax7s in this pedal including the coveted ei prewar yugo 12ax7 as well as 12at7s, but i prefer 12au7 s for their. I have some siemens e82cc which are military grade, but i haven. Overall in great shape considering the age of the pedal. New listingbk butler tube driver with bias control. The tube driver doesnt really use the tubes for gain. Vintage chandler rack tube driver 12ax7 overdrive rackmount effects. It belongs to a large family of dual triode vacuum tubes which share the same pinout retma 9a.
Ecc81 tubes give the pedal a boosterdistortion flavor with a better balanced tone, on the other hand ecc8312ax7 gives the pedal a distortionfuzz character. The tube driver is a somewhat famous pedal, id guess it to be the most wellknown tube based distortion pedal. The 2006 bk model is delivered with a 12ax7 tube which is a bit too. The stock tube that ships with the 911 tube driver made since 2006 is a golden dragon 12ax7 a low noise, hifi preamp tube. Practical phase inverters, the heart of any amplifier. The mids control will be sacrificed and replaced by the bias control. The 12au7 is probably the first noval b9a tube ever, registered on october 18, 1946, in the electron tube registration list, followed by the 2c51, registered on november 25, 1946. I have read an old spec sheet on these and the story is that they thought these. The eh 12au7 replaced the v3 reverb driver 12at7 in my blackface super reverb with hammond tank. The 5 knob butler tube driver with bias control and 12ax7 is used by gilmore, billly gibbons satriani. There are many equivalent tubes with different names, some identical, some designed for. On the new tube drivers, both david gilmour and eric johnson use ei yugoslavia ecc83s.
Also popular for hifi applications that want the lowest noise possible. I remember when he, and another friend, got these pedals. I replaced the original 12ax7 tube with a jj electronics 12au7. Bk butler tube driver page 1 joes guitars, amps and. Butler said eric johnson used to spend hours looking for the right tube for his tube driver so butler came up with an adjustable bias control to vary the voltage of the tube. The 12by7a is a 1950s video amplifier output valve designed for boosting wideband tv video signals to a sufficiently high level to be transmitted over a considerable length of cable without loss of quality. Current production 12bh7a from electroharmonix is a direct replacement for any 12bh7 and 12bh7a. The 12au7 is the last tube on this list and it has the lowest gain, with an amplification factor of 20. The 5963 tolerates less plate voltage than a 12au7, so its not a direct sub in all circuits. Then i swapped out that tube with a 12au7 and it went from great to incredible. 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. Bk butler tube works tube driver early 3 knob modeloriginal yugoslavian 12ax7 tube includednever thought this day would come but i just dont use this pedal at all anymore.
I think largely because the original old school versions have been selling on ebay for big bucks for so long now, that b. One of the sweetest highest quality 12au7 s, the mullard cv4003 is a military spec, boxed anode, super high quality tube. Im also curious about tungstram ecc82s, but stopped buying tubes quite some time ago. Im not really sure what the tube is doing but i know from putting a 12au7 in mine that the gain didnt really change much at all. Mp3 sound clip boss cs2 compressor big muff tube driver old 198687 era b. I am on again off again with my bk butler tube driver wbias mod. As well, this tube s low gain make it a great choice for tube preamps in hifi stereo systems. Jun 22, 2006 originally posted by ferbose i have a cayin ha1a and which uses 12ax7, 12au7 and two el84. The output stage of the circuit is a cathode follower and is suitable to drive a low impedance amplifier. Substitutes are given as a guide only please refer to original manufacturers data sheets to ensure that a substitute is safe and appropriate for your application. Butler built tube driver td752 100w 1x12 combo for sale. Butler himself has decided to start making them again with original specs. Bk butler tube works tube driver early 3 knob model original yugoslavian 12ax7 tube included never thought this day would come but i just dont use this pedal at all anymore. Maybe it was the tube computer sound card idea i have seen, or the fact that i have enough junk to fill a dump truck.
Ive been running a few tests on some reasonably highgm pentodes, in pentode and triode mode. Absolute sound quality of a tube itself isnt critical in this position so expensive nos isnt a must, its just a matter of degree of drive gain, how that makes the reverb tank sound both tonally and in terms of sproingyness, and how it affects the useful setting range of the reverb. Chandler tube driver vs tube works 911 telecaster guitar. This schematic below is a simple two stage linelevel preamplifier using a single 12au7 ecc82 tube per channel. The pricier eh 12au7 ecc82 is similar, but more open, wider sound. Hi andrea, i have the bk butler tube driver with bias mod as well, i use a nos yugo real tube tho 12ax7. Yesterday i was given a tube works blue tube pedal by a friend, which contains a 12ax7 valve tube. Its like changing the types of tubes anywhere from a weak 12au7 to a blistering 12at7.
Apparently my friend felt the same way, the pedal quickly fell into disuse and was almost forgotten for years until he. There are many equivalent tubes with different names, some identical, some designed for ruggedness, long life, or other characteristics. Ive been looking at some drive pedals, including this one, that id be using for rock or fusion leads. All 12at7 ecc81 6201 cv4024 12au7 ecc82 cv4003 5814 12ax7 ecc83 cv4004 5751 6922 6dj8 7308 pcc88 6sl7. Is 90 a good price to pay for a bk butler tube driver. It runs the 12ax7 stages at very low plate voltageabout 9 volts.
To me 12au7 ecc81 is the way to go with this pedals. Bk butler tube driver 12au7 tube rolling discussion in effects, pedals, strings. Kazoo actually i have a clear top rca in there right now. Substitutes are given as a guide only please refer to original manufacturers data sheets to ensure that a substitute is. Makers describe the 12by7a as a pentode but the construction is as a beam tetrode.
These are tubes that you could use as a single tube driver for an set, for example. Oct 02, 2002 ecc82 is the exact european equivalent of a 12au7. To put it differently, the 12ay7 can often replace a 12ax7 in your amplifier and give you a rich, warm tone with lower gain than a 12ax7. What is the difference between the 12ax7, 12at7, and 12au7. I had a mid90s 3knob tube driver with a yugo 12ax7 and it sounded great. It can be a little harsh and raspy and i assume that is because i still have a 12ax7 in it. I will never ever be able to go back to regular tubes after hearing these. The 12au7 and its variants are a miniature ninepin b9a base mediumgain dual triode vacuum tube. I wrote to butler s company and a technician there verified it as a genuine butler pedal, as opposed to the chandler fakes. These tubes are made with the same specs as the old telefunken ecc83 flat. Butler tube driver with bias pot very handy, even the baby 9v. Heart of the tube driver is a real handselected 12ax7 tube by bk butler himself.
So, if those one or two gain stages depending on amp design, but remember the tube is a dual triode were rebuilt for the 12au7, you would still see 17th the gain at that stage and the tube would be running optimum enough to. Due to the fact that my tube drivers are oneoff limited production items, i do not offer a return policy. It belongs to a large family of dual triode vacuum tubes which share the same pinout eia 9a, including in particular the very commonly used lowmu 12au7 and highmu 12ax7. The 12au7 is also used quite often in the phase inverter position of the amplifier because of the high fidelity and great. You might ask rogue about using 5814, 6189 and possibly 5963 tubes. See who uses bk butler tube driver, including david gilmour, eric johnson, andy timmons and 3 others. Im not sure what motivated me to decide on building a highgain tube preamp of this sort. The dean markley overlord is a relabeled black bk butler tubeworks real tube pedal, i never liked it with a 12ax7, but with a 12au7 it. Double triode quick reference data anode current ia10,5ma transcoductance s2,2mav amplification 17 heating heating is indirect by ac od dc, with serial or parallel supply. I run 12au7 s in all of them except the baby, they just sound smoother throughout the gain knob.
100 854 450 1187 901 1046 1466 1580 1275 1359 961 921 336 1204 534 1256 236 648 1228 140 1464 876 917 970 86 868 1288 270 260 587 1140 663 352 445 1226 942 12 838 724 441 686 554