With the settings above, the Tube Driver sounds pretty dirty, although rolling down the guitar volume a mark or two cleans it up nicely. One trick is to replace the 12AX7 with a 12AU7, although this dramatically changes the character of the pedal. Depending on your pickups and amp it can be tricky to use the Tube Driver as a clean booster, without it sounding thin. The stock Tube Driver feature a 12AX7 tube, which provides a considerable amount of gain. Settings for Tube Driver and TD-X: level 2:00, lo 2:00, hi 1:00, gain 9:00 So, how does the TD-X fit into all this? First of all, the pedal is housed in the now standard Buffalo T-Rex-ish casings, with a bright led, true bypass and 9V powering. Again, nothing sounds quite like the Tube Driver. However, what I love about it – when you do hit that sweetspot – is the huge tone, the fat low end and the crispy top. Even on a loud Hiwatt, which would be the closest match for replicating David Gilmour’s 1994 to present tones, the pedal can sound boomy and sometimes be hard to tame. On brighter, mids scooped amps and typical bedroom setups, the Tube Driver can sound rather harsh, fizzy and thin.
#BK BUTLER TUBE DRIVER 2016 FULL#
Whether or not it’s an issue comes down to taste I guess but the tube driver isn’t the most versatile overdrive out there in the sense that it needs the right amp to reach its full potential. Like many of you, I’ve really looked forward to the TD-X hoping that Steve would once again would present a fine version of a classic and deal with some of the common issues known to these pedals. In that sense I’m probably biased but they really make some amazing sounding pedals, like the Patriot and the Evolution. It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Buffalo FX. Perhaps closest to the early Marshall models but its really got a tone of its own. Its design, based on a ic and tube driven preamp circuit, has the unmistakable flavour of a tube amp. Nothing sounds quite like the Tube Driver. After using different overdrives (pedals and amps) in the 80s, David settled with the Tube Driver in the early 90s and it’s been his main overdrive since. It’s featured heavily during the Meddle/Dark Side/WYWH/Animals period.
See Kit Rae’s full run-down of all the different models.ĭavid Gilmour started using overdrive in the early 70s, with the Colorsound Power Boost. Designed by BK Butler, the pedal has seen many labels (and owners) over the years. The Tube Driver has a long (and turbulent) history.
My favorite thing was the feel of it, which cannot be duplicated by regular pedals.Buffalo FX has boldly tackled the Tube Driver – the overdrive that has defined the tone of David Gilmour and Eric Johnson for the past decades. I wouldn't call it high gain by any means, maybe medium gain. The gain range goes from semi-clean to moderate overdrive. It sounds pretty sweet with a 5751 or 12au7 in there. I do wish it was a bit smaller, but I guess I have overpacked my board (which is why I am selling mine).Īs others here have said, you can change the tube to a 5751, 12at7 or 12 au7 for differing tone and gain structures. It is easy to get those liquidy lead tones. I found the Tube Driver to be very fun to play. However, it sounds great and remember that most of our favorite sounds have come from (even solid state) pedals like the Fuzz Face and Tube Screamer. The pedal uses an Opamp as a gain stage (volume boost) to overdrive the tube which is running at a low voltage. Both the bias and non-bias versions I have had sounded identical and I ran both in the regular bias setting for maximum punch. The bias control sags the sound a lot, and in my opinion is not really usable very far outside of the "stock" non-bias knob settings, especially if you use it to boost your amp. Those sound different and will not get you the classic EJ and Gilmour tones.īoth new ones I have had sound great. After that they produced their version along with a rackmount version. Chandler merely distributed the early ones (must say B.K. BK Butler has specifically stated that those were faulty copies of his original design. The Chandler ones with the wall wart end are different sounding. I've had a handful of new and vintage Tube Drivers.
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