NPD - GC Score! BK Butler Tube Driver

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CaseyCor

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Went into to Guitar Center yesterday to pick up some strings for my Breedlove, and they had a used Tube Driver for only $160. Good deal! I went back in today and tested it out, and ended up buying it. Can't pick it up until Friday though :thumbsdown: This weekend is gonna be a good time. My first guitar related purchase in over a year, and my first electric guitar equipment purchase in around 4 years!

I've never once gotten a good deal at Guitar Center. $160 is a really good price for an actual vintage BK Butler made Tube Driver, and it's in good condition too. The pots need cleaning, but whatever. I'll record something this weekend when I get it and share it here. I've got some 12AX7s I'm gonna play around with, but I have to wait for them to be shipped to me from my old place in Illinois.


Thanks GC San Diego, for hiring people who have no clue what their doing :lol: :LOL: I actually applied there when I first moved to SD, and they told me I was "over qualified" :doh:
 
RG955TT":1jkjojxg said:
Interested how this pedal sounds, let us know
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It's Eric Johnson in a box! It really is. I know it's one of the keys to EJ's sound, but I didn't realize just how important it is. Even through a little DSL combo and (a total piece of shit) 2015 LP, it gave off the EJ vibe. Warm, smooth, almost violin like guitar tone. Very cool!

It's got a lot more gain on tap than I imagined. It's got a ton of output! I easily doubled the volume of the DSL's clean channel by bringing up the output on the pedal. I upped the gain knob a bit, and got some really cool Dean DeLeo-esque sounds, just running the pedal into the clean channel of the DSL.

David Gilmour swears by the original BK Butler Tube Driver, as well as Eric Johnson.
 
nice score! that's 1 pedal I've never got to try but always wanted to.
 
BK Butler is making them again, direct order through his website. A bit of a wait, since he makes them when they're ordered, but still.

Actually, here is one on reverb being sold by BK himself for $270. Looks like someone didn't bother to pay of the rest of his deposit, haha. This one doesn't have the Bias knob, but he says he can add it for another $75. The Bias knob is very cool. I wish the one I just picked up had it.

https://reverb.com/item/165497-tube-dri ... al-classic

His website is http://www.butleraudio.com/, if anyone wants to order a brand new one!
 
Anyone got suggestions on a tube to use with this pedal? I'm open to picking up a couple of different tubes and experimenting.
 
There's another at an AZ guitar center for 175......if anyone's interested..
 
If you watch the Andy Timmons rig rundown, he uses one, and says something like "A lot of people don't like these, and they don't sound good most of the time..."!
 
The Resolution album by Timmons was all Tube Driver into an old Marshall head.
 
Caulk Rocket":1f4ep5bu said:
How does it sound into an already dirty amp?
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I really dig it for this purpose. It actually worked well as almost a clean boost with the little DSL combo I was testing it out on, and at higher output and drive settings it gave the DSL a very distinct character. Very warm and smooth sounding with the EQ controls set low. You can get some more bite out of it with higher treble settings, but overall it's a warm, smooth sound.

Turning up the bass knob adds a ton of low end, without getting flubby and unfocused. You just get more, instead of losing clarity and definition.

From my 20 minute test at GC, I can tell it's quite versatile, much more so than I had imagined. Seems like most people buy one of these to do the Eric Johnson/David Gilmour thing, and that's it. It can totally do that, but it's got a lot more going on in it. I ran a moderate gain sound on the DSL, and the pedal at about noon on the drive knob, and got some very convincing Purple era STP sounds. The pedal smooths the tone out and emphasises the mids similar to the Demeter amps Dean DeLeo was using on that record. Very cool, considering that is one of my favorite guitar sounds! :rock:
 
That's cool, I've always wanted to try one out. Might have to see about picking that other one at GC up.
 
SFW":20auaosv said:
The Resolution album by Timmons was all Tube Driver into an old Marshall head.
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I think he used the "lesser" 3-knob version. He makes it sound great.
 
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