• From: Burlington, Ont Canada
  • Registered: 2010-04-01
  • Posts: 365

Re: BK Butler Tube Driver

Thanks for the replies and input guys. Well I played it last night for the first time and WHOAH!!! Awesome - I am blown away. (My apologies Joe B for using your forum as a place to review a pedal but it IS your tone I (we?) are all chasing  big_smile )...After reading countless reviews I was expecting a pedal that is  tricky to "get right" and something difficult to set up properly. I was envisioning changing tubes constantly and tweaking this and that - jumping on a plane to Florida to have stratpaulguy set it up  for me (weekly) wink but alas - this is not the case.  This thing just flat out rocks! It is a tad agressive in terms of gain so I will be trying it with a 12au7 at some point, but into the clean channel of my Stiletto I was Andy Timmons for about 10 minutes last night. Rich, crunchy but smooth, HUGE - there are countless words to describe the sound. I almost could not get a bad sound out of it! I usually get caught up in hype and end up disappointed with things like this but (other than the surprise COD duty charges on delivery - ouch - better hide THAT from the wife) for once I am impressed. I did, however, find that it sounded very strange going into my FD2. Kind of thin and strained. My question is this: where in the signal chain do you TD owners place it? Maybe I should reverse and have my FD2 in front of the TD? Here is a list of my effects in front of the amp (in no particular order, not counting the ones in the loop):

T-U2 + Wah + Ts-808 + TD + FD2 + Fuzz + amp.

I may part with the  Ts-808 (to fund an xotic EP booster  tongue ) as I was cascading them....and I like the boost function of the FD


Cheers

Gits: '03 Gibson Historic R7 Goldtop, '06 Gibson R8 Plaintop, MIJ '62 RI Strat,  and others...
Amps: '99 Marshall 1987x Plexi RI, 1969 Fender Super Reverb

My band: www.meanbones.com

20 Reply by jakey (edited by jakey 2010-07-13 09:14:17)

  • Registered: 2010-03-20
  • Posts: 536

Re: BK Butler Tube Driver

kevman13 wrote:

Thanks for the replies and input guys. Well I played it last night for the first time and WHOAH!!! Awesome - I am blown away. (My apologies Joe B for using your forum as a place to review a pedal but it IS your tone I (we?) are all chasing  big_smile )...After reading countless reviews I was expecting a pedal that is  tricky to "get right" and something difficult to set up properly. I was envisioning changing tubes constantly and tweaking this and that - jumping on a plane to Florida to have stratpaulguy set it up  for me (weekly) wink but alas - this is not the case.  This thing just flat out rocks! It is a tad agressive in terms of gain so I will be trying it with a 12au7 at some point, but into the clean channel of my Stiletto I was Andy Timmons for about 10 minutes last night. Rich, crunchy but smooth, HUGE - there are countless words to describe the sound. I almost could not get a bad sound out of it! I usually get caught up in hype and end up disappointed with things like this but (other than the surprise COD duty charges on delivery - ouch - better hide THAT from the wife) for once I am impressed. I did, however, find that it sounded very strange going into my FD2. Kind of thin and strained. My question is this: where in the signal chain do you TD owners place it? Maybe I should reverse and have my FD2 in front of the TD? Here is a list of my effects in front of the amp (in no particular order, not counting the ones in the loop):

T-U2 + Wah + Ts-808 + TD + FD2 + Fuzz + amp.

I may part with the  Ts-808 (to fund an xotic EP booster  tongue ) as I was cascading them....and I like the boost function of the FD


Cheers

Kev

After the Fulldrive IMO. Your Fuzz is in the wrong place- should go before OD and Tube OD, so that you can EQ your fuzz with the drives. I'd put the TD after the FD too.

This will help you

http://www.thegigrig.com/acatalog/Tips.html

Your chain should go:

Envelopes
Wah
Compressors
Distortion/Fuzz/Muff
Overdrive
Tube OD
EQ
Whammy/Pitch shift
Modulations
Delay
Reverb.

Cheers- I just added £20 to mine on the strength of your review. Now get a Jester and your gast will be flabbered.

"Who wants an orange whip? Orange whip? Orange whip? Three orange whips...."

JB LP Goldtop No. 290- Aged...rather like me.
  • From: Burlington, Ont Canada
  • Registered: 2010-04-01
  • Posts: 365

Re: BK Butler Tube Driver

Thanks Jakey! That's why this forum is the best around IMHO. Great advice - much appreciated - and thanks for the link. I played for over 10 years with NO effects, just a  Strat and a Super Reverb, so I am actually new to the effect thing (thanks Joe!).

Gits: '03 Gibson Historic R7 Goldtop, '06 Gibson R8 Plaintop, MIJ '62 RI Strat,  and others...
Amps: '99 Marshall 1987x Plexi RI, 1969 Fender Super Reverb

My band: www.meanbones.com

22 Reply by stratpaulguy86 (edited by stratpaulguy86 2010-07-14 02:16:42)

  • From: Florida, USA
  • Registered: 2008-06-04
  • Posts: 1,420

Re: BK Butler Tube Driver

kevman13 wrote:

My question is this: where in the signal chain do you TD owners place it?


My signal chain for my lead sound is as followed:

Strat or Les Paul ---Vox Wah (non-true bypass)--BK Butler Tube Driver (tone knob(s) rolled completely off ala EJ, level 9 o'clock, gain 11 o'clock)----Maestro Echoplex EP-3---Keeley Compressor---Marshall/Metropoulos '69 Superlead---'81 Marshall JCM800 cab w/ Celestion G12-65s.

One SUPER cool feature of the Tube Driver is that the "level" knob acts like a global master volume for the lead sound.  My Superlead is so loud that it'll probably blow any small club to the next county thus awarding me a lifetime ban.  I can back the level off on the pedal without really changing the amount of gain that the amp and pedal are putting out!  I've tried this with every other OD I own and none of them can do that.  It really helps tame my 100w Plexi and allows it to play nice with my much more mangable 40w Super Reverb!

'67 and '74 Fender Twin Reverbs, '74 Marshall 1987 lead mkII, Metro Superlead 100. Pedals from TC Electronic, Ibanez, Dunlop, BK Butler, Electro-Harmonix, Fulltone, Maestro/Gibson, Loopmaster switching, VoodooLab, Boss. Gibson and Fender guitars, Dimarzio pickups.