Heres a special price for reverb customers and its the real thing. I still have the pedal version labeled chandler, designed by butler if you are serious, make sure the one you get is the ac powered model, not the wall wart model. Chandler marketed his product for a while using their name. Now there are plenty of variations on this design from b k butler himself, chandler and tube works among others. Heart of the tube driver is a real handselected 12ax7 tube by bk butler himself. They then decided that they were the owners of the product and took butler to court where they promptly lost their suit. I have never seen one dated earlier than 1985, but butler said he first designed this version in 1983. Utilization the general configuration of the tube driver is really easy to follow, and it is easy to get a good sound from this.
Chandler industries tube driver overdrive pedal of the day. I suspect by the reference legendary that they are hinting at the tube driver by b. Up for consideration is a chandler butler tube driver overdrive pedal, an authentic b. The pedal had already been used by gilmour, satriani, bonamassa, j mascis and many other great. This is the original model, designed by bk butler, built by chandler industries with the power supply built. Baja real tube driver 12v dc online stripboard layout. This is a selfverified layout of the famous baja version of the bk butlerchandler tube drive.
The tube driver is not an extremely versatile pedal but what it does it does very well. Still great sounding circuit with nondetatchable ac cord. It is made in the usa has a 14 inch input and output and i believe is has a 12ax7 type tube. Posted by pedal of the day on friday, december 19, 2014 in chandler industries, overdrive distortion 1 comment. 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. Chandler tube driver vs tube works 911 telecaster guitar. The 4 knob both the chandler i used to have and the bk one i currently own have a built in power cord. Beware of inferior clones and used worn out pedals. 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. This is the only handmade and authentic tube driver.
Some used 4 knob tube drivers marked chandler are not the original design by bk butler. I found this one at guitar resurrection in austin texas. The chandler had a wall art style plug see pic 1 and the bk is a standard 3 prong. Tube works and chandler tube drivers have been on the market at different times, and in different versions. This is the original model, designed by bk butler, built by chandler industries with. Butler tube driver famously used by david gilmour, eric johnson, billy gibbons and joe satriani to name a few.
Butler and chandler, but thats kind of the fun of them. Tube driver real tube overdrive bk butler chandler the original, classic 4 knob tube driver with the iconic case color and graphics, made circa 1985 to 1987. If you want a tubedriver, then bk butler is the guy who you should be talking to. I think its designed for ax7 but mine is getting a lot of gain quickly. It definitely doesnt sound like a stock tube driver at least in terms of the amount of. Make offer ultra rare 1985 bk butler tube driver patent pending 1 of 1st 50 new. The finish has a few chips, it is a fairly old pedal from the 80s. Hi andrea, i have the bk butler tube driver with bias mod as well, i use a nos yugo real tube tho 12ax7. The core of the pedal is a handselected 12ax7 tube which gives you a lovely sort of fuzzdrive sound than can sound amazingly smooth and textured in the hands of masters like david gilmour who still features 2 of these within his rig. During its long life the tube driver has appeared in many forms. It was 9v powered, like most pedals, making it more marketable to a larger crowd.
The bk butler 911 tube driver has been one of those items for me. The tube driver is a legendary pedal used by players like eric johnson. This pedal works perfectly and is in used condition with some cosmetic wear from use. Butler also known as built by tube works, chandler. Bk butler tube driver page 2 joes guitars, amps and. The tube driver is legendary mostly because of its association with david gilmour. This is the original model, designed by bk butler, built by chandler. For sale is a 1987 chandlerbk butler tube driver tube driven overdrive effects pedal. Signed on the bottom of the pedal with an engraver. Ive heard au7 is pretty popular and that bk butler would give clients a yugo au7 from his secret stash. Its kind of like having a section of your amp right in a pedal.
I personally autograph each tube driver on the bottoms side. 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. By 1985 butler was using chandler industries to distribute the tube driver. 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. Compatible with all electric guitars and amplifiers. Original design with bias control hand made by bk butler.
Preamp 12ax7s in my guitar amps are warm to the touch but 12au7s in my hifi preamp if i recall correctly are very very hot so just wondering how things are here. Butler designed real tube overdrive, manufactured by chandler. Those who want to reserve a unit, please contact me via email. Includes a real 12ax7 tube handselected by b k butler. Butler has said that the chandler knockoffswhich i believe are the chandler branded ones with the wall wart power supplyhad some circuit mistakes in terms of. This is a later chandler version, not marked bk butler unit. The chandler tube driver in davidas rig from 19932006 has a slightly warmer tone than the new bk butler model in davidas rig from 2006. For sale is a vintage, original 1986 bk butlerchandler tube driver tube driven overdrive effects pedal.
It is in used condition with some cosmetic wear from use. What other items do customers buy after viewing this item. Some used 4knob tube drivers marked chandler are not the original design by bk butler. Butler real tube overdrive the tube driver is a boosteroverdrive. Essentially, bk is the designer of the tube driver. Im about to order a tube driver from bk butler and he is voicing it for bass guitar. The tube driver is a holy grail type pedal, but many people, especially younger players, have never heard of it. Nov 2, 2016 bk butlerchandler tube driver current draw. Chandler then tried to stop butler from making his tube drivers and real tubes pedals, claiming it was their circuit design and trademark. The first, original, one was the bk butlerchandler tube driver. There is some tonal variation between these early models, and this is a great sounding example. This is the ultimate bias model inspired by requests from eric johnson in 1985. This is a great allrounder overdrive that became famous by the continuous use after being played by eric johnson, billy gibbons, david gilmore, and many others as part of their signature sound. The level and hi pots are scratchy as is common with these pedals.
Tonewise, i would perhaps place the chandler somewhere between a tube screamer and a bk tube driver. Chandler and butler had some kind of marketing deal at one point which went sour and chandler began producing a variation of the circuit and wound up in a legal dispute with butler. 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. About as close as you can get to the original chandler tube driver. In the mid1980s bk went to work for dean markley industries. Tc electronics tube pilot budget valve overdrive pedal. I took a look at various schematics with a view to modifying the overlord to fullfill its true potential. Heart of the tube driver is a real handselected 12ax7 tube by bk butler himself controls.
The original project runs on an 16v ac adapter so chances are that the original will sound better than my 12v dc version. The bk butler tube driver has a sordid manufacturing history, having been made at various times and various places under both the tube works and chandler names, before finally being produced in original form again by butler himself, via his company, butler audio. This pedal is legendary, used by eric johnson, kenny wayne. The chandler tube driver is a real tube based overdrive guitar pedal.
Butler tube driver 5knob w bias control youtube eric johnson interview guitars amp effects on up close album part 3 of 3 duration. 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. Tube driver original by bk butler with bias control. 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. Tube pilot is, according to tc electronic, a legendary tube overdrive modelled, but then further developed by them. 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.