Chandler Tube Driver and BK Butler Real Tube

[Jeffblue]

Re: Chandler Tube Driver and BK Butler Real Tube

I am not getting any reply about the Chandler Tube Driver. I am getting the Real Tube and another Blue Tube which are both on the way. With the Real Tube deal I am getting a pair of Rocktron Silver Dragon tube pedals. These are real high gain pedals and I am going to find a way to slow them down a little with a 12AU7 change and whatever else. Anyone have any experience with the Rocktron Silver Dragon pedals?

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Chandler Tube Driver and BK Butler Real Tube

I have the gray and yellow version of your Blue Tube, the Real Tube 901. I also switched out the 12AX7 for a 12AU7. This lowers the gain, and cleans up the pedal a little bit. What it did for me was give me a wider sweep of the GAIN knob. It will still get really distorted at the top of the sweep, but there's more variation in the lower range of the knob. I like the sound of the pedal; I typically don't care for SS dirt boxes--they can get all noisy and hashy, and this sounds closer to a tube amp distortion. It was great with my Fender 75 and the Marshall JCM800, but I haven't used it much with the Mesa amps--simply don't need to with the great distortion tones from these amps.

I know some people swear by the four-knob Tube Driver, like Eric Johnson.

Going to be fun; let us know how they work out.

Bill

[crusty philtrum]

Re: Chandler Tube Driver and BK Butler Real Tube

I have one like in the pic, but without the tube sticking out the side.

I thought it was kinda average. I put a 12AU7 in it and that improved it, but i can hear the restrictions of the circuitry, it doesn't sound natural. I was gonna do more work on it, but somehow that's never happened yet.

[Edgecrusher]

Re: Chandler Tube Driver and BK Butler Real Tube

Way back in the day a chandler tube driver was my main OD pedal. (one of the 3 knobbed versions) At the time I loved it, sounded better than the DOD or Boss Pedals that were common in my area at the time. When it died i started to look for a replacement and the guy at the music store let me take a Real Tube tube drives home and to band practice over night and it just didnt cut it. It was fuzzier and less dynamic than my 3 knobbed one and I just didnt dig it. I wound up using 2 TS9's for my overdrive and solo boost work. Funny enough this was actually the push that sent me from using my Marshall JMP to buying a JCM900 4100. Fast forward to last year and I see BK butler is making the Tube drivers again. A 4 knobbed version this time. So for nostalgias sake I pick one up hoping to get back that tone... and... well maybe my tastes have changed its a good pedal but it just doesnt blow my skirt up like i hoped it would.

[dystrust]

Re: Chandler Tube Driver and BK Butler Real Tube

My brother used to have both, and they really don't sound all that similar. The Tube Driver sounds like a really loud OD pedal with a decent EQ, whereas the Real Tube sounds more like a Boss DS-1. Of the two we both thought the Tube Driver sounded better, but he sold both since they weren't really worth the trouble.

[Jeffblue]

I have a rack mount Chandler Tube Driver and a BK Butler Real Tube pedal coming my way. Does anyone here have experience or own these units? I have a BK Butler Blue Tube that I have altered to use an octal preamp tube and installed a 6SL7 tube. I had to cut a hole in the side of the chassis to accommodate the larger tube. Here is a photo of the modded Blue Tube below.
Who can tell me about their experiences with aforementioned units?