Tube pedal - does SD make one?

[leevc5]

I would like a tube pedal that would allow me to get tube overdrive tone. I have looked at SD offerings and haven't found one. Are they developing one or am I wrong in thinking that a tube pedal would be able to accomplish what I am looking for?

[Demanic]

Re: Tube pedal - does SD make one?

They used to make a couple but they discontinued them. You can check eBay for the Twin Tube Classic if you want. Just make sure that they are selling the proper power supply to go with.

Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk

[Securb]

Re: Tube pedal - does SD make one?

You also might want to look for a used Butler or Chandler Tube Driver. Very nice Marshallesque real tube overdrive.

[DankStar]

Re: Tube pedal - does SD make one?

krank has new tube pedals now too:

http://krankamps.com/pedals.html (no, that website is not pulled off Wayback Machine from 1996)

[devastone]

Re: Tube pedal - does SD make one?

What kind of sound are you looking for and what are you running through? There are some great "tubey" sounding FET based pedals out there, check out Catalinbread (RIP Nick) for amp in a box kind of pedals or maybe the CMatMods Brownie, which is a GGG BSIAB circuit.

And as Demanic said, the SD Twin Tube pedals are great and tube based, they are basically preamps so you want to run them into a clean amp, they won't work as well as an OD pedal to push an already crunchy amp, hence why I asked what you are trying to accomplish and what you are going to run it through.

There are others out there, although a lot of tube pedals operate the tube in "starved" or low voltage mode so it is basically just acting as a diode, at that point might as well use SS components and save the space.

[Demanic]

Re: Tube pedal - does SD make one?

That's the good thing about the old Duncan Twin Tubes. They operate at full plate voltage. That's why you have to get the proper power supply. When I got my TT- Mayhem, it had an incorrect power supply with insufficient voltage that made the pedal sound like crap. Got the correct ps and oualla!

Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk

[leevc5]

Re: Tube pedal - does SD make one?

What kind of sound are you looking for and what are you running through? There are some great "tubey" sounding FET based pedals out there, check out Catalinbread (RIP Nick) for amp in a box kind of pedals or maybe the CMatMods Brownie, which is a GGG BSIAB circuit.

And as Demanic said, the SD Twin Tube pedals are great and tube based, they are basically preamps so you want to run them into a clean amp, they won't work as well as an OD pedal to push an already crunchy amp, hence why I asked what you are trying to accomplish and what you are going to run it through.

There are others out there, although a lot of tube pedals operate the tube in "starved" or low voltage mode so it is basically just acting as a diode, at that point might as well use SS components and save the space.

I have an old Fender Champ 12 tube amp and a Marshall AVT50. I am looking for the soft (warm) sound of an overdriven tube amp (like when I crank my champ up and get the neighbors in an uproar). The solid state distortion pedals I have tried all have a sharp clip, hard distortion not the warm sound of an overdriven tube circuit.

The other point comes out of your post is that I should probably try a boost pedal to overdrive my champ at lower volumes.

I thank you all for the veritable plethora of tube pedal opportunities out there that I was not aware of. Time to start researching these alternatives.

[devastone]

Re: Tube pedal - does SD make one?

No, I wasn't suggesting a booster at all, I didn't know what kind of amp you were using.

I wouldn't limit yourself to just tube pedals though, there are a lot of non-tube pedals that will do what you are looking to do.

http://www.catalinbread.com/product/dirty-little-secret/

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: Tube pedal - does SD make one?

krank has new tube pedals now too:

http://krankamps.com/pedals.html (no, that website is not pulled off Wayback Machine from 1996)

Could have fooled me.

[leevc5]

Re: Tube pedal - does SD make one?

The overdrive sound I'm looking for is like Stan Getz saxophone, warm and airy. Not the biting distortion that most pedals I have tried produce.
I've read that you can actually see on an oscilloscope the difference between and overdriven tube circuit and a solid state circuit. The tube overdrive has a rounder curve to it whereas the solid state overdrive is a sharp clip.

[B2D]

Re: Tube pedal - does SD make one?

The overdrive sound I'm looking for is like Stan Getz saxophone, warm and airy.

I go for that general tone with a good PAF type neck pickup, a warm, rich overdrive pedal with some light compression inherent to the sound (i.e. BB Preamp) and a loud amp with a little overdrive on it.

[devastone]

Re: Tube pedal - does SD make one?

The overdrive sound I'm looking for is like Stan Getz saxophone, warm and airy. Not the biting distortion that most pedals I have tried produce.
I've read that you can actually see on an oscilloscope the difference between and overdriven tube circuit and a solid state circuit. The tube overdrive has a rounder curve to it whereas the solid state overdrive is a sharp clip.

Yes, you can see differences on an o-scope, but just saying SS has a hard edge is making a very general and not always true statement. FET clip much more like tubes with more rounded corners. There are so many different variations of OD/Distortion/Fuzz that general statements like that aren't necessarily true.

[Chickenwings]

Re: Tube pedal - does SD make one?

The overdrive sound I'm looking for is like Stan Getz saxophone, warm and airy. Not the biting distortion that most pedals I have tried produce.
I've read that you can actually see on an oscilloscope the difference between and overdriven tube circuit and a solid state circuit. The tube overdrive has a rounder curve to it whereas the solid state overdrive is a sharp clip.

Ok so what guitar and amp are you using?
What pedals have you tried? What did you like/not like about each pedal?
You might be able to get the sound you are after with a regular pedal but it all depends on the rest of your rig.
There are some pedals that clip hard, and some that soft clip. Ive seen that oscilloscope image and you could be describing the response of a tube screamer...which is not a tube pedal at all.

[regan]

Re: Tube pedal - does SD make one?

This is as much a question as a suggestion and perhaps other forum members could put me right or elaborate.
Could you put a 6k6 and ecc83s in the champ or get a amp tech to mod it to take them, would this lower the headroom a touch and increase preamp gain giving you 'natural' tube drive at lower volume?

[leevc5]

Re: Tube pedal - does SD make one?

Ok so what guitar and amp are you using?
What pedals have you tried? What did you like/not like about each pedal?
You might be able to get the sound you are after with a regular pedal but it all depends on the rest of your rig.
There are some pedals that clip hard, and some that soft clip. Ive seen that oscilloscope image and you could be describing the response of a tube screamer...which is not a tube pedal at all.

Equipment:
Gibson Les Paul - original pickups (why mess with perfection)
Gibson ES-335 - Seymour Duncan 59s
Fender Stratocaster - Fender Custom Shop Texas Specials
Fender Telecaster - Fender Custom Shop Twisted Pair (upgraded wiring with 4 way switch so neck and bridge can be set for either parallel or Series)
Fender Stratocaster - Work in Progress Bridge Kent Armstrong Custom made 12 pole, Middle Fender Noiseless, Neck SH-2n (upgraded wiring for 7 tones)
Ancient Fender Champ 12 tube amp 1x12 Fender speaker
Marshall AVT50 1X12 combo: Tung Sol 12ax7 preamp tube; Celestion V-30 8 Ohm

Distortion effects tried:
BOSS OS2
DOD Mystic Blues Overdrive
Ibanez Tube Screamer
Line 6 Spider III 75W (not a pedal but a simulator with a multitude of distortion effects)
ZOOM G1ON
Johnson J-Station
NUX AMP Force
What I didn't/Don't like about any of them is they all have a hard edge to them not a warm saxy type overdrive you get from an overdriven tube amp.
PS - I almost forgot. My first distortion "pedal" was a xstr radio my father wired an in put jack across the volume pot and put an out phone plug at the speaker output...It was my first love. 2nd was a little box an EE friend of my father made with one xster a few resistors, capacitors and a diode or two. It had an input and out put jack and a pot to alter the gain, at the time it was a mind blowing contraption.