12au7 guitar tubes bk butler tube driver

All tubes, whether itâ€™s your amp or a pedal, need some time before they reach their potential so donâ€™t freak out if the 12AX7 blows your head off the first time you try it. Keep in mind that if you do decide to replace the 12AX7 tube you should give the pedal some time to break in. I’m using my black Strat with CS69 pickups > Gollmer Composus > BK Tube Driver > Boss DD2 > Sound City amp. – This a clip of my band Airbag and the song Prelude. I replaced the 12AX7 with a 12AU7 (JJ Electronic) for an overall warmer tone with more compression and a much wider range from powerful clean volume boost to soaring overdrive. It depends on what tone youâ€™re looking for but it has a very narrow clean response and it can be a bit boomy as well. The 2006 BK model is delivered with a 12AX7 tube which is a bit too aggressive for my taste. The BK has a bit more presence and a generally more aggressive tone, although this can to some extent be â€œcontrolledâ€ by replacing the stock tube. Tonewise, I would perhaps place the Chandler somewhere between a Tube Screamer and a BK Tube Driver. The Chandler Tube Driver (in Davidâ€™s rig from 1993-2006) has a slightly warmer tone than the new BK Butler model (in Davidâ€™s rig from 2006). David uses two Tube Drivers in his rig but you could easily substitute one of them with a Power Boost for a hint of that vintage flavour.

The main difference is the dynamics and warmth youâ€™ll get from the tube in the Tube Driver but my experience is that with the gain all the way up the Colorsound manages to stay more focused and compressed. They both got that powerful transparent tone with thundering lows and a crisp top. The Colorsound Power Boost and Tube Driver are very similar, which may be one of the reasons why David chose the Tube Driver.

The pedal was also an essential part of his tones on 2006 On an Island album an tour. The classic Colorsound Power Boost was Davidâ€™s main overdrive unit in the 70â€™s and after some experimentation with different units in the 80â€™s he settled with the Tube Driver during the Division Bell sessions in 1993-94. Ever since 1994â€™s Division Bell heâ€™s been using the Tube Driver as his main overdrive unit and itâ€™s been one of my favourites for the last couple of years. David is often associated with his lead tones but heâ€™s a master creating the sweetest overdrive tones too.

12au7 guitar tubes bk butler tube driver