tube emulator pedal, any idea?

[nshuman]

The real deal B.K. Butlers are much warmer and have more bass response than any of the ones modeled after it. That includes TubeWorks, Blue Tube, Chandlier, the black ones made in Taiwan, etc...

He now makes them with bias knob to increase the full range of tube drive from low subtle smooth creamy gain to raging tube breakup distortion.

Edit: well maybe not the Blue Tube. It has plenty of bass but not a lot of gain.

Yeah, well, he went from company to company.

It's a shame that he has not figured out how to use a voltage pump yet

 

[hintz]

I had I Taiwan one which was terrible, but got a USA made one not soon after which was awesome, I was under the impression that the tube driver/real tube overdrive was the same difference as blue tube bass driver/real tube enhancer(I have both blue tubes) which to me are identical sonically, just different name. yeah I prefer the blue tube for light gain, very cool either way, the real tube overdrive just breaks up alot quicker and has more gain

 

[bassmusic17]

Yeah, well, he went from company to company.

It's a shame that he has not figured out how to use a voltage pump yet

Seems like most pedals that have an actual tube in them require a dedicated power supply. Most of them were unauthorized copies except for TubeWorks USA and BlueTube I believe. Then TubeWorks started having them made all over the place with sub-par components. The three-knob versions are especially bad, even more so on bass.

Definitely thinking about messing with different tubes in my Mesa. I may just unlock some magic that will keep the desire for the original B.K. Butler Tube Driver subsided.

 

[hintz]

there is posts from bk butler on the telecaster page where he discusses some differences, but IIRC, he says the real tube/tube drivers were more for a heavy metal sound, blue tubes more for blues or rock, they were aimed at guitar, keyboard and bass( he is a keyboardist btw)

 

[hintz]

12au7 make a huge difference too

 

[hintz]

im intrigued by this bias mod

 

[static0verdrive]

After reading through the whole thread, I think I should also mention the Dave Hall Amps (DHA) VT1-EQ-Bass-Drive: Link Removed

 

[MuthaFunk]

Sounds to me that your issue is the hotter output of the Stingray vs your passive basses. In which case, don't bother with the SFT as it doesn't like hot basses either!

I use my SFT with my somewhat Hot active basses. I put them through a Aguilar TLC compressor first then dial back the volume to the sweet spot for the SFT. The compressor also helps to level out the soft clipping across all the strings and neck positions and not just clip on the lower louder notes.

 

[GuzBaas]

I would highly recommend the Matchless Hot Box.... I use one and has two tubes... Does not sound like and SVT but that's the best thing I have found.

 

[kurotenshi]

I read the thread in a bit of a haste but I don't think the EBS ValveDrive was mentioned.

I am still figuring out if I like the ValveDrive or the B3K better... The VD is darker and smoother, a bit to much for me, but it has that slower brakeup that I want. The B3K is crispier and does not round up so much but it is kind of hard to set it in that area where you can control the brakeup with how hard you play.
Also, I think the VD has some impedance issues if I put another pedal after it (yes I checked the impedance match of the pedals) but it might be my ears.