Yes.
Yes.
As I said, it works great. I was just seeking different "flavor" of over-drive.
I will - thanks!
Could be...
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tubeworks rt904 or rt913
- Thread starter Phat Ham
- Start date
Well, lads... I have to disagree.
Either I worded my description poorly, or I have purchased a very unusual BlueTube RT-904... but this thing is monstrous!
When I read a description of what the bias knob does, it sounded like it could get me the sound I was looking for, so I went ahead and bought the RT-904.
I have been A/B-ing it with the SansAmp RPM, and one of the first things that struck me was how good the RPM is at getting "that tube sound". The sound of the SansAmp circuit is near identical to the real tube in the RT-904. Well done, Tech21!
The difference comes in with that bias knob on the 904. Yes, the warm, fat, tubeyness is there, but when I crank the drive and tweak the bias adjustment, this thing sounds absolutely catastrophic. It sounds like The Who in 1967, in the midst of destroying all their gear; it sounds like the balcony is collapsing; it sounds dangerous and uncontrollable.
The RPM has the upper-hand in two areas (for my purposes: using it as a distortion box):
The blend knob - which is a God-send for maintaining some of the original tonal characteristics - and the fact that the distortion itself decays much slower than it does with the RT-904. That is, if I hit a long sustained note with the RPM, the distortion is present in the note for almost as long as the the note lasts. With the RT-904, the distortion decays and is gone much earlier than the note.
So, now it's a matter of choosing which one to keep in the rig. The RT-904 certainly gets me that hard, dangerous, chaotic, war-zone, building-collapsing sound. The RPM is far smoother and more refined, easier to control, and more familiar to the ear.
Through my private little A/B tests, I have come to discover that I really like both of them, and they both have excellent features and qualities. Then next step is to change the 12AX7 tube in the RT-904 to a 12AU7 (a popular mod, I have learned), and compare again.
More to come...
Aha...yes, your BlueTube is unusual - at least in comparison to the pedal - in that it has a bias knob! I am willing to bet that all of your delicious bite and grit is coming from the tweaking of that control! If you leave the bias alone, it will probably be as I described earlier - just a wonderful low gain lush overdrive, and it will especially be that way if you swap in the lower gain tube. But with that bias knob in there, all bets are off!!!
Right, you are! All of the "destructive force" in the RT-904 hinges on that bias control. Pretty great little feature.
I have not received the 12AU7 for testing yet, but...
I can already see that my choice between these two pre-amps will come down to a preference: the bias knob on the RT-904, or the blend knob on the RPM - which one would I rather have?
lol - First World Problems, eh?
Unfortunately, when the final score was tallied, there was no clear winner.
The deciding factor did come down to a choice between the bias knob on the RT-904, and the blend knob on the RPM. If the RT-904 had a blend knob, it would be my overdrive solution.
As it is, the RPM is more useful because of the blend knob. However, the RPM alters the tone of my signal (it removes a noticeable amount of clarity from the Alembic pre-amp, even when it is not engaged) which was not a pleasant revelation.
So - for now - I am not using either unit; just keeping my signal clean, with no overdrive. The tone is just too close to (my version of) "perfect" to have it colored by a sometimes-used effect... but I will keep looking.
Thanks to everyone who helped out!
The deciding factor did come down to a choice between the bias knob on the RT-904, and the blend knob on the RPM. If the RT-904 had a blend knob, it would be my overdrive solution.
As it is, the RPM is more useful because of the blend knob. However, the RPM alters the tone of my signal (it removes a noticeable amount of clarity from the Alembic pre-amp, even when it is not engaged) which was not a pleasant revelation.
So - for now - I am not using either unit; just keeping my signal clean, with no overdrive. The tone is just too close to (my version of) "perfect" to have it colored by a sometimes-used effect... but I will keep looking.
Thanks to everyone who helped out!
Just signed into this forum but I have a couple of things that may help. I own a rack mount RT 913. It's one of the early ones that has the 6 knobs with input on front. I was wondering the same thing about using it with my bass or just use it with guitar. I originally had one of their Real Tube Reverb rack mounts which I loved but can't find one anymore. But I ran across this bit of info that may help in learning how to use the 913. The front knobs are Drive, Boost, Master, Hi, Mid, Low. (I hope this goes to the right place on here as it's my first post)
Tube Works Tube Driver RT 913 Rack Mount
MODIFICATIONS - Changing Tubes - Preamp tubes can easily last 15 years or more with moderate use and 10 years or more with very heavy use. Chances are you will never have to replace it, but you may want to experiment with different tubes to see which sounds best in the TD. The stock tube that shipped with my 2007 TD was unmarked so I am not exactly certain what brand it was, but Butler said it was a pre-war Yugo 12AX7. It created a bit too much distortion for the low drive settings of the TD, so I swapped tubes to a lower gain 12AU7, suggested by Gilmourish.com. Pete Cornish has also said David Gilmour's Tube Driver tubes are lower gain 12AT7, not the stock 12AX7's that Butler shipped with them. Lower gain should give a smoother sounding overdrive, but that's not always the case with different tube brands. It is worth noting that certain NOS (new old stock) tubes sound much better than modern tubes. Very few factories make vacuum tubes the way they used to be made. I suggest staying away from cheap, noisy tubes, such as the Groove Tube brand. The best modern tubes seem to be the ones made by JJ Electronics. I have tried an old GE 12AU7 and a JJ Electronics ECC83/12AX7 in my current TD's. The 12AU7, being a slightly lower gain tube than the 12AX7, was slightly smoother and cleaner sounding at low drive settings in my BKB/Chandler TD, but there was a less noticeable difference in my 2007 TD. I tried 12AT7s in the newer TDs and did not hear a big difference vs the 12AX7, but it was a bit smoother. Below are the tube gain factors if you want to try for a heavier or cleaner sound than the stock 12AX7. Of course there are more tube choices than these but when you find the right one it has a sweet tone.
Approximate Gain Factors
100 = 12AX7, ECC83, 7025, ECC803, E83CC, 6681
70 = 5751
60 = 12AT7, ECC81, 6201, 6679, 4024
45 = 12AY7, 6072
41 = 12AV7, 5965
19 = 12AU7, ECC82, 5963, 5814, 6189
Tube Works Tube Driver RT 913 Rack Mount
MODIFICATIONS - Changing Tubes - Preamp tubes can easily last 15 years or more with moderate use and 10 years or more with very heavy use. Chances are you will never have to replace it, but you may want to experiment with different tubes to see which sounds best in the TD. The stock tube that shipped with my 2007 TD was unmarked so I am not exactly certain what brand it was, but Butler said it was a pre-war Yugo 12AX7. It created a bit too much distortion for the low drive settings of the TD, so I swapped tubes to a lower gain 12AU7, suggested by Gilmourish.com. Pete Cornish has also said David Gilmour's Tube Driver tubes are lower gain 12AT7, not the stock 12AX7's that Butler shipped with them. Lower gain should give a smoother sounding overdrive, but that's not always the case with different tube brands. It is worth noting that certain NOS (new old stock) tubes sound much better than modern tubes. Very few factories make vacuum tubes the way they used to be made. I suggest staying away from cheap, noisy tubes, such as the Groove Tube brand. The best modern tubes seem to be the ones made by JJ Electronics. I have tried an old GE 12AU7 and a JJ Electronics ECC83/12AX7 in my current TD's. The 12AU7, being a slightly lower gain tube than the 12AX7, was slightly smoother and cleaner sounding at low drive settings in my BKB/Chandler TD, but there was a less noticeable difference in my 2007 TD. I tried 12AT7s in the newer TDs and did not hear a big difference vs the 12AX7, but it was a bit smoother. Below are the tube gain factors if you want to try for a heavier or cleaner sound than the stock 12AX7. Of course there are more tube choices than these but when you find the right one it has a sweet tone.
Approximate Gain Factors
100 = 12AX7, ECC83, 7025, ECC803, E83CC, 6681
70 = 5751
60 = 12AT7, ECC81, 6201, 6679, 4024
45 = 12AY7, 6072
41 = 12AV7, 5965
19 = 12AU7, ECC82, 5963, 5814, 6189
SirMjac28
Patiently Waiting For The Next British Invasion
Very cool I've also found these racks and pedals to be so tube friendly of you can find one grab it
