Toneman Don Butler - Is He OK?

[Ulysses]

Has anyone spoken with or heard from Toneman Don Butler. I bought a rangemaster clone from him two months ago and haven't heard anything since. I've e-mailed but no replies. Is he OK? Anyone know?

 

[Teahead]

Don lost his emails in a computer crash, sometime in early December I think. When did you last email him?

I was speaking to him about AC30 upgrades about a week or so ago and he was heading to NAMM.

 

[Scumback Speakers]

Saw him Saturday at NAMM. He looked and sounded fine to me!

 

[Mark Kane]

He posts on the LPF as TM1. He's been at NAMM for Pyramid strings. He's always busy and the holidays, etc... I'm sure you'll get your rangemaster.

 

[Phil M]

That sucks that his computer's down and you haven't been able to reach him. At least the wait will be worth it. There are a lot of good rangemaster type pedals out there and I think his is the best one for raunch.

 

[Curly]

I haven't checked lately, but I believe his phone # was on his web site.

try a search for "tone man don butler"

he does excellent work

 

[Cliff]

Been a while since I've seen Don, but his phone number was (and probably still is) 818-486-9264. When the interweb....er, net....goes down, there's always the good ol' reliable land line.

 

[starfish]

Don Butler also makes a perfect rear panel Top Boost for your vintage Vox AC-30. Highly recommended! His knowledge of Vox amps is deep and he is a great amp tech. Great band too!

 

[Ulysses]

Don Butler also makes a perfect rear panel Top Boost for your vintage Vox AC-30. Highly recommended! His knowledge of Vox amps is deep and he is a great amp tech. Great band too!

Thanks. I was able to get a rear panel Top Boost for my '63 AC30 from Mohave /Plexi Palace in less than a week. I would have have liked to try the toneman Top Boost but the wait was prohibitive. When I inquired back in November, the wait for the Top Boost was longer than the Rangemaster..... I'm a career player and need to put my AC30 to work.

Thanks for the phone number. I left a message.

 

[starfish]

Thanks. I was able to get a rear panel Top Boost for my '63 AC30 from Mohave /Plexi Palace in less than a week. I would have have liked to try the toneman Top Boost but the wait was prohibitive. When I inquired back in November, the wait for the Top Boost was longer than the Rangemaster..... I'm a career player and need to put my AC30 to work.

Thanks for the phone number. I left a message.

Oh yeah, we were discussing that in an amp tech thread. Cool. I'm sure the PP unit is great. Is your AC-30 a normal, bass or treble model? How do you like the TB sound?

 

[Teahead]

Hey, I sent an email to DB telling him about this thread and he asked me to post this here on his behalf, copied and pasted from the email ...

"Maybe you can put this up for me..
Normally it's pretty quick, but I was out with my band from mid October until Thanksgiving and then came down with stomach flu and was sick the whole month of Dec. I've been trying to get caught up...My NAMM obligations to Pyramid Strings took up all of last week and then I had to sleep for a couple of days. Normal lead time is 6-8 weeks on a Rangemaster. Really sorry for the delay. As soon as the rain lets up and it's above 65 degrees I can paint boxes and build them/ship them. Still have a few health concerns and have to see a cardiologist Thursday..
Don

 

[1973Marshall]

DON IS GREAT!

Made my Marshall sound like a Million Bucks! Does guitar mods as well BTW. NOw if he would only move back to the Valley or Hollywood

 

[Ulysses]

Oh yeah, we were discussing that in an amp tech thread. Cool. I'm sure the PP unit is great. Is your AC-30 a normal, bass or treble model? How do you like the TB sound?

The jury is still out on the added top boost for my 1963 AC30 head. As it is currently installed, I'm not digging it and prefer the sound of the non TB amp on the bright channel. I'm not sure but I believe mine is a treble model. I'm fortunate to have Komet Amplification right down the street so Hogy is checking it out. He has a '64 TB head that a great one to compare to. Mine is very harsh, has a strange almost notch-filtered effect to it, and almost phasey sounding. If he can't get it to sound better I'm going back to stock.

Thanks T for the update on Don Butler. Tell him I'm pumped about the pedal and can't wait to put it to work.

 

[starfish]

The jury is still out on the added top boost for my 1963 AC30 head. As it is currently installed, I'm not digging it and prefer the sound of the non TB amp on the bright channel. I'm not sure but I believe mine is a treble model. I'm fortunate to have Komet Amplification right down the street so Hogy is checking it out. He has a '64 TB head that a great one to compare to. Mine is very harsh, has a strange almost notch-filtered effect to it, and almost phasey sounding. If he can't get it to sound better I'm going back to stock.

Thanks T for the update on Don Butler. Tell him I'm pumped about the pedal and can't wait to put it to work.

Definitely sounds like there is an issue. If you are jumpering channels, i.e. brilliant and normal, then the phasey sounds are normal because the 2 channels are out of phase after the TB unit is installed.

If you are not jumpering channels, and the chassis is indeed a treble model, then you should see if the the cap (220pF) and resistor (220k) wired to the brilliant pot are still there, wired between the center and right legs of the pot. They should have been removed prior to/during installation of the TB unit. Otherwise, you would have a treble chassis brilliant channel that is top boosted, and this will sound HARSH. Removing the cap and resistor converts the brilliant channel to normal chassis specs, which is the best sound for the Top Boost. Some people prefer to add a cap (100pF) in place of the treble version (220pF). You can try it and see if you like it. The remaining channels should be left alone. Also, a normal or bass chassis will already have a cap (100pF) and that can be left in place. Hope this helps narrow it down!

 

[Ulysses]

Problem solved. Mike at Komet replaced the thin, unsheilded leads from the top boost to the board with high quality shielded and then the provided 12ax7 with an NOS Mullard ECC83 and it lost all the ugly sizzle on top as well as the harsh notched frequecny sound and phasing.

 

[David16]

Has anyone spoken with or heard from Toneman Don Butler. I bought a rangemaster clone from him two months ago and haven't heard anything since. I've e-mailed but no replies. Is he OK? Anyone know?

I know you wrote your inquiry in "2008" BUT this is just for those who may read it and not know about Don Butler. I will stand behind Don as a super honest, credible man who knows his stuff! He has worked on some of the biggest names in the business. He started out many moons ago working at Cerwin Vega in North Hollywood I beiieve. He has worked on all but one of my newer amps and did awesome work. I would not hesitate to send your amp or guitar repair needs to him. He works from home so he is available BUT that said, he can get busy and does gig as an active musician. Super people Don is and a wonderful wife too boot