Originally posted by HHB
you should ask this over at the Hamer board, a guy called Pesocaster used to work for Tubeworks as has details concerning all model, how Eric Johnson used his and just tons of TW knowledge in general
www.hamerfanclub.com
I just got a Real Tube 901 on eBay. I'm in the process of figgerin' it out and I've got some comments and questions.pesocaster said:If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me... I was with Tube Works from 89 - 97..
The Tube Works pedals are as follows:
911 Tube Driver ... Reissue of the original Chandler unit good amount of gain....
910 Tube Driver ... 3-knob ... more on the fuzzy side tons of gain
901 Real Tube... Med + gain... think ZZ Top
903 Blue Tube ... think Tube Screamer
And TW actually made the Tube King TK-999 for Ibanez .... and truly I think this is the most versitile of the bunch... fantastic pedal....
Edited to add: pitbull45 I would recomend the Ibanez or the Real tube.... just reverse the gain and output (low gain High output.... that should get you there... Good luck
Oh crap.... I'm a Newbie..... Oh and Hamers Rule!!! hahaha
Thanks, Rob! You da man!pesocaster said:Question: Is there any downside at all to using a 12AU7 in terms of damaging the circuitry, electrical safety, etc.?
A: No, there's no problem running the 12AU7...
Question: Is staying with the 2-prong cord unsafe?
B: No, not unsafe.... the 3 prong was added for UL listing... a requirement...
Question: How would one go about installing a 3-prong cord?
A: Hook the green wire (3rd prong) to a 10 ohm 1W resistor then to the signal ground... this grounds to the chassis
As far as pot scratchiness.... another good product is BraKleen (brake cleaner found and most auto parts stores... leaves no lubricant or residue behind...)
Good luck!
Don't forget the Dean Markley Overlord (long discontinued) which was also designed by B.K. Butler and works along the same lines.
Nice! Do you know how the biasing works on the 5 knob butler tube drivers?
http://www.butleraudio.com/tubedriver.php
From what I've read, the bias knob makes a huge difference sonically. This is why I cast the question out there; thinking about doing it to my older black and yellow real tube.
Have you tried swapping tube types? According to Butler's site the sonic effects of varying bias on a 12ax7 are similar to the sonic effects of swapping between the 12ax7 and a 12au7 or 12at7. Personally I much prefer a 12au7 to any other 12aXXX type in my 901 RT -- the tone is less hashy and there's a much more useful range of crunch available as I turn up the gain pot. Tube swapping might be a lot easier than punching out a hole for a bias pot and modding the circuit.