Tube Overdrive Pedal Inquiry

[Jake West]

Tube Overdrive Pedal Inquiry

 

 

Hey guys and gals. I was wondering if any of you could answer a few questions I have about tube overdrive pedals.

 

I'm currently using an SS amp (Roland BC-60), so my first question is... would there be any adverse side effects if I used a tube overdrive pedal with my SS amp?

 

My second question is... generally speaking, what is your opinion on the differences in sound between a tube overdrive and an SS overdrive, if any?

 

My third and last question is... are there any tube overdrive pedals you would recommend (up to $350)?

 

If this has been covered somewhere else on this forum, I would appreciate your referral.

 

Thank you kindly.

[fishfartz]

i have played some that sounded great, some that sounded not so great.


the thing is, they will not in any way make a SS rig sound like a tube amp, and this is because generally there is only a preamp tube involved.


if you ever take a tube preamp and record it straight to a recorder it sounds thin and raspy and nasty - thats because there is no tube poweramp - the sound is usually hard to distinguish from a SS preamp going straight to recorder. i know alot of folks say they love thier preamp distortion in thier tube amps but they also understand that without the tube poweramp to sweeten it up it would be nasty. they just prefer to get more grit from the preamp instead of driving the poweramp too hard (i like poweramp OD myself)


i would suggest to go play some if possible so you can get an idea of what you can (and cannot) expect.

by the way there are some tube pedals that have both pre and powertubes but ive never played one and hear they are quite expensive.

[MrMunky]

I agree that a tube pedal will not make a solid state amp sound like a tube amp.

Largely for reasons stated above, a tube pedal won't necessarily sound different than a solid state pedal.

There are, however, some excellent pedals that use tubes. I currently have a Tonebone Hot British, a new edition BK Butler Tube Driver, and a couple Ibanez Tube Kings.

I'm not certain that the tones of these pedals couldn't be accurately reproduced using only solid state materials, but for whatever reason they're very nice pedals.

My favorite is the BK Butler Tube Driver, which BK makes on a custom order basis from 299-415 depending upon whether you want a version with an adjustable bias control.

The BK is by far the most versatile of the ones that I mentioned, and it has the most character. It's also the most expensive by about 3x.

The Hot British is excellent for that powerful hot rodded marshall sound, but it is not terribly versatile outside of the marshallesque tonal pallete.

The Tube Kings are excellent for a little bit of everything. They aren't quite as sweet and warm as the Tube Driver but they come close, and they will produce a better scooped mid-high gain metal tone than the BK will. Another bonus is that they will run on a standard boss style 9v adapter.

[sonaboy]

Originally posted by Jake West I understand. Thank you for sharing your knowledge; you've been very helpful. Time to start saving for that Mesa Boogie Roadster

if you're going to spend up to $350 for a tube based overdrive, i'd recommend the SIB Variadrive, or Fatdrive.

those things are monsters, and will last forever.

[jeverist]

Check out the new Seymour Duncan tube pedal. Its got great reviews and the clips on SD's site sound great.

[sonaboy]

Originally posted by jeverist Check out the new Seymour Duncan tube pedal. Its got great reviews and the clips on SD's site sound great.

funny you should post up here.

the guy that uses the SIB Varidrive at my house only uses one other effect in front of his Harry Joyce amp -
The J. Everman Ultra Drive

[tlbonehead]

Ordinarily,the models that run the preamp tubes at high voltages tend to sound a lot better.