Ive been playing 2-4 shows a month for the last year. I quickly gave up my precious half stacks and twins for a friedman IRX and a class D power amp pedal, and a 1x12 cab. I don’t even think of it as a pedal. My amp is at my feet now. Its not digital (unless I use the IR’s) and it sounds “real” at home I still use a 6505+ for distortion. And fender twin for cleans. But live, its friedman IRX doing both. The high voltage tube gain is my only acceptable path. If i played clean only:id of gone digital eventually. Friedman is worth every single penny
Harlot v3 from kingsley, my all time favorite drive pedal. versatile, powerful and enough features to allow me to use any kind of guitar on a set and compensate accordingly, love it to death!
I have a lot of Tube drive pedal and the Harlot V3 is the best I ever bought. Really really great pedal. And most of my Kingsley (Maiden D and Page TS) pedals are the best I ever tried or owned.
I have an old Mesa Boogie v twin and I don't care what anyone says. put a ts9 or mojo mojo in front of it and it's as good as any amp you can mane. It chugs even with my cheepie Squier tele.
I have a Mesa Bottle Rocket. Simpler, a bit crisper, very crisp (seemed to cut through a bit more cleanly than the V Twin, for me), solid on its own, and stacks fantastically with other drives, or into a medium gain amp channel. Although it’s just volume, drive, and two band EQ, I definitely prefer it over the Tube Driver and Ibanez circuits. I’m curious if the Mesa pedals follow a similar design with high power Op Amp and starved tubes.
I have pedal I bought off Ebay from Aurhur Sounds store that's an exact circuit part for part and same voltage of an SLO preamp's lead channel. I absolutely love it and when I'm not recording direct in with it, I plug it into the return of the effects loop of either of my amps.
I used the Behringer with a tube screamer for 2 years and loved it. I only paid $15 for it on Amazon. Probably the most value I've ever gotten from a pedal. In fact, I had a couple of their pedals, most I didn't like except for their tube drive and their reverb. Effectrode is by far my favorite tube driven pedals nowadays.
I used to have a rack unit from Digitech called the GFX-1 Twin Tube that did great tube distortion. It had a built-in noise gate, 5-band graphic EQ and a really sweet compressor (among other effects). It did a great simulation of a cranked Marshall, really good tone. Try one of those if you can find one. They seem to be rare these days, but not expensive.
Got the BK a couple months ago. He’s great to work with and the pedal is awesome! 12AU7 and a bias. He’ll tell you the bias does something magical around 2:30, and he is correct. I’ve been playing the pedal at 2:30 MST everyday and it sounds great! 😂
I own two pedals by Kingsley Amps. I have the Constable, which is a tube pre-amp pedal based on a plexi-era Marshal. I love it. It really satisfies my Marshall lust. I also have their Juggler, which is also a tube pre-amp pedal; but it is based on a Dumble ODS. However, I try to make it sound like my beloved '65 Super Reverb. Both the pre-amps are beautiful sounding and cover a LOT of sonic territory for me in my travel rig. I run them through a tube power amp from Fryette.
The Hughes and Kettner Tube Factor was a cool pedal I used for a bit and still own. I swapped out the stock tube for a lower gain 12AU7 or 12AT7 and it sounded even better. It was equally great as both a boost to an already dirty sound or as a distorted rhythm tone on the clean channel.
12AY7 or its industrial 6072 counterpart is the sweet spot between those two and my favorite for replacing a 12AX7. AU is too low and AT is strange as the first gain stages. AU is better as a cathode follower and AT is better in the phase inverter spot on a PP or PPP amp. Each tube has its purpose, but I think the AY is vastly overlooked as a way to ideally knock some gain down from an AX.
I went through a phase where I owned a number of tube based over drives. I've pretty much moved away from them but the one pedal that is on my board that will be there forever is the Kingsley Page.
Love the Maxon RTD800 not as fuzzy or fizzy as the Butler but very open sounding and a touch on the dark side but it can be eq'd flat or brightened up if desired. Also it has a switch for OD/Dist which operates as such per Maxon. The Overdrive circuit features two stages of clipping - a bi-directional clipping diode in the feedback loop of the op-amp and then a single-diode in the second stage for asymmetrical clipping. The Distortion circuit also features two clipping stages, but configured differently - a bi-directional clipping diode in feedback loop of the op-amp, and then a 2nd stage with a passive bi-directional clipping circuit. The three band eq does not overlap and the noise gate does not squash your dynamics or tone unless turned up quite high. I rarely use it. There is also a post OD/Dist boost footswitch with 3 to 9db adjustable boost via an easily accessible trim pot. Sounds great being driven harder by another pedal in OD mode as well. I leave mine on going into a slightly dirty amp and adjust clean tone via the volume knob. Slamming a Nobels ODR-1 or Fulltone OCD into it for leads gives craaaaazy sustain. It even plays well going into a Fulltone Ulimate Octave, an already smooth fuzz, for Gilmour like leads without the octave and surprisingly smooth yet searing octave up tones.
The butler sounds like the perfect amount of just overall loudness and clarity to play live and actually not fade away behind the other instruments. Pop that gain down a little and you have the perfect rock rhythm pedal. Is probably use the 1st pedal as more of an overdub pedal leads between vocal lines. For actual solos maybe even drive both of those pedals at once to mix it up
I have tried playing various pedals through solid state amps for years, then a neighbor let me play on his marshal jcm and it blew me away! I have since bought a mesa boogie mark v 25, and absolutely love the fat and crunch modes on channel 1. On the 25, the mid control turns into a boost past noon. So I have that pretty high and back the gain off. I have treble up high and bass low on the first eq. play it soft and it's clean with a little grit, dig into it and it roars. It has a huge range and super responsive to how I'm playing. And the crunch mode is awesome too. That behringer tube monster sounds the closest and my favorite of these!
There were a lot of pedals in the 2000’s (and still?) that included a tube for marketing. The tube isn’t even running at proper tube voltages and they basically just light up…but they can call it a tube pedal.
Just hype garbage. Running a tube at 12 volts does nothing, it needs about 300 volts and about half an amp to run the heaters. Some companies even put an LED behind the tube to make it look like it was glowing. I'm glad that fad is over.
It is , you have a good one there ( the BK butler tube driver ) yes..!! There are other versions that don’t sound anything like the version you have .. Eric Johnson uses that one and yes David gilmour but EJ really utilizes his tube driver It’s one of his signature tones we’ve all heard many times
@@SH-pq5zq. I’ve been plugging my pedals into my interface and using Genome just for power amp modeling and cab IR. I like it because I can reach over and turn the knobs on the pedal and I don’t get lost in endless virtual amp tweaking.
Kind of a rare pedal that came out and was overlooked by many is the Vox Tone Garage V8 Distortion. All analog and the 12AX7 was used with higher voltage than usual with those types of pedals. Very nice sound and very British.
The "Magician" Brian Wampler playing through a Behringer VT999 and saying that is real good. I never thought I'd live to see that. A lot of people must be hanging themselves. Cheers from Brazil. By the way. Happy Birthday man. Love your pedals.
@@eduardokazuo2900 never tried one but also never heard anyone complain about them either. What are they modelled on (which circuits did they rip off ?)
Up till recently , My two main drive pedals was a Mesa V twin and a BK Tube Driver . Now my main Overdrive /Distortion pedals are an Ethos TWE-1 and The Wampler Gearbox .
Big fan of the channel! I don't know why mesa v-twin never gets onto these tube pedal comparisons, I have 2 of them! Main rig is genz benz el diablo and mesa 2x12 half back metal grill slanted. I use v-twin wherever I would use an actual preamp. I do love the synergy stuff but don't own any, yet, and haven't directly compared.
AMT SS-11 is a great little tube pre in a pedal form with 2x 12ax7, also the Blackstar Dept10 pedals - all of these use tubes with high voltage internally, so they properly work like they would in an amplifier. Check those out, awesome stuff.
I decided to try a non-amp set up for funsies. Been running a Tubesteader Lightkeeper as a preamp into an orange pedal baby. Sounds great for cleans. Then I’m running a be-od before the light keeper (with a precision drive before the be-od to clean up the low end and give that modern sound) for distortion, and I love it.
I love my VT999. The pots are very smooth. I put my VT999 in front of my Silvertone 1482 tube amp. I then put my tube amp in front of my Pod-Go (using load box' line-out). I route the AMP out of the Pod-Go to my Orange Crush 12. I route the cab-sim out of my Orange Crush through a Zoom MS70-CDR back into the Pod-Go through the stereo effects-loop. It is awesome. I made a gear vid of the above (along with lengthy description).
As for my VT999, I use a full 1-AMP dedicated power supply driving a Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7. The VT999, out of the box, uses a 230 mA power supply driving a Bugera 12AX7 (those do pair well, actually), but when you pump up the power to drive a darker pre-amp tube, it's pretty magical.
@@czarofzonk1360 Try a 12V power supply in place of the 9V and a 12AU7. Long plate 12AU7/ECC82 respond really well. The gain control still allows for utter filth, but the control is now useable over a much wider range. 12V won't hurt anything, providing you ensure the correct polarity. The main reason for using it is the valve heaters. If you meter the voltage applied, you'll notice they're a little 'starved' with the 9V.
Tube Works made a couple models. I have one that uses stock a 12AX7 but I use a Y for smoother drive. But it is always preamp tube sound not Power tube drive. Slight difference but usually more noticeable at volume.
I have been on the fence about getting a Synergy 1 slot preamp and a couple of the modules. I am going to get them. They sound awesome. I have Ibanez Tube Screamer and a MXR Super Badass. They are both great in their own way.
Of course, what's missing from the vast majority of tube-based drive pedals, regardless of the plate voltage they use, is the impact of the power stage. Not ONLY the use of these power tubes vs those ones, but the output transformer itself, and the negative feedback from the speaker side of the OT that is used for the "Presence" control. Steve Daniels generously sent me an Eleca clone of the BK Butler unit sometime ago. OK, but didn't exactly turn my crank. I suspect probably the only tube "pedal" that really nails a tube amp tone is the Garnet Herzog, which is really an entire Fender Champ comparable, modded to be used as a drive unit to feed another amp.
@@david25876 Of course, the speaker (and cab) will always shape the sound, whether coming from a pedal or amp, since we don't really have many other ways of hearing the result.
I have the Radial ,recently took it apart cleaned it up and put back on my board. In front t of 2 clean tube amps in 1 watt mode. I use it "almost" clean and get amazing low volume tones. I did it right before your vid. I hadn't used it it a while, forgot how good it sounds.
I use the Friedman irx as my preamp, stacked with some pedals, a fuzz, or boss dd200,ms 3 for switching, then into hxstomp for effects, out stereo into my mesa 2:90 power amp w a 4x12, 1960a cab in stereo mode, or into a pair of combos, depending on the venue size. larger venues, I may use two 1960 cabs each mono left and right signals ,powered from the mesa. so, all tubes
Really love your videos Brian always informative and always enjoyable. And I just love all the more in depth videos being an electronics engineer every show with a schematic gives me the chills 😉 And the fact that I really enjoy your playing makes it all so much better!
I’ve had quite a few OD/distortion pedals with tubes. All of them running at proper high voltage. Some sounded great, others just ok. Bottom line is, I’ve had plenty of dirt pedals without tubes that sound just as good, or better. Believe it or not, the Boss OD-3 remains one of my favorites. What I’ve learned is that tubes in a pedal doesn’t necessarily make it sound/feel any more amp-like than a good solid state pedal.
The TC Electronics TubePilot is the least-expensive of the pedals with tubes in them. Back in the day, I built a Stak-in-a-Box tube guitar pre-amp kit from Paia Electronics. Craig Anderton designed it. It's still available. It is a hybrid, starved-tube circuit.
My picks: - The SD Twin Tube sounds fantastic man, so much gnarly growl in the 1.2-3kHz range. - I like the Tube Driver, but it seems perhaps not quite so responsive to pick attack transients as the SD Twin. - Radial Tone Bone: My favorite one yet; at stock settings there are some SWEET overtones happening in the 2-5k region, like seriously incredible sounding... all those sculpting controls are just sugar on top. Gonna have to get one! You've some great ears and taste for dialing tones Brian, no wonder your pedals sell so well! Keep churning this kind of stuff out, as you said yourself it's just too much fun.
I had the Radial classic and a Nady TD-1 years ago (nearly the same pedal) and other tube pedals… eventually I lost favor with the tubes on a pedal board concept, but now I’ve made a slight return and started using the Radial Classic V9, which is said to be the same as the tube Radial Classic, but without the tube. Originally started using tube drive pedals when I started going direct to the house without amps, but I’m not sure how sound that logic was when I started it. My all-time favorite was the Chandler tube driver rack unit
I had an Ibanez PUE5 Tube as my main Pedal Board for 30 years and it had a tube in it. It had my favorite Tube Screamer and my favorite distortion in it that was warm and could handle any style. I wish I could find out why that Tube Screamer and Tube Driver sounded so good. There was no “mid hump” at all.
Tube Monster is a great one. I was surprised when I got one a played around with it. Radial stuff is all good as well. I have Tonebone and the Tri-Mode. Still break them out frim time to time.
I liked the last two personally. I’m currently using a Dominion Fuzz, MXR Custom Shop Timmy and an EP Booster to enhance the gain of my amps. JTM45 and Peavey Classic 30.
I have a tube twin, too, and it's doing its job well. I also like the od 3 as an ordinary drive which does sound pretty tubeish. The dn 2 not so much, but there are so many options to get in that ballpark.
I'm a long time user of the 2 channel Blackstar tube pedals into clean amps (usually a HRD with a WGS Reaper). Used the HT-Dual for 10 years until the new Dept 10 Dual Drive came out. The Dual Drive can be powered by a normal power supply and doesn't weigh 100 pounds like the HT.
I hade an engl tune toner preamp running into an old us made fender pro junior, they sounded great together. I now have a Fender Bassbreaker 15 amp, it sounds great by itself for gain tones, but for both cleans and gain, the engl & pro jr combination sounded better. Build something like the engl tube toner that runs hot just like an amp does, and has a small watt power amp section in it as well, which I think is the real deal for getting the tube amp tone from a floor unit.
Man, I don’t know if it’s just that guitarists aren’t wise to it yet; but Sushibox are doing some UNBELIEVABLY great things with tubes in a pedal form factor
I still use my B.K Butler Tube Driver, it probably sounds second behind the Radial ToneBone, I usually use my JP2C+ as distortion. and for lower gain the Tumnus mini.
I got the Behringer to mess around with some MOD ideas. The enclosure has lots of extra room. When I got it and played through it I was shaken at how good it sounded. The gate is really good to. I still have not done any mods as it is really good just the way it is. Think I paid $99. I thought that Radial sounded really good. I never tried one.
To my ears the Butler drive was a favorite. That and the Synergy. They were all cool and I’d be happy with any. I hadn’t heard the tone bone, that was my 3rd fav for sure. My gig rig is an OD-3 and an Xotic SL into a 12 watt, cathode biased amp.
I had a tonebone Hot British (red one) back around that same time as well. sold it at some point. Currently, for me it's the Friedman IR-D and IR-X. Not really a front of the amp use, more FX return use with existing amp. Full voltage on the tubes, actual preamps. Again, more of a different use case.
I like the open rawness of the Tube Driver here. But the solid density and midrange of the Tonebone is great, too. I´d like to have those two, but I´m already done by having an old Hughes & Kettner Tubeman, that I love. Plus, I also got a modded Tubemonster and I changed the stock tubes to the lesser gainy type "12AY7", which makes it a bit more easy for me to dial in some low gain overdrive.
I picked up an Ibanez tube king (tk999us) a couple years ago, and I’ve played it through my 90’s soldano, my hardwired ac30 and my fender concert, and it sounds great on each of them, with some tweaking.
You inspired me to fully dissassemble my tc electronic tube pilot to guess how much of its distortion comes from the tube! I guess two ICs are just for clean boost.
I have original Chandler rack Mount Tube Driver and rack mount Blue Tube units. Plus the black Real Tube Overdrive pedal. For years I used them but actually have found as much if not more satisfaction in specialized pedals like your Wampler Plexi-Drive Deluxe and Plextortion, Pinnacle, Tweed ‘57, Black ‘65, etc., because of giving me these sought after amp tones. After seeing this video I will be pulling some of these out of mothballs to use with the MOSFET amps I have like the Orange Crush 35 RT, Peavey red stripe Bandit and Roland late 90’s 60 watt Blues Cube. As it was I hadn’t played though my tube amps that much because of the MOSFET amps and AIAB pedals but have played through my Marshall Class 5, Studio 15.
I had the Radial ToneBone pedal and it was awesome, but it broke and it would have cost a fortune to send to Canada to be fixed at the time. I'd totally buy a tube pedal again, especially if Wampler made one!
I’ve got a few tube drive pedals (Maxon ROD881, Blackstar HT Dual and a Mozztronics TD2) and they’re great but all need specific power packs, are more susceptible to noise and can be unpredictable and hard to control when you get up to gigging levels. So they get left at home and the Indyguitarist Pinnacle stays on the board 😊.
So, I've built 3 tube pedals from a DIY web site and all 3 sound great and they are all very different than any of my overdrive/distortion pedals sound wise. The tube pedals do use an inductor to ramp up the voltage to over 200volts, so the tubes are doing what tubes do. I've compared the tube pedals to everything from the Pallisades by Earthquaker Devices to the VH4 by Diezel. I love the pallisades and it probably comes the closest to the tube pedals, but the tube pedals definitely have their own sound, and yes, it's tubey!😁
For a short time, they made non-tube versions of the classic and the British. I use the classic and it’s pretty good.. there’s something special about a tube, though.
Tonebone apparently. Imo, it just sits in the pocket. Also has a depth almost 3d sound to it. I remember back then looking at options, the variants were absolutely on my list. Wish i woulda tried one. Might still be using it.
Thanks for another great video comparing products and their technical perspective. You rock, Brian ! I love VT999 and I can get great diversity using 12AX7, 12AY7 and 12AU7
i typically have a Valvecaster and Mosfet Boost ‘always on’, running close to unity, into a tube amp. They fortify the signal and can induce overdrive, if needed 🤙
I run a tubescreamer 808 into a Vintage Tube Monster and into a Peavey Valve King. I dime the level and tone on the tubescreamer. The drive is at zero. The Vintage Tube Monster has the gain at about three and my amp gain is about 5. I basically use it as a gain stage and eq. The distortion is beautiful but the clarity is definitely there. It makes my two channel amp effectively a four channel amp.
I use a Mesa V-Twin, and the Seymour Duncan Twin Tube, as my tube pedals. Love them both. Just the “Dirt in my chain” - (other effects left out for ease of explanation, my board is huge) Fuzz Face ->JHS NOTAKLON ->TS9 modded with JRC4558D chip -> Keeley modded Blues driver -> Mesa V-Twin -> Seymour Duncan Twin tube -> ZVex Fuzz factory -> Radial twin city switcher -> Mesa Boogie Heartbreaker & Hughes & Kettner Triamp MKII. Mr. Wampler, I would love to hear your thoughts on my dirt choices… am I missing anything? Thinking of adding maybe a (Wampler SLOstorion? Or Diezel VH4? For even highe gain madness) had an MXR Fullbore metal, but could not come to terms with its tone, as a crazy high gain pedal) Thank you for your amazing videos and content and all your pedals/amps etcetera!
I like my black star tube two channel pedal. I use it as a desktop amp at work (yes I have a cool boss who also plays). Check it out, it doesn’t get as much online discussion as other tube options. I have no clue if the circuitry is any good as far as the voltage, but it sounds good to me. Also Brian. You make insanely good pedals. Please try your hand at a tube offering, there’s a good chance it becomes a legendary pedal.
Few notables from my years of playing. Mad professor 1, gets evh sounds plus reverb. RAT from 88 non led great for early Nuno tones. Rack mount Chandler Tube Driver. Marshall classic tone. Sansamp first rack mount. Very versatile.
There's an all-tube pedal based on Radial's and Shaun Lane's NADY tube pedal, the Zebra DP-3, they are out there used for $50. One of the best I've heard!!
How about pedals like the Friedman IRX or AMT SS11b? I personally have been using an AMT SS11b for about 8 years and I feel it's a beast. It's a three channel preamps, with two tubes. The manual states they run at 300V using an tiny internal transformer. I personally really like the sound this thing makes, and can vouch for the dynamics vs a digital amp sim for example in the HX Stomp which I also own. I actually pair the two to get a tube pre in a small form factor. I've also compared using this pre in the loop of a tub amp vs a tube amp, but it's been so long ago I don't feel confident in sharing an opinion on that. I'd love to hear your thoughts if you can ever get a hold of one.
I don’t have the amt but I have the Friedman. It excels as the “amp” platform, not so great when used as a distortion pedal though, and that’s not a slam…. The voicing requirement are totally different for making something like the IRX vs a distortion pedal
I have the Tube Driver as well as the B.K. Butler Real Tube and both are worthy secret weapons in one's arsenal. I highly recommend grabbing the Tube Driver with the Bias Mod; it gives you fine-tuning over the feel of your crunchiness. Also, the Plush Valve Job by Fuchs is a sleeper pedal that is not discussed. I love all three of these pedals with a Klon(e) pushing the front end.
I LOVE me a good tube boost. First one I ever tried was a Tube Pilot in front my H&K Duotone head a few years back....one of the best tones I ever had. There's just not many "regular" boosts I like because they tend to make your amps get a bit too "stringy". Tube pedals seem to do the opposite and keep your tone nice and thick, while adding compression and harmonics in just the right place. So for hard rock guys like me, I can get that aggressive tone without having to push the gain on my amp to a place that sounds like mush. Nothing but good things to say about tube pedals. They're the primary dirt pedals I even bother with. I'd be mad interested to see Wampler come out with a tube boost.
Kinda glad I’ve “waited” to get anything tube. Was dwelling on the blackstar ones of years passed. But heard they’ve issues. Looking at a rack currently. And it would be for anything. Guitar… synths… other fun stuff!!!
I have a Kingsley Minstrel V3 and it is a great pedal. I use it with my Ge Tumnus in front to push it or I use them independently. Together they are awesome and very versatile. I’m not into super high gain sounds though. I have put other ODs in front too like the Pantheon, Prince of Tone and ThorpyFX Gunshot. They all give different flavors. The Pantheon is super versatile too.
I think the tube pedals sound cool for getting that grit in a practice room at practice volume, but they don’t have that organic tone of a tube amplifier turned up. But they are probably the best option if you can’t turn up. Probably mixing some overdrive from a solid state overdrive and blending with a tube amplifier overdrive at 1/2 throttle is probably remains the best compromise to not being able to turn up all the way.
Brian I recently got a Carvin x1 pedal for Father's day and I love it. Bought a 2 channel looper pedal to run it with my amp so that I can switch between my amps preamp and the preamp pedal to give me versatility for blues, country, and rock, but still only using one amp. I'm very impressed with it and I am shocked more people don't know how good it is. I'd love to see you do a video on it being you're my go-to pedal guy. I have a Belle and an Ego compressor run in front. Please consider doing this from a fan of your pedals and your perspective videos.
I use very compact E730 tube preamp, mod of Engl E530. 4 channels, 2 separate full controls for clean and lead, contour and brightness switch. Sound exactly same as Engl. And has a size of two mini pedals. Custom order. I use it with power tube emulator + IR + effects(delay/reverb) => and then straight into active speakers or phones.
Yes, Brian. The answer is yes. If you made a pedal with actual tubes, we’d gladly buy it.
It's called a Marshall JCM 900 Dual Reverb..
@@Natch67 i had it in '90 and was modified ... such great sound
50 years of experience right here! Happy belated birthday Brian 🎉
I have a tube pedal running into a tube amp.
Its all so vintage & tube driver-ish that the clocks go back 15 minutes every time I power up.
Great Scott.
Ive been playing 2-4 shows a month for the last year. I quickly gave up my precious half stacks and twins for a friedman IRX and a class D power amp pedal, and a 1x12 cab. I don’t even think of it as a pedal. My amp is at my feet now. Its not digital (unless I use the IR’s) and it sounds “real” at home I still use a 6505+ for distortion. And fender twin for cleans. But live, its friedman IRX doing both.
The high voltage tube gain is my only acceptable path. If i played clean only:id of gone digital eventually. Friedman is worth every single penny
What power amp pedal do you use?
@@guttedEwok01duncan power stage 170
Enjoyed this, and the way you basically explained how each circuit worked. Thank you Mr. Wampler!
I have the behringer with a less gainy tube in it and it has always been amazing
Same here, I replaced the 12AX7 with a 12AU7 as recommended by many and it sounds so much nicer. Less “harsh”
Same here. I've had it for 10 years and it has been great!
Harlot v3 from kingsley, my all time favorite drive pedal. versatile, powerful and enough features to allow me to use any kind of guitar on a set and compensate accordingly, love it to death!
Definitely ! My favorite pedal!!!
Second this
I have a lot of Tube drive pedal and the Harlot V3 is the best I ever bought. Really really great pedal. And most of my Kingsley (Maiden D and Page TS) pedals are the best I ever tried or owned.
I just got a Harlot V3. Its splendid. My fav drive pedal b4 that was also a Kingsley …a Page. The Harlot is like a Page +.
@@TeleBlaster I have had so many overdrive and boost pedals.. Kingsley is simply the best.. at least for me
I have an old Mesa Boogie v twin and I don't care what anyone says. put a ts9 or mojo mojo in front of it and it's as good as any amp you can mane. It chugs even with my cheepie Squier tele.
I have a Mesa Bottle Rocket. Simpler, a bit crisper, very crisp (seemed to cut through a bit more cleanly than the V Twin, for me), solid on its own, and stacks fantastically with other drives, or into a medium gain amp channel.
Although it’s just volume, drive, and two band EQ, I definitely prefer it over the Tube Driver and Ibanez circuits. I’m curious if the Mesa pedals follow a similar design with high power Op Amp and starved tubes.
Yeah love mine. It’s almost a three channel tube pre amp with that little volume control on the bottom.
I have a Mesa Boogie V Twin that I bought back in 2009. It's one of my fav pedals.
I have pedal I bought off Ebay from Aurhur Sounds store that's an exact circuit part for part and same voltage of an SLO preamp's lead channel. I absolutely love it and when I'm not recording direct in with it, I plug it into the return of the effects loop of either of my amps.
Thank you for this video Brian. I'd love to see how you would approach building a vacuum tube based pedal
You're the Man Brian. Technical Genius.. I think tube driven distortion and overdrives are cool..
I used the Behringer with a tube screamer for 2 years and loved it. I only paid $15 for it on Amazon. Probably the most value I've ever gotten from a pedal. In fact, I had a couple of their pedals, most I didn't like except for their tube drive and their reverb. Effectrode is by far my favorite tube driven pedals nowadays.
Yes, I want more tube based pedals!
I used to have a rack unit from Digitech called the GFX-1 Twin Tube that did great tube distortion. It had a built-in noise gate, 5-band graphic EQ and a really sweet compressor (among other effects). It did a great simulation of a cranked Marshall, really good tone. Try one of those if you can find one. They seem to be rare these days, but not expensive.
I have one of the Hardwire Valve Distortion pedals Digitech made and it’s awesome. Thanks for the suggestion!
I know I’ll never be able to replicate this tone no matter what I do but I do enjoy watching and listening. It’s just so thick sounding.
Got the BK a couple months ago. He’s great to work with and the pedal is awesome! 12AU7 and a bias. He’ll tell you the bias does something magical around 2:30, and he is correct. I’ve been playing the pedal at 2:30 MST everyday and it sounds great! 😂
I own two pedals by Kingsley Amps. I have the Constable, which is a tube pre-amp pedal based on a plexi-era Marshal. I love it. It really satisfies my Marshall lust. I also have their Juggler, which is also a tube pre-amp pedal; but it is based on a Dumble ODS. However, I try to make it sound like my beloved '65 Super Reverb. Both the pre-amps are beautiful sounding and cover a LOT of sonic territory for me in my travel rig. I run them through a tube power amp from Fryette.
The Hughes and Kettner Tube Factor was a cool pedal I used for a bit and still own. I swapped out the stock tube for a lower gain 12AU7 or 12AT7 and it sounded even better. It was equally great as both a boost to an already dirty sound or as a distorted rhythm tone on the clean channel.
12AY7 or its industrial 6072 counterpart is the sweet spot between those two and my favorite for replacing a 12AX7. AU is too low and AT is strange as the first gain stages. AU is better as a cathode follower and AT is better in the phase inverter spot on a PP or PPP amp. Each tube has its purpose, but I think the AY is vastly overlooked as a way to ideally knock some gain down from an AX.
I went through a phase where I owned a number of tube based over drives. I've pretty much moved away from them but the one pedal that is on my board that will be there forever is the Kingsley Page.
Blackbird really shines once connected to a clean amp with high headroom, it sounds fantastic ever~!
I used a Hughes & Kettner Tube Factor back in the day, but unfortunately, I no longer have it. I really loved that pedal back then, though.
This pedal works with high voltage, i love this much,regards
Tube Monster is a great one.
I was surprised when I got one a played around with it.
The Tubesteader stuff is fantastic
Love the Maxon RTD800 not as fuzzy or fizzy as the Butler but very open sounding and a touch on the dark side but it can be eq'd flat or brightened up if desired. Also it has a switch for OD/Dist which operates as such per Maxon.
The Overdrive circuit features two stages of clipping - a bi-directional clipping diode in the feedback loop of the op-amp and then a single-diode in the second stage for asymmetrical clipping.
The Distortion circuit also features two clipping stages, but configured differently - a bi-directional clipping diode in feedback loop of the op-amp, and then a 2nd stage with a passive bi-directional clipping circuit.
The three band eq does not overlap and the noise gate does not squash your dynamics or tone unless turned up quite high. I rarely use it. There is also a post OD/Dist boost footswitch with 3 to 9db adjustable boost via an easily accessible trim pot.
Sounds great being driven harder by another pedal in OD mode as well. I leave mine on going into a slightly dirty amp and adjust clean tone via the volume knob. Slamming a Nobels ODR-1 or Fulltone OCD into it for leads gives craaaaazy sustain. It even plays well going into a Fulltone Ulimate Octave, an already smooth fuzz, for Gilmour like leads without the octave and surprisingly smooth yet searing octave up tones.
The butler sounds like the perfect amount of just overall loudness and clarity to play live and actually not fade away behind the other instruments. Pop that gain down a little and you have the perfect rock rhythm pedal. Is probably use the 1st pedal as more of an overdub pedal leads between vocal lines. For actual solos maybe even drive both of those pedals at once to mix it up
I have tried playing various pedals through solid state amps for years, then a neighbor let me play on his marshal jcm and it blew me away! I have since bought a mesa boogie mark v 25, and absolutely love the fat and crunch modes on channel 1. On the 25, the mid control turns into a boost past noon. So I have that pretty high and back the gain off. I have treble up high and bass low on the first eq. play it soft and it's clean with a little grit, dig into it and it roars. It has a huge range and super responsive to how I'm playing. And the crunch mode is awesome too. That behringer tube monster sounds the closest and my favorite of these!
Do you have the mesa boogie mark v 25 head or the combo amp?
I absolutely love the Bruce Egnater designed fender pedals using those micro spy tubes running on high voltage, the MTG & the MTG LA are both amazing
Interesting
There were a lot of pedals in the 2000’s (and still?) that included a tube for marketing. The tube isn’t even running at proper tube voltages and they basically just light up…but they can call it a tube pedal.
Just hype garbage. Running a tube at 12 volts does nothing, it needs about 300 volts and about half an amp to run the heaters. Some companies even put an LED behind the tube to make it look like it was glowing. I'm glad that fad is over.
It is , you have a good one there ( the BK butler tube driver ) yes..!! There are other versions that don’t sound anything like the version you have
.. Eric Johnson uses that one and yes David gilmour but EJ really utilizes his tube driver
It’s one of his signature tones we’ve all heard many times
I found my HK Tubeman in my storage tub a few weeks ago. Gonna bust it out and see what do.
I own 3 of the HK tubeman from the 90’s….great pedal and very versatile….u have to clean the pots regularly (in my experience)
@@SH-pq5zq. I’ve been plugging my pedals into my interface and using Genome just for power amp modeling and cab IR. I like it because I can reach over and turn the knobs on the pedal and I don’t get lost in endless virtual amp tweaking.
Kind of a rare pedal that came out and was overlooked by many is the Vox Tone Garage V8 Distortion. All analog and the 12AX7 was used with higher voltage than usual with those types of pedals. Very nice sound and very British.
I keep a Behringer VT999 Tube Monster (with a 12AU7 tube) pedal on my board as my preamp. My whole DI board is based around that pedal.
Just curious what you're using as power amp sim and cab sim?
The "Magician" Brian Wampler playing through a Behringer VT999 and saying that is real good. I never thought I'd live to see that. A lot of people must be hanging themselves. Cheers from Brazil. By the way. Happy Birthday man. Love your pedals.
VT999 FTW! \m/
Get over the Behringer bias problem. They make excellent value kit nowadays. “Not made in USA” does not mean anything is automatically crap.
@@MS-Patriot2 I agree!
I've had alm 0 trouble with any Behringer thing I've ever bought!
@@MS-Patriot2 I own 2 bugera heads. Love them.
@@eduardokazuo2900 never tried one but also never heard anyone complain about them either. What are they modelled on (which circuits did they rip off ?)
I have a Radial TriMode - I believe the same circuit as that classic. Love it! Haven't used it in a while. But every time I plug it in, it inspires.
I watch tons of videos showing different drive pedals. This is the first one where they ALL sound great.
Up till recently , My two main drive pedals was a Mesa V twin and a BK Tube Driver . Now my main Overdrive /Distortion pedals are an Ethos TWE-1 and The Wampler Gearbox .
Big fan of the channel! I don't know why mesa v-twin never gets onto these tube pedal comparisons, I have 2 of them! Main rig is genz benz el diablo and mesa 2x12 half back metal grill slanted. I use v-twin wherever I would use an actual preamp. I do love the synergy stuff but don't own any, yet, and haven't directly compared.
You have a great point, I’m going to hit up reverb.com and grab a v-twin asap!
@@wampler_pedals cool, I'm looking forward to it! If you have trouble finding I could lend you one happily.
AMT SS-11 is a great little tube pre in a pedal form with 2x 12ax7, also the Blackstar Dept10 pedals - all of these use tubes with high voltage internally, so they properly work like they would in an amplifier. Check those out, awesome stuff.
I decided to try a non-amp set up for funsies. Been running a Tubesteader Lightkeeper as a preamp into an orange pedal baby. Sounds great for cleans. Then I’m running a be-od before the light keeper (with a precision drive before the be-od to clean up the low end and give that modern sound) for distortion, and I love it.
I love my VT999. The pots are very smooth.
I put my VT999 in front of my Silvertone 1482 tube amp.
I then put my tube amp in front of my Pod-Go (using load box' line-out).
I route the AMP out of the Pod-Go to my Orange Crush 12.
I route the cab-sim out of my Orange Crush through a Zoom MS70-CDR back into the Pod-Go through the stereo effects-loop.
It is awesome. I made a gear vid of the above (along with lengthy description).
As for my VT999, I use a full 1-AMP dedicated power supply driving a Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7. The VT999, out of the box, uses a 230 mA power supply driving a Bugera 12AX7 (those do pair well, actually), but when you pump up the power to drive a darker pre-amp tube, it's pretty magical.
@@czarofzonk1360 Try a 12V power supply in place of the 9V and a 12AU7. Long plate 12AU7/ECC82 respond really well. The gain control still allows for utter filth, but the control is now useable over a much wider range. 12V won't hurt anything, providing you ensure the correct polarity. The main reason for using it is the valve heaters. If you meter the voltage applied, you'll notice they're a little 'starved' with the 9V.
Tube Works made a couple models. I have one that uses stock a 12AX7 but I use a Y for smoother drive. But it is always preamp tube sound not Power tube drive. Slight difference but usually more noticeable at volume.
Tube preamps are becoming more common, I think. Especially with smaller makers like Peace Hill.
I have been on the fence about getting a Synergy 1 slot preamp and a couple of the modules. I am going to get them. They sound awesome. I have Ibanez Tube Screamer and a MXR Super Badass. They are both great in their own way.
Your triple wreck is still my fave high gain pedal! ❤️
One of my favorite old pedals is a Digitech RP7. Something about the tube preamp that gives it the right saturation.
Of course, what's missing from the vast majority of tube-based drive pedals, regardless of the plate voltage they use, is the impact of the power stage. Not ONLY the use of these power tubes vs those ones, but the output transformer itself, and the negative feedback from the speaker side of the OT that is used for the "Presence" control.
Steve Daniels generously sent me an Eleca clone of the BK Butler unit sometime ago. OK, but didn't exactly turn my crank. I suspect probably the only tube "pedal" that really nails a tube amp tone is the Garnet Herzog, which is really an entire Fender Champ comparable, modded to be used as a drive unit to feed another amp.
And the speaker. Output stage, iron and speaker contribute a lot.
@@david25876 Of course, the speaker (and cab) will always shape the sound, whether coming from a pedal or amp, since we don't really have many other ways of hearing the result.
I have the Radial ,recently took it apart cleaned it up and put back on my board. In front t of 2 clean tube amps in 1 watt mode. I use it "almost" clean and get amazing low volume tones. I did it right before your vid. I hadn't used it it a while, forgot how good it sounds.
I use the Friedman irx as my preamp, stacked with some pedals, a fuzz, or boss dd200,ms 3 for switching, then into hxstomp for effects, out stereo into my mesa 2:90 power amp w a 4x12, 1960a cab in stereo mode, or into a pair of combos, depending on the venue size. larger venues, I may use two 1960 cabs each mono left and right signals ,powered from the mesa. so, all tubes
Really love your videos Brian always informative and always enjoyable. And I just love all the more in depth videos being an electronics engineer every show with a schematic gives me the chills 😉 And the fact that I really enjoy your playing makes it all so much better!
I’ve had quite a few OD/distortion pedals with tubes. All of them running at proper high voltage.
Some sounded great, others just ok. Bottom line is, I’ve had plenty of dirt pedals without tubes that sound just as good, or better.
Believe it or not, the Boss OD-3 remains one of my favorites.
What I’ve learned is that tubes in a pedal doesn’t necessarily make it sound/feel any more amp-like than a good solid state pedal.
The TC Electronics TubePilot is the least-expensive of the pedals with tubes in them. Back in the day, I built a Stak-in-a-Box tube guitar pre-amp kit from Paia Electronics. Craig Anderton designed it. It's still available. It is a hybrid, starved-tube circuit.
I'm using a Kingsley Page inside the fx loop. Nice pedal.
My picks:
- The SD Twin Tube sounds fantastic man, so much gnarly growl in the 1.2-3kHz range.
- I like the Tube Driver, but it seems perhaps not quite so responsive to pick attack transients as the SD Twin.
- Radial Tone Bone: My favorite one yet; at stock settings there are some SWEET overtones happening in the 2-5k region, like seriously incredible sounding... all those sculpting controls are just sugar on top. Gonna have to get one!
You've some great ears and taste for dialing tones Brian, no wonder your pedals sell so well!
Keep churning this kind of stuff out, as you said yourself it's just too much fun.
EHX English muff’n was my main drive for yearrrrs. Been on the effectrode Blackbird and very happy
I had the Radial classic and a Nady TD-1 years ago (nearly the same pedal) and other tube pedals… eventually I lost favor with the tubes on a pedal board concept, but now I’ve made a slight return and started using the Radial Classic V9, which is said to be the same as the tube Radial Classic, but without the tube. Originally started using tube drive pedals when I started going direct to the house without amps, but I’m not sure how sound that logic was when I started it. My all-time favorite was the Chandler tube driver rack unit
I had an Ibanez PUE5 Tube as my main Pedal Board for 30 years and it had a tube in it. It had my favorite Tube Screamer and my favorite distortion in it that was warm and could handle any style. I wish I could find out why that Tube Screamer and Tube Driver sounded so good. There was no “mid hump” at all.
I just ordered a Kingsley page. I've never played through one but they look like they sound good
Tube Monster is a great one.
I was surprised when I got one a played around with it.
Radial stuff is all good as well. I have Tonebone and the Tri-Mode.
Still break them out frim time to time.
I liked the last two personally.
I’m currently using a Dominion Fuzz, MXR Custom Shop Timmy and an EP Booster to enhance the gain of my amps. JTM45 and Peavey Classic 30.
I have a tube twin, too, and it's doing its job well. I also like the od 3 as an ordinary drive which does sound pretty tubeish. The dn 2 not so much, but there are so many options to get in that ballpark.
I'm a long time user of the 2 channel Blackstar tube pedals into clean amps (usually a HRD with a WGS Reaper). Used the HT-Dual for 10 years until the new Dept 10 Dual Drive came out. The Dual Drive can be powered by a normal power supply and doesn't weigh 100 pounds like the HT.
I hade an engl tune toner preamp running into an old us made fender pro junior, they sounded great together. I now have a Fender Bassbreaker 15 amp, it sounds great by itself for gain tones, but for both cleans and gain, the engl & pro jr combination sounded better. Build something like the engl tube toner that runs hot just like an amp does, and has a small watt power amp section in it as well, which I think is the real deal for getting the tube amp tone from a floor unit.
Man, I don’t know if it’s just that guitarists aren’t wise to it yet; but Sushibox are doing some UNBELIEVABLY great things with tubes in a pedal form factor
I loved BK Butler’s Real Tube 901. I used that with several amps. I’d love to still have it or have another.
I still use my B.K Butler Tube Driver, it probably sounds second behind the Radial ToneBone, I usually use my JP2C+ as distortion. and for lower gain the Tumnus mini.
I got the Behringer to mess around with some MOD ideas. The enclosure has lots of extra room. When I got it and played through it I was shaken at how good it sounded. The gate is really good to. I still have not done any mods as it is really good just the way it is. Think I paid $99. I thought that Radial sounded really good. I never tried one.
To my ears the Butler drive was a favorite. That and the Synergy. They were all cool and I’d be happy with any. I hadn’t heard the tone bone, that was my 3rd fav for sure.
My gig rig is an OD-3 and an Xotic SL into a 12 watt, cathode biased amp.
I had a tonebone Hot British (red one) back around that same time as well. sold it at some point. Currently, for me it's the Friedman IR-D and IR-X. Not really a front of the amp use, more FX return use with existing amp. Full voltage on the tubes, actual preamps. Again, more of a different use case.
I like the open rawness of the Tube Driver here. But the solid density and midrange of the Tonebone is great, too.
I´d like to have those two, but I´m already done by having an old Hughes & Kettner Tubeman, that I love.
Plus, I also got a modded Tubemonster and I changed the stock tubes to the lesser gainy type "12AY7", which makes it a bit more easy for me to dial in some low gain overdrive.
I picked up an Ibanez tube king (tk999us) a couple years ago, and I’ve played it through my 90’s soldano, my hardwired ac30 and my fender concert, and it sounds great on each of them, with some tweaking.
You inspired me to fully dissassemble my tc electronic tube pilot to guess how much of its distortion comes from the tube! I guess two ICs are just for clean boost.
I have original Chandler rack Mount Tube Driver and rack mount Blue Tube units. Plus the black Real Tube Overdrive pedal. For years I used them but actually have found as much if not more satisfaction in specialized pedals like your Wampler Plexi-Drive Deluxe and Plextortion, Pinnacle, Tweed ‘57, Black ‘65, etc., because of giving me these sought after amp tones. After seeing this video I will be pulling some of these out of mothballs to use with the MOSFET amps I have like the Orange Crush 35 RT, Peavey red stripe Bandit and Roland late 90’s 60 watt Blues Cube. As it was I hadn’t played though my tube amps that much because of the MOSFET amps and AIAB pedals but have played through my Marshall Class 5, Studio 15.
I had the Radial ToneBone pedal and it was awesome, but it broke and it would have cost a fortune to send to Canada to be fixed at the time. I'd totally buy a tube pedal again, especially if Wampler made one!
I’ve got a few tube drive pedals (Maxon ROD881, Blackstar HT Dual and a Mozztronics TD2) and they’re great but all need specific power packs, are more susceptible to noise and can be unpredictable and hard to control when you get up to gigging levels. So they get left at home and the Indyguitarist Pinnacle stays on the board 😊.
So, I've built 3 tube pedals from a DIY web site and all 3 sound great and they are all very different than any of my overdrive/distortion pedals sound wise. The tube pedals do use an inductor to ramp up the voltage to over 200volts, so the tubes are doing what tubes do. I've compared the tube pedals to everything from the Pallisades by Earthquaker Devices to the VH4 by Diezel. I love the pallisades and it probably comes the closest to the tube pedals, but the tube pedals definitely have their own sound, and yes, it's tubey!😁
That Radial pedal is the best sounding one I think. I have the Hot British version and it’s a favorite of mine. Radial should bring these pedals back.
I love my Tri Mode Radial clean, and two distortion options with an effects loop on the lead channel. Always makes me smile!
It has the tightest sound I think.
I read somewhere they're based on an old Japanese pedal Shawn Lane used to use. Could be wrong.
For a short time, they made non-tube versions of the classic and the British. I use the classic and it’s pretty good.. there’s something special about a tube, though.
Tonebone apparently. Imo, it just sits in the pocket. Also has a depth almost 3d sound to it. I remember back then looking at options, the variants were absolutely on my list. Wish i woulda tried one. Might still be using it.
Thanks for another great video comparing products and their technical perspective. You rock, Brian !
I love VT999 and I can get great diversity using 12AX7, 12AY7 and 12AU7
i typically have a Valvecaster and Mosfet Boost ‘always on’, running close to unity, into a tube amp. They fortify the signal and can induce overdrive, if needed 🤙
I run a tubescreamer 808 into a Vintage Tube Monster and into a Peavey Valve King. I dime the level and tone on the tubescreamer. The drive is at zero. The Vintage Tube Monster has the gain at about three and my amp gain is about 5. I basically use it as a gain stage and eq. The distortion is beautiful but the clarity is definitely there. It makes my two channel amp effectively a four channel amp.
Thank you for explaining the why/how of the starved plate.
I use a Mesa V-Twin, and the Seymour Duncan Twin Tube, as my tube pedals. Love them both.
Just the “Dirt in my chain” - (other effects left out for ease of explanation, my board is huge)
Fuzz Face ->JHS NOTAKLON ->TS9 modded with JRC4558D chip -> Keeley modded Blues driver -> Mesa V-Twin -> Seymour Duncan Twin tube -> ZVex Fuzz factory -> Radial twin city switcher -> Mesa Boogie Heartbreaker & Hughes & Kettner Triamp MKII.
Mr. Wampler, I would love to hear your thoughts on my dirt choices… am I missing anything? Thinking of adding maybe a (Wampler SLOstorion? Or Diezel VH4? For even highe gain madness) had an MXR Fullbore metal, but could not come to terms with its tone, as a crazy high gain pedal)
Thank you for your amazing videos and content and all your pedals/amps etcetera!
Does the Duncan clean well with the guitar volume pot?
I like my black star tube two channel pedal. I use it as a desktop amp at work (yes I have a cool boss who also plays). Check it out, it doesn’t get as much online discussion as other tube options. I have no clue if the circuitry is any good as far as the voltage, but it sounds good to me.
Also Brian. You make insanely good pedals. Please try your hand at a tube offering, there’s a good chance it becomes a legendary pedal.
I loved my Ibanez PUE 5 Tube!! And I still own a half rack unit Hughes & Kettner Blues/Cream Machine!
Few notables from my years of playing. Mad professor 1, gets evh sounds plus reverb. RAT from 88 non led great for early Nuno tones. Rack mount Chandler Tube Driver. Marshall classic tone. Sansamp first rack mount. Very versatile.
Note only the Chandler had tubes in it.
There's an all-tube pedal based on Radial's and Shaun Lane's NADY tube pedal, the Zebra DP-3, they are out there used for $50. One of the best I've heard!!
How about pedals like the Friedman IRX or AMT SS11b?
I personally have been using an AMT SS11b for about 8 years and I feel it's a beast. It's a three channel preamps, with two tubes. The manual states they run at 300V using an tiny internal transformer. I personally really like the sound this thing makes, and can vouch for the dynamics vs a digital amp sim for example in the HX Stomp which I also own. I actually pair the two to get a tube pre in a small form factor. I've also compared using this pre in the loop of a tub amp vs a tube amp, but it's been so long ago I don't feel confident in sharing an opinion on that. I'd love to hear your thoughts if you can ever get a hold of one.
I don’t have the amt but I have the Friedman. It excels as the “amp” platform, not so great when used as a distortion pedal though, and that’s not a slam…. The voicing requirement are totally different for making something like the IRX vs a distortion pedal
I have the tube driver rack version of this. It is very versatile. From gated fuzz to pretty modern high gain.
What do I like to get my dirt sound? Well, I often have a Razzberry FuzzDrive on, but I almost always have my Tumnus Deluxe on. You should try it. 😁
I have the Tube Driver as well as the B.K. Butler Real Tube and both are worthy secret weapons in one's arsenal. I highly recommend grabbing the Tube Driver with the Bias Mod; it gives you fine-tuning over the feel of your crunchiness. Also, the Plush Valve Job by Fuchs is a sleeper pedal that is not discussed. I love all three of these pedals with a Klon(e) pushing the front end.
I LOVE me a good tube boost. First one I ever tried was a Tube Pilot in front my H&K Duotone head a few years back....one of the best tones I ever had. There's just not many "regular" boosts I like because they tend to make your amps get a bit too "stringy". Tube pedals seem to do the opposite and keep your tone nice and thick, while adding compression and harmonics in just the right place. So for hard rock guys like me, I can get that aggressive tone without having to push the gain on my amp to a place that sounds like mush. Nothing but good things to say about tube pedals. They're the primary dirt pedals I even bother with. I'd be mad interested to see Wampler come out with a tube boost.
Kinda glad I’ve “waited” to get anything tube.
Was dwelling on the blackstar ones of years passed. But heard they’ve issues.
Looking at a rack currently. And it would be for anything. Guitar… synths… other fun stuff!!!
I have a Kingsley Minstrel V3 and it is a great pedal. I use it with my Ge Tumnus in front to push it or I use them independently. Together they are awesome and very versatile. I’m not into super high gain sounds though. I have put other ODs in front too like the Pantheon, Prince of Tone and ThorpyFX Gunshot. They all give different flavors. The Pantheon is super versatile too.
I’ve been using the IRX as my overdrive into a clean tube amp for low volume playing. No IRs engaged. Does the job well.
I think the tube pedals sound cool for getting that grit in a practice room at practice volume, but they don’t have that organic tone of a tube amplifier turned up. But they are probably the best option if you can’t turn up. Probably mixing some overdrive from a solid state overdrive and blending with a tube amplifier overdrive at 1/2 throttle is probably remains the best compromise to not being able to turn up all the way.
Have been using the Friedman IR-D for a direct solution and am loving it!
Brian I recently got a Carvin x1 pedal for Father's day and I love it. Bought a 2 channel looper pedal to run it with my amp so that I can switch between my amps preamp and the preamp pedal to give me versatility for blues, country, and rock, but still only using one amp. I'm very impressed with it and I am shocked more people don't know how good it is. I'd love to see you do a video on it being you're my go-to pedal guy. I have a Belle and an Ego compressor run in front. Please consider doing this from a fan of your pedals and your perspective videos.
I use very compact E730 tube preamp, mod of Engl E530. 4 channels, 2 separate full controls for clean and lead, contour and brightness switch. Sound exactly same as Engl. And has a size of two mini pedals.
Custom order.
I use it with power tube emulator + IR + effects(delay/reverb) => and then straight into active speakers or phones.
I’m using a mod kits Pusuader, it’s point to point, no ic or magic fairy dust. It is an extremely low voltage unit so it gets fuzzy fast.