# Tired of looking for the right OD/Distortion pedal? Effectrode Tube Drive!



## Moot (Feb 15, 2009)

Only a tube can give us guitarists the OD and Distortion we all crave. Most pedals are trying to sound like tubes, but can't, because there are no tubes! Even Butler's designs used op-amps. Same with Seymour Duncan and the rest.Enter the Tube Drive. 3 preamp tubes ( you can decide which tubes!) running the plates at 300 volts. It's a pre-amp in a pedal. So there are 6 gain stages - the first four are cascaded, like a Soldano or a Mesa, and provide anything from a clean boost to absolute raging distortion. The 5th stage is used for a Baxendall active tone circuit and the 6th is for mixing the signal. I'm running two 5751's and a 12at7 in the tone spot. Even though the 5751's are only 70% the gain of a 12ax7 there's so much gain and volume that I only run the drive at 9:30 and the volume at 9:00! If you swap out the first two tubes for 12au7's the Tube Drive becomes that perfect boost pedal, but with the gain cranked it becomes the perfect tube-screamer! Imagine a tube screamer that actually had the breakup of an actual tube (3 tubes, really.)The Tube Drive seems expensive at first ($400), but it is well worth the investment if you never need to buy another drive pedal. I've never liked a drive pedal for more than two days; they always seem to disappoint. But I've had the Tube Drive for 6 weeks now and I use it constantly. So that's 18 shows, 12 rehearsals, and another 50 hours of practice time and I haven't been anything but super happy/impressed with the thing. The last pedal I was this happy with was when tc electronics released their chorus/flange/phaser back in the 80's!After playing for 30 years I've collected a lot of tubes, and with the Tube Drive I can listen to each one; you can really hear each tube's tone. Obviously I recommend the Effector Tube Drive. A truly professional piece of gear. You'll like it, your soundman will like it, your audiences will be happy, and your recording engineer will try to buy it off you!


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## Moot (Feb 15, 2009)

For some reason it won't let me add paragraphs? Even when I try to edit.Sorry about that.


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## traynor_garnet (Feb 22, 2006)

For that type of cash, I would want more than a "tone knob"; 3 band eq would be much more useful.

I have the Stephenson tube pedal, and although it was kind of cool, it didn't really sound any better than a good (non tube) dirt box.

Glad you found something you like though (didn't mean to come off as overly negative).

TG


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## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

traynor_garnet said:


> For that type of cash, I would want more than a "tone knob"; 3 band eq would be much more useful.
> 
> I have the Stephenson tube pedal, and although it was kind of cool, it didn't really sound any better than a good (non tube) dirt box.
> 
> ...


 *Hey, sometimes a tone knob is all you really need. Moot I'm glad you're happy, i began a serious hunt for OD/distortion today - I'll keep **"Effectrode" in mind. If you can post some sound clips please do so.*


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## Moot (Feb 15, 2009)

traynor_garnet said:


> For that type of cash, I would want more than a "tone knob"; 3 band eq would be much more useful.I have the Stephenson tube pedal, and although it was kind of cool, it didn't really sound any better than a good (non tube) dirt box.Glad you found something you like though (didn't mean to come off as overly negative).TG


I didn't detect any negativism.  I forgot to mention that there's a switch on the back of the unit that engages a bass boost. Works wonderfully with single-coils, really fattening up the tone. So there's more eq options. And the tone knob is an active eq, so it does a lot more than just attenuate the highs - it can add or detract frequencies.But I know what you mean. I was concerned with it's simple layout, but it turned out to be just right. For me, at any rate.It's funny, but I stopped recording gigs years ago. I'll sit down and record something this weekend. ProShopGuitars.com has a nice demo on YouTube.MrMatt1972, I wish you luck on your search. The T Rex Gristle King was my #2 choice. I'm up in the Yukon so trying any pedals was impossible. Thank goodness for YouTube, eh? Keep us up to date with your search!


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## Samsquantch (Mar 5, 2009)

For that kind of money, I'd rather get a Kingsley pedal.


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## jimihendrix (Jun 27, 2009)

[video=youtube;olgXiYEBNgo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olgXiYEBNgo[/video]


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

If I want tube overdrive or distortion, I get it from my amp . If I want to get a different flavour or boost my amp, I use a modded tubescreamer. There's no doubt in my mind that some people will think this is great, but when I think of "tube overdrive" I think of a whole amp doing the work.

Hopefully this pedal gets some people to their tonal nirvana!


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

jimihendrix said:


> [video=youtube;olgXiYEBNgo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olgXiYEBNgo[/video]


Well, that certainly sounds pretty good in the video, but yeah, I don't know about the price-tag myself. The versatility seems to be pretty awesome though.

I would have liked to see them make this pedal a true preamp pedal with an XLR out and a defeatable speaker sim EQ.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

hollowbody said:


> Well, that certainly sounds pretty good in the video, but yeah, I don't know about the price-tag myself. The versatility seems to be pretty awesome though.
> 
> I would have liked to see them make this pedal a true preamp pedal with an XLR out and a defeatable speaker sim EQ.


 That would get my attention as well.


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## Samsquantch (Mar 5, 2009)

I think the idea with these tube pedals is not to be a gimmick, but it's more meant to make us throw our preconceptions and expectations about pedal functions and sounds out the window. Personally, I think it's really innovative, and if they could figure out a way to somehow offer these pedals at a lower price point, I'm sure they would appeal to a lot more players. That said, I just ordered a Kingsley Jester for $375.kkjuw


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## Moot (Feb 15, 2009)

The Kingsley pedals are seriously good, no argument here.And $375 really doesn't sound very expensive for what you get: another high quality tube channel added to your favourite amp! Maybe if someone is wanting to get a lot of pedals it seems pricey? But Kingsley's pedals have the same drawback the Effectrode pedals do - they're so versatile that it seems a shame to just use it as a pedal. I run my Tube Drive on a music stand so I can twiddle while playing. I was thinking of saving up for another so I can set it up more aggressively. Maybe a Kingsley, instead, just for the variety? Let us know when your pedal arrives! I look forward to hearing your impression of it.


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## Samsquantch (Mar 5, 2009)

I will post my thoughts here for sure. I'll probably have some Youtube clips up soon, too. 

My justification for spending that much on a pedal is that I'm not one of those guys that buys and flips a zillion dirt pedals. I tend to buy things that will serve me well over the long haul that I won't want to sell. I've bought, sold, and traded maybe 5 or 6 times in the past 10 years....

I hear a lot of players complain about the prices of pedals like the Jester, Tube Drive, Fetto, Boiling Point, etc, but really, these are probably the same guys that have lost a few hundred dollars a year buying and flipping pedals, chasing after that ever elusive "tone in their head".


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## Moot (Feb 15, 2009)

Here's some interesting info I hadn't found before. It's a list of tube-based pedals that run the plates with HT (High Tension) power - usually around 300 volts. They're not all op-amp free, but they all seem very cool. Worth checking out.Preamplifier pedals to push your guitar amp to that tone 56 Inc Tubestation | AMT SS20 | Mesa Boogie.


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## screamingdaisy (Oct 14, 2008)

I had their Tube Vibe years back. It was a really good pedal and he even did a custom mod so I could control it via remote. The only reason I sold it was 'cause I needed the money more than the pedal. I'd buy another except that I'm not entirely sure it was actually any better than any other Vibe pedals.... just a different flavour of the same thing... like all Vibe pedals are.


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## Moot (Feb 15, 2009)

Man, I love this thing so much I'm just going to keep raving about it.Each and every tube has it's own sound characteristics and the Tube Drive is the perfect tool for listening to those subtle differences. I have a love/hate relationship with Tung Sol 12ax7's (the new ones, not the NOS ones) but, Oh Emm Gee, they sound wonderful in the V2 possition. Phil Taylor loves 12av7/5965's in V1 and I can say see why! David Gilmour, anyone? (For those who may not know Phil Taylor is David Gilmour's effects tech.)I went to make clips at my friend's studio but we ended up playing all night over a bottle scotch. Whoops!I'm trying to think of something negative say about this pedal so I'll seem a bit more balanced, but all I can think of is the pedal does so many sounds it's a shame that you have to leave it set up in only one way. I would almost want the unit digitally controlled so you could save all your settings, but that would ruin the simplicity and cost way too much for me! $400 was a big outlay of cash but it really was worth it.So, yeah, I love this pedal! I've only ever been this inspired for this long due to a new piece of gear by guitars and amps. But this thing moves me. And a pedal at that.


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