# Very early Blue Tube by B.K. Butler



## Tone Chaser (Mar 2, 2014)

An friend/acquaintance, is closing up/selling his resale shop, and I stopped in to catch up, before he is gone.

I saw this early ‘80’s pedal. I asked if it worked and how much. Correction, mid to late eighties.

He told me a friend checked it out and it worked. Told me to take it home to try it.









It plugs in to an outlet and has a tube in it. I tried this kind of thing in the mid eighties and took them back to the store.

This one needs TLC. Very low volume output and crackling pots. Sucks on some amps, and a real gem on others. The key words are “Real Tube Enhancer”. Kind of like my Mesa Toneburst, but servicing the pedal is a must. It needs full disassembly, Deoxit everywhere, silicone caulk removal that has been plastered everywhere.

I am taking it back later today to discuss my findings and pricing. I don’t need it, but it is really cool with Vibro Champ.


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## Frenchy99 (Oct 15, 2016)

Cool … waiting for your update...


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Steve Daniels at Small Bear sent me this clone of the BK Butler tube driver to try out. He was thinking of carrying it. I wasn't impressed. I have no idea if there are any design differences between the 4-knob and 5-knob tube drivers, apart from the midrange control. The Eleca version offers a switch that reduces gain enough to be considered a "clean" booster, on top of the stock overdrive function. Unlike the BK Butler units, it has a vent for the tube, although that seems to be primarily for marketing purposes rather than any needed heat dissipation. It also lets you see the orange LED underneath the 12AX7, that makes it look like the tube comes on instantaneously.

If the unit shapes the input signal to derive a pleasing overdrive from a tube amp, great,. But do not expect it to instantly deliver "tube sound". Certainly not with a 12V supply.


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## Tone Chaser (Mar 2, 2014)

I talked with the shop owner, expressed my concerns, and explained what my experience was with the pedal.

I don’t need it, but I think that I can get it back to a standard. A little back and forth on the negotiation, and I got it in the ballpark that I felt it was worth.

I think of this unit as a tube preamp pedal, that offers cleanish gain and fatter tonestack, when used with an amp that compliments.

gut shots for now


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## Tone Chaser (Mar 2, 2014)

I removed the silicone caulk from the tube and circuit board.
Now the tube can be removed, socket cleaned. Just being able to pull the tube and reseat it a couple of times already made a big difference volume wise.


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## Scottone (Feb 10, 2006)

I just picked up the rack version of the same unit. Haven't messed around with it too much, but like it so far.


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## Tone Chaser (Mar 2, 2014)

B.K. Butler Tube Driver

A whole lot of information


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Given the proximity of the transformer to the rest of the circuit, I have to ask - what's the hum like?


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## Tone Chaser (Mar 2, 2014)

mhammer said:


> Given the proximity of the transformer to the rest of the circuit, I have to ask - what's the hum like?


Surprisingly not that bad. It is more of an organic tube amp kind of a hum, slight but noticeable when things are at idle.

Some drive pedals add a lot of noise. I am not telling you anything new, you are amongst the most experienced.

Somewhere over the next few days, later in the evening, I will go over every nut, washer, pot, input, etc.

One of the rivets holding the transformer in place didn’t get a washer like the other side, and is a little loose. I read somewhere that tightening up those fastening points would help some.

The pots click in small increments as you turn the knobs, giving a nice quality feel, almost satisfying.

As I mentioned earlier, it seems like it either works well with an amp, or not. My Mesa Express 5 25 Plus, instantly sounded bad with it. However, I moved on quickly to another amp, then another, and so on. More time needs to be spent with every amp in the collection, and then the introduction of other pedal, placement, etc.

I makes the small modded ‘74 Fender Bronco sound like it has larger iron and fuller speaker, and a little introduction of hum is evident. That is with the drive at noon or so, and the volume anywhere from noon to full. Amp volume can be turned down from 5 to 3, and guitar volume can be rolled down at the knob. Moderate drive that has an organic tube flavour can be had.

Hum is greatly reduced from the as found condition, and volume has significantly increased. I will work on the pedal to get it up to snuff and roll a few tube types, etc.
I have found placement of the pedal, near the power bar, or other power supplies, can induce more hum.

I had a Nady tube type of pedal back in the eighties, when I had a Roland Jazz Chorus. I didn’t readily like it with my favourite Stratocaster. Both the amp and pedal went back to the store eventually, and I stuck with the GK250 ML combo and a Fender Concert 210.

I am more patient now, and willing to explore options. Time will tell, how much use the Blue Tube pedal gets in reality. The price I bought it for makes it forgiving.


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## jb welder (Sep 14, 2010)

Around the time these came out, and everything had to be 'tube enhanced' we would always pull the tube to see which ones stopped working, and which ones kept plugging along without the decorative glass. 
Agree with you about using it to add a little, rather than a lot.


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