Kit’s Secret Guitar, Gear, and Music Page
Guitar stuff, gear stuff, soundclips, videos, Gilmour/Pink Floyd stuff, photos and other goodies.
Contact: nasnandos@kitrae.net
Copyright Kit Rae.

VISIT MY SWORDS, KNIVES and FANTASY ART WEBSITE www.kitrae.net

NOTE - I have listed the gear and settings I use in most cases, for reference, but note that the tones may not exactly match your rig, depending on which amp you use, your guitar, and pickups, and fingers :) I am not a Gilmour/Pink Floyd gear expert, so your results may vary.

BK BUTLER REAL TUBE OVERDRIVER (TUBE DRIVER) - This is a 2007 model hand made by BK Butler. It is a Real Tube Overdrive pedal model 911, the same as what David Gilmour used in his 2006 On an Island all tube Pete Cornish pedal board. He used two BK Butler/Chandler Tube Drivers in his 1990s live rig, which are almost identical. One was set for overdrive, and one was set for a light boost to drive the Muffs a bit harder, and to use alone for a boosted clean tones. Gilmour's 2006 board used two Tube Drivers in the same manner.

The sound is very similar to a Big Muff when cranked into full overdrive, and with just a light drive setting it works great with a neck pickup for solos and blues playing. It is perfect for songs like Shine on You Crazy Diamond and Coming Back to Life.

Clips played with a 2008 American Standard Strat, Seymour Duncan SSL-5 bridge pickup, Fender CS69 neck pickup, or Seymour Duncan SSL-5 bridge pickup, into a '65 Fender Twin Reverb RI..

Tube Driver Overdrive Demo (settings shown above)
MP3 Sound Clip - Here is a clip of the TD set for overdrive. This is just the TD with 12AX7 tube and some delay from a TC Electonic Nova delay. It is very Muff-like.

CAN A TUBE DRIVER HANDLE LEADS LIKE A BIG MUFF? - It can, and Gilmour has been using the Tube Driver as his main distortion since the 2006 On an Island tour finished. Set for overdrive with some compression or EQ, it does a great lead tone. I was going for the DSOT/Pulse live tone here. A Civil War Big Muff was used for the song Sorrow, so I'm using the Tube Driver here to compare to a Muff. Boss CS-2 compressor, BK Butler Tube Driver, TC Nova delay in stereo and a Boss CE-2 chorus on in the left channel only so it does not dominate the sound.

MP3 Sound Clip - Sorrow solo with Boss CS-2 compressor ->Tube Driver

OLD BK BUTLER/CHANDLER TUBE DRIVER VS NEW 2007 BK BUTLER TUBE DRIVER - Do they sound any different? Not much. There is a tad bit more drive/gain on the older TD when set to 10 than the newer TD, but the newer TD has gain all the way from 1-10, whereas the older one has nothing until you get to about 2. The knobs also need to be set slightly different to get the same tone. These clips are not the correct overdrive setting for Shine On You Crazy Diamond, just what I had set at the time I banged them out. Both TDs use the same GE12AX7 tube.

MP3 Sound Clip - BK Butler/Chandler Tube Driver from 1990s

MP3 Sound Clip - BKB Butler Tube Driver made in 2007

BOOSTING A MUFF WITH A DRIVER - A Tube Driver can be used as a light boost before or after a Big Muff in the signal chain. Muffs like to be driven hard and like a loud, clean tube amp to sound good, but sometimes that is not enough for lead or solos, especially with modern Muffs. Driving a Muff with a driver can make the Muff tone come alive, smooth out the tone while adding some gain and mids, and help it cut through in a band mix better. Most modern Muffs and some vintage Muffs can really benefit from this type of boost. The Muff sound is slightly warmer when placing before, and slightly sharper when placing after. The tone of a Tube Driver is fairly transparent when using as a boost, but you can also lightly color the Muff tone when boosting.

BIG MUFF BOOST (settings shown above)

Tube Driver set for boost BEFORE a Civil War Big Muff
MP3 Sound Clip - Boss CS-2 Compressor -> Tube Driver -> Big Muff

Tube Driver set for boost AFTER a Civil War Big Muff
MP3 Sound Clip - Boss CS-2 Compressor -> Big Muff ->Tube Driver

HOW TO BOOST - What the boost does really depends on the settings of the booster and the Muff and where the booster is placed in the chain, before or after the Muff. Putting most drivers before the Muff seems to be a bit smoother, and after the Muff usually has more crunch and attack. You can get harsh top end, smooth top end, boomy lows, light lows, or whatever you want if the booster has a bass and treble control. Also which one is "driving" which has an effect on the tone - the booster drive or the Muff sustain? I start with the Muff sustain and booster drive both at 50%, set the booster bass and treble to be as transparent as possible, in that the Muff tone is not colored when the booster is on. Then I adjust the Muff sustain up, booster drive down, and vice versa until I get the tone I want. Keep in mind, some vintage Muffs sound so good at high gain they do not get any more Gilmourish by boosting. I also always use a Boss CS-2 or MXR Dynacomp for compression before a Muff to smooth the Muff fizz, even when using a booster.

Here are my favorite setups:

Tube Driver - placed before the Muff in signal chain, hi EQ at 4, lo EQ at 6, drive at approximately 1 to 1.5
Muff sustain at about 70-75%, tone about 35%, or whatever tone setting works on your rig in the Gilmour range.

Colorsound Overdriver - placed before the Muff in signal chain, bass and treble at 50%, drive at 90%
Muff sustain at about 30-35%, tone about 35%, or whatever tone setting works on your rig in the Gilmour range.