Zoner Posted May 23, 2008 Posted May 23, 2008 Well, from my increasingly foggy memory I can give a direct comparison as I have owned the very, very original B.K. Butler unit (I ordered it out of the back of Guitar Player Waaaaay back When) until not too long ago and have 2 TK999's and a Tube Works Real Tube currently in the house. First off, the old standard B.K. unit had some GREAT sounds in it, especially hitting the front of an already grinding Marshall. The best quality it had was the ability to grind with clarity (if that makes any sense). That thing into the front of my Jubillee was a seriously cool sounding combo. In comparison, the Ibanez TK imparts a bit more "color" to the sound and has a greater capacity to get really, really filthy and dark. It sounds like a distortion box as opposed to a raging tube amp. The Original had a real live AC cord and may have hit the tube with more voltage, but I'm just guessing here. The TK is probably a bit more versatile, especially if you are after a heavy-duty metal tone, but I think the original had more musicalty to it (am I making words up as I go?). The 2 TK999's I have contain different boards, and one is screened with B.K. Butler stuff while the other says it is a Tubeworks product. They also sound quite different with the B.K. boarded one being "rawer" and the other being quite smooth and sweet. It could be the tubes themselves too I guess. The Tubeworks Real Tube has almost the same setup as the Ibanez and the original Tube Driver, and probably sounds closer to the original than the TK999. The TK999 has a HORRIBLE AC jack that needs to be swapped to make it usable unless you are permanently mounting it on a pedalboard. If you breathe on the cable it will pop out. I guess I should have asked if you are asking about vintage B.K Butler Tube Drivers or are considering a brand new one as I understand he's cranking them out again. If you are considering picking one of the TK999's up or want to check the out Tubeworks Real Tube (highly recommended but read the label as some were made in Taiwan too), I would be happy to send all 3 to you to "test drive" since I hardly use them anymore (and should sell them but.....y'know) and do a comparison using your rig, I'd just ask for a few bucks for shipping. I hope this was helpful. Z
geoff_hartwell Posted May 23, 2008 Posted May 23, 2008 I don't have any experience with the Ibanez TK's (old and new) but from what I understand many people use them interchangably.I do, however, have one of the new handmade BK Butler Tube Drivers and the thing is amazing.He asked me some questions about the sound I was going for, and I was overjoyed out of the box. It plays nice with all manner of amps and boxes. Incredibly musical and dynamic.It also helped that he made three that week- I was told one went to me and the other two went to David Gilmour!!!
SteveB Posted May 23, 2008 Author Posted May 23, 2008 Thanks for the info. I saw an older used BK Butler around and was wondering if it was gainier or less gainy than the TK. I like the tubeking, but I'd like to find a bit heavier sounding version or simlar. and big +1 to the crappy AC jack on the TK. Who thought that was acceptable?The new BlackStar HT-Dual looks interesting. I wonder also what the new version of the Ibanez TK sounds like, the TK999HT or whatever. You need sunglasses to look at that thing though.
pesocaster Posted May 23, 2008 Posted May 23, 2008 Thanks for the info. I saw an older used BK Butler around and was wondering if it was gainier or less gainy than the TK. I like the tubeking, but I'd like to find a bit heavier sounding version or simlar. and big +1 to the crappy AC jack on the TK. Who thought that was acceptable?The new BlackStar HT-Dual looks interesting. I wonder also what the new version of the Ibanez TK sounds like, the TK999HT or whatever. You need sunglasses to look at that thing though.The Tube Driver and TK999 are apples and oranges. The TK999 has an active EQ for starters. And yes in the "Genz" Era they were imported (as were the rest of the pedals and rack gear). The new and original Tube drivers are virtualy identical other than the new bias tweak BK added as an option. As far as the US vs Import TK999's.... they are almost identical, although the components are better in the US version... and with any of BK's designs the tube make a HUGE tonal difference.Steve, PM me if you want all of the in depth details... Cheers!
stormywaters Posted May 23, 2008 Posted May 23, 2008 Off topic, but you may want to try the SIB Varidrive. I love mine.
geoff_hartwell Posted May 24, 2008 Posted May 24, 2008 And the Radial Tri-Mode is a great, rugged alternative that also has the added benefit ot two tweakable and footswitchable sounds that are very much in the Tube Driver Realm.
SteveB Posted May 24, 2008 Author Posted May 24, 2008 And the Radial Tri-Mode is a great, rugged alternative that also has the added benefit ot two tweakable and footswitchable sounds that are very much in the Tube Driver Realm.yeah, I was wondering about the Tri-Mode as well. I have a Sansamp Tri-A.C. but I've never gotten a decent sound out of that in front of the amp.
MTM105 Posted May 26, 2008 Posted May 26, 2008 Tonebone seems to have quality marketing....I'm on/off the Real Tube Bandwagon. It used to be integral part of my setup. I have 12 AX7 tube. The sound just doesn't cut it.But my endorsements are like the wind. Tomorrow I will probably post a glowing review. I don't use it solo, only with another distortion to give it a tube-like sound quality. But then the original distortion quality is lost...
geoff_hartwell Posted May 26, 2008 Posted May 26, 2008 What's a hand-made Barber Direct Drive worth?I bought one directly from him the day the first review came out in GP, and he sent it to me with hand-written silver sharpie on the casing.They obviously use screen printing now, but what's the original worth?
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