Adjust the Tube Driver 4 Knob

Giulio Scarpellini

Giulio Scarpellini

Inspired
I had a real Tube Driver Butler and sadly I can't get along well with the AXE FX III model. Like several other users.
There is too much noise and it inflates too much on the distortion. The 3 knob model sounds great but is obviously a different kind of distortion and warmth than the 4 knob. So I wonder if it was possible to adjust the 4 knob so that it could be used as the 3 Knob.
The problem is that it gets flooded even with low drives
Alternatively, if possible, it would be great if the Chandler were modeled or the Buffalo TD-X
Thank you!
 
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Giulio Scarpellini said:
I had a real Tube Driver Butler and sadly I can't get along well with the AXE FX III model. Like several other users.
Click to expand...

If the Wiki is correct the model in the Axe FXIII was modeled from the Chandler Tube Drive. The treble knob on a real one sounds bad at any setting but 0. The bass knob on a real one sounds great at any setting and adds a huge fatness to the sound. The treble and bass knobs for the Axe FXIII version do not function or sound the same as a real Chandler though. It certainly doesn't sound or function like the Chandler Tube Driver I have here anyway.

Eric Johnson sets his bass and treble both to zero, drive on about 3 and output level on 2 or 3. Those settings sound great on my real one.

A couple months ago I plugged in my real 4 knob Chandler Tube Driver and was able to go back and forth get real close, but you can not adjust it like you do a real one and expect it to sound the same. It doesn't. I had to set it completely differently, but I got it sounding pretty good. I have not yet tried it with the new 13.01 firmware, but I will tonight.
 
trancegodz said:
If the Wiki is correct the model in the Axe FXIII was modeled from the Chandler Tube Drive. The treble knob on a real one sounds bad at any setting but 0. The bass knob on a real one sounds great at any setting and adds a huge fatness to the sound. The treble and bass knobs for the Axe FXIII version do not function or sound the same as a real Chandler though. It certainly doesn't sound or function like the Chandler Tube Driver I have here anyway.

Eric Johnson sets his bass and treble both to zero, drive on about 3 and output level on 2 or 3. Those settings sound great on my real one.

A couple months ago I plugged in my real 4 knob Chandler Tube Driver and was able to go back and forth get real close, but you can not adjust it like you do a real one and expect it to sound the same. It doesn't. I had to set it completely differently, but I got it sounding pretty good. I have not yet tried it with the new 13.01 firmware, but I will tonight.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure it's based on the Butler unfortunately. the Chandler absolutely doesn't sound like that and doesn't have all that distortion. There is a place where they say they have the Chandler, the Butler and the Tube Works 3 Knob.
but the pedal is based on the Butler which is true it engulfs but not like this in the AXE FX III
 
Giulio Scarpellini said:
I'm pretty sure it's based on the Butler unfortunately. the Chandler absolutely doesn't sound like that and doesn't have all that distortion. There is a place where they say they have the Chandler, the Butler and the Tube Works 3 Knob.
but the pedal is based on the Butler which is true it engulfs but not like this in the AXE FX III
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I think the butler or the chandler-butler is the one you want if you are after the Eric Johnson/Dave Gilmour thing.the one that chandler put out on their own after mr butler ended their partnership is not the same.sounds very different .visit www.kitrae.net for everything there is to know about the tube driver.
 
thanosgtr said:
I think the butler or the chandler-butler is the one you want if you are after the Eric Johnson/Dave Gilmour thing.the one that chandler put out on their own after mr butler ended their partnership is not the same.sounds very different .visit www.kitrae.net for everything there is to know about the tube driver.
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I would love the Chandler / Butler 86/87 but the Chandler too (as Cliff already owns it) would be nice.
In my opinion the best idea would be to put all three models in the AXE FX III.
-3 Knob
-Butler 4 Knob
-Chandler 4 Knob
because they are "similar" pedals but with a very different sound.
The problem with the Butler 4 Knob is that it is too crowded. The real one is too but not that much.
 
thanosgtr said:
I think the butler or the chandler-butler is the one you want if you are after the Eric Johnson/Dave Gilmour thing.the one that chandler put out on their own after mr butler ended their partnership is not the same.sounds very different .visit www.kitrae.net for everything there is to know about the tube driver.
Click to expand...
For some reason the site you included seems to be knife/sword related instead of these pedals. FYI
 
lqdsnddist said:
I think you might just need to see if Mr Gilmour would be willing to send his entire rig to Cliff to model each and every aspect of it in one shot ;)
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No, I don't care about having everything Gilmour has. I love the Tube Driver and I just think it's a good idea to make the 4 knob easier to use. And it would be interesting and nice to also have the Chandler model that Cliff / FAS have in addition to the Butler and the 3 knob.
 
Giulio Scarpellini said:
No, I don't care about having everything Gilmour has. I love the Tube Driver and I just think it's a good idea to make the 4 knob easier to use. And it would be interesting and nice to also have the Chandler model that Cliff / FAS have in addition to the Butler and the 3 knob.
Click to expand...

But models in the axe fx are meant to be accurate, easy is dependent on original design.
 
Budda said:
But models in the axe fx are meant to be accurate, easy is dependent on original design.
Click to expand...
Sure it's true! but being an excellent pedal, not only for a Gilmourian use, it is a shame that only the 3 knob is used, because the 4 knob is too crowded, it is really almost impossible to play. For this I say that maybe a retouch could be useful to remove that problem and make it cleaner like the 3 knob. Or if possible (for me the best solution) add the Chandler which is a similar pedal but with a different character and much easier to use.
The problem with the 4 knob is the hum noise.
 
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Giulio Scarpellini said:
Sure it's true! but being an excellent pedal, not only for a Gilmourian use, it is a shame that only the 3 knob is used, because the 4 knob is too crowded, it is really almost impossible to play. For this I say that maybe a retouch could be useful to remove that problem and make it cleaner like the 3 knob. Or if possible (for me the best solution) add the Chandler which is a similar pedal but with a different character and much easier to use.
Click to expand...
I must be confused. When you say "crowded", are you talking about the spacing of the knobs on the real pedal? What's does that have to do with anything in Fractal-land?
 
Hi Giulio,

David Gilmour used a Boss graphic eq with each of his Tube Drivers. You can see his actual settings on the link below.
I have not tried to use it for David Gilmour sounds yet, but if I did I would use the Hiwatt amp block, with the same settings David uses, and try all the settings shown in the link below, along with the Boss eq settings for each Tube Driver.

http://www.kitrae.net/music/David_Gilmour_Tone_Building_Tube Drivers.html

Eric Johnson sets his bass and treble both to zero, drive on about 3 and output level on 2 or 3. I bought my Chandler Tube Driver in 1986. That is the settings I use for mine in real life. I used it with a vintage Stratocaster and a cranked Marshall Plexi. If I am playing at through a smaller amp at a lower volume I leave the treble set to 0 but turn the bass up to 6 and sometimes up to 10. It makes the sound much thicker, but not base like you would think.

The main difference I noticed with the Axe FXIII 4 knob Tube Driver is that the bass and treble knobs did not work in the same way as my Chandler.

To match my Chandler with both tone knobs set to 0, I set the 4 knob Tube Driver in the Axe FXIII firmware 12.14 with gain =4, bass =0, treble=6, miss 3db at 636.0Hz, graphic eq post 1000 boosted 2db, volume at 6. I just installed 13.01. I noticed all of the drives are noisier. I lowered the gain on the Tube driver to 2. I thought it sounded pretty good. I'll compare it again with my Chandler and see if I need to change any other settings besides lowering the gain.

The amp, amp settings, and cab IR you choose is critical. Try the Hiwatt or the 59 Bassman. If you are going after a David Gilmour sound you are probably using a Stratocaster. David sometimes used different pickups than the stock ones, and he used an Alembic bass preamp that thickened his sound.
 
trancegodz said:
Hi Giulio,

David Gilmour used a Boss graphic eq with each of his Tube Drivers. You can see his actual settings on the link below.
I have not tried to use it for David Gilmour sounds yet, but if I did I would use the Hiwatt amp block, with the same settings David uses, and try all the settings shown in the link below, along with the Boss eq settings for each Tube Driver.

http://www.kitrae.net/music/David_Gilmour_Tone_Building_Tube Drivers.html

Eric Johnson sets his bass and treble both to zero, drive on about 3 and output level on 2 or 3. I bought my Chandler Tube Driver in 1986. That is the settings I use for mine in real life. I used it with a vintage Stratocaster and a cranked Marshall Plexi. If I am playing at through a smaller amp at a lower volume I leave the treble set to 0 but turn the bass up to 6 and sometimes up to 10. It makes the sound much thicker, but not base like you would think.

The main difference I noticed with the Axe FXIII 4 knob Tube Driver is that the bass and treble knobs did not work in the same way as my Chandler.

To match my Chandler with both tone knobs set to 0, I set the 4 knob Tube Driver in the Axe FXIII firmware 12.14 with gain =4, bass =0, treble=6, miss 3db at 636.0Hz, graphic eq post 1000 boosted 2db, volume at 6. I just installed 13.01. I noticed all of the drives are noisier. I lowered the gain on the Tube driver to 2. I thought it sounded pretty good. I'll compare it again with my Chandler and see if I need to change any other settings besides lowering the gain.

The amp, amp settings, and cab IR you choose is critical. Try the Hiwatt or the 59 Bassman. If you are going after a David Gilmour sound you are probably using a Stratocaster. David sometimes used different pickups than the stock ones, and he used an Alembic bass preamp that thickened his sound.
Click to expand...
thanks for the detailed answer :)
but I know Gilmour's use of it well.
For me, adding Chandler would be best. For me, the 4 knob makes no sense if it is impossible to use.
It's not a problem of bass or EQ but of distortion. Both at low Drive and at high, the pedal, especially when using the neck pick-up, becomes engorged with distortion and becomes a Muff. Instead, it should have a Marshall JTM45 character
 
trancegodz said:
Hi Giulio,

David Gilmour used a Boss graphic eq with each of his Tube Drivers. You can see his actual settings on the link below.
I have not tried to use it for David Gilmour sounds yet, but if I did I would use the Hiwatt amp block, with the same settings David uses, and try all the settings shown in the link below, along with the Boss eq settings for each Tube Driver.

http://www.kitrae.net/music/David_Gilmour_Tone_Building_Tube Drivers.html

Eric Johnson sets his bass and treble both to zero, drive on about 3 and output level on 2 or 3. I bought my Chandler Tube Driver in 1986. That is the settings I use for mine in real life. I used it with a vintage Stratocaster and a cranked Marshall Plexi. If I am playing at through a smaller amp at a lower volume I leave the treble set to 0 but turn the bass up to 6 and sometimes up to 10. It makes the sound much thicker, but not base like you would think.

The main difference I noticed with the Axe FXIII 4 knob Tube Driver is that the bass and treble knobs did not work in the same way as my Chandler.

To match my Chandler with both tone knobs set to 0, I set the 4 knob Tube Driver in the Axe FXIII firmware 12.14 with gain =4, bass =0, treble=6, miss 3db at 636.0Hz, graphic eq post 1000 boosted 2db, volume at 6. I just installed 13.01. I noticed all of the drives are noisier. I lowered the gain on the Tube driver to 2. I thought it sounded pretty good. I'll compare it again with my Chandler and see if I need to change any other settings besides lowering the gain.

The amp, amp settings, and cab IR you choose is critical. Try the Hiwatt or the 59 Bassman. If you are going after a David Gilmour sound you are probably using a Stratocaster. David sometimes used different pickups than the stock ones, and he used an Alembic bass preamp that thickened his sound.
Click to expand...
Hi
You have great kwowledge on Gilmour tone ,
Do you know how to recreate the sound of sorrow , comfortably from Delicate sound of Thunder , so far my favpurite era ....
Thanks
 
Giulio Scarpellini said:
test the 4 knob with a hiwatt or fender clean of course and then tell me
Click to expand...

I don't recognize and can't confirm your "noise" report.
The 4-knob Tube Drive model behaves nicely here.
No excessive noise at all, at any setting.

Try deleting the block, then insert it again and make sure to reset it.

P.S. I can't say whether it sounds authentic or not, I'be never tried the real thing myself.
 
yek said:
I don't recognize and can't confirm your "noise" report.
The 4-knob Tube Drive model behaves nicely here.
No excessive noise at all, at any setting.

Try deleting the block, then insert it again and make sure to reset it.

P.S. I can't say whether it sounds authentic or not, I'be never tried the real thing myself.
Click to expand...
Hey! I tried and tried again, with different cleans (Fender, Hiwatt) but both with the Drive low, and when it is high, the distortion is engorged and a lot of fuzz.
Particularly if I use the neck pickup, it's just flooded, closed and there's a lot of hum noise.
Therefore, after reading that the FAS also has the Chandler, it might be a good idea to swap the model with the Chandler, as everyone uses the 3 knob because the 4 knob is unusable.
 
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