I Have An FX's Question and Feel Stupid......

[MusicallyMrM]

......for even asking it but if one never ask, one will never know the answer.

I hear a lot of people saying they have a "tube driver" or a "blues driver" on their pedal boards. I've heard the sound described as "a tube amp with weak or old power tubes pushed at a high volume level." Isn't that just distortion and can't you get that sound out of most multi fx stomp boxes? Also, isn't that the sound that Caesar Diaz modded Fender amps to get or the circuit mods Alexander Dumble/Dumble amps used to get "that sound" from his tonally fantastic but way over-priced amps ? Don't get me wrong. I love "that" sound but do you have to buy a pedal called a "Tube Driver" or a Dumble to get it?

Now, I've got 2 songs posted over at my SoundClick site - "It's Gonna Rain Again" and "Avion". To me, they lead sounds are variations of this theme. Take a listen and tell me if that sound is the "Tube Driver" sound. I used my plain Jane Zoom 505 to get it running it through my Line 6 Spider I set clean. I am a nit-picker sometimes and that somehow tends to take away from my musicality but I really like to understand things. I guess that's the educator in me. Here's the link:

Archie's Music @ SoundClick-Listen to "Gonna' Rain Again" and "Avion" for that sound ! Thanks for any help !

 

[DrJones]

......for even asking it but if one never ask, one will never know the answer.

I hear a lot of people saying they have a "tube driver" or a "blues driver" on their pedal boards. I've heard the sound described as "a tube amp with weak or old power tubes pushed at a high volume level." Isn't that just distortion and can't you get that sound out of most multi fx stomp boxes? Also, isn't that the sound that Caesar Diaz modded Fender amps to get or the circuit mods Alexander Dumble/Dumble amps used to get "that sound" from his tonally fantastic but way over-priced amps ? Don't get me wrong. I love "that" sound but do you have to buy a pedal called a "Tube Driver" or a Dumble to get it?

Now, I've got 2 songs posted over at my SoundClick site - "It's Gonna Rain Again" and "Avion". To me, they lead sounds are variations of this theme. Take a listen and tell me if that sound is the "Tube Driver" sound. I used my plain Jane Zoom 505 to get it running it through my Line 6 Spider I set clean. I am a nit-picker sometimes and that somehow tends to take away from my musicality but I really like to understand things. I guess that's the educator in me. Here's the link:

Archie's Music @ SoundClick-Listen to "Gonna' Rain Again" and "Avion" for that sound ! Thanks for any help !

Not a stupid question. This subject is "touchy" because you will get a lot of people with different opinions and belifes. The sound from any pedal can only change the sound that is " In your setup". All the way from pick, strings, pickups, to amp, amp settings, speakers. Effects are in the middle of that chain to alter the signal. Do you really need that pedal to get that sound? Have you tried it? As far as distortion, it is a pedal that that creates tube drive in the middle of a clean signal path. YES! Just like everthing else, in moderation it may sound good in your setup. Any exessive overuse probablity will sound nasty. This is where it is a touchy subject. I have worked with a few people that overuse there tube pre gains and too much volume to achive their "tone" and what they dont relize is they are going def and it dosnt sound good any more. So with that I'll take my foot out of my mouth and let someone else take a few punches at me. Hope this helps a liitle though.

 

[xistenz]

Isn't that just distortion and can't you get that sound out of most multi fx stomp boxes?

not really, no. it's sort of like microphones, different ways of producing fuzz or distortion have different flavors. not all distortion is equal.

 

[MusicallyMrM]

Thanks for some great answer to a touchy question. Touchy because there are so many variables and a lot of guitarist are very unflexable in their beliefs about there own sound. For as many answers as I have gotten thus far, they have been different. The agreement in each answer was that the Tube Driver effect produces a distortion. It also sames that pedals that go by similar names or descriptions yield very different results.

I guess the sound I'm looking for was best described in a patch description I got from a Zoom patch guide. "This sound is best described as a tube amp with worn tubes and bad parts just beginning to distort at volume". Most tube guys call this "dirt". A sound just at the edge of break up. Putting 2 and 2 together , it got me to thinking that a Tube Driver (which simply seems to be some type of overdrive) would push the pre-amp tubes fuzzing the output. I dunno. My tone (which I like and a lot of artist/studios have too) usually varies from squeeky clean, to slighty dirty-that "just beginning to break up" sound or a dark jazz tone that I use for serious jazz stuff.

I just like knowing the answers-the why'sand how's of what I do. The teacher in me tells me that I probably have or will have students that will ask me similar questions somewhere down the line and I'll need an answer.

Thanks Everyone

 

[ermghoti]

The Zoom description is marketing department nonsense. What they are talking about (most likely) is the slightly distorted sound a good tube amp gets when it is turned up enough to distort the power tubes. It has nothing to do with worn tubes or bad parts, a pristine new Twin or Nomad or JTM or multi-$k handwired boutique amp will excel at this sound. By definition, you can not duplicate this sound 100% with any arrangement of preamp and pedal (even on the above amps). You can get pretty close, maybe even close enough, but it will differ noticably from the real thing.

Just turning up the preamp gain on a tube amp will introduce distortion, no different (essentially) than what an OD pedal will do. You will get different colors or flavors by sending a slightly distorted signal from the pedal to the preamp, and then optionally distorting it a little further with the preamp gain control.