DIY tube overdrive pedal

[vroomery]

that looks way to easy haha. I don't doubt that it works, I just would have guessed something more complicated. I have no idea what i'm talking about though so don't mind me.

[BigBadWolf1171]

that looks way to easy haha. I don't doubt that it works, I just would have guessed something more complicated. I have no idea what i'm talking about though so don't mind me.

Apparently the guy builds these often, But im like you,i havent a clue with these things. Maybe one of the fellows here with better knowledge will provide some insite.Id love to see one of these things with 2 or 3 tubes in them.

[tunghaichuan***]

Apparently the guy builds these often, But im like you,i havent a clue with these things. Maybe one of the fellows here with better knowledge will provide some insite.Id love to see one of these things with 2 or 3 tubes in them.

That circuit is similar in concept to the BK Butler/Tubeworks Tube Driver. Since there is only a 9v supply, the tubes operate in "starved plate" mode. Preamp tubes normally operate on 100v-300v. It's similar to using a Variac on a tube amp. When there is only 9v on the anode the tube operates way outside its linear amplification range and is easy to push into distortion.

There are several overdrives similar to this one, like the Dean Markley Overlord.

If you want to roll your own BK Butler Tube Driver, there are a few threads on freestompboxes.org. PCBs, graphics, the whole enchilada.

[duhvoodooman***]

If I ever get ahead of my other projects, I gotta try one of these....

[BigBadWolf1171]

If I ever get ahead of my other projects, I gotta try one of these....

what made it interesting to me (other then it doesnt look to hard to build), is i use a solid state xxl peavey amp, and it allows you to put something in the preamp (pedals etc).while the amp is a real good SS amp, it has no real "tube sound", so one day i took my ibanez tube king pedal (has a 12ax7 tube) and plugged it in the preamp and maaaannnn was i suprised at how it sounded, like a totally different amp. So anyway i was wondering if there was a way to make this pedal with 2 or 3 or more tubes in it, as i could run it in the preamp, but ive never attempted making a pedal before.any idea?

[jim p]

The tube in the circuit looks to be for decorative purposes only and all the battery does is light the LED. I drew the circuit out and the only pins on the tube doing anything are the heater pins 4 and 5 passing the signal. So at best the heater element is being used as an inductor in the signal path. There is no current supplied to the heater so no space charge of electrons in the tube so how could the tube work? If you want to make a tube overdrive with low voltages they used to make tubes for car radios that work with a 12 volt supply. I have built an overdrive with one before and am now building a vibrato/tremolo and overdrive box with one now a 6GM8.
I can post a schematic of the posted circuit to give you an idea of what it is, some people would call it a signal canceling noise enhancing circuit.

[tunghaichuan***]

Edit: the Westbury tube OD runs at high voltages and doesn't operate in starved plate mode.

Another project to check out is the Real McTube OD. I built the first version that came out in Feb. 1999 issue of Electronics Now. The newer version can be found here: http://www.dogstar.dantimax.dk/tubestuf/mctube.htm

[DeanEVO_Dude]

The tube in the circuit looks to be for decorative purposes only and all the battery does is light the LED. I drew the circuit out and the only pins on the tube doing anything are the heater pins 4 and 5 passing the signal. So at best the heater element is being used as an inductor in the signal path. There is no current supplied to the heater so no space charge of electrons in the tube so how could the tube work? If you want to make a tube overdrive with low voltages they used to make tubes for car radios that work with a 12 volt supply. I have built an overdrive with one before and am now building a vibrato/tremolo and overdrive box with one now a 6GM8.
I can post a schematic of the posted circuit to give you an idea of what it is, some people would call it a signal canceling noise enhancing circuit.

Hi jim,
Do you know if those are those the same tube used in the ZVex Nano?

By the way, thanks for all the tech-talk info in the "Crate V5 mods" thread, great info. I am picking mine up this weekend ($50 used at GC).