Greekgol

But I noticed that the Genz-Benz Shuttle 9.0 is fairly similar to the STM 900 in many aspects. Both are 900 watts at 4 ohms, and both have roughly the same front controls (with the exception of the Shuttle having the additional three signal shape controls).

Sold!

It needs no description. Driving sustain as only a class a tube circuit can do. It's Hot.
But here goes-This clone was made in 2002 by Genz Benz. Joe Bonamassa says it's the best version.
Joe Bonamassa wrote:

Plugging the Tube driver into a amp will not achieve the violin tone.. I have three tube drivers and they are all different. Try the Genz Benz one.. that is actually the best in my opinion. Also using a 12AT7 in them helps.. To get the violin tone.. you need a real plexi Marshall set at 5 or 6.. a fender Spring, a delay or echplex and the tube driver.
Hope that helps..
Joe B

here's the link to his forum:

Other info:

BK BUTLER REAL TUBE OVERDRIVE - The Tube Driver is a booster/overdrive pedal with a simple vacuum tube driven preamp circuit inside, used by David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, Eric Johnson, Billy Gibbons, Joe Satriani, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, J Mascis, David Holt, and other guitarists. It was designed and built by B.K. Butler. Mr. Butler is primarily a home and car audio preamp specialist. Around 1978 he designed and began making an early version of the Tube Driver, one of the first tube overdrive pedals. It has evolved over the years into this current version. It generates a smooth light drive/boost tone and a killer heavy overdrive. It is not very versatile sounding on many amps, is very expensive, and some people find it finicky and hard to get along with, but in the right setup, with the right amp, nothing sounds quite like it. The TD has a very unique voice that I have never heard another overdrive replicate. It features a master volume, hi (treble), Lo (bass), and drive controls, allowing for a wide variety of tone colors.

If you are looking for David Gilmour's Tube Driver tones I think the TD sounds best with the Hiwatt Custom 50 or Custom 100 (DR103), or similar amps like the Reeves Custom 50/100. That is the magical combination heard in his work from 1994 and on. The TD also works well with clean vintage style Fender tube amps with lots of head room, like the Twin Reverb. Amps that do not have a lot of head room, or break up easily with volume do not play well with it, especially with high drive settings. It also does not sound good when a lot of buffered pedals are in the signal chain before it. However, for that Pulse or On an Island era David Gilmour light drive tone with a Hiwatt or Fender amp, this is your pedal. You can hear in songs like Coming Back to Life, Marooned, A Great Day for Freedom, and the live versions of Shine on You Crazy Diamond from Pulse. It was also used to boost/color David's Big Muffs for the Division Bell and On an Island tours. David had previously used other boost pedals, such as the Colorsound Power Boost and the Pete Cornish ST-2 Booster (a modified Power Boost), but once he switched to the TD it remained a part of his sound for many years.

David used two original BK Butler/Chandler Tube Drivers in his 1990s Division Bell live rig, shown above. According to the signal chain, one was used to blend with the Cornish P-2 (after it in the signal chain) and one was used to blend with the Sovtek Big Muff. It is also likely that either one was also used for a clean boost. David's Tube Driver settings can be seen in the photo above. Gilmour's 2006 On an Island board used two new B.K. Butler hand made Tube Drivers. These were a slightly different version to the original BK Butler/Chandler version. One was set for overdrive, and one was set for a light boost to blend with the Big Muffs, and for use alone as a light drive pedal, as he had done in the 1990s. Note that these same settings will not work on the Tube Drivers made after 2007 because the curcuit and pot types are different. To get the same sound as the BKB/Chandler settings shown above (using a 12AX7 tube), set the TD to the same settings as Tube 1, shown .

Shown above (left to right) - J Mascis 5 knob Tube Works Real Tube overdrive and four knob Tube Driver with J's settings.

J Mascis of Dinosaur jr is another Tube Driver user. He uses the TD for a slightly dirty clean tone in his live rig. He has used the older 5 knob Tube Works version, and the modern four knob BKB version. Both are shown above with J's settings. J was spotted using the modern four knob version on his 2011 board, into a Hiwatt Custom 100 and two vintage Plexi Marshall 100w amp heads, all with Marshall speaker cabinets.

The original version of the 4 knob Tube Driver was sold under the Tube Works brand. TW was originally owned by Butler when the first Real Tube overdrive and Blue Tube (a lower gain version for blues players) were made in Denver, Colorado, then he sold the company and production moved to Taiwan. He later partenered with Chandler to make the BK Butler/Chandler branded Tube Drivers. Butler eventually parted ways with Chandler, who continued to make a cheap, unauthorized knockoff (resulting in a lawsuit). There were countless version made, including rack mount variants and guitar amplifier versions. Around 2006 Butler started making the four knob 911 Tube Drivers again through his Butler Audio company. Here are some of the various version of the Tube Driver that have been made. Case designs, colors, and graphics varied throughout production for each.

• 204 Tube Driver (BK Butler) - 3 knobs, blue enclosure. The earliest Tube Driver, hand made by BK Butler, circa 1979
• 303 Smooth Pure Tube (Tube Works) - 5 knobs, blue triangular enclosure. Same pcb as the 901 and 903 models, but with some component value changes.
• 901 Real Tube (Tube Works) - 5 knobs, black with yellow graphics. Medium gain. A bit harsher and more fuzzy than the later 911 model. Circa 1986.
• 903 Blue Tube / Enhancer (Tube Works) - 5 knobs, blue with yellow graphics. A smoother, lower gain version of the Real Tube, similar to a Tube Screamer. Same pcb as the 901, but with some component value changes.
• 903 Blue Tube Bass Driver (Tube Works) - Same as above, tuned for Bass guitar.
• 910 Tube Driver (Tube Works) - 3 knobs, small case tan with black graphics. Lower cost, entry level TD. High gain, more like a fuzz pedal. More of a distortion than an overdrive, and not a very good sound. Butler stopped making pedal versions of the Tube Driver for a while after this.
• 911 Tube Driver / Classic Tube Overdrive (Tube Works) - Around 1993-94 the TD Chandler began making TD's again. 4 knobs, tan with black graphics. Goes from low gain drive to high gain overdrive/distortion.
• 911 Tube Driver / Classic Tube Overdrive (Chandler / BK Butler) - Same as above, but made by Chandler in Taiwan circa 1994. Chandler was handling manufacture and distribution for Butler.
• The TD comes stock with a 12AX7 tube. The bias knob allows you to reduce the gain, similar to what would be accomplished by changing to a lower gain tube like the 12AU7. The full + setting is the same as the non bias version according to Mr. Butler, but it was closer to 12:00 on mine. I found it more effective to simply change the tube. A 12AU7 tube is lower gain and can remove some of the grainy sharpness from the tone at low drive settings, unless you want it more grainy.

Product Specs

Condition:

Very Good (Used)

Brand

Tube Works

Model

Tube Driver 911

Finish

Beige

Categories

Overdrive and Boost

Year

2002

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Chance Gardner Studio
Joined Sep 2014
Daytona Beach, FL, United States

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Tube Driver Amp

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