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hi everyone...I need input from you all about some tube pedals out there mainly for electro harmonix's hot tubes,LBP 2ube,chandler tube drive,ibanez tube king...all these pedals contain 12AX7 preamp tubes with ehx containing two and tube drives containing one...so my questions:

1)have you compared these pedals with each other?
2)whats the exact difference between ehx hot tubes and LBP 2ube?
3)I think chandler tube drive and ibanez tube king are mainly the same design am I right?
4)is it better to have 2 12AX7 than 1 12AX7,does it make a significant difference?etc...hot tubes vs tube drive...
5)Are all the pedals containing real preamp tubes sound better than the chip ones?etc...tube king vs tube screamer...
6)Do you have other recommendations other than these which sound better and fuller?etc...fulltone's stompboxes maybe...
7)are 12AX7's are better than 12AT7's or 12AU7's in these pedals or can they be mixed?etc in ehx hot tubes?
8)Thanx in advance everyone I really appreciate your help...

well no replies to my post
I guess I am

Way too many questions to answer all at once...Each and every pedal you mention has everything to do with what amp and what guitar you're using them with...Not every tube driven pedal sounds great....Some IC driven pedals sound great,some don't...

John

thanx man I know I asked a lot of questions but I'm really curious and I really don't have the chance to try and compare them...well I'll be ordering a ehx hot tube and a tube driver from USA and try them...If I don't like them I can always sell them with the same or better price here

All I can really say is....I love my Ibanez Tube King! It's one of the few pieces of gear I have never even thought about selling. Any amp I play it through it sounds good to me. It can get very angry and thick when the gain is up. I have read it is very similar to the Chandler Tube deal. I'm sure there's some subtle capacitor and resistor differences.

I doubt the Tube King stacks up to the Boogie tube pedal, but I've bought nice tube heads for less than the cost of that pedal.

Don't forget about the Guyatone at unless that is one of the ones you're talking about getting.

If this is a Hijack my apologies but I think it is relevent.
This is total amature question and perhaps this is what the Ibanez Tube King is.
But does the Tube King simply add more pre-amp tubes to further overdrive the power tubes? Is that safe for most tube 40-60 watt amps when used in the effects loop?

If that's not what the Tube King does, can it be easily done? and is this recommended versus simply using a tube screamer or distortion pedal or in addition to a pedal?

I have a Real Tube. It's an OK pedal, although I forget to use it.
I also tried the Tonebone Classic, but didn't really take to it, despite all the praise it gets.

from my experience, I honestly don't think these pedals are better just because they have a preamp tube in them - you still need a good circuit.
One advantage though is the ability to shape the tone with different tubes.

for me, I find that tubescreamers work fine for the overdrive I want.

you might find that you really like the tube drivers though

i should compare a real tube pedal to a IC pedal experimenting and noting the differences...thats the best way to find out

This might sound odd coming from a self-described tube purist but I'm not a big fan of tube pedals. Many of 'em don't operate the tubes at the same voltage that they run in an amp so they're not going to sound quot;just like a tube ampquot; anyway. Too many audio companies use tubes in a way that they're adding more light to the box than quality to the tone. A lot of the better tube pedals have PITA power supplies that mess with pedal board setup, too.
In general, I prefer to get my OD from the amp. If I need to coax more OD out of the amp, I'll push it with a clean boost. That way the amp's character is maintained (no matching the OD's personality to the amp) and I don't have to deal with any funky power supplies. If the amp still doesn't have enough gain when pushed with a boost pedal, it's time to look for a new amp.

most tube pedals only send a few volts through the preamp tubes- not enough to really make a good sound. the 'tube sound' comes from *power amp* tubes running at 400 volts, which you won't find in a pedal. the buzzy master volume amp sound is preamp tubes, the smooth creamy stuff is power amp tubes.


Originally Posted by Mincerthe 'tube sound' comes from *power amp* tubes running at 400 volts, which you won't find in a pedal. the buzzy master volume amp sound is preamp tubes, the smooth creamy stuff is power amp tubes.

Yeah, 'cause Marshalls are soooo much smoother than non-Recto Boogies, which were all preamp OD. AC/DC's tone is soooo much more creamy than Santana's.