TC Electronic Tube Pilot Gutshots
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- Опубліковано 29 вер 2024
- Many of these are now available on Sweetwater: imp.i114863.ne...
Ryan opens up the Tc Electronic Tube Pilot and takes a look at those tooby guts
Ryan shares his true feelings about the Tc Electronic Tube Pilot and plays some sloppy noodles.
TC Electronic Tube Pilot - www.tcelectroni...
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"400 means it takes more than 300" Killer insights 😂
400 is still less than 500 but more than 300 and wayyy more than 50
Many wall wart/single pedal power supplies only provide 300 mA.
TC plays it safe...? -Most of the analog TC pedals I have are labeled 100 mA but enclosed manuals info reveals it's 5-15 mA for drive pedals. Echobrain 40 mA, digital Skysurfer 120 mA.
A 12AX7 needs 300 mA to operate. So 400 mA isn't that much! When I received mine, it has a Bugera 12AX7... I don't know what that brand has to do with TC Electronic? I replaced it with a NOS Brimar 12AT7 and it sounds fantastic. Those tubes are even better than Mullard 12AT7s to my ears. If you do that you'll lose a slight amount of gain, but it's not a big deal to me as I use it to boost the front of my amp.
Would be interesting to see how it might react with different tubes
ill probably be doing that in the future, just for fun.
Am I not crazy that i saw the pins soldered into the PCB? So lame, as tube swapping is so fun. Definitely a deal breaker for me! =/
Daniel Brenneise No, its the socket for the Tube that is soldered.
@@rookie_hero8682 well your blind my friend that's the pins from the tube socket your seeing soldered to the mini PCB if you look closer you'll see its simply a case of releasing a screw at the other end to swap out the tube 😂😂😂 moron
I put a lower gain tube in my Vox Flat4 Boost, and I prefer it that way.
Earlier I was thinking it would be cool to see inside this pedal. And LOOK what you did!!!
It takes 400ma to be able to turn it into enough current and voltage to run the tube. U cant power a tube (that will work) with 9v 100ma.
Yes, to get the most out of a preamp tube, you'll need at least 12V. But do not try that with this pedal.
Hi Ryan... I changed my tube to a Tung-sol gold pin... what a difference, what a pedal. Troy from Atlantic City
Hi. Very interesting video. However be very carefull when opening a tube driven pedal, some of them use charge pump circuits which can reach more than 200 volts inside the circuit.. I doubt this one runs at high voltage but be carefull with tubes. Deadly voltages inside!!
Voltage is not deadly, current is.
@@DavideAnastasia that is half true. ive heard that before. electroboom did a good vid on it. if resistance is low both I and V will be high. youre not wrong but is real world situations its not always true. what is true is keep one hand behind your back so the current doesnt go through your heart.
you try swapping the tube?
I have Opened this unit up completely apart board off and turned it over to see what brand of tube it has (Bugera 12AX7C) when I had it turned over there was a trim pot next to the Tube and I am thinking its for voltage Biasing the Tube, because when I turn it down the distortion dropped some and turning it up made it more distorted , I have changed the tube to a 12AU7 and the distortion became less abundant in the lower setting. When I had the pedal apart I drilled a hole directly over the trim pot so I can adjust it with out takeing the whole thing apart, it is located at the lower part of the L right in the middle.
thanx for the tip with the trim pot :D I just ordered this pedal and i will try to put a 7025 mullard tube in it and see what it does :D
Wow. I'm glad there are people like you guys out there so I can learn things that i never would have known to try. I was just looking for a less aggressive saturation pedal.
Does it get hot? I don't see any air vent holes. Yea, a little window to see the tube glow would be cool.
Na, since it is a starved design.
It will get warm not very hot but warm enough to tell for sure.
The higher current draw is due to the tube's filament, which can draw from 150mA up to 500mA depending on the tube model and how the filament is wired up. The filament is the part that was glowing in your test. It's what warms up the tube so it can work properly.
susprised he never thought of the Tube taking more power at the beginning
OMG, there really IS a tube in there! For 59 bucks??? Dang
Just what the doctor ordered. Except I'm not a real doctor.
Thanks for the teardown!
The heater of the valve 12ax7 needs 6,3 Volts and 300 mA. (Wiki)
The circuit uses close to 52% of the total energy just to heat the valve.
The circuit without the heater consumes at least 190mA at 9 Volts.
Let's switch to a 12at7 (less distortion) and see what happens!!
Yes, less gain.
There's no important heat from the tube? I would imagine some sort of holes on the top to let the tube breath?
Mine draws about 345 milliamps. I have to run it on its own power supply, of course. I loved this pedal so much, I bought a second one.
would love to hear it with a boost pedal in front of it.
i’ve noticed mine stays hot even if it’s switched off but plugged in.. drives up the power bill
I have one and I've ran it a 18v, 12v, and 9v no real change in sound but it does does die out a little with lower MA's. Responds well to tube rolling but not 12au7 or 12at7. Smoothest response is from a medium gain 12ax7 like a medium gain long plate Mullard. Also it actually has an adjustable bias control screw right beside the tube on the PCB. I absolutely tortured this thing with a looper into a clean boost into the tube pilot into a small Peavey amp that was in an old refrigerator so I didn't have to hear it 😂😂. I swear I left it running dimed uninterrupted for a couple of weeks. Why🤷 why not. Used a One Spot 9v 1700ma for the torture test. It got hot but not to a thermal runaway condition. It did not fail in any way. It did however burn the tube in really well. Which is all I use it for anymore. I seen someone say it comes with a Ruby tube but mine had a bugrera really both are relabeled Chinese Sino factory tubes. Anyway this thing sounds ok into the clean channel of SS amps but is harsh with the factory tube. With a medium gain long plate Mullard it's actually pretty good for a SS amp. Into a tube amp it just kills the tone because it breaks up instantly and can get over distorted depending on how you rig it. For $45 absolutely worth it. If it had a tone control it would be great.
Well, no offense (nothing to do with playing) but I listened to Tors intro to it & yours as well & am not impressed with the tones. I rem the BK Butler tube drivers a while back & hearing how great they sounded. This does not remind me of them.
I have a Butler and the eq is killer, huge amounts of cut and boost on both treble and bass so you can really sculpt the sound. This one seems pointless to me.
I own one.. This pedal alone is nothing too special, but use it simultaneously with an overdrive pedal(mojomojo let's say) or a distortion pedal, and you'll see the difference!
it looks like an imitation of, based on, the famous BK Butler/ chandler tube driver! info: The Tube Driver runs it in "starved plate" mode, so it only gets around 30 volts.
9v tube pedals are bullshit
I want to hear it thru an fx loop. My overdrive sounded shit until it wemt thru my fx loop. Everyone on youtube plays it in front of the amp
The glow is the filament and this is the reason for the 400 ma current needed on the power adapter.
What would happen if you put 18 volts into it?
no idea.
Also intrigued by this idea... I run 18v into a compressor that wasn't designed for it and it sounds incredible! I'd love to try it (and maybe with a lower gain tube too?)
You wanna fry some components? If some are not up to spec you will.
@@arbitermatt Nightingale1887 is absolutely correct. Most components are fine at 18v, but the electrolytic capacitors in 9 volt pedals are often rated for 16v, so feeding them 18v is a recipe for disaster. Pedals that are designed to be able to run on 18v have caps rated at 25, 35 or 50 volts. These are generally a little more expensive and, more importantly, larger, which is why they may not be used in the first place.
@@jagtone well then the pedal could be put up to 12 volts
Just ordered this and the Nether on Sweetwater! Super excited been wanting them a while
oddly...I bought a quilter and this is the best sound with a transister amp surprisingly!
Gotta be as good as the Orange Micro & Micro Dark, also Joyo Bantamp amp heads that are 20W hybrid heads where the pre-amp portion tube is a 12AX7 coupled with solid state amplification ?
If you are looking for a tube tone, those Orange and Joyo amps are much better choice.
Hey man, does the tube last forever or we have to replace the tube?
pre amp tubes generally last for ages so it should be fine.
@@jensenparker5504 Specially if they are starved like this one.
Behringer pedals with new outfit
Marketing. Is all this is.
False. You need to hear it through a real amp, not a practice amp. Mind sounds fantastic through my blues deville. No buzzing or fizz whatsoever.
I was curious to know if you turned up the output volume if the tube draws more current and gets brighter? I don't know much about circuitry either but was curious about that.
I don't think it would get brighter. You're only seeing the heater coil glow.
It might draw a bit more current though; I'm not sure.
Nice ending, very vintage sounding edge to it.
Hi! Thank you for this very interesting video. I bought this pedal two month ago and I changed the Blackstar prenium tube whith a genalex gold lion, adjusted the bias to get less gain and now it sounds as good as any one tube expensive preamp. I definitly love this pedal! Thanks again, cheers!
Cool! How did you adjust the bias?
@@sharonlee4773 yeah how ?
Fifty plus years of playing through tube amps, if there’s not a glow there’s something wrong. Probably can’t see it with the enclosure in place. Sim glowing tubes usually indicate a weak tube or a low power supply.
I have one. Disappointed with the raspy edge on the signal.
Tried different tubes, even tried a filter on volume pot but that nasty, gritty edge comes through.
I think a narrow bandpass filter is in order to fix it.
Thanks for opening the chassis on camera,
i am already figuring on a $35 Mullard new production 12AX7 to get it to spank proper. ( gotta figure the tube that comes in a $60 peal is complete crap, cheapest tube they could source )
The 400 mA thing throws me off. Right now I have it using it’s own TrueTone adapter, rather than into my brick. I’m not sure if it’s getting enough juice. It sounds good; have you ever tried changing the stock tube? I’ve read it’s a 12ax7 tube, which has the most gain out of those style tubes… sometimes too much. I’m looking to change mine out for something more tame, like a 12au7, which should give me a little less gain. There are some killer mods out there: adding a tone pot, etc… I don’t have the skill to do anything like that (I have a Behringer VT911, which I think this is based on, and I’m working up the courage to change the gain pot to make it more usable). It’s a nice, well built tube pedal for under $70 new. It really is the poor man’s Tube Driver!
Thanks again Ryan. I picked one of these up today. I enjoyed your review last night after finding one on marketplace and it did not disappoint. I'm not the brand snob I was as a young player and get way more out of stuff I like the sound of and can get a great hands on because you and I have similar taste I've found. I may end up drilling a hole for the glow, but either way this is a keeper
Hadn't seen this pedal before. However, all the vids I've seen on this pedal give the impression of a fizzy/buzzy distortion. And so, that leads me to thinking I'm looking at another starved design, especially given the price point. And, at this price however, still worth a test drive for many I bet.
100% it is starved, but that type of sound has its uses.
@@fortheloveofnoise Agree 1000 percent! I have an art pre-amp that I love to death and it's a starved plate design. Cheers.
It will likely sound the same. This isn’t like a full blown amp. That tube is only carrying out a function within the circuit.
I have an Eleca clone of the old BK Butler Tube Driver. When I first powered it up, I was surprised by how quickly the orange glow occurred through the venting grill at the top surface of the pedal. And then I opened it up to find that there was an LED under the tube. The LED comes on right away, of course, to convince those unfamiliar with tubes that the thing a) works, and b) is really "on".
It’s sounds and looks pretty sick it would just be hard if you had to turn it off and on for a set.
Isaiah Rodriguez the bypass switch likely doesn't cut the power from the tube, it just redirects the guitar signal another way past the circuit. Kind of like the stand-by switch on a tube amp.
It's not hard bypass, it's true bypass (i think? could be buffered). The footswitch doesn't affect power, just does what Teemu said about bypassing the circuit.
Very helpful. I have a full pedalboard and when I put the Tube Pilot on it, the power would cut in and out. I already had a tube tremolo pedal on the board. I think I'm just overloading the power supply.
Thanks for sharing this. I've got one and really like it. A very breathy overdrive, feels natural and bright. Thanks again
You and Bonnie Raitt giving them something to talk about, lolol
In this video you incidentally demonstrated a slight drawback in this otherwise excellent series of TC pedals , and that is that all of the models
in this lower-priced series need a screwdriver to remove the really tiny (easy to loose) screws to replace batteries etc . Probably part of the reason that this
series is priced so favorably.
Probably a starved plate design as it's called. These don't really wear the tubes down hard, I read it was soldered in? Or is that a socket?
It has a Ruby tube, I changed mine to a Tung-sol gold, and it's worth it
Yeahh tube.. tubedriver based maybe?
Did you continue taking it apart to see if there are odd diodes and transistors?
Is the electronics in it behringer?
Nice demo!🤘 new sub here!😊
The higher power consumption is so the tube isn't starved and actually gets a nice flow of current in order to perform the way a tube can, and the tube isn't soldered into the board like some idiots are suggesting there is a release screw at the opposite end of the valve socket so you can swap or replace the tube. A nice vintage NOS Jan tube from the 12A family will make this pedal sound fantastic, bare in mind though that usually involves a tube that costs twice what you paid for the pedal if you wants serious tones.
Never had tube anything. If bought new, how long would tube last and can it be replaced after it dies?
I have a feeling the tube in this pedal isn’t getting enough current to burn out very quickly, tubes can last a really long time though. I wouldn’t worry about it.
Maybe you should be a little carefull with tube equipment in the future. It is possible to transform the input voltage to a lot higher value, so it could have had 250 - 300v inside.
I got shocked by 120v the other day....wasn't too bad, but yea 250 or 300 would hurt.
what is that insane guitar with all the knobs on the wall??
It's an Airline 59 3P DLX sold by Eastwood - steve
Cool!
What kind of tube does it use, 12ax7?
Mine had a Bugera 12AX7 switched it out for a lower gain tube Mullard 12AU7.
no vntilation ? that shit will burn no ?
only if its getting hot.
a vt911 copy ?
I am getting very anemic, weak boost and tone from this pedal. It is daisy chained on a power supply. Is that why it sounds like shit? Underpowered on my end?
Guitar - pedal- front of amp.
Measure it? I mean, using a voltmeter is pretty darn easy.
@@codeman99-dev I did measure it. 3" if I poke ky hips out REALLY far!
Seriously though, getting rid of the useless, limp-wristed piece of shit was even easier. The weak will not survive.
Thank you 60cyclehum
What's the second footswitch you have on the prophet at the end there?
I modded the prophet to have a glitch switch that maxes out the time knob.
60 Cycle Hum Are you planning a video on the mod? That’d be cool. Also...nice noodling at the end.
No gutshot of the warped vinyl to know it it is analog or numeric?
i forgot about you! sorry about that. imgur.com/a/HpASC
60 Cycle Hum thanks, mate :D
Yeah, it's what i thought, it has to be digital to have so many options in such a small box. An analog version would cost the price and take the place of a real Leslie cab ;)
I see a dual VCA / dynamic range compressor, a BBD (as in analog chorus pedals) and a clock generator for the BBD - and two dual op amps, one of them under a blob of goo. Those parts, at least, are analog.
Unless there's a multi pin IC on the rear of the PCB, that's an analog chorus pedal.
Why TF are they so expensive though? Hand made by elves, PCB crafted from rocking horse shit, or dipped in unicorn tears?
I have a flanger that draws up to 300 mA.
Btw a Tube in a pedal is a gimmick. A single tube isn't going to make a single shit bit of difference
It sounds wank
So I have the Tube Pilot and was having a hard time getting it to work well it had too much distortion How did I fix it, I was going to change tube types something with less gain. But when I opened the pedal up and got the board out and turned over to see the exact brand of tube it has (Bugera 12AX7C) I see a Trim pot for biasing the Tube Voltage and Turned it down 1/8 of a full turn and that solved the over distortion/Gain Problem I was Having .
Hi Jay. Did you try to replace the tube? Do you know which model can surely fit? Inside it seems no space available to accomodate any mistake....
@@xxxvdmxxx any short plate 12 - - 7 will fit. a long plate is well to long.
Nice video. It should be mentioned though, that TC electronic nowadays is owned by Music Group which in fact is Behringer. Have a look at the footswitch of the pedal which is labeled true bypass and from outside it looks like one of those rock solid 3PDT switches but in fact it's nothing more than a small micro switch that mimics a 3PDT.
As to the current drawn, this kind of pedal is likely to use the tube as a mere filter rather than an amplifier. Which could explain why it glows so low. Redesigned Behringer pedals with metal housing imho.
You are right. The 12AX7 filament current should be in the range between 300-150 mA at 12V, seems to fit. Btw, just watched the offical product video - the guy in there speaks with a nice Danish accent. They claim their pedals are developed in Denmark. May this be true or not, they are produced in a special economic zone (SEZ) in China anyways. Compare the date sticker on the bottom of those pedals to those on the Behringer pedals- exactly the same.
Yes but the Behringer version of this pedal also had a metal housing.
This doesn't have a low performance / unreliable 3PDT in it. It looks like a proper soft touch bypass switch controlling a relay or CMOS. This is a far more reliable option but it is much harder to implement than a 3PDT. This is the option used in Chase Bliss, Eventide, Empress, Meris, etc.
I was waiting for your discovery of why we don't open electrical widgets whilst under load. Disappointment that there was no object lesson here. :)
I do it all the time, love the shock...gets me going.
Liked for the riffing at the end.