The All Tube TUBEBLOWER
World
First all tube all battery overdrive BOX
1-INTRODUCTION
The handmade Tube TUBEBLOWER
is a pure tube overdrive device.
To give further
hints, my tube tubeblower needs two good minutes to warm up exactly like
a pure tube amp.
You can hear its tone building as the heaters come to nominal.
And unlike
most 'tube' pedals , the TUBEBLOWER is feeded by two 9v batteries and nothing
else.
How is this possible ?
2-THE CAR TUBE
Let's
face it : a 12AX7/ECC83 usual compliment of tube pedals needs 250 volts on
the data sheet ,
and 300 volts in certain amps, which includes our beloved
Marshall.
So what can we do at much lower voltage applications, such as
battery stompboxes ?
Well, I have looked back in tech history and found
that autoradio constructors had the same problem in the past to feed their all-tubes
car radios . All they had was the 12 volts car battery , shared by all the car
vital electric appliances. So low voltage and no possiblity to draw high amperage.
In this view , they developped a special double-triode, just as our modern 12AX7,
but with the most frugal needs you could imagine.
No need to go further
,you have understood this is what I put in my Tube TUBEBLOWER.
For
this pedal, I of course received the help of my tube master Yoda, who else ?
3-TONE
With the TUBE TUBEBLOWER,
you can expect having another high-gain preamp stage in your amp.
Therefore
the tone is very dependant on the amp you plug it in.
So, please reserve
this uncanny pedal to a good amp .
You will then enjoy perfect natural overdrive,
from cristal clear steroid clean tone to fire-breathing distortion,
all
this in a perfectly quiet operation due to the use of batteries only.
4-BATTERY LIFE
Of course, while frugal,
the car tube eats more than a pair of silicium transistors.
This is
why I have divided the work between 2 alcaline 9v batteries.
The one inside
is the lazy one, and will not need to be changed often.
The outside battery
, lodged in the black plastic battery case , takes the biggest burden, and thus
will need to be changed more often.
The testing so far is very positive,
as the prototype still have both his original batteries, even after full demoing
and trial at the Milano SHG 2004 fair in Italy, and still performs at 100%.
These car tubes are no
longer made.
Don't worry about the one in your Tube TUBEBLOWER, they will
last several life times.
But I canot build more Tube TUBEBLOWER than the
tubes I can find.