A sound unlike others
makes you play unlike others

“The finer resolution, the richness, all the nuances of the sound – that to me, as a player, is the most significant thing about the Valvebucker system.” – Ruben Roeh

Your new sound, with unparalleled richness and resolution

Active – but alive
There is a common belief that active electric guitar pickups tend to make your guitar sound sterile and lifeless – even unfit for playing the blues, jazz, soul or any music that requires dynamics to transmit your emotions to the audience.

The Valvebucker may be active – but the sound and feel are the exact opposite of what the old myths might suggest, with its openness, clarity, warmth, lively dynamics and gentle tube compression that carry your  message through to your audience unlike ever before.

A new tool – not a replacement
Making new music is a mysterious process. Where do the new songs come from? Songwriters often tell stories how a certain instrument inspired them to compose a particular tune, or come up with a certain melody line or riff.

Since the Valvebucker guitar is different from others in such significant way, it can’t really replace the classic electric guitar styles. Instead, think of it as a new breed, that didn’t exist before. Now the question is, what songs will you be inspired to write with this new kind of tool?

Through the looking glass
When players pick up a Valvebucker Mojo, they start looking for the familiar T-style world of sound. Or if a Unicorn, you’d go for that other archetype growl. Very understandable – the guitar style biases what we expect to hear.

Think different – the Valvebucker rewrites the rules. Pick a guitar model that feels the most natural to you. Now you have the playing comfort you want. The sound? Empty your mind and be prepared to step through the looking glass, to a world of sound you haven’t experienced before.

One pickup – many sounds

Despite being “just” one pickup, the Valvebucker features a wide array of sounds. This is made possible by the novel operating principle, different from other pickups. The VB magnetic pickup capsule is designed to capture every nuance of the guitar sound in as pure, uncoloured and wide spectrum as possible.

This high fidelity signal can be sculpted in various ways within the Valvebucker tube circuit. The 3-way mode switch allows you to dial between the different sounds. The additional 6 db boost switch is useful not only to boost the volume, but it also increases the amount of soft tube compression to the tone.

The controls are the same in all Valvebucker guitars, but the control layout – the positioning of pots and switches – is guitar model specific.

The ideal tool for both live and studio work

Connecting the Valvebucker

A Valvebucker guitar comes with a Power Supply Unit (PSU) in the size of a standard FX-pedal. The guitar is connected to the pedal with a standard XLR microphone cable. The pedal has two outputs – a regular phone jack to connect to your pedalboard and/or amp, and a balanced output to connect directly to soundboard or audio interface. The outputs can be used simultanously as well.

Easy to switch guitars

The PSU pedal has an A/B function. In other words, the pedal has two switchable inputs – one for your Valvebucker guitar and another (true bypass) for your regular guitar(s). This means you can easily integrate the Valvebucker guitar to your existing pedalboard – the PSU will be installed as the first pedal in the chain.

12 volt ac power

The Valvebucker is an active pickup. In other words, it needs a power source. It is powered through the PSU pedal provided with the guitar. The pedal gets its power either from the 12VAC wall adapter provided with the guitar, or you can use alternatively your pedalpower 12VAC output. The Valvebucker floor unit can not be powered with a 9V battery.

Balanced vs unbalanced

The balanced output means that the Valvebucker PSU pedal is a DI Box as well. We use a Hi-Fi grade chipset to convert the unbalanced, high impedance signal to a balanced low impedance mic-level signal. Both the normal and balanced output can be used simultaneously – a useful feature for a live stereo setup, and for various recording situations.

PHOTO GALLERY

For your inspiration – here are some Valvebucker equipped guitars we’ve made. This gallery includes guitars with both Valvebucker MkI (launched in January 2018) and MkII (launched in August 2022) versions.

HOW TO BUY?

Juha Ruokangas - electric guitar was an inseparable part of the pop culture revolution

Many of you familiar with my work already know that our online tool - the Guitar Creator - is an ingenious way to configure the specs of your dream guitar. But that’s not the only way - there are many more options how you can buy my instruments.

order a custom instrument

You can simply email or give me a call and we’ll begin a good old one-on-one dialogue about what your perfect custom guitar could be.

 

buy from our page

Waiting many months for a custom made instrument is not everybody's cup of tea. If you want it fast see what we have in stock right now.

 

buy from a dealer

Our family of dealers around the world has guitars available too. A hint - a great option also for those who want to trade in another guitar!

 

You can buy our instrument using trusted banking method of your choice. Our instruments are also insured in case of accident of transport