“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.
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?
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.