For years , pedalmakers have been trying to capitalize on the sound of a cranked valve amp , leading to many different tricks employed by engineers to make their pedals sound more tube-like . Whether it be asymmetrical diode clipping , op-amp overdrive , transistor breakup , or anything in between , most can agree that nothing sounds as good as a real tube . So , naturally , builders thought to start putting tubes into their pedals . It was a bit of a rocky start , but today the tube pedal has flourished , opening up the market to all matter of glassy wonder . Today ’ s pedal is from Dave Turbino of RePro Audio , an Italian company .
Italy is quickly becoming a hotspot of aspiring tone entrepreneurs , with Gurus Amps , Brunetti Amplification , and many others . The Valve Age is a somewhat back-tobasics approach to tube tone , serving up raw and unrefined sound that really exploits every facet of tube saturation . Does it succeed in its quest to give guitar players what they ’ re craving ? Let ’ s find out .
On the front , the Valve Age may be a little confusing , but in practice it is relatively straightforward . You have standard Volume , Tone , and Gain ( labeled “ Tube ”) knobs , with the addition of a Bias control , and a selectable S-Wave switch , with a knob
to go with it . The switch essentially selects clipping ; upwards cuts off the “ troughs ” of the sound wave , leaving a brighter and more trebly tone . Downwards lets both the troughs and the peaks of the waves through , creating a more robust and even sound . The Bias control either lowers or raises the amount of current going through the pedal , so you can get starved plate or full-blown preamp distortion tones . The Bias control doesn ’ t impart a whole lot of change to the sound , but my ear tended to gravitate towards cranking it all the way for less of a starved tone .
Most of the distortion characteristic is shaped by
REPRO AUDIO
VALVE AGE MODEL 1
REVIEW BY YOEL KREISLER STREET PRICE $ 210.00
For years , pedalmakers have been trying to capitalize on the sound of a cranked valve amp , leading to many different tricks employed by engineers to make their pedals sound more tube-like . Whether it be asymmetrical diode clipping , op-amp overdrive , transistor breakup , or anything in between , most can agree that nothing sounds as good as a real tube . So , naturally , builders thought to start putting tubes into their pedals . It was a bit of a rocky start , but today the tube pedal has flourished , opening up the market to all matter of glassy wonder . Today ’ s pedal is from Dave Turbino of RePro Audio , an Italian company .
Italy is quickly becoming a hotspot of aspiring tone entrepreneurs , with Gurus Amps , Brunetti Amplification , and many others . The Valve Age is a somewhat back-tobasics approach to tube tone , serving up raw and unrefined sound that really exploits every facet of tube saturation . Does it succeed in its quest to give guitar players what they ’ re craving ? Let ’ s find out .
On the front , the Valve Age may be a little confusing , but in practice it is relatively straightforward . You have standard Volume , Tone , and Gain ( labeled “ Tube ”) knobs , with the addition of a Bias control , and a selectable S-Wave switch , with a knob
to go with it . The switch essentially selects clipping ; upwards cuts off the “ troughs ” of the sound wave , leaving a brighter and more trebly tone . Downwards lets both the troughs and the peaks of the waves through , creating a more robust and even sound . The Bias control either lowers or raises the amount of current going through the pedal , so you can get starved plate or full-blown preamp distortion tones . The Bias control doesn ’ t impart a whole lot of change to the sound , but my ear tended to gravitate towards cranking it all the way for less of a starved tone .
Most of the distortion characteristic is shaped by
62 GEAR REVIEW // RePro Audio Valve Age Model 1