snagged a Valvulator1 from GC about a year ago. went to put it into action and while it did power a couple pedals, no signal seemed to pass thru the chain. a little research lead me to believe this isnt that unusual but i didnt find any info on how to fix the issue. any advice for a novice of average intelligence but a willingness to tinker would be appreciated.
Hello v4 and welcome to the community!
I am going to assume that the unit is correctly powered and that all your cables are working… please tell me I can assume that.
This unit has a high-voltage power supply so treat it like a tiny guitar preamp/buffer. It’s not really user-serviceable for that reason. There are a few basic things that you could try:
- Unplug the unit
- Leave it to discharge for 10 mins.
- NEVER OPEN THE UNIT WITH POWER STILL CONNECTED
- Open up the unit and take a photo: fill the frame, high-resolution please, and upload here.
- Swap the 12AX7 preamp tube; these can last a while, but with the unit open, you might as well swap it with a known good tube to see if that is the issue.
If swapping the tube does not help, maybe we can spot something wrong from the photo.
i think i had everything hooked up correctly.
to be sure, what is ‘correctly powered’ in this case? i accept looking stoopid if it solves the issue. thanks
Oh see page 2 of the user manual https://www.fryette.com/content/V-1_SFD.pdf
here is some pics . to be clear i removed the tube awhile ago. it was for sure in place when i wanted to use the V1.
the unit was powered with a typical
10A 125v cord from an amp or tv.
i dont know how else you would do it.
although guitarcenter did include
a 1SPOT 9V adapter for some reason.
Exactly! So guitar centre gave you a free 9V adapter - I’m sure that will love to be plugged into the Valvulator 
OK, if you have changed the tube and it’s still not working I think I might be time to send it for a service.
Let me know what you think.
absolutely. that process is outlined in here somewhere i assume.
unless you care to get me started on the service
ticket .
i’ve never done one.
i appreciate your time. thanks
Hi V4
Ok, yes here are the instructions for how to do that How can I send my product to Fryette for a repair (RMA Request)?
I cannot see anything that stands out from the images as broken.
will do . thank you again .