fat larry pedal Valve

fat larry pedal ValveVALVE is an all tube boost pedal (no silicon involved) operating in starved plate and starved heater mode, which is difficult to pull off. Most attempts (Matsumi) have marginal performance due to excess grid current at such low bias. This new design solves those issues breathing new life into the tube, achieving full bandwidth and low noise performance, all while maintaining that gooey non linear tube goodness. This pedal will fatten up your tone like

VALVE is an all-tube boost pedal (no silicon involved) operating in starved-plate and starved-heater mode, which is difficult to pull off. Most attempts (Matsumi) have marginal performance due to excess grid current at such low bias. This new design solves those issues breathing new life into the tube, achieving full bandwidth and low-noise performance, all while maintaining that gooey non-linear tube goodness. This pedal will fatten up your tone like nothing else. Destined to be your always-on pedal. Basically, it is a single-ended amp-in-box, taking you from warm clean tones up to compressed edge of breakup. 

New for 2025 is an added DRIVE control that allows you to choose the amount of added warmth to your tone. Turn it down for neutral cleans, up for tubeyness.

Great for bass!

Specifications

• True bypass
• 10dB to 20dB gain (tube dependent)
• 12AU7 tube (included)
• Drive & Level controls
• 90k ohm input impedance
• 25Hz to 12kHz bandwidth
• -9V to -12V @ 135mA (center negative)
• 4.5 x 2.5 x 2.8 inches (with tube)

Starved heater and plate operation really does work! Tubes used in this pedal are hand selected for high gain.

Downloads

• User Manual

Videos

Testimonials

• "I just received my Valve boost pedal. Sounds fantastic and pairs really well with the 12AU7 compressor. Kudos for your attention to quality and craftsmanship."
• "Jim, the Valve is fantastic! I got an RCA tube in it. It's an odd looking thing but sounds amazing!"
• "Did a little preamp shootout with your Valve, Chase Tone Secret Preamp, and the Source Audio Zio. All of them worked well enough for this purpose but your Valve was the clear hands down winner!"
• "Just got the VALVE Boost today, and finally got the chance to play for a couple minutes just now - wow! I am truly blown away by how this improves the tone of my Quilter."
• "The new Valve pedal is simply incredible! It makes all of my basses, active and passive, sound so much better. The harmonic detail, depth and evenness that it adds is immediately apparent.. and that is when running it totally clean. The drive control alone is worth the price, it increases the Valve’s versatility tremendously. The Valve easily beats my Edison and Sushi Box tube boost pedals in both sound and response. It’s exactly what I’ve always wanted to hear. You’ve really done a great job on this one and the new compressor is proving itself every performance in the pit of my current show, rock solid reliable and the audio crew loves it. Thanks!"
• "I recently purchased your Valve booster and I LOVE it. It is an always on pedal for me, right after my compressor and before any other effects."
• "Thank you for your advice for an 'always on' tube boost that is clean. The Valve is a game changer. It made all the frequencies that seemed to be hidden come alive. Brilliant little pedal. The Valve is a pedal that almost every guitarist/bassist could find useful for bringing their rig to something next level. Thank you for sharing your art with the world."
• "Your pedal was suggested on the TalkBass forum so decided to give it a go. I already own a NightOwl Edison, which I really like. Similarly, I found the Valve to deliver that great tube experience for my bass. With the volume at around 10:00/ 11:00 and the bass on full it has a very nice overdriven tone. By dimming the bass volume a bit and adding more gain on the preamp it provided a lovely clean vintage tone. Very happy with this pedal and just wanted to let you know of another happy customer. Well done."
• "I used the valve 12au7 today for first time today and I just want to say thanks. It replacing the Darkglass pedal on my board which is too hard and modern. The warmth I got today is what I've been after for a long time."
• "I am no pro, just playing for long. Fretless base, low output low impedance PU. The VALVE really lets it shine. Exactly what I wanted, warm colouring valve amplification without tone controls. You did such a great job."
• "Tonight, I put a NOS Sylvania (mil-spec) 5963 into my Valve pre-amp pedal ... OMG! My 5w Marshall is loving it! This has been one of the best pedal purchases I’ve ever made."
• "Good stuff. I run it in front of a Valeton pedal and it really rounds out the clean tones which is the reason I bought it."
• "Love the 12AU7 boost. I've been using it in front of my quilter US superblock and it's a perfect fit for adding that extra something in terms of feel and warmth."
• "Best place I've found is at the end of my pedal chain, right before the amp. That's where it will live on my board, always on. Really gives the Quilter some fat. Nice work!"
• "This pedal is fantastic! I’ve been playing all afternoon. Noticeably boosts my Marshall C5 at low volume. I think it’s going to take the place of my Maxon OS-9, as it boosts equally, but sounds more organic."
• "Hello Jim, just wanted to let you know this pedal is awesome and is doing exactly what I hoped! I am using this with a vox minigo amp, and this pedal is taking it from slightly annoying tone to really good tone. I am delighted. Took me a while to figure out the right settings but once I found it I am very happy :-) Thank you for making this pedal."
• "I played the valve boost through both my bass and guitar. On bass, I can definitely hear the sound liven up with the additional harmonics. It also adds more of a growl than a drive, which is good thing for most bass styles. I do appreciate the lower fundamental not being cut off like most pedals do. For guitar, this thing is a game changer. I'm playing into a tube amp and this pedal increases the dynamics even that much more. It sings. It's become a part of the instrument as a whole. A keeper for both instruments for sure."
• "I'm convinced that your starved voltage circuit works well, and sounds great. I'm only using it (so far) set at 9:00 (so not really distorting much) but it adds a nice crunch to the 12AX7s. The tube boost sounds great going in to my amp sims in the computer."