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Reactivator - 12AU7 Overdrive Pedal
Reactivator - 12AU7 Overdrive Pedal
Reactivator - 12AU7 Overdrive Pedal
Reactivator - 12AU7 Overdrive Pedal

Reactivator - 12AU7 Overdrive Pedal

$199.00 $0.00

REACTIVATOR is a two-transistor / two-triode overdrive that runs the gamut from clean tonal warmth to growling distortion. This pedal employs the starved tube section from my VALVE pedal, preceded by a clean gain boost and followed by a tonestack with output buffer. Such a topology offers up tube saturation and a variety of sonic flavors. If you thought the Butler (Chandler) Tube Driver or Klon Centaur were good, wait until you hear this! 

During the early days of TV, if a picture tube grew dim, servicemen could perform a trick called "reactivation", where heater voltage was overdriven to the point of regenerating a poisoned cathode, thus restoring brightness. That's where the name of this pedal comes from! Increasing power from 9V to 12V adds another 6dB of gain for even higher performance. It may not reanimate dead tissue, but it will breathe new life into your guitar. This pedal is absolute magic.

Specifications

  • True bypass
  • 26dB gain, 36dB with boost
  • 12AU7 tube (included)
  • Drive, Bass, Treble, Level controls
  • 110k ohm input impedance
  • 70Hz to 7kHz bandwidth
  • 9V @ 135mA power (up to 12V)

Downloads

Videos

Reviews

Testimonials

  • "The Reactivater is amazing; truly a beautiful pedal. In my mind a classic. Super versatile and very touch sensitive. The Bass and Treble are powerful for sculpting tone. Excellent work. I am a fan."
  • "I love the way the bass and treble controls work VS. the Butler. With The Butler, you Always have to adjust the EQ on the pedal, to try and make it agree with your amp."
  • "Jim, this thing is the shit. Bless your hands, ears, and brains. If I ever get famous, you will be in my heart and my sounds."
  • "Hello Jim, love the Reactivator. It is giving me exactly what I was hoping, which is a little more control over the tone than my Hagerman boost pedal."
  • "I use the Reactivator (on at all times) as a preamp and lead boost for my solid state lunchbox amps and my tone blooms with goodness!"
  • "I have been working with the Reactivator for the last month or so and it is the only pedal I have ever loved right out of the damn box. This thing is brilliant. The Reactivator is going to be my "always on" box. I was using a JHS Haunting Mids pedal but that's coming off in favor of this. Nothing against the fine folks at JHS but this thing is a secret tone weapon. Bravo, well done! I salute your engineering prowess!"
  • "I have several BK Tube Drivers too. This one is something different. It can do that Tube Driver thing but it's better at clean boost and using that tube to drive a tube amp."
  • "Nice job on this pedal! Sounds really great! It has the attack of the BK but sounds more refined. So far used a Strat and a synth. Really cool!"
  • "Sounds fantastic! I ran it through three tube amps ... completely organic sounding. I have a drive that I really like, but it produces that typical drive sound (can't explain it), whereas the Reactivator sounds warmer and more natural. Rock and Metal really sound good with this, but add in your BOOST pedal (treble boost), and it really kicks ass!"