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INTRODUCTION

 

 

Congratulations and thank you for choosing the VHT Valvulator

 GP3

 

Very Low Power 

Guitar Amplifier

. As a player, I know you are constantly searching for new sounds and new 

ways to improve your existing sound. At VHT we understand the constantly evolving nature of 
artistic creativity and the search for the perfect sound to complement your ever-widening musical 
vision. Providing the tools to help you to create your own sonic signature is our primary mission.  
 
The Valvulator™ GP3 is an advanced musical instrument amplifier, professional caliber 
recording tool, and universal rack system control center that will stimulate your creative juices, 
bring out subtleties in your playing technique that you never even knew existed and help you 
define your style with unprecedented simplicity. With the advent of the Valvulator™ GP3, the 
ability of a rack system to offer the player a wide palate of sounds with genuine amplifier feel and 
dynamics will now be fully realized.  
 
Like the Valvulator™ GP3, this guide departs from conventional form and function because I 
believe it is the only way to adequately assist you in realizing the full potential of this unique 
piece of musical equipment. I sincerely apologize in advance for the depth of detail you are about 
to encounter. Having devoted countless hours, culminating in decades to the creation of the GP3, 
I would not wish to deprive you of the opportunity to fully comprehend its many capabilities. On 
the other hand, if I were you, I would probably be one of the first to roll this manual into a small 
tube and use it for a fly swatter, preferring instead to dive in uninitiated and try to intuitively 
work my way towards understanding the essence of the equipment being described here, most 
likely in the parking lot of a club, 30 minutes before show time. 
 
For those of you who wish to forge ahead without the benefit of the following reams of verbiage, 
I applaud your decision. First hand experience and real world application will yield the ultimate 
satisfaction of finding your own path of comprehension and self-expression. 
 
If you’ve got a gig in two hours, or like most of us, you just don’t have the patience for all that 
mind numbing technical mumbo-jumbo; I invite you to proceed directly to the 

Quick  Start 

section. Don’t be terribly surprised when you find yourself up and running in no time. All of the 
ensuing gory details recorded herein will be waiting patiently whenever your curiosity gets the 
better of you. 
 
Now it’s time to plug in and 

Turn It On

 
Steven M Fryette 
President 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Summary of Contents for Valvulator GP3

Page 1: ...VALVULATOR GP3 VERY LOW POWER VACUUM TUBE GUITAR AMPLIFIER PRELIMINARY OWNERS MANUAL...

Page 2: ...ce of musical equipment I sincerely apologize in advance for the depth of detail you are about to encounter Having devoted countless hours culminating in decades to the creation of the GP3 I would not...

Page 3: ...D ABOUT CLASSIC AMPLIFIER SOUNDS 5 THE BIG PICTURE 6 INPUT STAGE 7 CHANNELS 8 TONE CONTROLS 9 GRAPHIC EQUALIZER 10 DYNAMICS CONTROL 11 OUTPUT STAGE MASTER VOLUME 12 GLOBAL FUNCTIONS 13 MIDI MIDI LEARN...

Page 4: ...ble from the rear panel of your GP3 to any convenient wall outlet or power strip Connect one end of a shielded guitar cable to the AMP OUT jack on the rear panel of your GP3 Plug the other end of this...

Page 5: ...t here for the purpose of demonstrating how adept the GP3 would be at recreating classic amplifier sounds We feel that this is an unproductive exercise often based on sleight of hand and the power of...

Page 6: ...arm up sequence has begun After 15 seconds the time it takes for the tube filaments to reach operating temperature a timer function in the GP3s microprocessor sends a Turn On command to the high volta...

Page 7: ...ween the guitar and the various amp and effect inputs to condition and protect the guitar signal from noise and tonal degradation These buffers are often makeshift items and are almost always detrimen...

Page 8: ...AD feature Gain Treble Middle Bass and Volume controls The LEAD and RHYTHM channels also feature a variable BOOST control to adjust the amount of gain boost available A fixed amount of boost is provid...

Page 9: ...erdrive used audience size relationship with the bartender and a host of other variables In the process the amplifier produces varying degrees of distortion harmonics overload and power amp compressio...

Page 10: ...MASTER VOLUME and DYNAMICS you will become very proficient at fine tuning the output stage to emulate the output behavior of say a 100 watt amp versus a 15 watt amp GLOBAL FUNCTIONS On the far right o...

Page 11: ...AD channel Simultaneously mutes all three channels when held down for 2 seconds WARM UP SEQUENCE OVERRIDE This function is accessed right after power up In the event that the GP3 has already been oper...

Page 12: ...create NOTE Your existing program parameters remain unaffected until you change them even if you enter MIDI LEARN mode live on the fly This means that if you are playing a live performance and you de...

Page 13: ...T 21 CLEAN BRITE FAT LOOP 22 CLEAN BRITE FAT EQ 23 CLEAN BRITE BOOST LOOP 24 CLEAN BRITE BOOST EQ 25 CLEAN BRITE LOOP EQ 26 CLEAN FAT BOOST LOOP 27 CLEAN FAT BOOST EQ 28 CLEAN FAT LOOP EQ 29 CLEAN BOO...

Page 14: ...5 RHYTHM BRITE BOOST LOOP 66 RHYTHM BRITE BOOST EQ 67 RHYTHM BRITE LOOP EQ 68 RHYTHM FAT BOOST LOOP 69 RHYTHM FAT BOOST EQ 70 RHYTHM FAT LOOP EQ 71 RHYTHM BOOST LOOP EQ 72 RHYTHM BOOST LOOP REMOTE 73...

Page 15: ...08 LEAD BRITE BOOST EQ 109 LEAD BRITE LOOP EQ 110 LEAD FAT BOOST LOOP 111 LEAD FAT BOOST EQ 112 LEAD FAT LOOP EQ 113 LEAD BOOST LOOP EQ 114 LEAD BOOST LOOP REMOTE 115 LEAD BOOST EQ REMOTE 116 LEAD BRI...

Page 16: ...are listed under each location Numbering sequence is LEFT to RIGHT looking at the FRONT of the unit V1 Valvulator unity gain buffer stage effects loop driver 12AX7WB Sovtek V2 Input Gain Stage 1 and s...

Page 17: ...dently isolated from system ground REMOTE 2 Relay controlled switching jack for remote control of external amps preamps and effects Assignable to RHYTHM or LEAD channel function and can be configured...

Page 18: ...s including but not limited to cabinets cabinet parts or knobs 3 This warranty does not apply to uncrating setup installation or the removal and reinstallation of products for repair 4 This warranty s...

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