Thermionic Culture Culture Vulture Super 15 Stereo Valve Distortion

subtle or dramatic

The Thermionic Culture Vulture Super 15 is a stereo tube distortion box that can be used to acoustically distort input signals from gentle to nasty. Originally developed as a "distortion box" to simulate various tube amplifiers, the Thermionic Culture Vulture Super 15 is now also used by many users for other instruments. For example, drum loops, vocals and piano sounds are popular targets for turning an "ordinary" sound into something special. Like almost all models, the Culture Vulture is subject to constant updates.

Controls

On the outer sides of the Vulture Super 15 sit the drive settings. This includes not only the knob, but also a switch, which is located under the potentiometer. Drive controls the amount of signal that is fed to the second tube. It is worth mentioning that this control is optimally applied together with the Output Level control to keep the overall level where it is desired. The Drive knob is divided into 15 steps and the switch has three engagement options. One is a "Normal" mode, through which the frequency response is flat. Switch position "+10" causes an amplification of the signal by 10dB. Only with this position the Presence setting works later. If the switch is set to Overdrive, the signal is 28dB above normal and is good for extreme distortion effects at line levels, but also for guitars or other low level sources.

The Output Level controls the signal that is routed to the output of the device. It is also adjusted on the Thermionic Culture Vulture Super 15 via a rotary pot and a switch, which is located right next to the pot.

To make the tone sound thinner or thicker, the device has a bias knob. This changes the current that is passed through the pentode. It changes the voltage in the cathode, which is also visually displayed on the pointer meter in milliamps. When the knob is at 1, little current is passed, making the tone sound thinner. With overcurrent, on the other hand, the sound gets a thicker note. It should be mentioned here, however, that from 0.6mA continuous operation, the life of the tube is definitely shortened.

The function controls of the Vulture Super 15 have been expanded by several settings compared to the first model. There are now a total of ten options available, with which the switching of the device can be influenced. Setting T results in triode switching, whereas P1 switches to pentode switching, resulting in harsh tape saturation. PK1 to PK5 allow a unique form of midrange boost using a sharp filter over bias. SQ1 brings a heavily distorted kind of P1 and SQ2 is an even more extreme version of that (comparable to P2 of the standard Culture Vulture). The SQ3 setting brings total distortion madness.

In addition to these features, the Culture Vulture Super 15 also has a filter switch that activates a low pass filter that cuts frequencies above 5kHz by up to 6dB, reducing the harshness of the signal.

Lastly, there is the Bypass switch on the front panel of the unit. When Bypass is activated, the line input is connected directly to the line output and the tube distortion electrics turn off. Bypass does not work if DI Input or Output Lo jacks are used.