Vahlbruch FX Vahlbruch KALUNA II

The Vahlbruch KALUNA II is a high-voltage tube drive pedal, an overdrive/distortion unit handmade in Germany by Vahlbruch FX. It is built around an ECC83/12AX7 tube that the maker describes as delivering "100% pure analog tone," and unlike many tube pedals it runs that tube at a full 250 volt operating voltage, generated inside the box from an ordinary 9V power supply¹. Vahlbruch positions it as a new upgraded version of the original Kaluna with more features, the biggest being a three-way Structure switch¹.

Vahlbruch describes the pedal's character as "sweet harmonic content, overdrive clarity, fast pick attack response and complex compression," comparing it to cranked tube amps, transparent with great dynamics, and covering everything from mild breakup to creamy saturation¹.

The controls: Drive, Volume, three-band EQ and Structure switch

The front panel keeps things familiar. You get a drive control, a volume control, and a three-band EQ that Pete Thorn, reviewing the pedal on his YouTube channel, compared to "the controls that you would find on an amplifier"².

The EQ is worth a closer look for players comparing circuits. It sits post-tube, meaning it shapes the signal after the tube stage has done its work, and Vahlbruch calls it "extremely responsive"¹. Guitar World's reviewer, covering the Kaluna line, called it "a powerful three-band EQ, Bass, Middle and Treble, each with up to 12dB of cut and boost" offering plenty of shaping range³, and Guitar Player's review of the original Kaluna noted the same post-tube active design with 12dB of boost and cut⁴. That much cut and boost is amp-tone-stack territory, more than most overdrive pedals offer.

The Structure switch is the headline feature of version II. It has three positions¹:

• V1: the gain structure of the first Kaluna. Thorn described it as "kind of like the gain range of the original version"².
• Hot: a higher gain mode².
• Low: a lower gain mode, which Thorn said "sounds awesome"².

Guitar Pedal X's coverage spells out the same three voicings as V1 (original/stock), Hot (higher gain) and Low (lower gain)⁵, and Delicious Audio's write-up describes the switch the same way, letting you choose between the familiar V1 gain structure and the two new modes⁶.

Power: 9V, 500mA, with a 250V tube supply inside

The Kaluna II requires an external regulated 9V power supply delivering 500mA, with the polarity positive at the ring and negative at the tip¹. The adapter is not supplied³. There is no battery option; the 500mA draw alone rules that out.

The interesting engineering is inside. The tube's 250 volt operating voltage is generated within the pedal from the standard 9V input¹, which is what separates a high-voltage tube design from the low-voltage tube stages in many compact pedals. Guitar Pedal X's news piece describes the same arrangement, the 250 volts produced from a 9V line⁵.

Kaluna II versus the first Kaluna

The original Kaluna launched in June 2020 as a 100% analog overdrive/distortion pedal based on a 250-volt ECC83/12AX7 double triode with an active three-band tone control and Vahlbruch's MagTraB footswitch. The core recipe is unchanged in version II: same tube, same high-voltage approach, same EQ concept.

What version II adds:

• The three-way Structure switch, giving you the original V1 gain structure plus higher and lower gain modes¹⁵.
• The overvoltage protection circuit for the tube¹.

Everything else carries over. The MagTraB switching technology, in which a magnet is measured by a sensor and audio switching is done by a gold-plated relay, is still on board¹, as is the power-up programming that lets you choose true bypass or on mode in four steps¹. Input impedance is 1.0M Ohms and output impedance is 100 Ohms¹.

What reviewers said

Pete Thorn's review video covers the pedal's practical uses, and his verdict on where it fits is worth quoting directly²:

In other words, he found it works three ways: into a clean amp as the dirt source, in front of an already dirty amp as a preamp-style shaper, or as a primary dirty amp channel altogether².

Thorn's demo walks through the control set and the three Structure modes, including his favorable take on the low gain setting².

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Where it is made and how to get one

The Kaluna II is handmade in Germany by Vahlbruch FX¹. Guitar Pedal X reported it as available to order from the Vahlbruch Effects webstore and at selected international dealers⁵. The maker's listed prices are $372 in the USA and 339 € including VAT in the European Union, as of 2025¹.

Videos

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Questions