Tremolo pedal

[radioshack]

I was wondering what tremolo pedals everyone here uses. I'm looking to get one myself. So far I've just been using tremolo from a multi-effects, but now want to get an individual pedal solely for that purpose. Any advice or recommendations would be much appreciated.

Thanks

(Man, I love this board!)

[Chris Barrus]

I've got two that I use... The Lovetone Wobulator is my main one - dual channel, stereo panning, and pedal controlled rate. I paid a stupid amount of money for it, but it definitely falls into the "you can have it when you pry from my cold dead fingers" category.

For gigging purposes I got the MXR/Dunlop Tremolo and I'm very happy with it.

[radioshack]

I've got two that I use... The Lovetone Wobulator is my main one - dual channel, stereo panning, and pedal controlled rate. I paid a stupid amount of money for it, but it definitely falls into the "you can have it when you pry from my cold dead fingers" category.

For gigging purposes I got the MXR/Dunlop Tremolo and I'm very happy with it.

I ended up getting the MXR/Dunlop It arrived yesterday. Love it to pieces, I think it's great.!

Thanks Chris!

Anyone got any knowledge/advice/stories on changing pickups in a Fender Jaguar?

[TheWarmth]

Dr. Scientist makes a fantastic tremolo that's pretty affordable. The other guitarist in my band uses this one: http://www.drscientist.ca/pedals/trem

I use the Toneczar Powerglide, but I believe the waitlist is quite long now: http://toneczareffects.com/pedals-pwrgl.htm

If you want super warm, amp-like stereo-panning tremolo, the Effectrode Deltra-Trem is the way to go. I have one of these and use it for recording purposes: http://www.effectrode.com/website/tremo ... o_main.htm

The other tremolo I have and sometimes use in the studio is the Lightfoot Labs Goatkeeper. This one does stuff that no other does. You can sequence bizarre patterns or use it as for standard trem sounds: http://lightfootlabs.com/

If you're playing live, you really want one that has an external volume control so you can dial in the level exactly where you want it. For some stupid reason, a lot of tremolo pedals out there don't have this option.

I hope this helps!

[mojo filters]

Digitech have added a trem/rotary sim pedal to their Hardwire series, which has previously got good reviews. More info here.

I've not heard it but it's worth a look - along with their other stereo pedals, it has both stereo ins and outs, which is very attractive for anyone wanting stompboxes in series to utilise cascading multiple stereo fx.

I find it frustrating how the stereo outs on so many pedals seem to be an afterthought, since so few have stereo inputs, and those tend to be moving towards the price of a decent rack fx unit.

[Minky]

I always used the Boss PN-2 Tremelo/Pan with stereo outputs. Loved it and it took a beating. There's a few of them on ebay.

[Mark Refoy]

This looks neat

http://ronsound.com/index.php?main_page ... ducts_id=9

[TheWarmth]

The Trem-o-matic is pretty cool and does sound exactly like the Vox Repeat Percussion, which is what Sonic Boom used so frequently. The price is very reasonable, too. I used to live near Ron and he did a lot of pedal repairs for me when I was in college. He's an expert on Electro Harmonix pedals.

[lorez]

the earthquake devices hummingbird is a lovely pedal for that vox repeat percussion sound http://www.earthquakerdevices.com/devic ... ngbird.htm

I use a Fredic Effects Tremolo http://www.fredric.co.uk/effects/

[charlie]

Catalainbread's Semaphore tremolo is second to none...

I had a Diaz tremodillo and that was good but not as good as the Semaphore

[TheWarmth]

Brad Davis, the bassist from the band Fu Manchu, builds pedals under the name Creepyfingers. I have a few of his builds and they're top-notch. The other day we were discussing the Vox Starstreamer guitar that Sonic used to play. It has a number of on-board effects and the fuzz and repeat percussion tremolo tones are featured on a number of S3 tracks. Brad suggested building a pedal with the fuzz and repeat percussion, so I jumped at the opportunity. We've hammered out the details (including an additional gain stage after the repeat percussion circuit so you can have a bit of boost when the RP is engaged) and he's building up one for me now. I hope to have it in 4 to 6 weeks. I'll keep you guys posted, if anyone is interested.

[TheWarmth]

Pete showed me his pedal a few years ago when Spectrum played a show in Chicago. He told me who built it, but I can't remember his name now. Obviously, it never became a standard production unit. Here is my Creepyfingers Vox Fuzz/Repeat Percussion dual pedal, which was a custom build. Brad Davis, the guy behind CF, will build them to order, though.

[TheWarmth]

I had the Ronsound for a bit and it sounded good. However, I had Brad built a boost circuit into this after the repeat percussion to make up for the volume loss that is inherent in the r.p. circuit. I have never played a Starstream, but my understanding is that the circuits in this pedal are exactly the same as those in the original Vox guitars. I think I paid $325 for this one.

I just recent a Castledine Electronics Magical Mystery Box in the mail yesterday. It features the boost/distortion/MRB effects from the Vox Conqueror amps The Beatles used. I tested it last night at rehearsal and absolutely loved it. I can post a photo of that one, too. No tremolo in it, so I guess it's not quite appropriate for this thread.

[Acid Fuzz]

Acid Fuzz builds the Sonic Boom "3 in One" pedal for Sonic Boom. It is based on the Fuzz, Treble/Bass Booster, and Repeater effects built in to Sonic's Starstreamer + some other models of Vox guitars such as the Ultrasonic. It has controls for:
Fuzz (fuzz + volume), Boost (range/tone + volume/level), Repeater (rate, depth, cut, and volume) Also has an expression pedal jack so you can control the speed of the tremolo with your foot while you're playing. Oh, also has a "fast" mode which brings the repeater speed up to ring mod like sounds and it has a tone switch for the repeater to get a fuller signal, as the original Vox unit cut a lot of bass.

This is really the Holy Trinity. Nothing out there that does the Spacemen 3 stuff as well. Sounds exactly like the original Starstream effects but everything is updated with modern conveniences. Runs off a 9v battery or DC Jack. True bypass, well shielded so it doesn't pick up Guatemalan radio. It has an led that always flashes with the speed of the tremolo and it's situated in the eye of the pyramid. Just way more versatile and much less noisy than the original Vox stuff.

They're all built point to point to order at the moment, but there is a pcb unit in the works which will make this pedal much more available and a bit cheaper as well. If anyone's interested in ordering one contact Jon at acidfuzzpedals@gmail.com

[natty]

Here's a picture of it.

[nickh]

Oh man I want one of those.

[MODLAB]

Oh man I want one of those.

Likewise Nick...


WOW!

MMMM!!!!


M

[simonkeeping]

I emailed 'em and its $320 + shipping. They are built to order so I think it's a fair price. Looks like an amazing pedal. Plus its always nice to have stuff other people don't have

[natty]

About £202 + shipping then. Damn sight cheaper than a Starstream.

[redcloud]

That pedal looks pretty fucking sweet!

[moop]

ack! this thread has made me really want a wobulator!!
the other pedals linked to look great too. i'm not looking to imitate the spacemen sound, but that 'sonic boom' pedal does look like a *lot* of fun.

having looked at the wob, i really love the idea of having 2 trems at the same time...but that's totally out of my price range.

the catalinbread semaphore looks pretty much perfect, but i really like the idea of getting a trem which i can use an expression pedal with... hmmm!!

[moop]

a little bit of searching can go a long way!
i just looked up the semaphore and realised there's another version called the 'tap tempo tremolo', which does indeed allow for an expression pedal. if anyone has tried these and knows how they compare with the other version, please let me know.
it looks pretty awesome!

here's the linkage:
http://www.catalinbread.com/SEMAPHORE

EDIT: blimey, apparently there's a stereo version too (stereo out, mono in). i've never used a trem pedal before. do you guys think it's that important to have stereo output? i can't decide between the two versions.

sorry to hijack the thread!

[bbbhenko]

i am by no means an expert, but one of my tremolo pedals have stereo output (the marshall vibratrem), and i never use it. first of all, i typically hook up my guitar to an amp that has mono in only, and i guess the only time you would really need the stereo out is if you're playing live and want to create some kind of spatial effect... if the two speakers playing the two channels are too close together you will probably not even be able to enjoy any typical tremolo effect at all? and if you want to use stereo-separated tremolo for recording purposes, this should be really easy to do without a pedal

[moop]

i am by no means an expert, but one of my tremolo pedals have stereo output (the marshall vibratrem), and i never use it. first of all, i typically hook up my guitar to an amp that has mono in only, and i guess the only time you would really need the stereo out is if you're playing live and want to create some kind of spatial effect... if the two speakers playing the two channels are too close together you will probably not even be able to enjoy any typical tremolo effect at all? and if you want to use stereo-separated tremolo for recording purposes, this should be really easy to do without a pedal

thanks a lot for the reply. i guess you're right about using it live. i would probably just use it in mono too.
but i was thinking it would sound great for recording. when you say i can do that without a pedal do you mean I should use a plugin? i've been trying to get away from using them, especially since i like the idea of recording using an expression pedal controlled rate.
since i'm planning on getting a trem pedal regardless i guess the big question is how different would a mono and stereo version sound when recorded?

[TheWarmth]

I use a stereo set-up when I'm recording. You can get some killer panning stuff going on with stereo tremolo or stereo delay. Live I just go mono. I've got the Toneczar Stereo Powerglide (tremolo) on my pedalboard. You can ramp between two speed settings, which is awesome.

[moop]

I use a stereo set-up when I'm recording. You can get some killer panning stuff going on with stereo tremolo or stereo delay. Live I just go mono. I've got the Toneczar Stereo Powerglide (tremolo) on my pedalboard. You can ramp between two speed settings, which is awesome.

yeah that Toneczar seems fantastic, but sadly out of my financial league.
i'm a little bit naive about the technicalities of all this, but i imagine that if i ran a cable from a mono tremolo into my boss dd-20/(or space echo) and use the stereo out from that i would still sound pretty cool/full...
or do you think that since i have a few stereo pedals already it would be stupid of me to get a mono tremolo?
of course, i'm only talking about recording here, not live.

also, the stereo semaphore only has a mono input. do you think that's an issue, or is that normal?
(sorry for all the questions, and thanks in advance for any comments/advice)

[moop]

actually, hold up... looks like the stereo version is only 10 dollars more. so long as it also lets the exp pedal switch between speed and depth like the mono does this will be an easy decision!

[TheWarmth]

It's definitely not stupid to get a mono tremolo pedal. I used mono trem pedals for YEARS and just got my stereo Powerglide in 2011 (had the mono version of the Powerglide previously). I haven't even used the stereo output yet, but will be doing so in the studio next month. If you want a ping-pong effect where the tremolo is bouncing between amplifiers, the only real way to get there is with a stereo trem pedal. However, I'm sure your guitar will still sound massive if you go mono trem into a stereo delay and then into two amps.

[Hofstadter]

About to go for it and build my own tremolo pedal (it'll be my first homemade one)!! I'll post some shots when I'm done!