# any tremolo pedal recommendations?



## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

...something simple, organic and with as little tone colouration as possible.

it would also be great if it was something the local stores carrry.


----------



## ThePass (Aug 10, 2007)

I wish I could help. But, if you don't mind I'm gonna follow this thread close. I am in the market for a decent tremolo pedal, myself.


----------



## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

I like the Empress. Very tweakable and has tap tempo as well.


----------



## Jeff B. (Feb 20, 2010)

Diamond, Voodoo Lab and the Boss TR-2 are the first 3 that come to my mind that I've seen in stores.


----------



## bagpipe (Sep 19, 2006)

I use the Catalinbread Semaphore. I tried a couple of different ones before, but once I tried the Catalinbread it was all over. Very versatile, very "non tone coloring".


----------



## Raymonty (Dec 2, 2011)

When I could't spare the cash for the trem I desired, I got a Danelectro Cool Cat Tremolo. Ugly enclosure, but built like a tank and has true bypass...but most important, has beaten off all challengers so far and is the one still on my board. $42 new at L & M.


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I have a Line 6 Tap Tremolo, that has a couple of nice features. One is the tube-bias emulation, which I like a lot. The other is the envelope sensitivity that lets you increase modulation rate by how hard you pick. And of course, it has tap tempo. The Empress unit has some interesting rhythmic features, that are fairly unique. The current-issue EHX Pulsar also has some nice features for adjusting feel.

The Pigtronix Tremvelope also has dynamic (touch-sensitive) adjustment of modulation rate, except its implementation also lets you slow down as you pick harder, whereas the L6 only speeds up.

I was very impressed with the feel of this DIY project, when its designer/maker was over at my house back in October: http://www.smallbearelec.com/Projects/TremBear/TremBear.html

If you have some spare time, you can always take a stab at this one: http://www.buildyourownclone.com/tremolo.html John Mayer built himself one, so you can do it. It's yet another implementation of the Electronics Australia tremolo project from the 1960's. I've made two or three of them (the EA, from scratch, not using the BYOC kit), and it is also a nice-sounding tremolo. One of its easter-egg features is that if you turn the modulation depth all the way down, it can also function as a clean booster. Not gobs of gain, mind you, but certainly more than enough for a solo boost.


----------



## traynor_garnet (Feb 22, 2006)

Raymonty said:


> When I could't spare the cash for the trem I desired, I got a Danelectro Cool Cat Tremolo. Ugly enclosure, but built like a tank and has true bypass...but most important, has beaten off all challengers so far and is the one still on my board. $42 new at L & M.


+10000 I stupidly sold mine thinking I would get a "better one." Ended up selling the "better ones" and will be going back to the Dano. It sounds amazing, works well, and who cares what it looks like. 

PS. the Dano CC Chorus is also ridiculously good. Great, great pedals that hang with the big boys, but doesn't require $300-400 investment in pedals I only use occasionally.

TG


----------



## Guest (Dec 5, 2011)

Sneaky said:


> I like the Empress. Very tweakable and has tap tempo as well.


empress is my pick. The Semaphore is also really nice and super compact.


----------



## keefsdad (Feb 7, 2006)

Raymonty said:


> When I could't spare the cash for the trem I desired, I got a Danelectro Cool Cat Tremolo. Ugly enclosure, but built like a tank and has true bypass...but most important, has beaten off all challengers so far and is the one still on my board. $42 new at L & M.


I've got one too. $30 second hand. I'm not a trem expert but I have no complaints.


----------



## 4345567 (Jun 26, 2008)

__________


----------



## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

Empress for me, I only use about 10% of its capabilities, but i love the sound. Like a really nice old amp trem.


----------



## dolphinstreet (Sep 11, 2006)

Cool cat tremolo sounds great and is well priced. I'm not a a fan of its shape but it is sturdy and true bypass. Built to last. I have a demo of it on YouTube.


----------



## keto (May 23, 2006)

EA that markhammer recommends, for me. He's right, the preamp in that thing is an outstanding sounding bit of design. Pretty simple to build, I've done my own, a couple for my kids and their friends - everyone loves it. Good range of speed, and the boost portion can be put on a separate stomp switch if you like (trem off or on). One of the few trems that natively has a volume pot.


----------



## the5chord (Oct 7, 2011)

Used to have an empress. I liked it and it was a great tremolo. But I sold it and got a modfactor which does a nice tremolo as well as some other things. If tremolo is something you occasionally use I would recommend the modfactor. If you always play in mono and it is a main effect for you get an empress, dr scientist or diamond. As stated above the voodoo labs one is also very good.


----------



## georgemg (Jul 17, 2011)

I really like the Fulltone Supa-Trem. I use the tremolo on my amp but (briefly) thought about using a pedal instead, so I could get a couple different sounds. That was the one that felt closest to the sound I was used to.


----------



## NB_Terry (Feb 2, 2006)

Raymonty said:


> When I could't spare the cash for the trem I desired, I got a Danelectro Cool Cat Tremolo. Ugly enclosure, but built like a tank and has true bypass...but most important, has beaten off all challengers so far and is the one still on my board. $42 new at L & M.


This is a great tremolo pedal.


----------



## PaulS (Feb 27, 2006)

The one that works for me is the Trex Tremster.


----------



## seanmj (May 9, 2009)

I demoed two... The Red Witch PentaVocal and the Diamond. I think I preferred the sound of the Red Witch but went with the Diamond mainly for features... Tap tempo, different rhythms and trem types. I would say it's less colored than the Red Witch too... but does sound amazing.

I know lots of folks like the Fulltone, Empress... and the Swamp Thang. If transparency is what you're into, the Diamond's perfect.

Sean Meredith-Jones
www.seanmeredithjones.com


----------



## KujaSE (Jul 30, 2006)

I've owned two Boss TR-2's (One stock, One Keeley Mod), a Fulltone Supa Trem, and a Diamond currently. I don't see myself getting rid of the Diamond. Tons of stuff in there I haven't touched yet and sounds wicked as just an "onboard" type amp trem.


----------



## markxander (Oct 24, 2009)

My favourite three:
Voodoo Lab 4 knob
Fuchs Creme de la Trem (not a traditional trem, has some pitch mod like brownface fenders... sounded GOOD)
Fulltone Supa Trem is the one that I've kept and it's on my board right now. If you can live with the weird shape/layout it's really versatile and sounds great. It's super easy to dial in a great sound.


----------



## Farbulous (Dec 8, 2009)

It's not something that you will be able to find in local shops, but from what I hear the best trem out right now with a great set of features, fantastic tone and a small footprint is the VFE pedals Old School trem. As soon as I have the cash this is what I am going buy.


----------



## theroan (Oct 7, 2008)

Save your money and get the Seymour Duncan Shape Shifter.

True bypass
Tap
Shape controls
Sounds amazing


----------

