Tremolo for Worship Songs

My new tremolo pedal made it's debut yesterday. It's a sweet alternative for adding colour. It got picked for a song called There Is No Other Friend, by David Ruis. It's a mid-to-slow tempo song with lots of space between words for letting the guitar ring.

Tremolo in a live setting is a new experience for me and a viable one with the tap tempo option on my Diamond. Anyone else using one? What songs?

I use my Danelectro Tuna Melt Tremolo on the "Soft-Clipping" setting with the speed dial set to mid-trem and the depth set to pretty deep for slower songs where I'm not playing lead licks.

Songs where I usually accent the Keyboard with overdriven "double-stop" chords is when I use tremolo the most. I use my tremolo with my delay in front of it so that I get a nice long drawn out sound from one strum but you don't hear the beginnings of the repeats all the time thanks to the tremolo.

I use a Seymour Duncan Shape Shifter (awesome pedal by the way), I use it sometimes on the last chord of a song on a square wave/helicopter setting so that the chord sort of trails off... don't use it much these days 'cause I'm the only guitarist in the band, and it tends to thin out our sound too much.

Yes! For every song!!! Just kidding. But it is one of only two pedals I use in the praise band, the other being some type of tube screamer. That is how awesome I think tremolo is. Very useful for worship songs I think.

I use the EHX Holy Stain trem about once or twice in a given set, but I really like it. It's like cayenne pepper or something...a little bit is a very good thing.

FWIW, I think trem goes great in a worship/praise setting, so go for it.

(btw, I've got a vid up in the twanger central of our group and I'm using my tremolo pedal in the song, so if you want to check out my trem sound, it's there...song's called"I Can Still Pray")

I own a Diamond Tremolo and it finds its way into a lot of songs.
I tend to use it on country-rock versions of songs we do.
But I like to explore with it....the Diamond has tap tempo which is pretty cool.

It was either the delay or the trem last Sunday for each song. I haven't tried them both together yet - as Thighbanez does. I'm wondering what that's like.

It was from hearing Kurt Rosenwinkel using tremolo in his playing with Brian Blade and The Fellowship Band, on Season of Changes that got me thinking again about trying it. Before that I had this idea that it was only for country - and here's this guy using it in a jazz context.

I use tremelo regularly, usually on the slower numbers. The onboard tremelo in my 61 Concert Amp.

Keeley modded Boss TR-2. I use it more when playing rhythm and as I feel that it contributes to a song.

trem is a great option in worship settings cause it adds that little extra something with out pitch shifting or modulating your tone which some singers/congregation members can have an issue with. I think when used right most people don't notice it but will respond to the slight difference in feel.

I use my tremolo with my delay in front of it so that I get a nice long drawn out sound from one strum but you don't hear the beginnings of the repeats all the time thanks to the tremolo.

Thats interesting im going to give that a go. I always ut my trem early in the chain so i get the most purest signal.

I love the diamond trem use it on one of my boards, i like it when im doing stuff spontaneously. I also have a redwitch pentavocal trem. Man that little thing goes crazy so versatile and it doesnt colour as much as the diamond (imo) but they both very transparent anyway.

Check out early Staples Singers where it's just Pop Staples with his guitar and family. Used tremolo on everything to great effect.

I like it on a lot of worship songs. Adds a richness especially when your laying down chords as a background for the singer. I have three options is use depending on how lazy I am.

Deluxe Reverb vibrato - of course it's a tremolo. Cork sniffers may not like the chopiness of the optical tremolo but in a live situation, nobody can tell. And it's built into the amp - no pedal required.

Danelectro Cool Cat Tremolo - same circuit and tone as the Tuna Melt (I have both) but in a sturdy metal case with true bypass. Much better sound than the Deluxe Reverb's tremolo (no chopiness) plus it is $50 new. Only neg is the knobs are front mounted and had to adjust on stage.

Diamond Vibrato - I know, it's a true pitch shifting vibrato and not a tremolo. But it is quiet, lush and gorgeous and also has a great chorus setting. Only negs are that it is $260 and it has a dedicated 18v wallwart.

Don't use tremolo, sounds way too interesting. Stick to your delays!

:mrgreen:

I nearly always use a very light Tremolo when doing slower songs. Twin Reverb built-in trem, set on 0 speed, 3 intensity. It's a nice texture. I'm not a "power user" like some of you guys. I have avoided Tremolo + Delay, but I might have to try that.

Thats interesting im going to give that a go. I always put my trem early in the chain so i get the most purest signal.


I had tried that too, but I noticed it sounded better at the end of the chain where it applied it's magic to everything in front of it.

[QUOTE=epi-tone
I love the diamond trem use it on one of my boards, i like it when im doing stuff spontaneously. I also have a redwitch pentavocal trem. Man that little thing goes crazy so versatile and it doesnt colour as much as the diamond (imo) but they both very transparent anyway.[/QUOTE]

Wait, I didn't know red-witch had a tremolo pedal...

I would LOVE a Fultone Supa-Trem, but I don't have $200 for a pedal, so I just picked up a Beringer trem for $20.

I am 45 and have been playing guitar since 2nd grade. Here is my approach at this stage of my life: The crowd can't tell whether you're playing crunchy with flanging, or clean with echo. Except for the few guitarist in the room, they are clueless. They see you stepping on boxes but never hear any difference.

Therefore, my rig is for ME. I go for tone and effects that make MY tail wag. If my sound is making me happy, that will affect my playing. This week I might play a song like Johnny Paycheck would. In two weeks I might play that same song like Leslie West would. The trick is to do it tastefully no matter what.

If you like the way something sounds.... go for it!

I use a Tap-A-Whirl quite a bit. If we rework hymns it's usually on with some delay, sounds good to swell with too. And with the TAW's waves, we write a lot of cool intros or segway parts that have a nice rhythmic tremolo to them. Plus, there are the obvious uses such as the bridge in Salvation is Here.

I use the good ole TR2 and also the tremelo in my AC30CCH sometimes. I only use them set very slow and not very much depth to add a little character, but I really like what you can add with them.

Sure. It's FX2 on my POD HD patch with the Twin model. I have it set for tap tempo enabled. It's a nice change from chorus, and I will toss it in whenever I get the urge. No rules, as they say.

Before the POD, I got a Modtone Tremor pedal, which worked well. You might look at some video reviews if you're pedal shopping. This one has a lot of variety and good build quality for the price.

I miss tremelo and have been thinking of getting pedal or another amp. Thanks for pointing out the different pedals....I'll check them out. Kinda missing the wah pedal too!

No wah pedal? Ouch. I feel for ya, buddy.

I use tremolo on the refrain of Jeff Searles' Holy is the Lord from Vineyard Worship.

Yea, my Dano CC tremolo made its way off the board during a recent downsizing, but trem will be back.

Check out early Staples Singers where it's just Pop Staples with his guitar and family. Used tremolo on everything to great effect.

It's actually called vibrato. Pop Staples called it 'shake'. I use it in every song I play, 'cause it sounds so cool. I don't play contemporary christian music, I am a gospel musician, and we use ANYTHING to make the song sound good. I finally got a '70's Princeton amp for some great 'shake'. But I also use a Digitech GNX3000 for ample waves of vibrato, and a 2-point tremelo on my Strat Ultra, which stays in tune.

I've always used a phaser sparingly, but lately I've been trying to work some tremolo in, too. Any tips?