Vibrato effect and tremolo pedals

[TDFiend]

Not sure if i should be posting this on this thread but it does involve a pedal.

Vibrato on Fender amps - twin reverbs and the like - has a sound that i wouldn't consider modulation. You can set the intensity and depth, but it sounds more to me like the signial is simply getting "chopped up", for lack of a better term, as opposed to the actual pitch being changed to create a similar, but NOT at all the same, pulsating effect. Now, the boss tremolo pedal is also considered a vibrato effect more or less too, but it employs pitch bending. The reason why i ask is i have a quad reverb now and im switching to a bassman as my main amp. The vibrato on the quad is like no other "vibrato or tremolo" effect pedal i've ever heard, they all change pitch. Since i wont have it onboard the bassman i'm obviously going to have to try to achieve it some how.

Does anyone know if there is a pedal that can recreate the fender amp vibrato effect?

[Teleworshipkid]

Try chorus, or a rotary emulation pedal... You description is pretty vague so it's hard to tell what you want...

[vanguard]

Originally Posted by TDFiend

Not sure if i should be posting this on this thread but it does involve a pedal.

Vibrato on Fender amps - twin reverbs and the like - has a sound that i wouldn't consider modulation. You can set the intensity and depth, but it sounds more to me like the signial is simply getting "chopped up", for lack of a better term, as opposed to the actual pitch being changed to create a similar, but NOT at all the same, pulsating effect. Now, the boss tremolo pedal is also considered a vibrato effect more or less too, but it employs pitch bending. The reason why i ask is i have a quad reverb now and im switching to a bassman as my main amp. The vibrato on the quad is like no other "vibrato or tremolo" effect pedal i've ever heard, they all change pitch. Since i wont have it onboard the bassman i'm obviously going to have to try to achieve it some how.

Does anyone know if there is a pedal that can recreate the fender amp vibrato effect?

First, i think you're confused. choppy, non-pitch bending pedals are everywhere; it's the pitch-shifting ones that are rare, and hard to find.

can't quite tell if you are looking for the big blackface fender trem, or some kind of pitch-modulating pedal.

here's the rundown:

fender employed bias-vary trem in early (and small) amps. this is volume modulations, but it is very soft and smooth, to the point that, when set right, it can almost sound like a leslie speaker (a bit of doppler effect).

next, they gave us the big brownface harmonic vibrato. this "trem" is very hard to describe, but ultimately sounds like a less-psychedelic uni-vibe, or like some cousin of the magnatone amp true-vibrato

finally, you have the big blackface amp trem. this is that choppy, helicopter trem that sounds like a spy movie or something. this trem has no semblance of "smoothness" "lushness" or "pitch modulation". it's just on-off-on-off-on-off

for sine-wave smoothness: Boss TR-2 can do it, swamp thang, fulltone supa-trem, dano tuna melt

for brownface pitch-modulation type effect: Fuchs creme de la trem.

for blackface choppiness: boss TR-2 can also do this, so can the aforementioned Fulltone, dano tuna melt, boss pn-2, etc. really, just about any basic trem pedal can give you this, as it is BY FAR the easiest sound to replicate.

[Cameage]

Tremolo = volume up and down.

Vibrato = pitch up and down.

Try an EHX Pulsar, they can do lots of crazy tremolo stuff.

[megafiddle]

It's unfortunate that Fender decided to be technically incorrect and named their
"tremolo" bridge and amp "vibrato" backwards.

The Boss TR-2 is technically a tremolo effect, it pulses the volume, as does a Fender
amp.

It doesn't look like there's a lot of tremolo only pedals. Most tremolos are part of a
multi-effects pedal. They differ as to how well they simulate the Fender "vibrato".

[PeteMac]

Marshall VibraTrem pedal switches between both kinds of effect and the wave shape is adjustable on both settings . . .


and they're pretty inexpensive !

http://www.marshallamps.com/product....Code=Vibratrem

[JesterR]

True tremolo. Amplitude modulation:


Brownface-style tremolo. Sounds like a amplitude modulation with slight pitch-change(actually no pitch modulation, just phase-shifting):


True vibrato. Pitch modulation:

[jvanoort]

Originally Posted by Cameage

Tremolo = volume up and down.

Vibrato = pitch up and down.

This.
The Boss tremolo is a real tremol.

To add to you confusion however: Fender keeps on calling the vibratos on their guitars tremolo.

Silly Fender

[Mike Eskimo]

Buy my Wiggler and I'll throw in the Behringer Boss VB-2 clone for free !

Then you will truly have it all.

PM me for details...

[TDFiend]

Originally Posted by Teleworshipkid

Try chorus, or a rotary emulation pedal... You description is pretty vague so it's hard to tell what you want...

Judging from what everyone is saying i guess im looking for volume tremolo as opposed to pitch bend tremolo.

[TDFiend]

Originally Posted by vanguard

First, i think you're confused. choppy, non-pitch bending pedals are everywhere; it's the pitch-shifting ones that are rare, and hard to find.

can't quite tell if you are looking for the big blackface fender trem, or some kind of pitch-modulating pedal.

here's the rundown:

fender employed bias-vary trem in early (and small) amps. this is volume modulations, but it is very soft and smooth, to the point that, when set right, it can almost sound like a leslie speaker (a bit of doppler effect).

next, they gave us the big brownface harmonic vibrato. this "trem" is very hard to describe, but ultimately sounds like a less-psychedelic uni-vibe, or like some cousin of the magnatone amp true-vibrato

finally, you have the big blackface amp trem. this is that choppy, helicopter trem that sounds like a spy movie or something. this trem has no semblance of "smoothness" "lushness" or "pitch modulation". it's just on-off-on-off-on-off

for sine-wave smoothness: Boss TR-2 can do it, swamp thang, fulltone supa-trem, dano tuna melt

for brownface pitch-modulation type effect: Fuchs creme de la trem.

for blackface choppiness: boss TR-2 can also do this, so can the aforementioned Fulltone, dano tuna melt, boss pn-2, etc. really, just about any basic trem pedal can give you this, as it is BY FAR the easiest sound to replicate.

Yes I am looking for the for blackface choppiness in a pedal, not the smooth pitch modulation. Now the "proper" term for the blackface choppiness (I know Fender had it backwards) is tremolo, leaving the pitch modulation effect as the true vibrato. Ok, so the TR-2 can do both, good, im a boss pedal guy. that said, Im also aware of the original rare and expensive VB-2 Vibrato, which i'll prob never own.
I've only seen the TR-2 a few times, and thought it only made the pitch modulation. im not much of a techie so just looking at it, i can't tell because i never knew what square or sawtooth wave forms actually meant, but now i have a better understnading of it - the saw wave produces the blackface choppiness (tremolo) and the square wave produces the pitch modulation (vibrato)

cool, thanks EVERYONE for the info!

i suppose Fender had it backwards because they called their floating bridge design a tremolo?

[Alamo]

Dunno what this is - but it sure damn works for the song!

plain bootyfull

[alnicopu]

I have an old silvertone 4707 6 watt organ amp that has real pitch shifting tremolo. not quite as choppy as vibrato or volume modulated effects, but the difference is pretty subtle more rotory sounding. The trem amps used varistors (dog bones) instead of the usual caps that do a feedback type effect and control the bias of the tubes.

[Agitator]

Originally Posted by TDFiend

but now i have a better understnading of it - the saw wave produces the blackface choppiness (tremolo) and the square wave produces the pitch modulation (vibrato)

Um, no, that's completely wrong. The TR-2 only produces Tremolo, i.e., volume modulation. The square wave is choppy, the sawtooth wave is smooth. That pedal does not produce pitch modulation at all.

[Teleworshipkid]

Square- choppy, like fender optical tremolo (Literally a photo resistor in front of a blinking LED, easy pedal project if your up for it). Sound is either on or off, no in-between. Think "In my Head" by Jason Derülo.

Sawtooth- this is where you get the in-between sounds. Still as sharp as square wave, but if you hear the in-betweens, it's sawtooth. Not found in many amps. The other two are easy to recognize, but this one is a little harder (pretty much a mix of the two). Think "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Green Day.

Sine- nice smooth tremolo, like Vox bias tremolo (literally by varying the bias of the power tubes- not such an easy project). Super smooth, flowing tremolo perfect for ambient stuff. Most often confused for vibrato. Sounds like someone's swiveling the master volume back and forth.

Hope this helps.

[Farlsborough]

+1 for the Marshall Vibratrem. Does both, built like a tank, inexpensive. It's a great, versatile workhorse of a pedal.

[TDFiend]

oh, ok no matter, though i only want volume modulation.

[Teleworshipkid]

Originally Posted by TDFiend

oh, ok no matter, though i only want volume modulation.

Vibrato is pitch only
Tremolo is volume only

-So...-

Fender "tremolo" bridge is actually vibrato!
And
A Fender "vibrato" is actually tremolo!

-So...-

You want tremolo

-So..-

Get a Boss TR-2!!!

[DOGMA Dunn]

Originally Posted by vanguard

First, i think you're confused. choppy, non-pitch bending pedals are everywhere; it's the pitch-shifting ones that are rare, and hard to find.

can't quite tell if you are looking for the big blackface fender trem, or some kind of pitch-modulating pedal.

here's the rundown:

fender employed bias-vary trem in early (and small) amps. this is volume modulations, but it is very soft and smooth, to the point that, when set right, it can almost sound like a leslie speaker (a bit of doppler effect).

next, they gave us the big brownface harmonic vibrato. this "trem" is very hard to describe, but ultimately sounds like a less-psychedelic uni-vibe, or like some cousin of the magnatone amp true-vibrato

finally, you have the big blackface amp trem. this is that choppy, helicopter trem that sounds like a spy movie or something. this trem has no semblance of "smoothness" "lushness" or "pitch modulation". it's just on-off-on-off-on-off

for sine-wave smoothness: Boss TR-2 can do it, swamp thang, fulltone supa-trem, dano tuna melt

for brownface pitch-modulation type effect: Fuchs creme de la trem.

for blackface choppiness: boss TR-2 can also do this, so can the aforementioned Fulltone, dano tuna melt, boss pn-2, etc. really, just about any basic trem pedal can give you this, as it is BY FAR the easiest sound to replicate.

Thanks for the info on the fenders. Good to know.

I like the bias modulating ones, very suttle and not to over the top.

[Saljam]

Wow... this tremelo/vibrato stuff is confusing. I've been looking at the Danelectro Cool Cat Tremelo. What type of effect will this give and is it a decent option? Thanks