Demeter Tremulator Problem

[tele-vangelist]

I bought a Demeter Tremulator four or five years ago. Unfortunately, it's been a huge disappointment and I've never really used it.

It distorts the signal in an unpleasant way.

I bought it because I saw a guitarist I really like, Tony Gilkyson, using one in front of a BFSR. I assumed he preferred it to the built-in amp trem but perhaps that wasn't working. And I read that Ry Cooder was involved to some degree with the creation of the pedal and that sealed the deal.

The amps I primarily use have built-in trem so I've just let the Tremulator gather dust to this point. But there are two recent changes to my rig and I find the need for a trem pedal.

1. I recently got a 1953 Fender Deluxe that obviously pre-dates tremolo.

2. I've been playing a lot lately through two amps and using the stereo out from a Strymon El Capistan at the end of the chain. I absolutely love this sound; it's addicting. But if I want to use tremolo through both amps I need an external pedal.

I have tried using the trem on just one of the amps and that is very cool for some things. The trem on my 1960 Gibson GA18T has a really nice ethereal quality. But if I want just a good swampy mono trem I need it to work for both amps.

Anyway, here’s my question. Has anybody ever had this problem with the Tremulator? It’s like a boost along with a tremolo. I just want the trem. I don’t want to have to adjust my volume every time I use it.

[tjalla]

Have you tried it before the el cap?

[tjalla]

Originally Posted by tjalla

Have you tried it before the el cap?

I think I misunderstood your dilemma. Only other thing incojlf suggest id to try placing buffered pedals eg boss tu-2 before and/or after the tremulator.

[getbent]

take a look here... when he has on and off, do you notice the volume difference?

second, the demo is done by a guy, a really fine player, over at the gear page...

you might hunt jack up and ask him.

I had one a long time ago, loved it, didn't need it when I got my tone king and flipped it for more than I bought it for, it is my favorite stomp trem..

[tele-vangelist]

Originally Posted by tjalla

I think I misunderstood your dilemma. Only other thing incojlf suggest id to try placing buffered pedals eg boss tu-2 before and/or after the tremulator.

I'll have to try removing the Tremulator from the pedal chain and go straight from guitar to Trem. to amp and see if it has anything to do with pedal order. Tomorrow. It's late. Thanks for the suggestion.

[Twangasaurus]

Is it possible to run it at higher than 9v? Might give you the headroom you need to stop distorting.

[tele-vangelist]

Originally Posted by getbent

take a look here... when he has on and off, do you notice the volume difference?

I'm not suggesting that all Tremulator's are defective or designed poorly. I only know that mine is borderline useless because there is such a significant and unwanted boost that goes along with the trem. Could that be intentional? Seems like a bad idea if it is.

[tele-vangelist]

Originally Posted by Twangasaurus

Is it possible to run it at higher than 9v? Might give you the headroom you need to stop distorting.

You're not exactly dealing with Tesla here! How do I do that?

[Twangasaurus]

Originally Posted by tele-vangelist

You're not exactly dealing with Tesla here! How do I do that?

Most pedals can handle up to 12v but it doesn't look like you can do that with the Demeter, that mini plug silliness would get in the way as well. Normally if you wanted to you would simply use a 12v adaptor (or even better, flick a switch on that fancy power supply your theoretically using, depending on what you own).
Sorry I got your hopes up .

[tele-vangelist]

Originally Posted by Twangasaurus

Most pedals can handle up to 12v but it doesn't look like you can do that with the Demeter, that mini plug silliness would get in the way as well. Normally if you wanted to you would simply use a 12v adaptor (or even better, flick a switch on that fancy power supply your theoretically using, depending on what you own).
Sorry I got your hopes up .

For what it's worth I'm using the Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2. Could I get a miniplug from Stompin' Ground that would connect the two?

[Twangasaurus]

That could work. Give Demeter a shout and see if it runs on 12v.

Edit: Actually I'm wrong again, it seems that flipping the Dip Switch on the Voodoo Labs to supply 12v reduces the output to 60ma, according to the Demeter site it requires 100ma.

[1955]

I had one, no problems

You may be overloading the input of the pedal depending on what's before it. Can't remember now, but there might be a trim pot to adjust the gain. Open it up if it's not on the left side of the pedal. If there's one it's probably a little white plastic thing you stick a small screwdriver in to adjust the level. I know the Compulator has this.

As far as I remember, it was possibly a little higher than unity gain, as a lot of trem pedals are made to bump up the perceived volume loss when engaged.

If you have hot pickups or are boosting a lot in front of it, it might just be clipping at the input. Mine was the mono one a few years ago. FWIW, the Marshall VT1 Vibratrem boosted and changed the EQ so much that it annoyed me, although in other respects it was great.

[Tech21NYC]

Originally Posted by 1955

I had one, no problems

You may be overloading the input of the pedal depending on what's before it. Can't remember now, but there might be a trim pot to adjust the gain. Open it up if it's not on the left side of the pedal. If there's one it's probably a little white plastic thing you stick a small screwdriver in to adjust the level. I know the Compulator has this.

As far as I remember, it was possibly a little higher than unity gain, as a lot of trem pedals are made to bump up the perceived volume loss when engaged.

If you have hot pickups or are boosting a lot in front of it, it might just be clipping at the input. Mine was the mono one a few years ago. FWIW, the Marshall VT1 Vibratrem boosted and changed the EQ so much that it annoyed me, although in other respects it was great.

If you go on their website and look at the manual it states that there is an intentional 1dB boost when using the trem. My Fulltone Supa Trem boost as well. It's never been a problem. Do you have a number of other pedals before it? Sometimes introducing a buffered signal will create a volume boost if you have some signal loss caused by a long cable run or numerous pedals placed in series.

[tele-vangelist]

Tonight I Did a comparison test.

1. I plugged the guitar straight into the amp with no pedals.

2. Then through only the Tremulator.

3. Then placed the Tremulator back in its place in the chain but only engaged the trem.

There was no difference between 2 and 3. Both added a boost and an unpleasant distortion. I repeated this with two different amps at different volume levels, clean, edge of breakup, and in amp overdrive.

Tomorrow I'll experiment with the internal trim pot. I did that once before a year ago but may as well give it one more shot.