Recommendations for Trem and Reverb in a sub $150 pedal

[parsnip]

Hi All,

Looking for a pedal w/ trem & reverb. Goal is a vintage sound for both effects. Not so much surf. Think Pop Staples, The Stones. Jimmy Page. Most of the time I play through amps w/ spring reverb, but occasionally not and then I miss it. None of my amps have trem. Must be $150 or under, so recommendations to get the strymon flint or the fender treverb or the hydra are not terribly useful.

Options I've found so far:
- Verb O Trem by keeley. I like that people generally dig the plate reverb with this (as opposed to the spring), so I could have something slightly different w/ the amps I own that already have springs. I don't know if the trem will sound adequately old school though.
- VHT Melo Verb (ppl seem to think the reverb is meh here)
- Mojo Hand FX RVT. Very little info on this. The one review I found really liked it for vintage sounds. Anyone use it?

Other option: Get a cheap tremelo (joyo) and cheap reverb (there are a ton). I have a hunch I might be getting better quality with one of the above though. Love to hear everyone's thoughts.

 

[HolmfirthNJ]

I think I’d be inclined to push the budget a bit to maybe secondhand Boss RV-6/TR-2 or EHX Nano Holy Grail/Pulsar - really cool pedals that should sort you out for life (or a very long time at least). I’m not sure of US prices but combined would be a lot cheaper than a Strymon Flint.

 

[HolmfirthNJ]

PS the available combined reverb/tremolo pedals at your budget level don’t seem that exciting to me

 

[dinomike77]

Used Mr. Black Deluxe Plus? One on Reverb for $165.

 

[dswo]

I’m very happy with the J. Rockett Mr. Moto, which I recently bought used on Reverb for US$140 with tax and shipping.

 

[darkwaters]

Reverb and Tremolo are the two effects that are must haves for me. IMO it’s easy to find a good Trem pedal for small cash. I have both the Joyo and the Dano Cool Cat and I find them to be excellent. I’ve never felt the need to spend big bucks on Trem.

Reverb pedals are more problematic (at least for me) and may require a bigger investment. Two features that I have to have are a Tone control (I like my reverb dark) and no high end splats and boings and other annoying spring sounds that some builders think is necessary to give that classic reverb experience (I’m looking at you Boss). If the pedal has more than one reverb, bonus! Plate, Spring and Room are my favourites. I use a TC HOF and I love it. The dozens of additional Tone Print reverbs are icing on the cake.

I’ve never tried an all-in-one pedal, so I have no opinion on those.

 

[GeekyToneChaser]

For $150.... and you need both trem and reverb...

That's tough.

Best I can suggest would be a used holy grail nano ($80) into a used Dunlop TS-1 ($70).

Important to know the limitations - and spot any deal-breakers before investing.

 

[Festofish]

There is only one trem and it’s the EHX Pulsar.

 

[kuch]

A little over your budget, but I love this pedal! You might find one used for somewhere close to what you want to spend.....

Catalinbread Topanga Burnside
I got the special release with the skateboard and special colors to use with my SF Vibro Champ.....

Good luck in your search!

 

[ChrisDowning]

The T Rex TRemster in the red box is very nice - as is all the T Rex stuff. The only problem with the Boss is no volume control. I'd nowadays go for the JHS Tidewater - very simple and great for live work. For the reverb I use a Maxon Analogue Delay AD10 which does everything I need from reverb to kinda tape echo. Neither are cheap but if you've seen my other posts about cheap - think of it like this - if you keep it 20 years - and yes I've had some stuff that long (and stupidly sold a CH2 for a good price when I should have kept it three years ago when it was about 35 years old) - then divide the cost by ten years and the $150 pedal really costs 30 cents a week. Buy some cheapo stuff for $50 and you'll be back in the shop next year buying better and stuck with this year's crap buy.

 

[El Tele Lobo]

Another vote for the Mr. Black Deluxe Plus

 

[Hoodster]

If you hunt around you may be able to score one of these within your budget. It would be well worth it.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Pedals that do more than one thing usually don't do everything well. For example, the Mr. Black Deluxe Plus, the only combo trem/'verb pedal I've owned, was crap: flimsy plastic sockets. The trem was find, but the 'verb sounded like tinsel.

After trying a bunch of trem and 'verb pedals, I've found sonic heaven with a one-knob Hermida Reverb and a two-knob Demeter Tremulator.

The Tremulator is last in the chain to let it reach its full vibe potential.

 

[johnnyASAT]

I’m very happy with the J. Rockett Mr. Moto, which I recently bought used on Reverb for US$140 with tax and shipping.

+1 to this. Probably my favorite pedal? It’s their very good Boing Spring Reverb with a great analog trem circuit attached. What’s not to love? It sounds fantastic.

 

[mambosun]

maybe a used Source audio True Spring reverb?

 

[KC]

Honestly if it was me I'd save for a while & then pick up a Flint V1. They seem to be starting to pop up at around $200 used. Extremely solid product. I'd also go for the Tremulator / Hermida reverb combo but no way you're going to get into that for under $150.

 

[D_Malone]

I’ll recommend a used Flint as well. It sounds amazing and covers a lot of ground. I’ve had my v1 since it was released and it’s been rock solid.

 

[sinecrafter]

Save your money and buy the Fender Tre-Verb, not the Strymon Flint.