Tremolo recommendation - school me

[DeweyPeek]

I'm looking for a tremolo, specifically though, I'd like one with a level knob (or boost).

Some that caught my eye are the mojo hand bayou, catalog read valcoder, earthquaker hummingbird. Any other recommendations welcome though.

I'm looking for classic trem tones, not sure specifically what style though as I don't really know how the different kinds sound...

 

[beexter]

Suhr Jack Rabbit. Works great as a clean boost with the depth control turned to minimum and the trem variations are lovely.

 

[tjnies]

I used a vintage Vibro Champ as my benchmark. Best tube trem anywhere. And I like the ability to get a soft shimmer them effect.

With that, I tried several pedals. Most could not get me to the shimmer mentioned previously. Probably the best was VFE Old School. But there is a guy that builds pedals on TGP, who was able to alter his normal builds to give me exactly what I wanted.

The Kingsley Bard has a 12ax7 tube, and is meant to mimic the VC. Not cheap, though...

 

[RetroTeleRod]

I have one of these. Vintage sounds, boost knob and adjustable tone. Nice!

 

[tremolo3]

If money is not an issue, get an Empress Tremolo 2.

 

[aunchaki]

I love trem and have a BOSS TR-2. It does what I need, but I'm always looking. The Wampler Latitude really got my attention, also the Dawner Prince Effects Starla:

 

[waparker4]

Simple, classic, affordable, Voodoo Labs Tremolo

 

[RCinMempho]

No volume knob, but a Danelectro Tuna Melt will get you through two or three songs a night way under $50. You can find much worse sounding pedals for a lot more.

 

[bigben55]

Lots of good ones. I really like my Fulltone Supa Trem ST-1. Besides sounding just like BF/SF Fender amp tremolo, the slow/fast switch is great. Slow sounds like tremolo, fast can be used as almost a faux leslie-Vibratone effect. Simple and great pedal with a couple tricks up its sleeve.

 

[Dr Anatta]

Simple, classic, affordable, Voodoo Labs Tremolo

That's what I was dropping into write. Can't go wrong with Voodoo Labs. And if anything ever goes wrong, they'll make sure it is repaired or replaced.

 

[Obsessed]

It took me along time and many tremolo pedals to learn this, but there are three different kinds of Fender tremolo and of course other amp trems. If you have a trem in your head that you are looking for, it is more important to find that music and determine which trem was used. There are a bunch of excellent pedals for each tremolo, but until you make that determination, you'll be shooting in the dark like I did for years.

 

[DeweyPeek]

It took me along time and many tremolo pedals to learn this, but there are three different kinds of Fender tremolo and of course other amp trems. If you have a trem in your head that you are looking for, it is more important to find that music and determine which trem was used. There are a bunch of excellent pedals for each tremolo, but until you make that determination, you'll be shooting in the dark like I did for years.

I knew it couldn't be that easy lol. Thanks for the responses! Guess I'll just keep looking for exactly what kind of trem I want.

 

[mexicanyella]

I recently traded off a Voodoo Lab trem pedal that I bought in '99 or so. I like trem but didn't end up using it much. There are two versions I'm aware of; one has two knobs and the other has four. I had the latter and found it pretty fiddly to dial in. It had some good sounds in it, and you could dial the intensity way down and the output up and use it for a mild signal boost.

What I found hardest to live with, YMMV, was the extreme speed range available on the speed knob. What I think of as "cool, useable tremolo" occurred in only about 20% of the knob's rotation--if that--and outside of that range it seemed ridiculously slow or fast to me.

But other's tastes may differ and aside from that, it was a nice-looking and well-constructed device from what I could tell. Worth a try.

 

[GuitarJonz]

No volume knob, but a Danelectro Tuna Melt will get you through two or three songs a night way under $50. You can find much worse sounding pedals for a lot more.

+1, I have one on my board, and it gets the job done nicely for the 2-3 trem songs we typically do. I first learned of these when I saw one hanging off the side of Bill Kirchen's board at a show about 10 years ago. His pedalboard back then had a TU-2 tuner>>old Boss DM-2 delay>>Tubescreamer>>Tuna Melt trem. He used the Tuna Melt on a bunch of dieselbilly tunes, and it sounded great. If I was doing more trem, I'd like to try a Boss TM-2.

 

[DaveKS]

Current no brainer to try at this moment are these last run VFE Old School v1. $119 and he wants low ball offers beyond that. 9 color/knob combos to choose from. It has features you seek and can cover a huge swath of trem sounds. I wouldn't hesitate on the $119 price, this is a superb 1st choice for trem.

https://reverb.com/item/2169384-vfe-pedals-old-school-v1-vintage-tremolo

Think this one is especially handsome.
image removed

Andy demos it just right.






You've been end "Schooled", pun intended. ;-)

 

[crossroader]

If money is not an issue, get an Empress Tremolo 2.

I've got the first generation Empress Tremolo on my big board - GREAT pedal!!!

If money IS an object, I have the Danelectro Cool Cat Tremolo on my smaller board.
It doesn't have an external level control, but there is a an internal pot to adjust the output level.
For a simple, straightforward trem, it's VERY nice. Built like a little tank and even true bypass - all for under $50.

 

[maxvintage]

I like the trems in the strymon flint pedal. The harmonic trem is awesome especially

 

[losrogers]

If money is not an issue, get an Empress Tremolo 2.

Great pedal. I regrettably sold mine. I remember being fond of rhythms 1 and 5. Very high quality sound, versatile settings, great boost capability, 4-presets with nice LEDs! Tap tempo, convenient ratio/rate knob. Big mistake selling that one.

Then I tried the Source Audio Vertigo. By comparison, the Vertigo lacked in every area. Especially build quality. Lots of interesting sounds and settings for sure, but the tones were far less pleasing than Empress. The switch sucked, loud pop in the speaker every time I turned it on. Wasn't too impressed with the Neuro iPhone app either. Felt gimmicky and a hassle. That pedal proved to be the toughest sale ever when I finally dumped it.

Boss TR-2 replaced that. Maybe old and boring but I'll keep this one. It's simple, solid and sounds good.
I'm curious about the current issue TR-2 vs. Analogman Super Tremolo mod? What's the reality there?

Strymon Flint. I've wanted one of these for years and IMO it holds up to the good reviews. The harmonic trem is awesome. And so is the reverb side of the pedal. The Flint doesn't do everything the Empress Tremolo2 can, but there is a similarity to sound quality and tone.

Basic Audio Throbby and Fulltone Supa-Trem 2. These two sound delicious; haven't tried them yet.

 

[DeweyPeek]

I like the trems in the strymon flint pedal. The harmonic trem is awesome especially

Really like the options on this pedal but it doesn't have a level knob.

 

[Tele295]

I've been through a lot of tremolo pedals and built-in circuits. This one feels most like classic Fender amp trem, and has the most versatility, due to the Slope and Volume boost controls