Empress Tremolo or Boss SL-20 Slicer?

[j_nition]

thinking about dropping some pre-eminent x-mas cash on a Tremolo to experiment with on Bass.


narrowed it down to these two using this criteria in mind:

-MUST HAVE tap tempo
-Must be able to do rhythmic wave forms
-Must be able to do at least triangle and square waves at a wide range of depth control


EBS Tremolo was a close consideration but I feel like the lack of a tap tempo, even an external capability really killed this one for me.

What do you guys think?

[ItsMichaelYeah]

What kind of music is this for?

off the bat IMO I would get the Empress Tremolo

[j_nition]

I play in a worship band for my church. That being said, I don't strive to make my playing necessarily "fit in" with the popular idea of what bass sounds like in a worship setting.

I like to think I can get away with everything from a punky SVT pick drive sound to more ambient effecty sounds on the slower stuff as long as it's not distracting and compliments the music.

[j_nition]

After listening to some more clips, to my ear it seems like the Empress is a more organic sounding trem while still pulling off some more interesting rythmic things and the slicer is designed for wildly unconventional rythms with the bonus of pitch modulation per wave form.

Can anyone offer some insight to weather the slicer has enough control parameters to get more toned down and traditional tremolo sounds, or is it strickly a "rave party in a box"?

[Jared Lash]

If you're looking for a tremolo, the Slicer isn't it. I'm not sure exactly what you'd call it, but it basically creates a rhythmic pattern. Very different effect, but it reminds me somewhat of the Bass MuRF in that you are tailoring what you play to the pattern it creates. I could see it being a very creative tool, but like the MuRF you almost have to write "to" the effect rather than using the effect to enhance a line you wrote.

Also, I found it far less useful on bass than on guitar.

If you're looking for a tremolo with interesting rhythms, the Empress is a good choice. Other trems that might be better for your purposes would be the Cusack Tap-A-Whirl or the Goatkeeper.

[Wud]

I've never used the Empress, but it gets good press here by lots of people.
With the SL20, you can tame the stuttery effect by balancing the effect level and direct level accordingly, and also rounding off the attack using the relevant knob.

http://www.bossarea.com/other/sl20.asp

It is a one or two trick pony granted, but it can be really creative when combined with other effects.

[j_nition]

thanks guys.. I'm thinking a trip to GC to have a hands on sesh with the slicer might be a good idea alltough I'm tipping slightly toward the Empress.

[jetofuj]

Empress is a very nice unit. There is also new Diamond tremolo you might be interested in.