Which tremolo is the thickest?

Chris V. · #1 02-23-2008, 02:53 PM

Hello!

I have looked at these three tremolo pedals -

Carl Martin Surf Trem
Electro-Harmonix XO Pulsar Stereo
Marshall VT1 VibraTrem

I'm looking for a very deep, warm and thick tremolo sound. Which one would be the best with those specifications in mind?

Thanks a lot.

Peace,
Chris.

Jared Lash · #2 02-23-2008, 03:03 PM

Hmm, it sounds like you are looking for a tube tremolo. Of the three you listed the only one I've tried is the EHX and I ended up selling it.

Considering the price of the Carl Martin trem, I might suggest you also include the Guyatone VTX which is cheaper and sounds like might be the type of sound you are looking for.

Personally, my favorite is the Empress which is has a ton of features (including a "tube" setting) and sounds fantastic.

bongomania · #3 02-23-2008, 03:03 PM

None of the above. It's worth searching on "tremolo" here, as we've had many good threads on the subject. The two I always recommend for deep/warm/thick are the Aramat Tubular Tremolo and the Guyatone VTX "Flip".

bassteban · #4 02-23-2008, 03:05 PM

Have you reviewed the Flip Trem?

Chris V. · #5 02-23-2008, 03:40 PM

Hmmm... Maybe I'll just get a new pickups for my g****r with the gift card and wait for a good deal on the Guyatone VTX. It really does sound good...

bigchiefbc · #6 02-23-2008, 04:15 PM

Also, you might want to take a look at the EHX Wiggler, which is a tube trem/vibe. I've never tried it, but it sounded awesome in the demos I've seen

Jared Lash · #7 02-23-2008, 04:27 PM

I haven't tried one myself, so I may be wrong, but I believe the Wiggler is yet another Uni-Vibe type boxes. At least that's what I remember from my free EHX DVD I got from one of my pedals.

bongomania · #8 02-23-2008, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassteban

Have you reviewed the Flip Trem?

I haven't done an "official" review but I've made many comments about it in various threads. The short version is that the tone is fantastic but like many other tube pedals it is susceptible to a bit of extra noise.

lunarpollen · #9 02-23-2008, 04:40 PM

I'm curious as to what would make one tremolo "thicker" than the other. Assuming we are talking about the effect that basically just repetitively cuts volume in and out at a rate and depth selectable by the user (and even the cheap ones I've tried allow for at least a choice between "hard" and "soft" tremolo).

bigchiefbc · #10 02-23-2008, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBigO

I haven't tried one myself, so I may be wrong, but I believe the Wiggler is yet another Uni-Vibe type boxes. At least that's what I remember from my free EHX DVD I got from one of my pedals.

It can do straight tremolo too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IGnqO7U08w

Jared Lash · #11 02-23-2008, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigchiefbc

It can do straight tremolo too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IGnqO7U08w

My mistake. When I posted that I thought I was in the "vibrato pedals" thread where the OP was looking for a Vibrato that wasn't based on the Uni-Vibe.

As for lunarpollen's question, yeah, if you don't have a good clean tone then a tremolo isn't going to help your tone at all. But the waveform of a tremolo does make a difference. An asymmetrical waveform (which I believe Tube trems are) sounds quite a bit different than a triangle waveform regardless of the depth.

Max Roberts · #12 02-23-2008, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBigO

Personally, my favorite is the EMMA which is has a ton of features (including a "tube" setting) and sounds fantastic.

Do you mean Empress? Emma don't make a trem.

Ryan Mohr · #13 02-23-2008, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Max Roberts

Do you mean Empress? Emma don't make a trem.

They did at one point, the truAMPLItron. http://filters.muziq.be/model/emma/truamplitron

Max Roberts · #14 02-23-2008, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AqueousView11

They did at one point, the truAMPLItron. http://filters.muziq.be/model/emma/truamplitron

Wow, I didn't know that. I don't remember TheBigO having an emma though, and I seem to remember him having an empress.

bongomania · #15 02-23-2008, 05:41 PM

+1

Also I agree with BigO about the assymetrical waveform; plus of the two that I recommended, one was also a tube preamp with some of that natural compression and coloration, and the other includes a FET boost with similar qualities. So neither are "just" a repetitive volume cut, they are also active "tone" boosters.

Jared Lash · #16 02-23-2008, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Max Roberts

Wow, I didn't know that. I don't remember TheBigO having an emma though, and I seem to remember him having an empress.

Yep, brain fart. I had a DiscomBOBulator at one point but I still don't know why I'd mix the two up. I love my Empress. In fact, I love it so much that I was bummed that I missed out on an auction Steve had for a custom Tremolo for charity. It ended up going for $280 or so and he said he'd do a one off paint job and/or a custom waveform.

I'm also patiently waiting for his delay to hit the market but that's a topic for another thread.

JanusZarate · #17 02-23-2008, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bongomania

I haven't done an "official" review but I've made many comments about it in various threads. The short version is that the tone is fantastic but like many other tube pedals it is susceptible to a bit of extra noise.

I had the Guyatone FLIP Tremolo for a short period of time as well. I agree with Bongo - it's an awesome tremolo with a powerful presence and "cut." Its hiss level is IMO mild and forgivable.

But I also noticed something else - something that bugged me more. It pulsed heavily when not playing.

bongomania · #18 02-23-2008, 07:38 PM

Well, see, that's the downfall of many trem circuits- if they "cut only" then you don't hear any noise, but your overall signal level sounds a lot quieter (since the average is much lower); so the good ones add a boost stage at the end, which brings the average levels back up, but which also raises the noise floor a lot- and which by extension turns the noise up to a very high level on the waveform peaks, which you hear when you're not playing.

So far the Aramat is the only one I've used that had a satisfactory boost with minimal noise resulting, but the Empress and a few of the other high-end units are said to be quieter yet.

reens · #19 02-23-2008, 07:53 PM

just out of curiosity, what does the EHX Pulsar sound like for bass usage? I was planning on getting one for guitar work, but would be great if there's no major issues for bass, eg drop out...

Jared Lash · #20 02-23-2008, 07:56 PM

IME it worked equally well on bass as guitar. I ended up selling mine to my guitar player, not because it didn't work well on bass but simply because it wasn't what I wanted in a tremolo.