Tremolo vs. Delay

[Nev375]

If you had room on your board for only one more pedal and you were happy with everything else which would you prefer? And which specific pedal would you get?

Bonus points for those who actually make a choice instead of going both/other/neither.

 

[Peaveylover]

You can get a faux delay with a tremolo with a hard cutoff and it is actually easier to control so I say go with Tremolo. The MAd Dr Stutter deluxe by Idiotbox is good, but weirdly seems to cut a little lows off the signal.

 

[TOOL460002]

Delay. Boss DD-7. Tremolo is not that useful in a band setting. I don't find much related to dynamics to be noticeable outside of a mix (square wave tremolo would be an exception). For reference, I still have a Guyatone Ultrem that has just sat around/for sale for quite some time, and if you can't make that work on bass, I don't know what will do it. I also went with the Boss delay having owned as big as an Eventide and as small, but high-end as Empress. I keep trying to replace the DD-7 but nothing really does it for my needs.

 

[GMC]

If you had room on your board for only one more pedal and you were happy with everything else which would you prefer? And which specific pedal would you get?

Bonus points for those who actually make a choice instead of going both/other/neither.

Well...what do you expect for free...personally, I would get both in a single unit like an Eventide H9, it'll have all the delays you could ever want, reverbs galore and trems of every sort...plus undulators which are kind of a similar thing. Plus it's algorithms are top drawer and sound great.

 

[lfmn16]

Unless you're just wanking away with pedals at random, hoping something will sound good, the purpose of pedals is to achieve your musical goals. So the question is, which musical goal do you want to give up?

 

[jbybj]

More dirt!!

 

[Nev375]

Unless you're just wanking away with pedals at random, hoping something will sound good,...

You make it sound like this is a bad thing. lol.

I have no musical goals anymore. Just curiosity and wanting to enjoy what life I have left.

 

[lfmn16]

You make it sound like this is a bad thing. lol.

I have no musical goals anymore. Just curiosity and wanting to enjoy what life I have left.

Then you can just flip a coin to decide.

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

MXR Carbon Copy Mini.

 

[brocket]

Assuming you are looking for a space filler and not a specific tonal need, how about something with a little more utility like an expression pedal (if your current pedals could use one) or how about a looper? With some fancy footwork, a looper could work as a tremolo and a delay....

 

[Jazzkuma]

I know this isnt the answer you are looking for but I would say neither if its initial purpose was to fill a empty space on the board.

i think you will find out yourself whether you need a trem or need a delay later.

 

[Killing Floor]

If you’re a bassist you might not be a lead guitarist.
Best made:

 

[Tommy V]

MS-60B MultiStomp Bass Pedal

 

[CMallett]

I seem to be the only person who finds more uses for tremolo than delay on bass, so trem is my vote. I'm a fan of the ZVex Sonar. Great hard gate to complete silence, no volume drop, no loss of low-end. Also has their machine circuit built in to help cut through mixes.

 

[Rolling Thunder]

Unless you're just wanking away with pedals at random, hoping something will sound good, the purpose of pedals is to achieve your musical goals. So the question is, which musical goal do you want to give up?

The OP is basically saying that he has only 1 car in a 2 car garage and can't decide between a Harley Davidson and a Ford F-150.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

If you had room on your board for only one more pedal and you were happy with everything else which would you prefer? And which specific pedal would you get?

Bonus points for those who actually make a choice instead of going both/other/neither.

I’m just going to say tremolo just so I can get the bonus points, but I’m willing to give them back if you ever get to my gigs only to find I have a grand total of zero pedals and no pedal board.

 

[Nev375]

The OP is basically saying that he has only 1 car in a 2 car garage and can't decide between a Harley Davidson and a Ford F-150.

Exactly. We should all be so lucky to go through such a benign mid life crisis.

 

[Plectrum72]

Had a few instances where delay was needed. Never had an instance where tremolo was needed. I've got a Boss DD-3 and DD-7 (one pedal board lives at home and one lives at the rehearsal space). Either one suits me at a gig.

 

[Analogeezer]

Tremolo is an AMPLITUDE modulation effect, the modulator jacks the volume up and down so unless you are going for some kinda special effect I don't see the point in rapidly having your volume go in and out unless you are trying to make your amp sound broken LOL.

Tremolo IS the sound on guitar on the old surf records and of course what made Creedence Creedence; I was in a band that played "Born on the Bayou" and could not get it through the guitar player's thick head you need TREMOLO to get that sound, he just kept futzing with a damn chorus pedal. Chorus modulates the PITCH, Tremolo modulates the amplitude, all they have in common is they both modulate the signal.

I'm a total delay freak, I own a way vintage cool Lexicon SuperPrime time in my studio F/X rack along with a Line Six Echo Pro (which emulates various classic delay devices). Even then the only use I ever found for delay on bass was a slapback kinda effect to sound like the intro to "Cygnus X1" or on a bass solo harmonics thing.

On regular bass? Just not my jam but I'm not a big fan of effects on bass.

NOW on OTHER STUFF, oh yell yeah I love effects processors which is why I have 9 of the things in my studio rack, but they rarely get used on bass tracks.

Analogeezer

 

[Fun With Dirt]

I don't tend to lay the delay on thick so a good reverb, assuming you have that on your board already, might serve that purpose well enough for me. So, I'd go with Tremolo.