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A little while back Pigtronix contacted me asking if we’d be interested in demo’ing a pedal of theirs.  I’ve definitely highlighted their products in the past. They make absolutely great pedals, so I was very interested in what they wanted to send over. About a week later I received the Pigtronix Tremvelope.

The Pigtronix Tremvelope is a tremolo on steroids… and really thought out. First off it’s a optical stereo panning tremolo. For this demo we did not demo the stereo or panning capabilities but focused on the tremolo and the envelope aspect of it. The envelope portion of the pedal is what really caught my ear and what separates this tremolo from others. By adjusting the sensitivity, the tremolo will affect your signal as your signal fades, so it reacts to how you play. The speed and depth are affected by how hard you play. Pretty cool!

Pigtronix set the Tremvelope with all the controls to manage all points of the effect. You can turn the envelope feature on/off, as well as controlling the speed, depth, sensitivity and waveform.

Here is the official description from Pigtronix’s web site on the Tremvelope:

Tremvelope puts a new spin on a classic effect. This tremolo pedal allows the dynamics of your playing to change the speed and depth of the effect. The result brings traditional sound to a whole new level that is intuitive, engaging and totally addictive.

Tremvelope is a versatile, high fidelity optical tremolo with stereo panning outputs. The Tremvelope’s fat sounding audio path is modulated by SPEED, DEPTH and WAVEFORM controls. When the envelope is switched on, the tremolo effect is influenced by what you play. The SPEED and DEPTH knobs can each be assigned to increase or decrease in response to the strength of the signal coming from your instrument. These changes start from where the knobs are set and independently move in the assigned direction.

The ACCELERATION switch adjusts the response time of the tremolo to changes in your playing and the SENSITIVITY knob provides control over the amount of increase it takes to create changes in the tremolo settings. Expression pedal inputs for speed, and vol / pan add external foot control to this animated beast of a pedal. There is also a TRIGGER input for running the Tremvelope late in an effects chain but still allowing your clean signal (or even a different instrument entirely) to control the envelope directly.

Go forth and modulate!

For this demo, we have Jimmy Rolle and he’s using his American Fender Standard Stratocaster into his Germino Lead 55 head through a Marshall 4×12 cabinet. There is nothing between the guitar and amp except for the Pigtronix Tremvelope. Audio is captured using a Fathead Ribbon Microphone and a Shure SM57 Mic, both close mic’d.

You can listen to the high quality MP3 clip via SoundCloud

As you can hear, this is a great sounding tremolo that takes the tremolo effect into a new direction. I can see some guitarists going nuts for this thing. If the Pigtronix Tremvelope is something you are interested it is available for $249.00 at Amazon.

Please check out Pigtronix’s site for their other great products, as well as liking them on Facebook to see what they’re up to.

Popularity: 3%

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CONTEST IS CLOSED

Wow, it’s a winter wonderland here in Montana today. Concerned about my family traveling home after Thanksgiving, but when you live up here, you definitely know how to handle the roads. Anyways, hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I thought I’d commemorate Black Friday by announcing a give away… a black pedal give away!

This give away will be for the very interesting Perfect Square Hyperslicer pedal. I personally love the give aways where it’s something a little different. Something unique. Here is a chance to have something on the board where the question will be… what is that pedal? We did a demo of the Perfect Square Hyperslicer a few weeks ago, and you can read/watch/hear this pedal here – “Perfect Square Electronics – Hyperslicer Demo”

Analog tone digital control
After a year of research and development, we’re excited to bring you, a genre-bridging effect.  Like the future of music, it is a unique blend of the old and the new.  An analog signal path with a digital control, the HYPERSLICER has the best of both worlds.

Here is the official product demo introduction of the Perfect Square Hyperslicer by owner/operator Ben Anderson (PERFECTSQELECTRONICS).

I want to take a moment and thank Ben Anderson for sponsoring this give away! Please check out Perfect Square Electronics for more information on the Hyperslicer!

I’m going to select one random entry on December 9th. I will email that random entry asking for the answer to the question listed below. They will have 24 hours to respond with the answer. If the 24 hours passes and I don’t hear from that finalist, I will select a new random entry and repeat the process until I receive confirmation from the winner.  This is open to everyone. Yes, that means international! Also, one entry per person.  Please read that last sentence again… “one” “entry” “per” “person”. And when I say ‘everyone’, I mean anyone older than 18 (sorry minors).

The submission form will be open until December 9th (Friday) 12PM MST. This means you should get this pedal before Christmas!

On top of that, I’m going to sweeten the deal. If you ‘LIKE’ EffectsBay on Facebook and you’re selected as the winner, I’ll throw in a extra prize – PRIZE 1 (x3) OR PRIZE 2 OR PRIZE 3 (x3). If you’re the winner (and like EffectsBay), you get to pick which one of the bonus prizes.

So, it’s pretty much a no-brainer to like Effectsbay on Facebook! Just click ‘like’ below or visit the EffectsBay Facebook page here.

So the question is…. “What piece of gear are you hoping to acquire in 2012?“

Popularity: 9%

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A while back, Ben Anderson of Perfect Square Electronics contacted me to see if we could do a demo of their new pedal, the Hyperslicer. Of course we were interested. The Hyperslicer is an interesting pedal that takes a ‘tremolo’ to a different place, by focusing on digitally slicing the signal path.

Analog tone digital control
After a year of research and development, we’re excited to bring you, a genre-bridging effect.  Like the future of music, it is a unique blend of the old and the new.  An analog signal path with a digital control, the HYPERSLICER has the best of both worlds.

You can control the slice speed via the tap tempo foot switch (80-480 BPM). There is a hyperspace frequency control which controls the the degree of ‘cut’. Setting it to ’1′ will provide 25% silence.. while max will give you 75% silence. The future time projection control adjusts the repeats of the slice. Setting this to 2, 4 or 8 and pushing the footswitch down will automatically give you that amount of slices at the time you have selected (tap temp and hyperspace frequency). Changing this value to infinite, you can hold the footswitch down for infinite slices. Both switches are momentary foot switches, so it is not true bypass pedal.

For the demo, I again enlisted the help of my good friend Jimmy Rolle. He’s playing his trusty Les Paul Custom Shop Elegant, but to change things up, he’s using a new amp, the Germino Lead 55 through a Marshall 4×12 cabinet. We used a Shure SM57 and a Fathead Ribbon mic for capturing the audio. Nothing in the signal chain between the guitar and the amp besides the Hyperslicer.

For this demo video we placed the Hyperslicer on the ground since it’s requires foot work to control the effect. It’s important to note that this demo illustrates the functionality of the slicing capability. There are a lot of creative possibilities with this pedal for sure.

You can listen to the high quality MP3 clip via SoundCloud

Please visit Perfect Square Electronics for more information about the Hyperslicer. Contact Ben for pricing and availability. I plan to include this pedal as an upcoming give away, so keep an eye out for it.

Popularity: 6%

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Jon S. Patton mentioned on the EffectsBay Facebook page about a couple of good deals going on for a couple of Danelectro Pedals and I thought it would be good to repost them. The two pedals mentioned were the Danelectro DJ-5C Tuna Melt and the Danelectro DE-1 Dan Echo.

The Danelectro DJ-5C Tuna Melt is a Tremolo pedal. Normally this pedal lists for $49.99, but is on sale for $33.12 and the pedal ships with FREE super saver shipping.

Here is the official description of the Danelectro DJ-5C Tuna Melt:

Features controls for speed and depth. A Hard/Soft switch gives you the trems from different ’50s amps.

* Hard/soft switch for ’50s-style amp tremolo sounds
* Speed and depth controls

The Danelectro DE-1 Dan Echo is a a echo delay. Normally this pedal lists for $129.99, but is on sale for $79.95 and the pedal ships with FREE super saver shipping.

Here is the official description of the Danelectro DE-1 Dan Echo:

The Danelectro DE-1 Dan-Echo Guitar Pedal offers you the warmth of “all-tube” echo and the convenience of a pedal. Hi-cut control cuts the highs on repeats to perfectly simulate the tone of a 60s-era tape echo. The Dan Echo pedal is studio quiet. Powered by 9V battery (included) or optional DA-1 power supply

Thanks Jon!

Popularity: 4%

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Today, I was checking Amazon for any good sales… and boy, did I find one. This is on the Carl Martin Trem O’Vibe tremolo pedal. Normally this pedal lists for $457.00. It usually sells for $319.90 at Musician’s Friend.. but read this, it’s on sale for only $115.64 at Amazon! Here’s the catch, at the time of this post, there are only 2 left in stock, so you’ll need to jump on it if you want one.

Here is the official description:

The Carl Martin TremO´vibe is an analog “two in one” effect pedal consisting of a tremolo and a real vibrato, both with independent sets of speed and depth controls. The tremolo effect works like a change in volume. The vibrato, which works as a change in tone (pitch modulation), is carefully designed to imitate the sound of a real tube vibrato. Featuring two switches, The “on” switch allows you to engage or bypass the unit. The “select” switch allows you to switch between Tremolo and Vibrato. The Carl Martin TremO´vibe is an excellent choice for Guitar, Bass, Keyboard, or any other electronic instrument, that requires the highest sonic clarity, maximum dynamic range and noise free performance. The unit has a built in regulated power supply which enables us to design circuitry of the highest quality with maximum headroom.

Again, this pedal is on sale at Amazon for only $115.64! If you’re looking for a trem pedal, this could be the deal you’ve been waiting for.

Popularity: 3%

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So I’m hoping everyone knows that I have a sponsored give away with Chicago Music Exchange and we’re giving away a Marshall VT-1 Vibratrem. I had a few emails asking about this pedal, so I thought I would mention it today. If you haven’t entered into the give away, you can do so here. Also, take advantage of the Chicago Music Exchange coupon exclusive to EffectsBay.com readers. Info is within the Marshall VT-1 Vibratrem give away post.

So the Marshall VT-1 Vibratrem is a pedal that combines vibrato and tremolo effects. This Marshall pedal is no longer in production, so it makes this give away a little more special.

I found a video by MikesMusic475 where he plays through the various settings.

If you’re liking what this pedal can do, please enter win the Marshall VT-1 Vibratrem – sponsored give away with Chicago Music Exchange.

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CONTEST IS CLOSED

Hello All! I’m excited to be offering another EffectsBay.com sponsored give away! This one is brought to you by the good folks at Chicago Music Exchange. I contacted Lou about a week ago to see if they’d be interested in sponsoring this give away, and he was excited to offer up a prize. This give away we’re giving away a Marshall VT-1 Vibratrem pedal.

The Marshall VT-1 Vibratrem  is a vibrato and tremolo pedal. Here is the official description:

Combines both vibrato and tremolo effects. Just select the mode, depth, rate, and shape. It also features stereo output for a more enveloping sound.

Chicago Music Exchange has this available for $74.99, but you can get it for FREE by entering in the give away below.

First I would like to thank Chicago Music Exchange for offering up the pedal for this sponsored give away. Chicago Music Exchange has been helping musicians and collectors for over 20 years. They have a very wide selection of effects, guitars, amps, and also offer various services from repair, lessons and the buying/selling of vintage and used gear. Definitely one-stop shop. Their web site is top notch and easy to navigate and they’re active on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.. so follow them for upcoming deals and promotions.

To sweeten this give away, Chicago Music Exchange is also offering a exclusive coupon code to EffectsBay.com readers. Simply sign up to their newsletter, and use the coupon code EFFECTSBAY1 at checkout to receive 5% off your next order over $25 and free shipping (most times). This offer is good until Dec. 31, 2010!

Okay, now for the give away! This give away will be running for two weeks (ends December 2 at 12PM MST). I will need everyone’s help to promote this. If you have a blog, please let people know about it. If you’re on Twitter and/or Facebook, please promote it. The more action we get from give aways, I’ll be able to continue the tradition. We all love free gear right???

So how do you get in on the action and potentially win yourself a FREE Marshall VT-1 Vibratrem? First, be sure to follow EffectsBay on Twitter and/or Facebook to keep up to date with this give-away along with new give-aways.

Second, fill out the form below, in two weeks  (December 2nd) I’ll randomly pick 3 entries as finalists. I’ll email the 3 finalists and the first one out of the 3 that emails me back will be the winner.You must enter a ‘valid’ email address, bounce back emails will be rejected. One entry per person (seriously people.. one entry per person). After the winner has been notified and all is good (I’ve retrieved mailing address, etc), I’ll contact Lou at Chicago Music Exchange and coordinate the delivery to the winner.

This give away is open to everyone! <- Yes that means international

Okay, so the question:

“What would you like to be your next pedal purchase”

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After working on my tremolo project for a friend, I thought I would take a closer look at other trems out there. I wouldn’t mind making a few adjustments or work on another similar project, so it’s fun to see what’s possible. For today’s ‘research’ I thought I ‘d look at the MXR M159 Stereo Tremolo.

Here is the official description:

With its warm analog circuitry and lush tremolo sound, the Dunlop TS-1 set the standard for tremolo pedals for over a decade. The MXR M159 Tremolo Pedal keeps all the effects and controls of the original-but in a smaller, pedalboard-friendly size. Its 18-volt operation provides rich and vibrant sound with low noise due to its high headroom. With the versatile input/output options the M159 guitar pedal can produce hypnotic, pulsing mono tremolo through a single amp or ping-ponged from one amp to another in stereo mode for a huge, spacious tone.

Of course I found a great video by jimdunlopusa. They usually have great descriptive demos of their pedals.

You can pick up the MXR M159 Stereo Tremolo for $169.99 at Musician’s Friend.

Remember, if you like reading about these pedals and seeing videos reviews from others, please subscribe to the RSS feed and get notified via email when there are new postings!

Popularity: 3%

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A musician here in town heard from a mutual friend that I was into pedal projects and he was interested in getting a tremolo pedal. One of my big things as I try to get better with my skills is to continually work on projects. Practice definitely improves your ability to work electronics. You become more efficient and proficient with various tasks from soldering to drilling enclosures, etc. So what I’ve been doing is only charging for parts. Pedal repairs.. I usually accept a 6 pack for my troubles. I’m always looking for opportunities to fire up the soldering iron.

Anyways, this guy wanted a tremolo. I started reviewing various schematics on the internet. Tremolos are definitely more intense than my normal projects. One schematic that looked appealing was at General Guitar Gadgets (EA Tremolo). I fired up my DIY Layout Creator and started laying it out for a vero board. One thing that was evident right away was the size of the board. Vero is great but it can be a pain trying to get the size down to where you want/need it. While I was dicking around with that, I could see the General Guitar Gadgets PCB staring at me in the monitor and decided to just buy the PCB and be done with the hassle.

I also opted to go with the blinking LED mod that would flash the LED with the speed trem speed. I like to things move/blink, so that was a obvious choice. I had most of the components on hand already, but had to purchase a few resistors and the transistors.

Assembly on the PCB was cake (was happy I chose this route). I might try this again, and see if I can etch a PCB based on the schematic. I really want to go this direction in the future and move away from Vero all together. I had a few powder coated enclosures from PedalPartsPlus.com so after completing the circuit board and did my testing, I measured and drilled out the holes. I’m really starting to get a feel for my drill press and holes are coming very easy now-a-days.

After assembly I gave it a thorough test, and it sounds great. I really like the volume pot. You can overdrive circuit with it dimed. Unity gain is about 12 noon. Sounds great with tube amps. I’m not a bit tremolo guy, but I think it’ll cut the mustard. A couple of issues, the blinking LED will immediately blink when input jack is in. I’ll either break this out to the ground on the primary LED or provide a SPST switch to kill the LED. I can see some benefit to adjust the speed while the pedal is off (so you don’t have to engage it to see the rate). Not sure. I’ll ask the guy who this is for.. and go from there. Here is a shot from top.

If you’re into tweaking, building, modding.. love to include your stories as well. Let me know if you’re interested in a guest post!

Popularity: 7%

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Today, I wanted to talk about the Worm by Electro Harmonix. I stumbled across a older video demo by Peter Stroud, but I wasn’t too familiar with this pedal at all.  The worm looks and sounds pretty cool. It’s a ‘all analog’ effects processor with phase, trem, vibrato and modulated wah. Pretty interesting.

Here is the official description by Electro-Harmonix:

The Electro-Harmonix Worm is a guitar effects pedal with an all-analog multi-effects processor featuring Phaser, Tremolo, Vibrato, and a Neo-modulated Wah. At the heart of The Worm is a specially designed tone-bending engine that creates groundbreaking oscillatory effects.

Electro-Harmonix XO Worm Analog Modulation Multi Effects Pedal Features:

* True bypass
* Mode-selectable analog modulation effects: wah, phaser, vibrato, tremolo
* Manual mode removes the modulation so the effects can be swept by hand
* Optional expression pedal sweep capability
* Tough and compact die-cast chassis
* 24VDC-100 power supply included

Below is the video I mentioned above by EHX. This is the older chassis version. The current version comes in the smaller enclosure.

You can pick up the Electro-Harmonix XO Worm Analog Modulation pedal for $103.50 at Musician’s Friend.

Remember, if you like reading about these pedals and seeing videos reviews from others, please subscribe to the RSS feed and get notified via email when there are new postings!

Popularity: 5%

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