Use of vibrato pedals in surf

dontrunfrombears Joined: Nov 05, 2021 Posts: 62	Posted on Oct 23 2023 08:53 AM Do you guys use one? If you do which one do you use? I have a Boss VB-2w but thinking a Surfy Vibe might be a worthwhile alternative Top
DeathTide Joined: Apr 13, 2018 Posts: 1374 New Orleans	Posted on Oct 23 2023 11:10 AM I have tried a bunch of tremolo petals. None are vibrato they are all tremolo. I've only heard of one actual vibrato pedal which is that weird Bigsby pedal, nothing else I have seen actually changes the pitch. The EHX Stereo Pulsar is the one I ended up loving for normal tremolo. It had so many ways to shape, yet the controls aren't overwhelming. It never cuts off the pick attack, which a few other trem pedals do. For harmonic tremolo I really didn't find any pedals that did it. Possibly I am spoiled because I have six brownface amps that have it, so I know what it is supposed to sound like. I've tried: SurfyVibe - this sounded great but was mono. Kind of like a mellower version of the SurfyTrem. SurfyTrem - this is the closest to the tube harmonic vibrato, but it's not the same. It is my 2nd favorite pedal though. Effectrode Tube-Vibe - A lovely sound from a couple of tubes, like a 40s AM radio sound. Pretty beautiful, but it changes the tone drastically (seems to have a reverse scoop, it drops treble and bass and ends up with a lovely midrange), and also it takes a half-second to take effect (which is a total dealbreaker). Also it’s a mono pedal so I ended up not being able to use it. Effectrode Delta Trem - a stereo trem pedal that uses tubes and has lots of options. Out of all the options, I found one setting that sounded good, which was just like the trem found in BF / SF. What I hated was that the input is a TRS jack instead of two TS jacks, and for whatever reason that seemed to insert noise and problems. Fulltone Supatrem - My first stereo trem pedal. It sounds great but both of mine broke, and then I found out the owner is a misogynist pig so I stopped using them. They had both broken anyhow, one channel stopped having the effect both times. If it works and you don’t mind supporting a total asshole, the pedal sounds great for amp-like trem. Magnavibe - kinda swirly phasey trem, still not really vibrato but almost. This pedal is kind of spacey, and also it’s mono. Spaceman Delta II sounds great but like the Tube-Vibe it really changes the tone. It is a lovely, beautiful, and haunting sound but too “lo-fi” for my tastes. Also a mono pedal. If this existed in stereo I’d probably use it. I loved the sound. Boss TR-2 - a classic but I found it cut off pick attack! I was tremolo picking and I noticed every few strokes, I lost the pick attack. So that was an instant “never using again” moment. Zeppelin Quavero - this pedal has lots of possibilities, if you remove the bottom plate and mess with the DIP switches. I made the mistake of doing that and I was just never able to get a good sound. The manual says you can adjust what frequencies get the effect, but I found that actually cut off the other freqs leaving me with a very “containted” sound. Back and forth with the company provided no help. I just couldn’t use it. Back when I had lots of money I commissioned a build from Tim at Milkman for a stereo tube harmonic vibrato. It cost me just under $1800 and uses five preamp tubes, similar to the first 1960 harmonic vibrato circuit. It sounds exactly like the vintage amps, with two channels. It is GLORIOUS. If you are really looking to get the actual sound of those Fender Brown harmonic vibratos in a stomp box pedal, you may have to search for a while! And I’d love to hear it if you find it. — Daniel Deathtide Last edited: Oct 23, 2023 11:13:02 Top
Squid Joined: Aug 22, 2010 Posts: 1018 Portland, Oregon with Insanitizers	Posted on Oct 23 2023 12:08 PM The Zoom G1Xon pedal has both tremolo and vibrato, along with spring reverb and stacked delays. Other Zoom pedals probably also have all these. Among the several vibrato effects is a one that emulates a guitar vibrato arm, if you set it appropriately including control via built-in pedal. I used it on a bass guitar in the lead for "Fright Night" and it is prominent at song ending. — Insanitizers! http://www.insanitizers.com Last edited: Oct 23, 2023 12:09:51 Top
chiba Joined: Sep 02, 2022 Posts: 514 Central VA	Posted on Oct 24 2023 09:22 AM I use the Spaceman Delta II and BOSS TR-2 and like them both. They both affect your tone to a certain extent, but that's part of what I like about them. — -- Project: MAYHEM by Hypersonic Secret now available! Top
edwardsand Joined: Jun 29, 2018 Posts: 757	Posted on Oct 24 2023 10:00 AM I've got a Stereo Pulsar, like DeathTide, and been quite happy with it. I should probably spend more time dialing in what sounds I like the most, but I usually just set it one way and go with it for a while. When you plug it into two separate amps, the stereo effect is awesome. Top
Surfadelphia Joined: Sep 04, 2017 Posts: 431	Posted on Oct 24 2023 04:42 PM The Harmonic Trem option in my True Spring pedal actually sounds pretty good (it also does Bias Mod and Opto). It helps to turn up the pedal output to around 2 o'clock to make up for the slight volume loss. Top

Top

SurfGuitar101 Forums » Gear »

Use of vibrato pedals in surf