bertrandbrebis wrote:

Any trem pedal will do the job really. This is the kind of FX I use without worrying about its manufacturer.

I will strongly disagree) It’s like saying “any reverb pedal will do the job”))) I have spend years searching for the “right” tremolo. But that’s surely a matter of taste.

Waikiki Makaki surf-rock band from Ukraine

https://linktr.ee/waikikimakaki

Lost Diver

https://lostdiver.bandcamp.com
https://soundcloud.com/vitaly-yakushin

congernet wrote:

Harmonic tremolo is nice but may be pretty tricky in musical context. Surfytrem has both harmonic and bias tremolo and I find the last one surely more usefull.

Would you elaborate on what you think would be tricky?

Harmonic tremolo sometimes may give some feeling of nausea that may be underlined my musical context. Some people feel it, some don’t but there is something) It’s also more easily lost in a mix due to it’s more complicated structure. But that’s just my opinion, I have a lot of BIAS tremolo on my EP but never could fit Harmonic one there. It sounds so great alone but not in a mix for me.

Waikiki Makaki surf-rock band from Ukraine

https://linktr.ee/waikikimakaki

Lost Diver

https://lostdiver.bandcamp.com
https://soundcloud.com/vitaly-yakushin

Samurai wrote:

congernet wrote:

Harmonic tremolo is nice but may be pretty tricky in musical context. Surfytrem has both harmonic and bias tremolo and I find the last one surely more usefull.

Would you elaborate on what you think would be tricky?

Harmonic tremolo sometimes may give some feeling of nausea that may be underlined my musical context. Some people feel it, some don’t but there is something) It’s also more easily lost in a mix due to it’s more complicated structure. But that’s just my opinion, I have a lot of BIAS tremolo on my EP but never could fit Harmonic one there. It sounds so great alone but not in a mix for me.

I would agree. Harmonic tremolo sounds great, but it needs to be fit in with whatever else is going on. For example, if you have a lot of reverb, harmonic tremolo might not be the best solution. But if you carefully balance the Intensity with the Speed and go with moderate reverb, or even no reverb, it can sound great. Bias tremolo is a bit easier to work with, and sounds wonderful, even when the reverb is cranked.

Like any seasoning, tremolo can add a lot, or it can detract, if overused.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

All this praise for the SurfyTrem makes me think I got a dud. Mine is VERY subtle - it sounds good, but it doesn’t go very deep. I put the Boss TR-2 back on my board.
Maybe there’s an internal setting messed up? I bought it directly from Surfybear, so I know it’s not modded.
Or are they supposed to be subtle?

Anybody else have problems with weird screeching noise with tremolos? I've bought two (Mojo Hand Sugar Baby and SurfyTrem). They both made constant noise in my apartment. I took the SurfyTrem to another house and it was quiet as a mouse. Still I had to return it because it was unusable where I live. I wonder if there is some weird interference going on where I live. Sad thing is now I'm afraid to buy another tremolo because of this.

AnkleSlapper wrote:

Anybody else have problems with weird screeching noise with tremolos? I've bought two (Mojo Hand Sugar Baby and SurfyTrem). They both made constant noise in my apartment. I took the SurfyTrem to another house and it was quiet as a mouse. Still I had to return it because it was unusable where I live. I wonder if there is some weird interference going on where I live. Sad thing is now I'm afraid to buy another tremolo because of this.

This could be a power supply issue. If two different pedals did the same thing, it's unlikely to be an identical flaw in two pedals from different manufacturers. I've had noise produced because of chaining pedals together and using the same power supply for each - the order I plugged in the power supplies sometimes made for bad noises. Maybe try plugging your trem pedals into different power outlets in the room or, if not already, into the same outlet as your amp.

AnkleSlapper wrote:

Thanks. I did try every combo of power supplies and outlets in my apartment. Sill same noises. Interesting all my other pedals work just fine. Something about tremolos though that my place doesn't like. I took my setup to my parents and it was quiet there. I wonder what it is about the tremolo circuit that causes this hissing screeching noise. It's not extremely loud but annoying and disruptive.

That is strange. Normally, when a pedal is noisy, there’s a power supply issue. For example, if you have two pedals on one power supply, it can cause noise. Likewise, if you have two pedals connected to one another, but on two different power supplies, that can cause a ground loop, which will create hum. You could try a 9 volt battery adapter, which would eliminate all ground loop issues.

I live in the desert, and because the soil is so dry, it’s not unusual for buildings to have ground problems. During the dry season, which is most of the year, it’s not uncommon to have noise problems. One thing that helps is to use a high quality power strip and plug everything in your rig into that same power strip.

One thing that puzzles me is that it’s only happening with tremolo pedals. Tremolos have a preamp stage that cyclically cuts and boosts volume. But many pedals have preamps in them, so why just tremolos? No answers, but it’s an interesting mystery.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

Just a quick update in case anyone reading was having a similar problem with the intesity of the SurfyTrem - I contacted Bjorn through his website, and he walked me through an internal adjustment. The SurfyTrem now goes deeper than my Boss pedal, and sounds amazing. Now I totally get all the love the SurfyTrem gets on here!

Grotesque wrote:

Thanks Bjorn!

I'm not sure if something is wrong with it or not - the depth at max on the SurfyTrem (Blackface mode) is comparable to the depth at 2 o'clock (at the milder "triangle" LFO waveform) on the stock Boss TR-2.
I don't know if the Boss is extreme compared to the SurfyTrem, or if the SurfyTrem is intentionally subtle (I've never had an amp with tremolo - maybe that's how they are?).

bjoish wrote:

Grotesque wrote:

All this praise for the SurfyTrem makes me think I got a dud. Mine is VERY subtle - it sounds good, but it doesn’t go very deep. I put the Boss TR-2 back on my board.
Maybe there’s an internal setting messed up? I bought it directly from Surfybear, so I know it’s not modded.
Or are they supposed to be subtle?

Hi Grotesque
The Brown mode is less extreme compared to the Black mode.
If you suspect there is something wrong with your SurfyTrem please contact me at service (at) surfyindustries.com
/Björn