Tremolo help

mwalluk

mwalluk

New member
I'm getting a tremolo craving again. I had a Boss tr-2 before, I didn't dig the volume drop though. Although since I now have a buffer, would that cure the tone suck?

Are their any good, moderately priced tremolos? How does the Hardwire series stack up? What about Vibe pedals (Vibrato)?

Desired effect would be that Greenday - Blvd of Broken Dreams style.
 
Re: Tremolo help

There's a very simple mod for a TR2 that gets rid of the volume drop.

All you have to do is snip out the large silver cap that's in the middle of the board, it's C4 if I remember right, and that sorts out the level issues. I had it on mine and it worked a treat.
 
Re: Tremolo help

Ahhh, Tremolo! The original effect.

So what do you need in a Temolo?
- Classic fender wobble?
- Chopped square-wave madness?
- Flexibility?
- Hyper-speed mojo-drive button? Panning? Expression option?

And at what price point?
 
Re: Tremolo help

If you want cheap, give one of those bubble packed Behringers a try - if you don't like it, bin it. I quite like mine, though I've no idea how long it would last if gigged - but for the price, who's complaining...
 
Re: Tremolo help

Brow said:
There's a very simple mod for a TR2 that gets rid of the volume drop.

All you have to do is snip out the large silver cap that's in the middle of the board, it's C4 if I remember right, and that sorts out the level issues. I had it on mine and it worked a treat.
Click to expand...


For real? Does it jack the sound at all? I actually like the TR-2 better than the others I've tried, much more than the Stereo Pulsar.
 
Re: Tremolo help

Aceman said:
Ahhh, Tremolo! The original effect.

So what do you need in a Temolo?
- Classic fender wobble?
- Chopped square-wave madness?
- Flexibility?
- Hyper-speed mojo-drive button? Panning? Expression option?

And at what price point?
Click to expand...

Mainly to give me that GreenDay BLVD of Broken Dreams vibe thing going on.

Also around a $100
 
Re: Tremolo help

If that TR2 deal works, I'd have to go there...

Green day is a pretty square wave without wobble.
 
Re: Tremolo help

King IzzO))) said:
For real? Does it jack the sound at all? I actually like the TR-2 better than the others I've tried, much more than the Stereo Pulsar.
Click to expand...

mwalluk said:
i was reading that it does change the sound, some like it better.
Click to expand...

I can't say as I remember it changing the sound of the pedal in a negative way, and I'm normally quite picky when it comes to sounds etc :)

I've not used much in the way of effects for the last few years, and any I do use tend to be from a cheapie G-Major nowadays, so I sold the TR2 a while ago. Otherwise I could've checked for you.

I read about the mod in the reviews that they had up on Harmony Central years ago, not sure if they till have them on there or not. I'm sure there's prob some mention of it elsewhere on the net too.
 
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Re: Tremolo help

the behringer tp300 will do square and sine and pan as well. it does have a noticeable volume drop when engaged though. behringer pedals are a lot of fun for small money but forget modding them and while the cases are pretty sturdy the jacks definitely are not.

with a hundred greens id look out for a good square wave trem ;)
 
Re: Tremolo help

I've never heard of the snip-one-cap TR-2 mod. I modded my old TR-2 to fix the volume drop by changing one resistor. When I got it, it was to quiet then engaged, then the first resistor swap I tried made it too loud. I finally got around to splitting the difference, and now it's just right. I'd have to dig a bit to find the resistor number and the values.

Keep in mind that recent TR-2s don't have the volume drop problem, Boss finally fixed it.

OP, your buffer won't really fix this problem, the TR-2 is buffered already, and the problem is in the engaged/bypass volume matching, not impedance.

Overall, I think the TR-2 is a great trem. They are plentiful on the used market, versatile in that they have a waveform control. They're great for an all-around pedal that does a variety of sounds, without necesarily nailing a particular vintage amp perfectly.

Edit: Here are Brian Wampler's recommended mods. I used just the R9 mod to fix the volume drop. IIRC, I found the 4.7K resistor made the pedal a bit too loud, so I settled on a 6.8K and have been happy with it.

BossTR-2Mods.jpg
 
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Re: Tremolo help

I miss my Voodoo Lab Trem greatly. If my AC15 didn't have it onboard I would have another. Great and simple little unit.
 
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