Loving these Zac, made all the better (just like your pals over at 5 watt world) by the fact it's driven by passion as opposed sales. It separates you guys from the rest of the crowd. Thanks for sharing your knowledge, much appreciated.
Thanks for playing more. I love it when you talk about a player and give an example of their playing. Nice touch with your gentle left hand. I’m sure it adds to defining your tone. Great video. Thanks.
Zac - Thanks for some love on a ubiquitous yet often taken for granted effect. My favorite scene in "It Might Get Loud" is watching Jimmy Page's face light up as he describes Link Wray's use of Tremelo/Vibrato while spinning his own 45rpm copy of "Rumble." He becomes a 12 year old again. Listen to "Immigrant Song" to hear how Mr. Page applied the effect himself.
I have never thought about putting tremolo before an overdrive, so this was great encouragement to try that. The sound of that overdrive, tree pedal and your amp was GREAT!
Yes!! Finally someone who understands this (and not just the cliche trem after delay/reverb). I learned this trick from Tom Morello as you can tell his tremolo sounds like it’s before his overdrive.
I place an overdrive, or boost pedal, always on after my pedal-board. I think of it as a part of the amp, it's my amp system. Usually I use an ODR-1 set with volume pushing the input a little, just a bit of gain and maybe a touch of of the tone control, maybe 1 o'clock. It's like having your amp opened up a little, so it's just breaking up (or more depending on what you want), then I use my volume knob. I find the cleans are nicer and clearer (kinda like Hendrix with the Fuzz Face with his volume knob rolled back). Everything sticks to it better. Delays. Reverb. Tremolo. Rotary. Even other drive pedals. It makes your Fuzz sound better. Give it a try.
This sounds like a really good idea actually. I'm thinking about doing this with the odr off board and somewhere I can reach easily maybe on top of my amp. I feel like this will allow me to dial in my sound more easily since I'm getting all of my dirt from pedals into a twin
I loved this video (and I learned something, too!)... It reminded me of an interview I read with Marty Stuart, in Guitar Player, probably 25 years ago: He was talking about producing Pops Staples's solo record and recalled that, when he asked Pops what he would need, once he flew into Nashville, Pops said (I'm paraphrasing; it's been a quarter century/lol) "Oh, please just rent me a Cadillac and a '65 with some shake on it." Marty said that after they hung up he had to call a mutual friend and ask what a "'65 with some shake on it" was. A Fender amp with trem... I love that story so much.
The origination of the tremolo effect came in the form of the DeArmond Model 601 tremolo pedal after WWII in the late-1940s...the first effect pedal made used by Pops Staples, Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters on 1953's 'Flood' and possibly Link Wray on his 1958 instrumental 'Rumble' among other users of the time and few since then... thanks for the great video!
Enjoyed that Zac. Glad to see somebody else who likes Trem before Dirt. The internets go crazy with the "conventional wisdom" whenever I post a pic of my little board. Best to you.
Thanks and great video Zac. I'm a recent subscriber and really enjoying these videos of yours. This is the first time I've commented here and heard anyone make distinction between different order of trem in the signal chain. I always thought Ry Cooder had it in front of distortion in some of his recordings. Try it on a slower but deeper setting and some slow slide playing, it's just heavenly the trem depth kind of converts into a "width" as the signal going into the overdrive increases on the upswing. Hope this makes sense. Thanks again for great and very informative content! Cheers and stay well.
Great video, Zac! Thanks so much! Tremolo is my favorite effect. The record I always go back to when I'm in the mood for great tremolo tones is Dylan's, "Oh Mercy". There's tremolo all over that album. One of the first amplifiers I bought was an Ampeg Jet 12-T, specifically for the tremolo. One of the best trem circuits I've ever played through. I also run a trem pedal before my drives which allows me to have trem before drives (pedal) or after drives (amp). Looking forward to whatever you've got planned next!
Hey Richard, I just came back to re-watch this episode and reading through comments stumbled across yours. Checked out your Dylan album recommendation, listening for first time with headphones on and it’s just brilliant!! Cheers 👍
I run a Supro Trem almost always in the harmonic Trem mode after my gain pedals , and delays. Man it is awesome. The supro has its own gain preamp built in. That’s probably the effect that you like running the Trem into the gain pedals.
Thanks for the video, I appreciate it. I just bought the Tidewater Tremolo from JHS and I didn’t like it until I put it before my overdrive/distortion. If I turn the depth all the way down it becomes a boost and it just works better before dirt for me. Yes Trem is modulation but it changes volume not pitch so for me it’s better used in the beginning of my chain. Great playing by the way. Take care ✌🏻
When I got my first tremolo pedal it seemed obvious to me that the most rewarding place to have it was before my Blues Driver (clone). Set to edge of breakup, the dynamically sensitive Blues Driver responds to the oscillating volume by rapidly cycling between clean and overdriven output. This gives the distortion a lively "frothiness" that you don't get with tremolo placed after the distortion where it just varies the volume of whatever's come before. Putting tremolo first (but after any compression) varies both volume~distortion intensity together. Putting the tremolo later delivers an even level of distortion and oscillates only the volume. Of course putting an already distorted signal into a tremolo and then into an amp set to edge of breakup might have an interesting dynamic too.Options options options...
Its interesting how much you can change your tone & overall vibe just by messing with signal chain. This is probably a great way to break out of a rut, some people go & buy a Gretch or some expensive obscure nitch piece of gear to explore new uncharted avenues but just reordering pedal signal chain or tinkering with an old pedal that you haven't used in years can be very effective at achieving similar results to reignite that old love of guitar! Can't wait to try this when I get home! Thanks again zac for demonstrating something simple but so useful!
Cool video. I'm just putting together my first mini-board using three MXR pedals (Mini-Dyna Comp, Duke of Tone, and Tremolo). I was going to set it up with the OD before Trem, but I really like the sound of the Trem before OD. Thanks for the tip.
Thank's Zac. Yet another great video. Very different sound this way round , interesting !!! . At the moment I'm having another re-think on my sound and set up, must try this .
It’s odd. I also run my tremolo first in the chain, before wah/filter and drives. I want to love modulation but I just can’t get into it, but having the tremolo running first into the drive and filters, I can get some interesting and powerful sounds, like a faux modulation effect. I dig it a lot. So I googled to see what others do, and your video popped up. Great video and tones.
Thanks so much for this video! I'll have to play with the rate setting on my TR-2 now. I've always left it at noon and just changed the Depth and Shape knobs. I've been missing out! Lately I've been experimenting with running my CS-3 compressor at the same time as my Tremolo. That's definitely a different flavor too.
Sounding great as always Zac! I'm actually quite surprised at how close the pedal is to the amp tremolo sound - I was not expecting that at all. I have a little Danelectro tremolo pedal that I got for free when I bought my Danelectro Daddy-O over drive pedal forever and a day ago. I was actually thinking of selling it because I haven't used it much. Then a couple of months ago, I took it out to show my wife what it does after she asked about it and I was like, hm... it actually sounds pretty cool. I think I may need to just mess with it a bit more and get comfortable with some of its settings. Thanks for the inspiration! I especially like the sound you got by having it before the overdrive. I'll have to give that a shot too.
That's very interesting. Nice tones. Almost seems to cause a harder driven signal. Maybe that is because it makes your ear hear the accentuated driven sounds as the volume comes up.
Interesting. I’ve come to the conclusion I need both! I ultimately prefer the bias trem in my Victoria Regal. However, it has a major drawback that my pedal solves - it thumps when I activate it despite trying everything to stop it (different pedal/switches, cables, tubes etc...), so it’s not feasible to switch in an out (say for a bridge or whatever). I have a Walrus Monuments pedal that is very good. It’s analog but has a lot of control ability including an expression pedal option (swelling it on and off), and/or a momentary switch for activation a held chord or similar. So, while the amp is vibier it’s really limited to entire tune use, plus it’s noisier. All this said, the best use of trem I’ve heard is Tony Joe White (amp based) and Jerry Miller (with Eilen Jewell). JM was using two basic Boss terms, I assume set fast and slow or whatever. Two different approaches and but sounded glorious.
Stumbled upon the combo putting a Demeter tremulator before a couple drive pedals The tremulator has a little boost and “character” so you can add less gain after the fact to achieve spongy drive results. (a TS style , Timmy & Lenny pedals sounded cool with this order) Looked up info online about other folks thoughts and of course your video came up. !! Not much else though Love your playing & Great insightful inspiring videos keep going ! Keep growing ⚡️🤘
Something about the amp trem always "felt" better to me. My Flint does great trem but maybe if it were in the same place in the signal chain it would sound the same. Hmmm. Thanks for the cool videos!
When I think of tremolo and dirt together, I of course think of the classic Link Wray tune "Rumble". When it comes to pedals, tremolo before overdrive actually sounds neat.
Most of the time I keep the amp tremolo in my Pathfinder 15r always on. I have it set to a relaxed rate and a depth so subtle that it only really becomes apparent when I turn it off! If you were to suggest this might help compensate for my sloppy finger vibrato then I wouldn't deny it! It lifts my tone with just a hint of movement without being noticeably present. I add in just a smidge of reverb and the amp really comes alive. This then becomes the sonic foundation for my pedal board's more 'overt' effects.
Zac, you are one of my favourite people on the Tube. Love your whole attitude and delivery. Just want you to know. Long may you wave. BTW, one classic user of tremolo was Duane Eddy on number of songs. Using clean-set Fender amps, he usually sets the depth very high and the speed at approximately 1/16th note to the tempo of the song along with a lot of reverb. Another interesting use of trem is to set the speed at maximum and the depth very low to create a kind of "shimmer", which also works well with lots of reverb (again, reverb first). Stay healthy and safe. Cheers, mate.
Johnny Marr playing on "How Soon is Now" by The Smiths ... Uber tremolo and vibrato Heaven ... But ... there was a lot of technical trickery involved in that song! ... sounds great though.
Great vid as usual, Zac! I’ve got nothing to add but to say thank you for pronouncing it tre-meh-Low. A pet peeve of mine is when folks say tre-MOW-LOW. 😡😡😂😂
I hate jacking with pedals once they're on the floor; even considered using a raised board, up off the ground. Trems like the Monument , Kodiak , and Supro have expression pedal compatibility AND tap tempo,- removing the need for all the squinting and squat thrusts at unnatural angles. Placed between two reverbs,with the first with longer trails, - opens up a whole parcel of possibilities.The same goes with OD's, - along with other modulations, - a sort of split gain stacking.Pedal order can make all the difference.
This has quickly become my favorite channel. I love all kinds of gear and watching reviews on RU-vid. But hearing a friendly person getting amazing sounds out of minimal vintage gear while discussing the history of the gear and the players who use/used it... This is my jam. Keep up the great work, man.
Another amazing video. I love the old sounds with tremolo. Could you please analyze the Vibrato/Tremolo guitar sound on Dionne Warwick's Anyone who had a Heart?
Tremolo is my favorite effect after reverb! Never tried it before an overdrive - awesome idea thanks! I have a '67 deluxe reverb but I don't use the tremolo on the amp because I can't stand the ticking sound it makes, but the trem on your '65 sounds pretty darn good! Have you had anything done to your amp to improve the tremolo???
Another good video, Zac you are nailing it. Have you tried different Tremolo pedals? I have been on the look for one and I have decided I will go for the Mad Professor when money lands on my hands. I like other ones also but the ones I like are pretty expensive ( Gravitas, Monument, the new Origin effects.....)
Any thoughts on the harmonic vibrato of brown face Fenders? What about the Lonnie Mack sound of Magnatone? Nice to hear some appreciation of Pops Staples. His 60s gospel stuff was wonderful. I’m a big fan of Marty Stuart and he nails the sound quite well also.
Not only did Leo Fender refer to vibrato as tremolo and to tremolo as vibrato, he also called a screwed on neck a bolt on neck. It would be interesting to see a list of confused and confusing wordings he left us with.
If only Fender hadn't labeled the Tremolo on their amplifiers as Vibrato and hadn't labeled the Stratocaster vibrato as "Synchronized Tremolo". They totally screwed the world up forever.
My 1966 Blackface Vibro Champ has the best Tremolo I’ve ever heard mine is on all the time at max depth and as slow as possible I installed a 10” Eminence Alnico Redfang it’s 102.3 sensitivity Zac this Vibro Champ sounds better then my 57 Vibrolux with a Celestion Alnico blue
Ask Zac it was a easy fit but let me tell you the sound is fantastic....you can pretty much fit any 10” speaker Alnico or Ceramic with no problem....I was lucky I had a Eminence Red Fang and it fit easy
Zac, have you ever played with a Seymour Duncan Shape Shifter?? Just curious what you think. Pros/cons. JT Corenflos is my King of Tremolo!! Thanks! ~Frank
@@AskZac It's my favorite pedal! But, I'll have to say I've never tried another trem pedal, and in all honesty, I'm not a great player anyway. It just seems to be really feature-flexible, and I really like the tap capability. It's just fun to play with for me. ~Frank
@@AskZac wow it sounds so much like Take you’re shoes off Moses I believe a traditional old time gospel song. I’ll have to check out Jesus on the mainline
