Are you looking for an effect that has cachet, a little vintage flavor and that makes you vibrate? Then choose the Tremolo pedals for your guitar.
When it comes to guitar effects, the list we have today to choose from is much more than any guitarist could imagine about 40 or 50 years ago, for example, Distortion, Fuzz, Reverb. As with any other electronic device, the development of these took some time. However, since everything has a beginning, it is worth mentioning one of the oldest guitar effects that exist: the tremolo pedals. It all started with amplifiers that came with a built-in function that automatically modulated the volume. This created a very interesting effect, which was also among the only effects that were at that time.
It was not long before it became popular, and the first pedals that allowed the user to emulate this effect on any amplifier began to appear. Today, the tremolo is still one of the most used guitar effects. Its simple nature makes it ideal for wide use, since it is not difficult to use, and the impact it has on any piece of music is quite significant.
We choose the best tremolo pedals available at this time. There are top 10 of them and each brings its own touch to this old effect. That said, let’s see what these pedals are capable of.
Also, read our other guides on the best guitar pedals order, cheap electric guitar, phono preamp, and the best acoustic guitar strings.
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The 10 best Tremolo pedals for guitar effects
Located in the category of modulation effects, the Tremolo is usually placed before Delay and Reverb, and after saturation. Almost all the effect makers have their model. Often analog, it gives your sound an old charm, even if the most modern tremolo pedals and digital technology can achieve a more contemporary or experimental. In the end, in many cases, when you hear a Tremolo, it is rarely on metal or synthetic pop. You have to believe that its history and its flavor force you to play in a softer or more vintage way. Like what, an effect almost always influences his way of apprehending the instrument.
Most vintage tremolo pedals will allow you to choose the frequency of the effect and the depth of the jumps. If you play with these two controls, you will get a wide range of effects. Modern tremolos come with much more control available, and you can adjust things like the signal waveform, and much more.
Keeley DynaTrem Tremolo
The first pedal we want to show you is a very delicate boutique tremolo. Keeley was inspired by older designs when they created this pedal. A simple way to describe its appearance would be to say that it looks more like a vintage portable radio than anything else. In terms of functionality, it is much more interesting and modern.
Most standard tremolo pedals allow you to adjust the depth and speed of the effect. However, KDYNA is able to adapt the two parameters to the speed of your reproduction. But expect there is more. This impressive pedal also allows you to add a bit of reverberation in the signal, giving the whole package a very complete sound that can instantly transform your tone into a completely new aesthetic.
On top of that, Keeley presents new ways to reduce noise and interference that is one of the most common problems with tremolo pedals. This tremolo pedal is really one of the best at the moment.
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Wampler Latitude Tremolo Deluxe
The Wampler Latitude Tremolo Deluxe is an awesome tremolo pedal that is full of features and controls that you don’t see so often. This is a model that is perfect for those who need to be able to refine every aspect of their tone. Latitude Tremolo comes in a large box, which is reasonable considering all the wheels that have had to be placed in it, and has a clean white color with vintage labels.
Although appearances are not crucial when it comes to guitar effects pedals, this is a rare occasion when we would easily frame this thing and hang it on the wall. In terms of performance, the situation is even better. A lot of scopes is basically what defines Latitude Tremolo. You can mark almost any type of tremolo effect you can think of.
An older and smoother tremolo effect? No problem. A sharper and more modern helicopter? It can also get you that. Being versatile in terms of its main function is not the only thing this pedal has to offer. It also has a beat tempo function, true bypass, ability to choose waveforms, as well as fixed tempos. It is difficult to determine the exact capacity of this pedal.
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BOSS TR-2 Electric Guitar Pedal
Anyone who has used electric guitars to some extent is familiar with Boss pedals. Let’s face it, they are the cornerstone of the effects of the modern guitar. This is not an exaggeration, no matter how much some people would like it to be.
Boss simply has the ability to produce quality pedals that offer you decent performance at a price that is often too attractive to ignore. The Boss TR2 tremolo pedal is one of those units that offers a quality tremolo at a very reasonable price.
It’s simple, it’s practical, it works. The controls are also simple. It is basically a vintage tremolo repackaged in a modern configuration with an additional wave selection knob. If you’re looking for an affordable tremolo pedal that works when you need it, the Boss Audio TR2 is one of the best tremolo pedals you can find.
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Diamond Pedals Tremolo
If for some reason you find the regular tremolos too boring and average, the Diamond Tremolo is a pedal that will give you a very different kind of experience. For the most part, it seems that Diamond pedals wanted to induce chaos in the world of tremolo, which is evident with one of the available modes called ‘Chaotic’.
Before we get to that, we have to review the pedal design. It is a wide-body model that is not attractive at all. It feels as if Diamond had applied a more utilitarian approach when they designed this model, which is definitely something we can appreciate. However, those who like to look at their pedals as much as they like to touch them may find this unacceptable.
In terms of functions, there are a lot of extravagant features to use. You can choose different waveforms, time accents and, of course, that chaotic mode. When this is selected, the pedal randomizes almost all parameters.
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Voodoo Lab Tremolo
Voodoo Lab is one of the most respected boutiques. They have earned this reputation thanks to their solid rock pedals that bring enough uniqueness to the table. Voodoo Lab Tremolo is his version of the old vintage old school tremolo.
This pedal comes with a wider body that sports an animated graphic theme. Once you open the lid, you will see the standard lamp and the photocell circuit that was the basis for all tremolo effects in the past. As you can imagine, the operation of this pedal is going to be very conservative.
In this case, that is a great advantage because Voodoo Labs has achieved the necessary level of authenticity. This is the kind of tremolo pedal that you wouldn’t mind hooking it to a top-level guitar team, and use it on stage. Best of all, the price that comes with this tremolo is more than reasonable considering it is a boutique piece.
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BEHRINGER Guitar Pedal
With Behringer Tremolo pedal for guitar, you will get the classic and warm sound of a 1960s tube amp Tremolo effect, all at a very affordable price.
Are you looking for a Tremolo guitar pedal effect that really captures the Surf-Rock sound of the 50s and 60s? If the answer is yes, then this tremolo pedal may be just the right choice for you. The Behringer Orange UT300 is easy to use and doesn’t try to be anything other than an honest recreation of past Tremolo effects.
It comes with three dedicated control knobs: Rate, Wave, and Depth. You can control the speed of your Tremolo with Rate Knob controls. With Wave Knob, you can adjust the waveform between a triangle and a square wave. This lets you really tinker with how much attack, linger, snap, and chop you want to use in your sound. And, finally, the Depth Knob allows you to control the level of the Tremolo effect.
These three control knobs let you easily shape your sound, anywhere from classic wobbly Surf-Rock to spacey, rolling pulses of modern Math-Rock.
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TC Electronic Pipeline Guitar Effects
Big price drop (around 40 $) for this excellent effect. The Pipeline is a tremolo with sounds and sounds vintage (but not that), one of the strengths is to be managed in a classic way with the speed knob, but also the foot Tap Tremolo mode. Danish digital technology hits the mark, because the sound is really nice in vintage mode. Sweet, relatively neutral but never cold.
Whether you are looking for a classic surf sound or the syrupy wobble of the Motown era, the Vintage mode has got you covered, while the Square mode yields a more aggressive and edgy modern sound.
The volume knob can compensate for the possible loss caused by certain settings, when the volume variation is quite large between tremors. The more modern Square position and the creation of a personal sound via the TonePrint software or app make it a very versatile Tremolo.
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Electro-Harmonix Stereo Pulsar
It’s been a good forty years that Electro-Harmonix is shaking the sound with its different Pulsar. As we all know, Electro-Harmonix is one of the top reputed company in the USA, producing musical instruments. However, the Stereo version is now the one you find in the store (it is a little over 10 years). We preserve the heritage of this characteristic vintage sound, with waves very musical, and a palette of sounds expanded thanks to a small toggle switch which leaves the choice between a square waveform and a triangular. Of course, when you reach 2/3 of the race knobs, it begins to wobble in all directions and detune. It’s more experimental.
The contribution of the stereo makes this effect even wider, especially in studio use. A classic in the genre, at a friendly rate. For (many) more possibilities, there is the Super Pulsar, a real programmable gas plant, but much more expensive and more complex to manage.
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Ernie Ball Expression Tremolo Pedals
With his experience in volume pedals, Ernie Ball for his part decided to integrate effects directly into a pedal expression. A push system on the Depth and Rate settings (each with their LED indicator) allows to assign the expression pedal to one or the other or both and thus to control the depth, the speed, or both at the same time, to go in a toe blink of a subtle and slow tremolo to a cut like blades of helicopter. As a bonus is integrated a reverb typed springs that are also dependent on the expression pedal (it is also adjusted the maximum rate with the dedicated knob). So with the tremolo at zero, we get a reverb to disable foot! This pedal offers just about everything you can expect from a Tremolo effect, with real-time control.
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Red Witch Pentavocal Tremolo
If you are familiar with the effects pedals of the WItch Network, you know they have a very special theme. You could even say that it is of a paranormal nature. In some cases, this attribute not only applies to the appearance of your pedals, but also to their performance. The Red Witch Pentavocal Tremolo is a unique tremolo pedal that offers the control that is not seen anywhere else.
The housing is its standard material – a large unit with a simple graphic design and a fairly ominous presence. In terms of performance, Red Witch Pentavocal Tremolo offers a great vintage tremolo as a default setting.
Once you start playing with different parameters, you can go to many directions. Some will be familiar, while others will be completely new territory for most guitarists. This unique nature alone makes it worth checking, but its great performance seals the deal.
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Is it worth buying a tremolo pedal?
Tremolos used to be the stars of guitar effects on the days when we didn’t have so many effects to choose from. A question that continues to appear every time the tremolos are discussed is whether this effect is still relevant or practical. The answer is a solid yes. The fact that it is a simple effect does not mean that tremolos have been eliminated by the most modern modulation pedals.
In fact, they are now more relevant than ever. If you look more closely, you will see that tremolo pedals are used in almost all musical genres. Manipulating the volume at specific time intervals is still a good way to add some flavor to one’s tone. Those who are starting to build their pedals can benefit from the choice of tremolo pedals as one of their first modulation pieces. That said, it is highly recommended that you not take for granted the simplicity of this pedal. Actually there is much to use a tremolo of what is seen with the naked eye. Let’s talk about that for a moment.
How to use a tremolo pedal?
How to use a tremolo pedal correctly? This is not a question that has an answer, that’s for sure. There are several schools of thought about this, but ultimately it comes down to how good you can read what the song needs. The first thing to understand is that tremolo fatigue is real. What that means is that you can easily overdo it with the tremolo and completely ruin the song. Too much of that leads you to be sick and tired of the tremolo as a whole.
The best way to prevent this from happening is to take things slowly and start with very small values. Tremolos are generally used in the same way as vibrato pedals. The idea is to find appreciation for the subtle amounts of these two effects, which ultimately leads to them becoming a valuable piece of the kit.
Tremolo Analog VS Tremolo Digital
Being one of the oldest guitar effects in use, it is natural for the tremolo to have an analog form. Analog tremolo pedals generally tend to be simple, although there are many models that are not. The analog system works very well for the tremolo due to the nature of the pedal. When all you have to do is manipulate the tone volume, you don’t need a very complicated analog circuit. Analog pedals also bring that organic sound that many guitarists appreciate.
On the other hand, we have digital tremolos. These are generally more affordable and often come with more aggressive features. Of course, this is not really a rule but rather a pattern. There are some quite impressive digital tremolos that can take any analog model and exit at the other end.
Conclusion
Apart from being so simple and easy to use, tremolo pedals are very versatile. You can do a lot with your tone by including one of these pedals in your chain. Most guitarists conform to the most basic configuration that includes speed and depth controls. However, when you exceed that level, you start exploring the new side of the tremolos.
These advanced models are very interesting to use since each one brings something new. The ones that we have presented to you are not “classic” pedals. Most of these are boutique models that have their own character. The reason we decided to populate our list with these pedals instead of the most basic ones is that a basic tremolo will not go as far as sound. Whatever you decide to try, you will get the performance you were looking for.