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HomeDemeterTremulatorPlusReview
more...VideosSpecialVideosNovember2016GearEffectsReviewsReviewDemoTremoloDemeter

DemeterTremulatorPlusReview
JoeGore
October25,2016
AA
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Heresascarycampfirestoryyoucanusenexttimeyoureoutinnaturewithyoungguitarists.First,shinetheflashlightupward
intoyourfacefordemoniceffect.Next,intonethesewords:
Longago,inadark,distantcentury,therewasasoullesstimewhenmostplayersandmanufacturersforgotthattremolowas
bitchin.[Pauseforhorrifiedgasps.]Tremolowasararefeature,evenoncoollittlecomboamps.Andthatwasnttheonly
thing.[Makeemwaitforit.]Itwasnearlyimpossibletobuyagood,vibeytremolopedal!
Youcanstretchitoutfromthere,butdontendonanentirelydismalnote,ornoonewillsleep.Addthis:However,therewere
afewlightsinthedarkness.AfewpluckycompaniesbuilttoolstomaketonestremblethewayLeoandGodintended.
ManufacturerslikeJamesDemeter,withhisbravelittleTremulator![Youraudiencewillvisiblyrelaxatthispoint.Timefor
smores!]
CarryingtheTremTorch
Itsbeennearly35yearssincetheoriginalTRM1Tremulatordebuted.Backthen,whenaflangerwasamusthaveandtremolo
wasdeemedoldhat,theTRM1wastheperfectremedyfortremlessamps.Thepedalbecameamainstayforplayersincluding
RyCooder,RichardThompson,JonnyGreenwood,MichaelLandau,andBenHarper.
DemeterrecentlyupdatedhisdesignwiththeTremulatorPlus.Thegoodnewsisthatitduplicatesthesoundandfeaturesofthe
belovedoriginal.Theothergoodnewsisthattheaddedfeaturesarecool,usable,andhighlymusical.(Badnews?Whydoes
therealwayshavetobebadnews?)
Noneofthenewcontrolsradicallyreinventtheeffect,buteachoneaddssomethingnice.

AClassicReconsidered
Let'srevisittheoriginalfeaturesbeforesurveyingthenewstuff.ThisisanopticaltremolocircuitintheblackfaceFendervein.
Therearesimplerateanddepthknobs,butbothhavefargreaterrangethanona1960sFenderamp.Highratesettingsyield
superfastflutteringalmostapproachingringmodulation.Attheotherextreme,youcanorderapizzabetweenpulsations.The
depthcontrolcanalsogetextreme,yieldingahard,percussivechop.
Ivealwaysbeenoftwomindsaboutthesewiderangingratecontrols.Ononehand,theexpandedrangesunlocksoundsyou
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cantgetfromanoldFenderamp.Ontheotherhand,Isometimesfindittrickytodialintheperfectrate/depthbalance,despite
thesimplecontrols.Thisisntataptempodesign,sooverlydeepmodulationcaneasilymesswithyourgroove.Meanwhile,the
ratecontrolsextremerangemeansyousometimeshavetofiddlearoundinsmallsegmentsofthecontrolsrange.Yes,youcan
absolutelygetvintagesoundsandmorebutitcanrequirefinesse.
NewWaystoWiggle
Noneofthenewcontrolsradicallyreinventtheeffect,buteachoneaddssomethingnice.Theresnowadedicatedgaincontrol,
whichismoreusefulthanyoumightinitiallythink.Tremoloissubtractive.Itlowersthevolumeofthequietpartofthe
waveform,asopposedtoboostingtheloudpart.Thatmeanstheresaninevitableenergydropwhenyouengagetheeffect,and
mostcooltrempedalscompensatewithafewdBofextragain.Buttherearetimeswhenitsgreattobeabletofinetunethe
level.Forexample,ifyoutendtousetremolooncleantonedpassages,butnotthelouddistortedstuff,anextrashotofgaincan
maketheeffectgushmoreespeciallywhenplayingdelicately.Thisgainknobsmodestrangecanbesurprisinglyuseful.
Theresalsoacontroltofadebetweentraditionaltrianglewavemodulationandmoreaggressive
squarewavemodulation.Thesquarewavesettingletsyounailthesharpedgedpulsationofthe
quirkyKayTremolo,acheapovintagemodelthatsacquiredacultfollowing.Therearemany
attractiveinbetweensettings.

Ratings

Pros:
Excellentsound.Wide
Theothernewadditionisabiascontrol,alsowithanarrowbutusefulrange.Itcanaddaslighttouch rateanddepthranges.
ofsaturationand,likethegain,ithastheeffectofmakingthetremologushwithalittleextra
Newgain,waveform,
presence.Highsettingssoundedgreatwiththevintageoutputpickupsinmytestguitars(aGretsch
andbiascontrols.
SpectraSonicBaritoneanda1963Strat).
Cons:
Notaptempo.Noreal
InsidethestandardBBsizedenclosure,theworkwasclearlydonebyhand.Thesolderingissolid,
timecontrol.
thoughsomeofthewirerunsseemneedlesslylong.Themetaljacksarechassismounted.The
componentsarestandardissuestuff,withopampshandlingthegaincontrolandanenclosedopto
Tones:
isolatorprovidingthethrob.Thepedalrunsonexternal9Vpower(notincluded)orinternalbattery
connection.AblinkingLEDindicatesthecurrentmodulationrate.
TheVerdict
TheTremulatorPlusduplicatesthefinesoundoftheoriginal,withsomenicenewshadingand
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EaseofUse:
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colors.Butwhilethispedalhasntchangedallthatmuchfromitsinitialincarnation,theworld
aroundithas.Inthe80and90s,theTRM1wasagodsendfortremstarvedguitarists.Buttoday,
therearefarmoretremolooptions,includingmodelswithsuchfeaturesasvolumetriggered
modulation,realtimecontrol,taptempo,dualoscillators,stereooutput,asymmetricmodulation,and
greaterwaveformcontrol.Andthoseareonlytheanalogcontenders.Tremoloisoneoftheeasiest
effectstomodel,andnumerousdigitaltremolosofferdeepercontrolanddeadaccurateimitationsof
manytremolotypes,fromVoxtoMarshalltobrownfaceandbeyond.Butforplayerswhosechief
interestistraditionalFenderstyletrem(withexpandedrangeandcolor),thesepulsationsarelikely
toplease.Andwhile$299aintcheap,thepriceisntoutoflineforaquality,handmadestompbox.
WatchtheReviewDemo:

Build/Design:
Value:
Street:
$299
DemeterTremulator
Plus
demeteramps.com

Review Demo - Demeter Tremulator Plus

AA

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SanFranciscobasedSeniorContributingEditorJoeGorehasrecordedwithTomWaits,PJHarvey,TracyChapman,Courtney
Love,MarianneFaithfull,LesClaypool,Flea,DJShadow,JohnCale,andmanyotherartists.Hismusicappearsinmanyfilms
andTVshows,plusanincriminatingnumberofjingles.Joehaswrittenseveralthousandarticlesaboutmusicandmusiciansand
hascontributedtomanymusicalproducts,includingApplesLogicandGarageBandprograms.InhissparetimeJoeproduces
theJoeGorelineofguitareffectsandeditsageekyguitarblog(tonefiend.com).

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