Post by G'OlPeachPhan on Jul 18, 2005 9:35:09 GMT -7
Just posted this over at the Gear Page, but I figured I'd also post it here given that this pedal is being run through my Dr. Z amps, and I know there have been questions here about getting a great tremolo sound with a Z amp... This is certainly one option for you guys!
INITIAL SUMMARY FOR THOSE WHO DON'T WANT TO READ A FULL-REVIEW:
The T.C. Jauernig Electronics Luxury Twin-Rate Trem is a fantastic all-analog, true-bypass trem pedal, and at $156 SHIPPED it's an absolute STEAL. You're getting two trems in one pedal, with the ability to switch back and forth between the two speeds by clicking a switch for a really cool effect that goes beyond just your standard single-speed trem.
NOW, here's the LONGER VERSION:
I've been running this pedal through my Dr. Z Ghia and KT-45 for two months now, and it works great with either of them to yield a variety of very amp-like trem sounds.
SPEED: I set one setting on the pedal to be sort of leslie-slow. I'm not saying that it SOUNDS like a leslie (it's not supposed to), but that's a frame of reference for approximately how slow I set the modulation -- 'leslie slow' isn't all that slow and this pedal is capable of going all the way down to a turtle-paced throb.
I then set the other side up even faster, but still so it will be in time with the other setting to sound almost like a fast leslie speed-wise. Setting the pedal up like this allows you to switch back and forth between the slow and fast settings on the same song so that it's still in time with the beat on either speed setting. Really a neat feature, and if you manipulate between the two settings while you're playing, you can get a really cool and unique sea-sick kind of feel. So that takes care of the speed control aspects of the pedal.
The DEPTH control is pretty straight forward, and it is a universal control in that is shared by both speed settings of the pedal. It goes from a very obvious, deep pulse, all the way to "is this even a trem pedal or is it just a boost?" setting. Which segues perfectly to the next feature/control...
...the VOLUME control. This control is also universal to both speed settings, and the basic function this control serves is to allow you to set the pedal so that it's at unity volume with the bypassed level of your amp (or slightly quieter or slightly louder for whatever you prefer). This control goes beyond just that basic function though, and really lets you control how the trem sound interacts with your amp.
For example, if you crank the volume up you can actually get a pretty hefty signal boost (and it's a fantastic sounding boost on it's own too by the way, which is a neat extra with this pedal), which pushes a tube amp harder when your trem sound is engaged giving a great trem w/ amp breakup sound that's VERY tube-trem-like.
Another example would be setting the volume level slightly lower than unity with your amp so that it cleans your amp sound up a bit if you've got your amp already set up to overdrive on it's own. This is helpful because it allows you to go from an overdriven amp tone when the pedal is bypassed, to a cleaner trem sound for your "clean" tone.
While this pedal is great as far as features on a trem pedal go, the only thing that truly matters is great tone, and that's there in spades with this pedal. If it didn't have at least one great trem sound, it wouldn't be on my board -- in other words having two mediocre trem sounds would be kind of pointless in my opinion. There are MANY different GREAT tones in this pedal that are nothing short of AMAZING.
Tim Jauernig is building some fantastic stuff, and w/ players such as Buddy Whittington using his pedals, I think he's only going to gain popularity. Plus he's in my neck of the woods, and I've gotta support my fellow Wisconsinites! It may seem like there's some degree of hype in this review, but these are just my honest (and very excited) opinions about of this pedal. The only real problem I've run into with this pedal is deciding HOW to set it up, as there are so many great possibilities and sounds that live inside of this cool blue-green box. I may even have to pick up a second one - it's THAT good.
INITIAL SUMMARY FOR THOSE WHO DON'T WANT TO READ A FULL-REVIEW:
The T.C. Jauernig Electronics Luxury Twin-Rate Trem is a fantastic all-analog, true-bypass trem pedal, and at $156 SHIPPED it's an absolute STEAL. You're getting two trems in one pedal, with the ability to switch back and forth between the two speeds by clicking a switch for a really cool effect that goes beyond just your standard single-speed trem.
NOW, here's the LONGER VERSION:
I've been running this pedal through my Dr. Z Ghia and KT-45 for two months now, and it works great with either of them to yield a variety of very amp-like trem sounds.
SPEED: I set one setting on the pedal to be sort of leslie-slow. I'm not saying that it SOUNDS like a leslie (it's not supposed to), but that's a frame of reference for approximately how slow I set the modulation -- 'leslie slow' isn't all that slow and this pedal is capable of going all the way down to a turtle-paced throb.
I then set the other side up even faster, but still so it will be in time with the other setting to sound almost like a fast leslie speed-wise. Setting the pedal up like this allows you to switch back and forth between the slow and fast settings on the same song so that it's still in time with the beat on either speed setting. Really a neat feature, and if you manipulate between the two settings while you're playing, you can get a really cool and unique sea-sick kind of feel. So that takes care of the speed control aspects of the pedal.
The DEPTH control is pretty straight forward, and it is a universal control in that is shared by both speed settings of the pedal. It goes from a very obvious, deep pulse, all the way to "is this even a trem pedal or is it just a boost?" setting. Which segues perfectly to the next feature/control...
...the VOLUME control. This control is also universal to both speed settings, and the basic function this control serves is to allow you to set the pedal so that it's at unity volume with the bypassed level of your amp (or slightly quieter or slightly louder for whatever you prefer). This control goes beyond just that basic function though, and really lets you control how the trem sound interacts with your amp.
For example, if you crank the volume up you can actually get a pretty hefty signal boost (and it's a fantastic sounding boost on it's own too by the way, which is a neat extra with this pedal), which pushes a tube amp harder when your trem sound is engaged giving a great trem w/ amp breakup sound that's VERY tube-trem-like.
Another example would be setting the volume level slightly lower than unity with your amp so that it cleans your amp sound up a bit if you've got your amp already set up to overdrive on it's own. This is helpful because it allows you to go from an overdriven amp tone when the pedal is bypassed, to a cleaner trem sound for your "clean" tone.
While this pedal is great as far as features on a trem pedal go, the only thing that truly matters is great tone, and that's there in spades with this pedal. If it didn't have at least one great trem sound, it wouldn't be on my board -- in other words having two mediocre trem sounds would be kind of pointless in my opinion. There are MANY different GREAT tones in this pedal that are nothing short of AMAZING.
Tim Jauernig is building some fantastic stuff, and w/ players such as Buddy Whittington using his pedals, I think he's only going to gain popularity. Plus he's in my neck of the woods, and I've gotta support my fellow Wisconsinites! It may seem like there's some degree of hype in this review, but these are just my honest (and very excited) opinions about of this pedal. The only real problem I've run into with this pedal is deciding HOW to set it up, as there are so many great possibilities and sounds that live inside of this cool blue-green box. I may even have to pick up a second one - it's THAT good.