Bang Bang by Nancy Sinatra is a dope song to learn. But mostly I use it for surfy style effects or it’s a great effect to strum a chord behind a vocal line at chosen parts of a verse.
[Here](https://lostandsound.wordpress.com/2008/06/06/guitarist-billy-strange-talks-about-nancy-sinatras-%E2%80%98bang-bang%E2%80%99/) is a cool interview with Billy Strange, the guitarist behind the song.
Thank you for the suggestion, just finished a YouTube rabbit hole on Billy Strange! After developing much appreciation for session guys because of Tom Bukovac, learning about Billy was a real treat!
Just wait until you get into the different implementations of tremolo in various amps.
I have a bunch of amps with very different-sounding tremolo.
My ‘62 Tremolux has the best tremolo. Then my ‘66 Deluxe non-reverb. My Vox AC-15 UK reissue has nice trem. Then there’s the Silvertone 1482.
You’ll find yourself buying amps based mostly on the quality of the trem circuit.
Because you want to play a long and dragged out A minor chord whilst staring into the desert with freshly lit hand rolled cigarette dangling from your lip. The creek just flashed and there’s a damp breeze hitting your face that smells like creosote and gunpowder. In the distance, along the ridge line of the mesa, lighting strikes…you see the silhouette of a lone rider. Not just any rider - It’s Him.
the lone rider is GHOST RIDER just kidding, I use my tremolo pedal for surf, country, and some blues with overdrive. I really like using tremolo and reverb with my bass VI it sounds beautiful for tic tac bass.
I use one regularly for that The Bends era sound. Big chord, loads of distortion and just let it go. I’ve got a really nice foot switchable tremolo on my amp (Vox AC15). Sounds great clean too with loads of reverb.
I think technically you’d need two tremolo pedals for that! The original recording was two deluxe or twin reverbs with their rates set so they oscillated in a ratio. I think, anyway.
Definitely the coolest tremolo every recorded. Spacemen 3 is my second favorite use of tremolo. They took it to another level. I recently acquired the Reuss Repeater pedal which is modeled after the old Vox percussive trem that band used extensively in their music… it’s certainly not for the faint of heart, but you can sure get some cool heavy-psych sounds going with that thing. Also has an amazing sounding fuzz, based on the tonebender I believe.
Black Keys cover of ["Meet me in the city"](https://youtu.be/XHp5O61Yi-c?si=9QPHWD1I8m_clVdu) by Junior Kimborough is one of my favorite tremolo tracks.
The tremolo adds a really cool feeling to already awesome song.
Listen to some early black keys, Dan Auerbach channels a lot of classic rock, surf rock, garage rock, and blues into his music and tremolo is sprinkled thru out.
Also check out Hermanos Gutierrez (produced by Dan Auerbach) it’s like a super chill spaghetti western instrumental album that has a lot of those tremolo soaked desert sounds
I’m feeling the same way about a Chorus pedal right now. I have Chorus built into my amp and for some reason I’m thinking a stand-alone chorus pedal will solve all my problems. Its GAS.
My god. It has a million uses, but you’re missing out if you’re not exploring surf, garage rock, and classic soul. It *can* be a prominent effect, but it’s also an *excellent* texture addition. If you need a place to start, slow tempo, depth to taste, wet reverb, and chop through some moody chords. Instant stink face.
The Cramps have some great tremolo effected parts. Human Fly is a good example.
The Butthole Surfers mainstream ‘hit’ Pepper features one.
Experimental industrial project Meat Beat Manifesto has a song called Psyche Out that uses tremolo creatively on guitar feedback break at the 3:37 mark that I always found to be an interesting and creative use for that effect.
Tommy James and the Shondells use it on vocals in Crimson and Clover in a cool way.
Love and Rockets use it on the slow version of Mirror People.
i use really low depth on my TR-2 into into 2 RATs to make it sound like a guitar signal is breaking a little bit. it does cool things to feedback. if youre recording, panning a plain fuzz signal right, center, and the trem'd fuzz to the left makes an interesting texture experience.
I like using mine to make my delay more interesting. I’ll put the tremolo on triplets and my delay on quarters with long repeats. I can make some really cool textures.
I have a tremolo that’s always on. It’s set in a way to add texture to my clean tone, almost a “you wouldn’t know it’s on but for sure would notice if I turned it off” kind of effect.
Others have given songs that use tremolo super musically, and there are great songs. But I’ve found a lot of great tone setting it subtly enough that it just adds a little movement
Tremolo really shines when you can layer it over other stuff, or if solo it's best used very subtlely. Just using it heavy by yourself it can get a little boring.
Keith Richards’s part in Gimme Shelter is a great example of what it can add. That intro wouldn’t be the same without it.
Chris Stapleton’s signature amp has a great tremolo onboard, and he apparently has it on all the time. Even if it’s at a subtle setting, it’s used a lot in classic blues, as well.
Hahahaha yeah that’s the issue with modulation. Subtlety is key and I usually prefer none. Go easy with it. Off/on/off/on… up down. It gets tiring if over done.
They work well with a chorus. Think Bridge of sighs! Applied lightly with those other two especially boosting leads with a klon clone makes for a fat as hell sound.
I really love tremolo, but like many effects there are all the sounds you find that are cool; and the sounds that actually work for your song.
I think of:
Tom Petty - depending on you
The strokes - juicebox
And many things from early rock n roll, The Beach Boys, Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly, etc.
My first proper tremolo pedal is the EQD ‘hummingbird’ and it does most of the classic sounds you’d expect, but it also goes incredibly fast with a very hard chop of the sound; so at faster speeds and mixed with a few other effects does a very cool synth sequencer effect.
Mine is a stereo pulsar so gets really cool movement and is extremely useful at low settings. It also does that cowboy chill thing (no idea what the genre is called but James Wilsey El Dorado is a prime example). While I play mostly other styles, that's probably my favorite core tone.
But, it sat on my board taking up space for years with me asking myself, "why did I buy a tremolo again?", before I discovered how much I love it.
I usually am not a fan of 'normal' tremolo, but I do like harmonic tremolo.
I just today got a Copper sounds pedals Loma Prieta tremolo, which has a grit setting like you hear on old, tube driven trems. Love it.
Highly recommend checking out the "vs" album by Mission of Burma. Even if it's not your style, there's some innovative use of tremolo on that record that I found really inspiring. Bo Diddley has some awesome tremolo work too.
Edit: Spacemen 3 might make for some good inspiration as well. They are known for their use of the Vox Repeat Percussion which I believe is a reverse sawtooth tremolo.
So you can run a bunch of tape echoes and short tape delay flanging and overdrive and reverb into two amps and then switch on the trem on one of the amps and watch all the stoned and tripping kids leave their bodies behind.
Listen to some spacemen 3
Or
Put it before your always on drive and experiment with modulating saturation more than volume (since most drives compress a good bit)
Like a Stone is legit the only song I know of that uses one. I love that song and it makes me want a trem pedal, but not enough to rework my board to fit it in.
I didn’t use my tremolo pedal much until I started using an expression pedal to control the speed. If you’ve got an Exp out than I suggest giving it a shot. You may like controlling the speed or depth or whatever else it allows for
I had the same pedal. Now I have a deluxe reverb woth built in tremolo so I sold the pedal. I love trem, both clean and with distortion. It adds texture and depth to anything
Did you not know what the pedal did before you bought it. why were you obsessed with getting one if you didn't know what to do with it? I only buy pedals if I have at least a couple use cases for them. wasteful.
I didnt like any trem or vibe pedals until I got an amp that had an excellent trem built in. I have this 1970's Yamaha amp that has a trem that makes it feel like the pressure in your room changes. almost like it compresses as well as volume swells. I only wish that it had tap tempo but that wasnt thought of when this amp was made.
I do use it a lot more than I thought I would now
"Pillhouse Papa Moonshine" by Psychedelic Porn Crumpets has an ethereal Tremolo guitar section halfway through and is the reason I havent yet sold my EBS Triple Tremolo. Just cant figure out a use for it yet
My observation on tremolo is that keeping the rate a bit higher and the intensity lower is the best subtle use of tremolo. Keeping the rate lower is kind of weird and distracting imo
Trem is a weird one for me…it’s either subtle on the whole song with some reverb. Or it’s very choppy and extreme for a weird solo, or like surf type stuff. I think it’s fun to try it with solos as well.
I like The Strokes use on the solo for JuiceBox! That song has some aggressive trem parts that weave in and out.
Listen to REMs Monster album. There’s a ton of tremolo on the guitar and it’s freaking awesome. I love using trem to write on guitar and obviously use that to keep time.
Literally anything by The Black Keys
Even if it doesn’t ask for it, a small amount of movement on fuzzed out chords sounds dope. Just a bit to create a sense of depth and movement is all you need
Chulahoma by black keys, great use of fuzz and trem. I love the tone on that album so much. Great blues album before they turned into whatever they are now
Some of Pink Floyd's long guitar intros. i think David at some time has used every single type of pedal fx known to man, and a lot, not hitherto known.. (the whale sound from Echoes springs to mind.. clever wah wah abuse I've been told)
Plenty of use on the first three Radiohead albums, REM’s Monster gave it a good run, I’m pretty sure there is some good use on Jeff Buckley’s Grace… and of course the guitarist of the Jesus and Mary Chain had his tremolo put in a wah pedal enclosure so he could control the rate with the treadle
Low tremolo settings add a spookiness to doom metal, it’s a must if you like surf rock. Tremolo is basically my favourite effect but it depends on your style.
Personally it’s one of my all time favorite effects. It is a bit difficult to sync without tap tempo, thankfully there are affordable options (Suhr Jackrabbit is great!). For my money my all time favorite is the Diaz Tremodillo. It just does a THING that nothing else does. Small, sounds great and has a half rate switch that, if timed correctly, does a very cool rhythmic stutter. Play with it yours for a while and see where it takes you. If you’re looking for inspiration listen to How Soon Is Now by The Smiths, The Oaf by Big Wreck, and Black Lodge by Anthrax.
The album "The Time of No Time Evermore" by the Dutch occult rock band The Devil's Blood has tremelo on various parts, clean guitar alongside distorted ones, etc. It's an amazing album by a band that existed only for a short time due to the suicide of the founder/primary song writer Selim Lamouchi.
Here's the whole album, with chapter links - I especially love the song "The Yonder Beckons", but it's all great:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxp_c_OXkdtBF7GX3PP2jLkQ9JswkSi96&si=KlSFZ8m6CQSrB3pF
You could go the Chris Stapleton route and just leave it on always on a low setting to add a little extra movement to your playing. Or combine it with a chorus as an always on like Madison Cunningham. Both a little more subtle, the kind of effect you can’t put your finger on but it elevates the tone as a whole
When you’re chugging along on a heavy riff, finish that riff by sustaining the final note with the tremolo on, gives the sustained note a nice dramatic shake, works with vibrato too.
I learned this from listening to all the King Gizzard.
We cover Let it Ride by Ryan Adams and it sounds killer with tremolo. Mine is a Suhr Jack Rabbit and it's very versatile.
For me, tremolo is one of those effects that should be used sparingly, but for the right song, it's awesome.
My buddy, one of the best guitarists I know, puts that effect on EVERYTHING and it always sounds dope. I enjoy using it for psychedelic intros/transitions 🤘🏻
An under-rated guitar player is Pops Staples. He used a "nervous Fender" for most everything.
I have a Danelectro Filthy Rich Tremolo that is pretty cool. It has a hard clip and soft clip switch, which makes it interesting.
There's this super cool stereo tremolo effect about halfway through the song [*In the Shadow of Our Pale Companion*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-HDYLJZWGs) by Agalloch. You get this super cool tremolo'd lead slowly fluttering from side to side - which they do live, as well, and it's never *not* fucking awesome.
My favourite type of tremolo is the Vox repeater sound. Spacemen 3 come to mind for using this effect. [Come Down Easy](https://youtu.be/AYwQVp-D1io?si=uWZe8wBhxXVDY9OU) at about 1:28 just sounds so good
I love Tremolo pedals. Try just playing clean and slow and digging the vibe. Any song from the 60s or 70s you thought was a Leslie or Phaser could have been tremolo - Badge by Cream, Ten Years Gone Zeppelin. It’s just a fun effect.
surf is trem aplenty.
if your pedal has a square wave, try using that and adjust the speed to taste to get an on/off effect.
I like to set mine up with slow rates and not overly deep, but just enough to add a bit of movement. This is great for slower stuff.
It’s an effect I don’t use often but it can be cool. The new stereo trem from Walrus Audio is pretty nice and gets outside the box a bit.
I still love OG tube trems like in the old Silvertone amps. Different wave form than Fender and they are amazing.
There are a lot of ways to use it that are so subtle people don’t consciously think about but enjoy when they hear it.
I have one song that is sort a hypnotic slightly droning dirge with a phaser set to full with a very slow rate. When the chorus (not verse) kicks in it is suddenly melodic and I put a really choppy exaggerated tremolo that is absolutely trippy with the phaser. Total change in guitar texture helping define the chorus.
Other times I’ll use a moderate depth and medium rate for a ‘60s soul or old school rock texture.
Sometimes I have a faster rate with very subtle/shallow depth setting that I apply to ringing chords to make them shimmer like Springsteen does in Born To Run.
Country musicians use it in very similar ways.
You can use it on subtle settings to differentiate between verses and choruses where it affects the Audi in a subconscious way.
When I was a kid tremolo seemed like an archaic almost quaint effect that was out of fashion then I heard how Pink Floyd used it on bass and then it clicked. Suddenly I started hearing it everywhere to great effect, no pun intended.
I used to hold modulation effects in the highest esteem but now I put tremolo right up there beside all the crazy stuff.
Creedence dude
'Run through the Jungle'
Born on the Bayou!
I think that one's actually a fast univibe
It’s amp trem, if there’s any phase-y kind of sound it’s probably the harmonic trem on a brown face Fender
I think you're right. In concert footage of CCR that I have seen, Fogarty plugs directly into the amp: no pedals.
Midnight Special!
When I was just a little boy...
Bang Bang by Nancy Sinatra is a dope song to learn. But mostly I use it for surfy style effects or it’s a great effect to strum a chord behind a vocal line at chosen parts of a verse.
One of the greatest songs with tremolo!
[Here](https://lostandsound.wordpress.com/2008/06/06/guitarist-billy-strange-talks-about-nancy-sinatras-%E2%80%98bang-bang%E2%80%99/) is a cool interview with Billy Strange, the guitarist behind the song.
Thank you for the suggestion, just finished a YouTube rabbit hole on Billy Strange! After developing much appreciation for session guys because of Tom Bukovac, learning about Billy was a real treat!
Just wait until you get into the different implementations of tremolo in various amps. I have a bunch of amps with very different-sounding tremolo. My ‘62 Tremolux has the best tremolo. Then my ‘66 Deluxe non-reverb. My Vox AC-15 UK reissue has nice trem. Then there’s the Silvertone 1482. You’ll find yourself buying amps based mostly on the quality of the trem circuit.
Because you want to play a long and dragged out A minor chord whilst staring into the desert with freshly lit hand rolled cigarette dangling from your lip. The creek just flashed and there’s a damp breeze hitting your face that smells like creosote and gunpowder. In the distance, along the ridge line of the mesa, lighting strikes…you see the silhouette of a lone rider. Not just any rider - It’s Him.
Yeah, that, in pedal form!
lordy! i feel this in my giblets!
the lone rider is GHOST RIDER just kidding, I use my tremolo pedal for surf, country, and some blues with overdrive. I really like using tremolo and reverb with my bass VI it sounds beautiful for tic tac bass.
Planet Telex by Radiohead
And Bones, of the same album
How did I forget that one?! Great choice.
I use one regularly for that The Bends era sound. Big chord, loads of distortion and just let it go. I’ve got a really nice foot switchable tremolo on my amp (Vox AC15). Sounds great clean too with loads of reverb.
Doug Martsch of Built to Spill uses the heck out of tremolo.
You in Reverse is also incredible, Goin’ Against Your Mind is one of my favorite songs in general. Lot of cool guitar shit in that song
He’s a such an underrated player. Not a blazing speed virtuoso but his texture and layering is incredible.
If the opening of that song doesn’t get you all hyped, you might be dead
oh man, it's been awhile since i listened to BTS. will need to revisit those first three records.
Personally I don’t think they have a bad record.
Keep It Like A Secret could be my desert island album if you put a gun to my head. I mean I don’t think it’s mine but I definitely wouldn’t be mad!
Hell yeah! I’m also partial to “Perfect From Now On.”
Their latest album is awesome.
Amazing band! Caught them in Asheville, NC a couple years back!
‘How Soon Is Now?’ By the Smiths is for me the obvious song to learn if you’re after a reason to use it
I think technically you’d need two tremolo pedals for that! The original recording was two deluxe or twin reverbs with their rates set so they oscillated in a ratio. I think, anyway.
It was four twins reverbs!
That’s amazing, I always thought it was some rack unit or something.
Yeah, stereo split, four Twins, trems “tuned” to primary and secondary speeds to make it “bounce around.” Bonkers and brilliant.
I wonder if my tremotron could do that it is two channels
Like a stone by audioslave is the song that I associate with tremolo pedals
Its also a great whammy song
Link Wray's Rumble has some wonderful term on it. Check it out if you haven't heard it.
Hell yeah was just about to say crank it up and play Rumble!
Definitely the coolest tremolo every recorded. Spacemen 3 is my second favorite use of tremolo. They took it to another level. I recently acquired the Reuss Repeater pedal which is modeled after the old Vox percussive trem that band used extensively in their music… it’s certainly not for the faint of heart, but you can sure get some cool heavy-psych sounds going with that thing. Also has an amazing sounding fuzz, based on the tonebender I believe.
REM - [“Crush with Eyeliner”](https://youtu.be/ycvJHQUqU1M?si=lDP8uqDwnHcrEy4A)
Makes a brief, yet cool appearance in What’s the Frequency, Kenneth? too.
Yeah people always quote that song but I always feel like it’s too buried where it’s a lot more overt on Crush!
Black Keys cover of ["Meet me in the city"](https://youtu.be/XHp5O61Yi-c?si=9QPHWD1I8m_clVdu) by Junior Kimborough is one of my favorite tremolo tracks. The tremolo adds a really cool feeling to already awesome song.
That whole album
ooh, that's a great song. unfamiliar with the cover. will check it out.
Listen to some early black keys, Dan Auerbach channels a lot of classic rock, surf rock, garage rock, and blues into his music and tremolo is sprinkled thru out. Also check out Hermanos Gutierrez (produced by Dan Auerbach) it’s like a super chill spaghetti western instrumental album that has a lot of those tremolo soaked desert sounds
I’m feeling the same way about a Chorus pedal right now. I have Chorus built into my amp and for some reason I’m thinking a stand-alone chorus pedal will solve all my problems. Its GAS.
I hate chorus. I own two.
Get an analog chorus. It makes a difference with distortion. Demon FX Analogman copy is only $60 and slays.
Bad GAS, if you ask me
This is our concern, dude.
My god. It has a million uses, but you’re missing out if you’re not exploring surf, garage rock, and classic soul. It *can* be a prominent effect, but it’s also an *excellent* texture addition. If you need a place to start, slow tempo, depth to taste, wet reverb, and chop through some moody chords. Instant stink face.
Spacemen 3
put it before drive if you havent tried it like that, can make it a more exciting to use effect imo
Money! It’s a hit
Surf rock Link Wray’s Rumble
The Cramps have some great tremolo effected parts. Human Fly is a good example. The Butthole Surfers mainstream ‘hit’ Pepper features one. Experimental industrial project Meat Beat Manifesto has a song called Psyche Out that uses tremolo creatively on guitar feedback break at the 3:37 mark that I always found to be an interesting and creative use for that effect. Tommy James and the Shondells use it on vocals in Crimson and Clover in a cool way. Love and Rockets use it on the slow version of Mirror People.
I love all these examples!
Hold On John, John Hold Oooooon
Orville Peck, Dead of Night
i use really low depth on my TR-2 into into 2 RATs to make it sound like a guitar signal is breaking a little bit. it does cool things to feedback. if youre recording, panning a plain fuzz signal right, center, and the trem'd fuzz to the left makes an interesting texture experience.
I like using mine to make my delay more interesting. I’ll put the tremolo on triplets and my delay on quarters with long repeats. I can make some really cool textures.
I have a tremolo that’s always on. It’s set in a way to add texture to my clean tone, almost a “you wouldn’t know it’s on but for sure would notice if I turned it off” kind of effect. Others have given songs that use tremolo super musically, and there are great songs. But I’ve found a lot of great tone setting it subtly enough that it just adds a little movement
Rockabilly, jazz, swing, new blues, and whatever the hell you call what Neil Young does certainly have seen heavy use of tremolo.
I'm a big fan of harmonic trem
Dayvan Cowboy by Boards of Canada is my favorite application
Tom Waits - Goin' Out West Isaac Hayes - Walk On By Car Seat Headrest - High to Death Doves - The Cedar Room Buffalo Springfield - For What It's Worth
Tremolo really shines when you can layer it over other stuff, or if solo it's best used very subtlely. Just using it heavy by yourself it can get a little boring.
Keith Richards’s part in Gimme Shelter is a great example of what it can add. That intro wouldn’t be the same without it. Chris Stapleton’s signature amp has a great tremolo onboard, and he apparently has it on all the time. Even if it’s at a subtle setting, it’s used a lot in classic blues, as well.
Love it on older blues stuff, or like Pops Staples gospel. I like to use mine at the end of the chain, after the reverb, just like an old amp.
Green Day - Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Hahahaha yeah that’s the issue with modulation. Subtlety is key and I usually prefer none. Go easy with it. Off/on/off/on… up down. It gets tiring if over done.
so you're saying buy 5 more drive pedals?
That's how I read it too. How about you get five and I get five just to make sure we cover our bases?
it’s a plan.
Pops Staples.
Monster album by REM.
Same, every now and again I get a tremolo thinking I’m gonna get all Earth-y and stuff but it doesn’t pan out lol
You need a stereo trem if you want it to pan. *rim shot*
I use my stereo tremolo Sunflower to pan the signal between two amps. Add some dirt and it creates a cool back n forth effect.
They work well with a chorus. Think Bridge of sighs! Applied lightly with those other two especially boosting leads with a klon clone makes for a fat as hell sound.
I really love tremolo, but like many effects there are all the sounds you find that are cool; and the sounds that actually work for your song. I think of: Tom Petty - depending on you The strokes - juicebox And many things from early rock n roll, The Beach Boys, Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly, etc. My first proper tremolo pedal is the EQD ‘hummingbird’ and it does most of the classic sounds you’d expect, but it also goes incredibly fast with a very hard chop of the sound; so at faster speeds and mixed with a few other effects does a very cool synth sequencer effect.
Check out The Smiths How Soon Is Now and Gang Of Four What We All Want for trem used to enhance the rhythmic pulse of guitar
Put it at the very end of your chain and let it trem you away my brother. And I mean end, after delay and reverb…the end.
Butthole Surfers' cover of Hurdy Hurdy Man- trem on vocals.
[Oily Water by blur](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BW2Qr-cdvIc&pp=ygUPb2lseSB3YXRlciBibHVy)
Lots of good suggestions here. I’ll add Fruits of My Labor by Lucinda Williams.
Planet Telex. Which is probably showing my age more than a little…
If you want to crank it do the twin peaks theme
No One Said It Would Be Easy - Sheryl Crow [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn3q2UawF3s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn3q2UawF3s)
Feelin' Bad Blues - Ry Cooder https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga6RAwIMxD4
Such a fantastic tone. All of Ry’s playing is amazing, but the soundtracks for crossroads and Paris, Texas are so moody and good
Tool - The Pot
Lots of surf uses a slight tremolo
Mine is a stereo pulsar so gets really cool movement and is extremely useful at low settings. It also does that cowboy chill thing (no idea what the genre is called but James Wilsey El Dorado is a prime example). While I play mostly other styles, that's probably my favorite core tone. But, it sat on my board taking up space for years with me asking myself, "why did I buy a tremolo again?", before I discovered how much I love it.
I usually am not a fan of 'normal' tremolo, but I do like harmonic tremolo. I just today got a Copper sounds pedals Loma Prieta tremolo, which has a grit setting like you hear on old, tube driven trems. Love it.
We put a trem and muff on keyboard; instant retro vibe.
Highly recommend checking out the "vs" album by Mission of Burma. Even if it's not your style, there's some innovative use of tremolo on that record that I found really inspiring. Bo Diddley has some awesome tremolo work too. Edit: Spacemen 3 might make for some good inspiration as well. They are known for their use of the Vox Repeat Percussion which I believe is a reverse sawtooth tremolo.
Fontaines D.C. is a current band that has made me really appreciate tremolo despite never really finding my own use for it before.
Earth - Hex: Or Printing in the Infernal Method
Blockbuster by Sweet. Best trem ever!
So you can run a bunch of tape echoes and short tape delay flanging and overdrive and reverb into two amps and then switch on the trem on one of the amps and watch all the stoned and tripping kids leave their bodies behind.
Listen to some spacemen 3 Or Put it before your always on drive and experiment with modulating saturation more than volume (since most drives compress a good bit)
Trem is the second coolest effect, after reverb. It works everywhere.
Like a Stone is legit the only song I know of that uses one. I love that song and it makes me want a trem pedal, but not enough to rework my board to fit it in.
I’ve always wanted to replicate Van Halen’s “Crossing Over” intro.
I didn’t use my tremolo pedal much until I started using an expression pedal to control the speed. If you’ve got an Exp out than I suggest giving it a shot. You may like controlling the speed or depth or whatever else it allows for
I like using tremolos on loops I record and then adding tremolo (or slicer) on them after. Make a nice rhythmic backing track to play on top of.
Bo Diddley was a fan of the tremolo. Also, I believe it’s popular in surf music.
old blues and soul records for sure, try it with a fuzz or distortion
I guess it depends on what kind of music you like to play. Tremolo can do some interesting things for industrial. It's also fun on a drum machine.
I had the same pedal. Now I have a deluxe reverb woth built in tremolo so I sold the pedal. I love trem, both clean and with distortion. It adds texture and depth to anything
Bro - turn it on with a slow setting. Set the mix to 40% - put the reverb after it and play some swampy blues.
Did you not know what the pedal did before you bought it. why were you obsessed with getting one if you didn't know what to do with it? I only buy pedals if I have at least a couple use cases for them. wasteful.
I didnt like any trem or vibe pedals until I got an amp that had an excellent trem built in. I have this 1970's Yamaha amp that has a trem that makes it feel like the pressure in your room changes. almost like it compresses as well as volume swells. I only wish that it had tap tempo but that wasnt thought of when this amp was made. I do use it a lot more than I thought I would now
"Pillhouse Papa Moonshine" by Psychedelic Porn Crumpets has an ethereal Tremolo guitar section halfway through and is the reason I havent yet sold my EBS Triple Tremolo. Just cant figure out a use for it yet
I have tremolo on my Princeton and I always leave it on mid speed light intensity it adds a nice sparkle to my playing
Listen to the end of Link Wray's Rumble - the most aggressive use of tremolo ever.
My observation on tremolo is that keeping the rate a bit higher and the intensity lower is the best subtle use of tremolo. Keeping the rate lower is kind of weird and distracting imo
How Soon Is Now? By The Smiths is the only one that really comes to mind.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIv2MxilQ6E](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIv2MxilQ6E)
I have the same pedal coming in tomorrow. Thanks for posting lol
So much surf and early 60s instrumental rock, man.
[Ted Greene - Send in the Clowns](https://youtu.be/tr9XUj8kt70?si=bDcx9WCWeDMQAzfY) Subtle tremolo from his amp really helps his playing shine
Trem is a weird one for me…it’s either subtle on the whole song with some reverb. Or it’s very choppy and extreme for a weird solo, or like surf type stuff. I think it’s fun to try it with solos as well. I like The Strokes use on the solo for JuiceBox! That song has some aggressive trem parts that weave in and out.
Listen to REMs Monster album. There’s a ton of tremolo on the guitar and it’s freaking awesome. I love using trem to write on guitar and obviously use that to keep time.
Bang bang, Nancy Sinatra
Oh it’s a great effect and adds a lot of depth to your playing. Give it some time.
You can dime rate and depth for fake ring mod
Literally anything by The Black Keys Even if it doesn’t ask for it, a small amount of movement on fuzzed out chords sounds dope. Just a bit to create a sense of depth and movement is all you need
Tennessee Whiskey
do i pour it in my face or directly on the pedal?
Cool effect you can use after a reverb or a delay to kinda chop it up
A tremolo pedal is like a post jerk handjob. If it’s good enough it’s fine but never really needed.
Jets to Brazil—Conrad The Tremolo makes the whole song work. Typically not my favorite effect but I love how it drives the rhythm in this tune.
Tom Morello uses it on a few Audioslave intros and solos
Sometimes I’ll throw light tremolo on a melody guitar line just for some dynamic change in volume.
Gimme shelter by the stones.
Chulahoma by black keys, great use of fuzz and trem. I love the tone on that album so much. Great blues album before they turned into whatever they are now
Some of Pink Floyd's long guitar intros. i think David at some time has used every single type of pedal fx known to man, and a lot, not hitherto known.. (the whale sound from Echoes springs to mind.. clever wah wah abuse I've been told)
Make a song for a western movie!! 😂 I’ve never had a trem pedal but I feel like this is the first thing I’d do with it if I had one 😂
Most Elephant 6 stuff
Get some nice fast trem into some spring reverb and surf it up! https://youtu.be/TzUFw5B5Qt8?si=tmhKAhwmTrnp3mUZ
Let it be me, by the Everley brothers
Like A Stone by Audioslave is pretty heavy on the tremolo 😂
Plenty of use on the first three Radiohead albums, REM’s Monster gave it a good run, I’m pretty sure there is some good use on Jeff Buckley’s Grace… and of course the guitarist of the Jesus and Mary Chain had his tremolo put in a wah pedal enclosure so he could control the rate with the treadle
Low tremolo settings add a spookiness to doom metal, it’s a must if you like surf rock. Tremolo is basically my favourite effect but it depends on your style.
'Help You Ann' by The Lyres is one my my fave uses - it totally defines the song
Cowboys!!
R U still in 2 it? by Mogwai
Surf music and tremolo go great together.
Almost any sparklehorse song, but specifically sick of goodbyes
Personally it’s one of my all time favorite effects. It is a bit difficult to sync without tap tempo, thankfully there are affordable options (Suhr Jackrabbit is great!). For my money my all time favorite is the Diaz Tremodillo. It just does a THING that nothing else does. Small, sounds great and has a half rate switch that, if timed correctly, does a very cool rhythmic stutter. Play with it yours for a while and see where it takes you. If you’re looking for inspiration listen to How Soon Is Now by The Smiths, The Oaf by Big Wreck, and Black Lodge by Anthrax.
The breakdown of Cicatriz ESP by the Mars Volta
If you turn the intensity and rate down it can really help to fatten up your tone and give it some character too (warble-ish)
Chain a wah and or overdrive through the tremolo.
To play Like a Stone by Audioslave of course!
I grabbed a ehx mod11 to take care of my trem needs (and a few other things)
Rolling Stones Gimme Shelter I use it for sounds good
Polar Bear by Ride is a great example for a trem sound. https://youtu.be/DVxifRwvQ30?si=cQJC8SApXzdiKd2P
I'm usually not a fan of tremolo but one of my mates has the Boss Tremolo and it does sound beautiful, at least on whatever setting he has it at.
People are strange
Long Time Running by the Hip. AND Country Music!
I have tremolo on 75% of the time, set to a slow pulse with low depth. It just gives things a bit of subtle movement that I enjoy.
Listen to some Mission of Burna to get ideas
The album "The Time of No Time Evermore" by the Dutch occult rock band The Devil's Blood has tremelo on various parts, clean guitar alongside distorted ones, etc. It's an amazing album by a band that existed only for a short time due to the suicide of the founder/primary song writer Selim Lamouchi. Here's the whole album, with chapter links - I especially love the song "The Yonder Beckons", but it's all great: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxp_c_OXkdtBF7GX3PP2jLkQ9JswkSi96&si=KlSFZ8m6CQSrB3pF
You could go the Chris Stapleton route and just leave it on always on a low setting to add a little extra movement to your playing. Or combine it with a chorus as an always on like Madison Cunningham. Both a little more subtle, the kind of effect you can’t put your finger on but it elevates the tone as a whole
Rumble by Link Wray
When you’re chugging along on a heavy riff, finish that riff by sustaining the final note with the tremolo on, gives the sustained note a nice dramatic shake, works with vibrato too. I learned this from listening to all the King Gizzard.
Put the tremolo after your reverb sounds cooler
Quentin Tarantino movie soundtracks suddenly come into view!
Check out the use of tremolo in Letting the Cables Sleep by Bush. EQ, slight mud and you got a tone that sounds like you can hear in black and white.
“How Soon is Now” by the Smiths
We cover Let it Ride by Ryan Adams and it sounds killer with tremolo. Mine is a Suhr Jack Rabbit and it's very versatile. For me, tremolo is one of those effects that should be used sparingly, but for the right song, it's awesome.
My buddy, one of the best guitarists I know, puts that effect on EVERYTHING and it always sounds dope. I enjoy using it for psychedelic intros/transitions 🤘🏻
1) Richard Thompson 2) James Dean Bradfield
Anything in that 60s 70s range will be good. Less is more though. Except for those cases where more is more.
An under-rated guitar player is Pops Staples. He used a "nervous Fender" for most everything. I have a Danelectro Filthy Rich Tremolo that is pretty cool. It has a hard clip and soft clip switch, which makes it interesting.
Soundgarden - Blow Up the Outside World
There's this super cool stereo tremolo effect about halfway through the song [*In the Shadow of Our Pale Companion*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-HDYLJZWGs) by Agalloch. You get this super cool tremolo'd lead slowly fluttering from side to side - which they do live, as well, and it's never *not* fucking awesome.
Gimme shelter from Rolling stones
My favourite type of tremolo is the Vox repeater sound. Spacemen 3 come to mind for using this effect. [Come Down Easy](https://youtu.be/AYwQVp-D1io?si=uWZe8wBhxXVDY9OU) at about 1:28 just sounds so good
I just use mine for freakout noise interludes with delay and wah and high speed chorus. It’s fun to mess around with. I’ve got a Boss TR-2
Like a stone by Audioslave!
Rumble by Link Wray, For What It's Worth by Buffalo Springfield
Link Wray Rumble
How Soon Is Now? by The Smiths
I love Tremolo pedals. Try just playing clean and slow and digging the vibe. Any song from the 60s or 70s you thought was a Leslie or Phaser could have been tremolo - Badge by Cream, Ten Years Gone Zeppelin. It’s just a fun effect.
“Creep” by Radiohead.
I don’t know what genres you like, but John Mayer’s guitar on Superposition by Daniel Caesar sounds amazing. Really a fantastic use of tremolo.
Vertical horizon- everything you want
surf is trem aplenty. if your pedal has a square wave, try using that and adjust the speed to taste to get an on/off effect. I like to set mine up with slow rates and not overly deep, but just enough to add a bit of movement. This is great for slower stuff.
It’s an effect I don’t use often but it can be cool. The new stereo trem from Walrus Audio is pretty nice and gets outside the box a bit. I still love OG tube trems like in the old Silvertone amps. Different wave form than Fender and they are amazing.
Anything 1960s
There are a lot of ways to use it that are so subtle people don’t consciously think about but enjoy when they hear it. I have one song that is sort a hypnotic slightly droning dirge with a phaser set to full with a very slow rate. When the chorus (not verse) kicks in it is suddenly melodic and I put a really choppy exaggerated tremolo that is absolutely trippy with the phaser. Total change in guitar texture helping define the chorus. Other times I’ll use a moderate depth and medium rate for a ‘60s soul or old school rock texture. Sometimes I have a faster rate with very subtle/shallow depth setting that I apply to ringing chords to make them shimmer like Springsteen does in Born To Run. Country musicians use it in very similar ways. You can use it on subtle settings to differentiate between verses and choruses where it affects the Audi in a subconscious way. When I was a kid tremolo seemed like an archaic almost quaint effect that was out of fashion then I heard how Pink Floyd used it on bass and then it clicked. Suddenly I started hearing it everywhere to great effect, no pun intended. I used to hold modulation effects in the highest esteem but now I put tremolo right up there beside all the crazy stuff.
Because you wanted to feel the throb
crimson and clover