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I am looking for a hard chop tremolo that will give me a full on helicopter / automatic rifle kind of sound. Similar to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy7p4zMwv6Q

Only thing is, I have several constraints:

I want tap tempo (and if possible, expression control, but not necessarily) - I don't want to have to tweak knobs to adjust the speed while my drummer is playing. External tap tempo is ok
Form factor should be as compact as possible, 125b at most
Gain / level should be available to boost the signal slightly to avoid the volume loss feeling
Must be ok to be powered daisy chained with other pedals and not draw more than ~60mA at most
Will be used on bass - not that it matters much per se, but it's just that it's a bit difficult to find demos...

Currently I am looking at:

Copilot Polypus
Malekko Sneak Attack
Zvex Sonar (but landscape positioning is really annoying... it would probably have to replace my Mastotron and I'd have to find another fuzz for that, which I already spent several years looking for )

What is your take on those? Any other candidates I should consider?

Subdecay Tremcoder chops hard and has tap tempo w/ subdivisions in a small form factor.... Also does a bunch more, but it's really easy to dial in a straight chop in any of 3 different pulse widths....

No volume compensation tho....

The form factor kinda sucks on the Sonar. Knobs too close to footswitches and the control set is a bit convoluted. It sounds fantastic but I didn't really enjoy using it.

Tremolessence is objectively the best trem pedal but unfortunately no tap tempo

Native Audio Rising Sun and Alexander Wavelength are other options too, but I'd probably just get the Copilot.

seymour duncan shapeshifter, is tap, and compact, does a ok hard chop and has shape and wave control I used it for bass mostly (and cello) and thought it ok, I stopped using it because I like the sound of moog trems better and go for a slow throb most of the time..

Have you already ruled out the Goatkeeper? There's no gain control, however, that may be your best bet for a sharp chop.

I would say check out the Sentimental Bob Tacana tremolo. It has way more wave shapes than you need, but can do the hard square wave chop, is small, has tap tempo, volume control and he added expression control over the rate to mine when I ordered it for like $10 or something.

There is a fuzzy, choppy example at about 6:05 on this video:

https://youtu.be/2HDkeuKxQ3w

damn, and I thought I had already spent so much time researching so many I didn't know about

Dandolin wrote:Subdecay Tremcoder chops hard and has tap tempo w/ subdivisions in a small form factor.... Also does a bunch more, but it's really easy to dial in a straight chop in any of 3 different pulse widths....

No volume compensation tho....

would you say there is perceivable volume loss? are you using it? if so with bass or guitar? and with drums? (it's usually with drums that you're under the impression there is this kind of volume loss imho)

backwardsvoyager wrote:The form factor kinda sucks on the Sonar. Knobs too close to footswitches and the control set is a bit convoluted. It sounds fantastic but I didn't really enjoy using it.

Tremolessence is objectively the best trem pedal but unfortunately no tap tempo

Native Audio Rising Sun and Alexander Wavelength are other options too, but I'd probably just get the Copilot.

oh yeah, that's another constraint I forgot to mention (will edit first post), it needs to be able to run daisy chained powered and not draw too much current (60mA max or so), my board is pretty full and I don't want to have to change my PSU for just a single pedal, so that rules out the Alexander.

Blackened Soul wrote:seymour duncan shapeshifter, is tap, and compact, does a ok hard chop and has shape and wave control I used it for bass mostly (and cello) and thought it ok, I stopped using it because I like the sound of moog trems better and go for a slow throb most of the time..

yeah the seymour duncan seemed great but it's too wide

echorec wrote:Have you already ruled out the Goatkeeper? There's no gain control, however, that may be your best bet for a sharp chop.

Nope, I didn't know about that one same question as for the subdecay above - how do you use it and would you say there is perceivable volume loss when playing with a drummer?

Blood_mountain wrote:I would say check out the Sentimental Bob Tacana tremolo. It has way more wave shapes than you need, but can do the hard square wave chop, is small, has tap tempo, volume control and he added expression control over the rate to mine when I ordered it for like $10 or something.

There is a fuzzy, choppy example at about 6:05 on this video:

https://youtu.be/2HDkeuKxQ3w

that sounds interesting. where do you get one? reverb or is there a website?

i knew this place'd come up with a buncha solid recs

Subdecay is the choppiest I've ever had - he designed it with a weird trick to get it to turn fully and cleanly off, which apparently a lot of other trems either don't actually do, or require design hacks to get it clean. He explained it to me in the comments for this demo:


apparently, he wanted a trem that would cut through lots of gain....

i've only ever really used it for guitar, but i have used it on bari, and i do play bass a lot - i think it'd sound fine for chop on bass.

that said, i think any trem will produce a perceived drop in volume, this one included. ime, it's worse on sine/triangle than on standard square wave, but lower pulse widths are also worse than standard square wave. it depends on the speed of the lfo, too.

for my use in live band situations, i normally kick in the chop during emphasis parts of a song where i'm otherwise boosting volume, so it's not really a problem, but i def get your concern. i don't gig much anymore, but i did use it in a two-man "pit band" for a theater thing last month and it worked a charm with an A-tuned bari and medium high gain, but i had it on for the entire song i used it on....

i also gotta say - every time i see that Tacana, i think - "that is a smart pedal"

Lebowsky wrote:

Blood_mountain wrote:I would say check out the Sentimental Bob Tacana tremolo. It has way more wave shapes than you need, but can do the hard square wave chop, is small, has tap tempo, volume control and he added expression control over the rate to mine when I ordered it for like $10 or something.

There is a fuzzy, choppy example at about 6:05 on this video:

https://youtu.be/2HDkeuKxQ3w

that sounds interesting. where do you get one? reverb or is there a website?

Yea, he just sells thru reverb. I spoke with him on Instagram prior to buying to arrange having the expression control added. It’s a pretty inexpensive pedal too, for everything it does.

Can only input on the Sonar. Don't really disagree with comments about the form factor, sound/chop is excellent though.

Gravitas

mcatano wrote:Gravitas

If you like chop, get one with the “chop mod” or send it in to CBA.

The Tacana is new to me. Paying attention.

The Subdecay seems really good, but at that price point, I don't want to have to regret volume issues after a while.

I think it's going to be between the Polypus and Tacana. Need to do extensive research and demo checking

I've had the Sonar for quite awhile now....

for me, the pros: can do the hard chop thing really really well / tap tempo is great / the machine circuit is a nice little feature to have although i don't use it very often / the combination of 'duty' and 'depth' is really awesome in terms of fine-tuning the chop and feel of the trem.

cons: form factor. I use two barefoot buttons, a tall one and a short one, for each footswitch, and then turn it sideways to make it fit onto my board easier....not a great option but it works for me / each knob has a secondary function. the secondary functions are easy to forget for me so I don't make full use the pedal. Also, in your case, I don't think the Sonar can really boost....I can keep unity volume without any issue but that's with the volume knob almost maxed out.

cons being said....i've never wanted to replace it. its been a sleeper on my board, i love it, and the four or five times i've wanted the machine turned on, it's a total monster!

Mattoverse has as few trem pedals....i've eyed those a few times.

The EHX Super Pulsar comes to mind and does everything one could ever ask of a tremolo but it's probably the wrong form factor...?