Electro-Harmonix Pulsar Reissue

The pedal is super easy to operate...three knobs and a switch...

'62 Reissue strat PE Dual Tone > Pulsar > '68 Fender Twin Reverb. It's really smooth. No real volume drop...it does roll off the highs just a bit. You can achieve very realistic sounding amp style trem, but is noticeable different in character. The vibe on my Twin had a little more oomph to it, especially with the Dual Tone engaged. The Pulsar is rumored to be designed with the wants and needs of forum members from Harmony Central. The shape knob is extremely useful...you can dial in the attack and decay really well. The switch allow you to experiment with both the standard sawtooth trem and the square wave or chop trem. Speed and Intensity are pretty self explanatory. You can achieve ring mod and doubling effects with different combinations of maxed out controls. The best thing about it is how smooth it sounds. It is nice and clear, that is probably why it plays well with overdrive. It's also true bypass, so no tone sucking when disengaged. One of my favorite features is the pulsating LED.

EH has a great warranty program on top of very well built equipment.

They answer emails within 24 hours...usually less.

Great trem it, not quite amp sounding, but super smooth and versitile.

wow.
i guess i'll be the first to let everyone in on this pedal. it's only been out a couple o' weeks; it's so new that there's no info on the web--not even on the electro-harmonix page. i'd never heard of it or its 70s pre-incarnation. in any case, as far as ease of use, it must be said that this is not a o.d. unit where everything is cut and dry. it's not hard to figure out the pedal but if you find the perfect setting and you want to get that EXACT sound again then you will need to twiddle a bit. all of this is not a criticism--it's just the nature of a versatile pedal. there is a manual with general info but i think getting used to it is the best way to get the sound you want. one switch, 3 knobs give you plenty of room to find the effect you want to apply.

wow. it slices, it dices, it does the watoosi.

wow.
as far as i'm concerned a trem shouldn't have a sound. it's a volume swell/chop unit. the problem with many units is a boost--often in the treble, sometimes the mids. no boost here. i tried the e-h worm and the treble boost was just appauling. (the e-h wiggler tremolo, by the way works/sounds great only for some reason has no depth knob, making it too limited to bother with. and anyhow the whole tube-powered pedal phenomenon is sorta silly anyway.)
the effect possiblities are impressive on this--without ever venturing out of the trem genre. one flick of the switch puts you in triangle- or square-wave territory. in addition there is a shape knob which alters the nature of the trem (descending/ascending). the re-issue is not actually a straight-up re-ish as it offers not only a triangle/square switch but also the shape knob which puts it a step ahead its older brother and most pedals out there. i didn't try out any boutique trems in my search, but i have a feeling this is based on the throb from prescription electronics, which in turn is based on the 70s pulsar.
this pedal is full of possiblities. you can find some whacked-out sounds, which is basically why i chose this pedal over all other trem pedals. the rate goes from inaudibly fast to slower than a whole chord progression. (literally!)
if put at 12 o'clock there is a doubling effect that can be heard about 2:30 into "one of these days" on pink floyd's MEDDLE. in this position you can hold a distorted chord and the pedal plays a rhytmic pattern for you.
you can get helicopter noises, crcket chirps, even detuning at extreme rate settings--and combiningg effects makes it even more versatile.
and if you're looking for a standard fender amp/60s surf-style trem pedal, don't let my talk of weird sounds put you off. there are lush or subtle "normal" trem sounds by the barrel in this pedal. a few that i played did this really well, but i also like noisy or spacey sounds so the fact that this offers both was the clencher for me.
the only sound issue is the throb you get if you aren't playing while it's on. however, this is true for any trem, i believe. and anyhow, why would you leave it on and not play and, well, the throb's just one more sound possiblility, as far as i'm concerened.

i just got it so i can't say too much--not even how long it lasts on a battery. good news: power is 9v, 100ma. bad news: 1/8" male power supply required.
e-h pedals are big (some would say TOO big, including me) chrome badboys that hold up for decades.
my backup for all fx is a zoom 2100 multi-fx unit, which i also use for samples/loops.

1 year warranty for free repairs.
otherwise i don't know as this is my first e-h purchase.

wow.
lemme just say that i was in the market for a tremolo pedal and so was looking around in local shops. my plan was to get a nice used one for around 40 u.s. bucks. i tried out the boss, the marshall vibratrem, the danelectro, the dunlop, the dod vibro-thang, etc. when i played the dunlop i was impressed but didn't wanna spend that much. when i went into a shop asking for trem pedals and was handed the pulsar i totally tossed caution to the wind and splurged on this beauty of a pedal. i had to. it's the cadillac of trems--and for less than the boss tr-2! nice.
i play some kinda spacey/psych/noise/post-rock/kraut-rock sorta thing and this is perfect for it, as sometimes i play clean as a whistle bust want a bit of pulse to the sound and sometimes i play very fx-heavy, so this this is a perfect addition to my chain.
setup: electra outlaw (70s dc with humbuckers)/yamaha sgv (re-ish of 60s "surf" model)>>70s morley wah/volume>>boss ph-3>>boss ds-1>>dod 250 o.d.>>ibanez fll flanger>>dod chorus>>peavey srp-16 digital reverb>>zoom 2100>>acoustic amp (which is a mesa boogie lawsuit amp from 1981).
i haven't yet fiddled around to find the best spot for the pulsar in that long chain of effects. i think it's supposed to go first but on a fender amp the trem is apparently even after the reverb. i'll just play around and find the spot i like best.
the only drawback i can think of is the size. it has that boutique/oversized-vintage vibe which does make it look cool but it takes up a lot of room in my crowded pedal chain.
the nice thing is that it offers so many nuances that one setting makes me want to write a song around it, which in my experience is the best kinda pedal in the world.
go ahead and try out the boss and whatever else is out there and then play this and have yr credit card ready. i like finding pedals that not only o what they are supposed to but also offer unique sounds--like the 80s ibanez flanger i have. this is also one of those.
by the way, i'm interested to see what the regular asking price will be. i got it for $69 but at the 2 on-line shops that list it (as an item on order) it's listd for $90-100. anyhow, for the price of a boss tr-2 (which is ok, don't get me wrong, you can ge this extraordinary pedal--one which i'm sure a lot of people will be taliking about and playing.