Fulltone Supa-Trem Tremelo

How easy is it to get a good sound out of it?

That's pretty subjective. It IS easy to tweak, it is
just a matter of tastes how good the sound it.

The manual is short, but there is more than enough info to
be able to help you tweak it to taste. In the newer models there
is a pot inside that lets you adjust if the volume increases, decreases, or is at unity when the pedal is on. The pedal I am reviewing (I bought it used) did not have that addition.

It may be that I too picky with trems. I have gone through a few, didn't like the Demeter at all. I used to own a Gibson Starfire with a built in trem (tube) and I loved it...but it's been years since I last played through it.

That said, as I mentioned, my Supra trem didn't have the adjustable pot for volume when on. I didn't mind though, as I think it is just right that a pedal like a trem "seems" to lose volume even at unity..because you are hearing notes fade in and out.

I liked the pedal, but in the end it wasn't for me. This is subjective, but I had no use for the "chop" sound, which I know a lot of folks actually want...can be a great effect it was just too choppy for my kind of music (I play mostly blues and was looking for the "swamp blues" kinda sound) but the other mode was good. You have a lot of control among other things the mix helped a lot...I tended to mix it down so it was less obvious.

Still, for me this pedal wasn't what I "it". On the other hand, it was easy to sell, and though the guy I sold it to was a little hesitant when I told him it didn't have the volume adjust pot, he decided to take a chance, here in Norway when you sell something, the buyer (even private sales) has two weeks to return it no questions asked. I sent it to him, he got back to me and LOVED it, it was exactly what he was looking for, and he kept it. He said it turned out he thought it sounded just right with that little volume boost when on. Keep in mind, this is now (for some time I think) adjustable on the supra-trem.

It was a handy little box. Size was good, ruggedly built.

It just wasn't for me.

It is really hard to judge these things until you've owned it for years. It seems rugged, sturdy. If I still owned it I wouldn't feel like I HAD to have a backup.

Have only had one exchange of email with the maker about a different pedal (that I really enjoy and still use) and enough has been said in others posts I think, except I think tempramental folk can get a really bad rap. I had one email that seemed kinda rude, but as soon as we got past that, I got suggestions and help. This was only a "best use" issue, not any problem with the pedal itself.

Not all pedal makers are even available for email, so that is another thing to keep in mind. Personal opinion, I think Mike could save himself a lot of grief if he got someone to write up his manuals with more hints, useful tips, etc. Maybe too much overhead though, or maybe there too many folks that pride themselves on not reading manuals...so that might not help either.

It wasn't what I was looking for, but I am not knocking the pedal. I especially liked the normal/double speed switch. That was a good idea...I know a lot of times you get it where you want it but it is missing something, often the solution was to hit that and either halve the current setting or double it....I noticed that really could do the trick sometimes.

It's as good or better than most of the other pedals I tried. I still kept my Nobels TR-X, which so far is the one I can tweak best to what I want, but the Nobels feels LOTS flimsier, and it adds more noise than the Supra-trem did. Also I don't think I could get enough for it, whereas the Supra-Trem seems to hold its' resale value. I sold it for a few hundred kroner less than I paid for it, and may have broken even if I had waited for other buyers.

It beats the Demeter trem pedal for my taste. The guy I sold it to thinks it is great!

Supa easy Supa Trem! Two knobs and three switches. Three LED's indicate various functions. Input and output jacks as well as a power jack.

The best pedal tremelo that I've ever heard. Completely old school fender amp like but with even more flexibility. The two big knobs allow you to make adjustments on the fly for the rate (speed) of the effect and the mix level. You also have a switch that will allow you to cut your rate of effect in half so you instantly have two variations of the tempo from the rate knob. There's also a hard/soft switch that's very useful if you prefer a more modern choppy type of tremelo. I love this! No matter where your settings are, the pedal sounds amazing!

Built so well. Just holding it in your hand will answer this question. Fulltone has great attention to detail and this pedal is no exception. The wiring is flawless and everything is solid beyond compare.

Mike Fuller gets right to the point. I've never had a problem with him. I know some people complain that he's rude. I've never experienced this from my dealings with him.

The best tremelo I've ever used. I have no desire to find something else. Nothing else will do at this point. This pedal will not dissapoint. If you desire a great sounding tremelo with lots of options, look no further. AWESOME!

(I give fair numerical ratings, not just jumping to 10 as a default - 5 is AVERAGE, 7 is GOOD, 9 is STUPENDOUS, 10 is BEST IN ITS CLASS)

9v Battery-able (lasts not long, but not too short - no where near as bad as a digital delay)
In, Out, 9vDC in jacks
Rate and Mix Knobs
On/Off, Speed (with blinking LED), and Hard/Soft footswitches
Internal trim-pot bias (i think) adjustment for Soft mode

This trem is easy to use, but slightly less intuitive than other units. It would be nice if it had a traditional depth knob in addition to the hard/soft switch. I find the Mix knob slightly counter-intuitive, since i like a very strong tremelo effect when it is on. The internal adjustment for the Soft mode is very useful for tweaking that mode - i increased it until it was a very promonent effect.

The effect's size is actually quite annoying. It is very wide, but not very deep, with three switches that are hard to make accessable in a pedalboard arrangement. They aren't too close together on the unit itself, but the Speed and Hard/Soft modes are so close to the edges that you have to set the unit at least 3/4" (2cm) or so away from the nearest other effect in so that they are still toe-accessable.

It is those switches that make this a great live effect, though. Being able to switch tempo and depth of effect on-the-fly live keeps me from having to bend down and tweak away at knobs between songs. Also, the two external knobs are very large, and easy to move with your feet. This is both a blessing and a curse, because they are also very easy to accidentally knock in the middle of a song as you go to turn on another effect, or to turn while hitting one of the Supa-Trem's own footswitches. This once again has to do with it being such a SHALLOW effect (size wise), the knobs being too close to the switches. That or i have big feet.

Overall, ease of use in setting the trem for a sound is around average for a high-quality trem pedal. Ease of use in a live enviroment is much higher, becuase of the on-the-fly ability to change the depth and speed of the trem. But the placement of the knobs and switches are such that it is very easy to mess up a setting inadvertantly. So therefore i give it a 7 in ease of use, my ABOVE AVERAGE.

I play a bunch of different styles of music, and use a fair amount of effects, but tend to go for "classic-sounding" tones that are entirely my own, using mainly "boutique" modern equipment. My main setup is either an American Re-issue Jazzmaster or a PRS Hollowbody Spruce (with Seymour Duncan Seth Lover pickups and a piezo that I send through a DI to the PA) into a complicated set of effects into either a Bad Cat Black Cat 30r combo or a THD Flexi 50 head. My effects are, in order (at least the day I wrote this):

Fulltone Clyde Wah->Foxrox Captain Coconut 2 Octave(->)Fuzzfoot->Analog.man mini-Bicomprosser->Fulltone Fulldrive 2->Skreddypedals Zero->Analog.man Clone Chorus->CC2 Provibe->Foxrox Paradox TZF->Fulltone SUPA-TREM->Analog.man modified Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man

As you may be able to see, I love modulation effects. I play mostly semi-chordal rhythm stuff, and melodic lead stuff, sometimes going so far as to do J.Mascis-tinged major scale soloing. The various modulations and flavors of dirt i have let me get a massive variety of tones to do many things with.

My idea of the ideal trem sound is, well, my own, but tends more toward the sounds on later Luna albums, or the arpeigiated rhythm in Radiohead's Creep. The Supa-Trem nails both. It will also let me get a machine-gun studder a'la the Smith's "How Soon is Now" - though NOTHING can truly duplicate that song.

With some tweaking the Supa-Trem can get just about any trem sound i can think of. It is crystal-clear in sound, too - when the effect is very light, you can't even tell it is on without very careful observation. It is not noisy at all at any setting i have tried.

I think overall it deserves a 9. It gives a superb tremelo sound - but it isn't QUITE as good as an old Fender Amp's, and there are several other boutique trems that sound as good or better.

All the fulltone stuff is really reliable, but pretty $$$. I am more than willing to put money into a quality product, and Fulltone generally comes through (though the CF-1... leaves something really major to be desired. See my review of it for details). And they are all reliable.

Mike Fuller is not building nearly as much for the novice as he is for the experienced "Weekend Warriors" and pro musicians. These are the people who really depend on reliable stuff - and his stuff always delivers.

Yes, I DO depend on this unit. Which isn't to say I have no backup plan - Guitar-cord-Amp is always an option. But i have no qualms gigging with it without a backup, and do gig with it with no backup.

I almost never give 10s for reliability, and this is no exception; any analog equipment can fail, and footswitches can always be an issue. This is as solid as reasonably possible. It is not absolutely reliable, but it is as reliable as any effect like it could be. Therefore the 9.

I have never dealt with them. Heard good and bad, but most of the bad makes me think that people don't like being treated like people. I've never heard of him refusing a fix, or being truly unhelpful. But like I said, i have no personal experience.

I play a bit of a lot, from heavy blues-rock to ambient post-rock to almost country to pretty straightforeward Rock to raunchy jazz. I use the Supa in many situations, but mainly in ambient pasages or in country songs, or as a true "effect" in the not-at-all-subtle sense to create machine-gun stutter or harsh on-off-on-offs.

I have been playing a bit over 6 years, and have oned a rediculous amount of gear. As far as other trems go, though, I once had a Voodoo Labs trem that I cound never get along with. No others. I tend to do a lot of research/testing when dropping $$$ on pedals, and therefore aren't disappointed all too often.

If it were stolen or lost, I would probably buy another one, but there are a few other trems I would consider as well, like the 4ms.

I would like to believe it helps me make music, but for the most part it is pretty transparent as far as my effects go. In other words, I barely notice it is there unless it is needed.

Overall, i think the Supa-Trem is a very good pedal. It does as advertised. It is by no means perfect, though. The control arrangement bugs me, and the lack of a true depth control is slightly annoying. I give it a solid 8.

More user control right at your feet than any other trem I'm aware of. There are a couple internal adjustments as well. It only gets the perfect score because it's designed with big fat rotary knobs that you can adjust with your foot for trem speed and wet/dry mix. Better than all others here.

Primarily play: custom Guilford w/ Fralin humbuckers; G&L ASAT Tele; Danelectro 6/6 doubleneck baritone guitar through a TopHat King Royale 2x12 combo. A pedal rig to boot: Peterson Strobostomp, Teese Picture Wah, SD-1, Tim, Tonebone Classic, Barber Tone Press, Supa-Trem, DL4. Application: 80% studio/20% live. Primary Music Genres: alt/cty > pop cty, roots rock > funk > pop rock.

Noise: least amout possible w/ true bypass
Tonal coloration: transparent as a pedal can be. I differ with other reviews, no eq boosting or coloration detectable
Variables: Mike has found a way to do it better than everyone else, so he made the pedal and we benefit. There is a wider span of tremelo applications available at your foot than any other trem pedal I've seen. There is a dedicated hard/soft switch that I personally don't find too useable, so I just opt not to use it. fulltone.com has audio samples
Side notes: it is worthy to mention that there is no "click" with this tremelo, which seems to be the thing that always pisses me off about trems, particularly for recording applications

Solid box, like most boutique pedal makers today.
The brownie points come with the distinct feel in your foot of the switch going from "on" to "off".
What's with the back-ups? I don't cart, carry or gig with a back-up on any pedal. Worst thing that can happen is I plug my guitar into an amp. If that's a problem, then you have bigger issues than a dead pedal.

Sorry, no first hand experience here, but to Mike's testament, I've got colleagues that have dealt direct with him and it's all good.

I would replace it with the same if it were ever necessary. I did my homework here and am rather pickey about circuitry, quirks and tonal integrity and I am very comfortable with my choice. I cannot think of anything else I would ever wish for in a tremelo pedal, in fact Mike thought of things I didn't, so he raised the bar for everyone else. At the present, you won't find a better choice for a dedicated tremelo pedal. I can confidently endorse this product.

The manual describes two internal trimmers and other subtleties. Fulltone manuals aren't as technical as I'd wish, but they offer practical insights.

I love the way the dials are so wide because they help me to dial in minute adjustments. Compared to other tremolos I've used, the knobs are sensitive and increase their respective effects in direct proportion to the degree with which they are rotated. Sounds simple, but it isn't always the case on other manufacturers' trem pedals.

Pristine sound. The abrupt, rapid shudder at its most extreme is matched by the gentleness with which it fades away in the lighter settings.

I never turn this pedal off. The settings can be set low enough that the effect goes unnoticed, while the pedal provides an inherent treble boost.

So far, so good.

Five year warrantee to original owner.

I appreciate the work that went into this design. For something as simple as tremolo, this pulls out all the stops. I've tried expensive trems that produce no particularly useful sounds, whereas this is always on.

The unit is very self explanatory. I don't like equipment that needs a manual. Three switches, Two knobs. The half time switch is really useful, just drop to half speed tremelo with the switch of a button. The speed led is really useful too.

This pedal has very good sound quality. No noise really. Only weird thing is that if your amp makes noise, like white static noise, this pedal will tremelo it. So realize this box is made for premium gear. It is expecting you to have a quiet setup.

My setup is: American Standard Tele -> Fulltone Supatrem -> Sparkle Drive -> DLS Echo Tap -> Laney VC30 (class A valve combo)

People always say, "built like a tank". This thing lives up to abuse. Mine was a Guitar Center floor model! You can't get more abuse than that. I got a good price on it and figured I might have to have it serviced. Not so! Used it for a year so far, and no problems. Really a quality box.

Never had to deal with Fulltone. That is great in itself. Great customer support starts with great products.

I play modern rock with a space rock twinge. Playing for 15 years. If I lost this pedal I would get another one. You can't beat solid gear. I have used several tremelo amps and this sucker is as good or better than all of them. Plus it is WAY more versatile. Get it, you'll dig it.

The Supa Trem is about as basic as it gets.
Two Knobs: Speed and Mix.
On/Off switch, and a Half Speed switch which doubles the speed of the Tremelo without losing a beat. Also there is a hard/soft switch for more smooth traditional sounding tremelo, or more aggressive machine gun tremelo.
There is an internal trimmer to tune the sound of the tremelo if you'd like, but i haven't used it as i think the pedal sounds great the way it is.

The tremelo is very, very nice sounding. Also, it is very quiet, no hiss at all.
It definetely has a vintage fender tremelo vibe. It sounds pretty damn close to the old Vibro Champ amps and Tremolux's etc.
I use the Supa Trem with a Bad Cat Cub 2 amp, and the pedal just shines with it, very 3-D sounding. Before i had the Bad Cat, i played the Supa Trem through a Solid State amp, and it still sounded great.
Before i bought the pedal, i considered getting the Diaz Tremodillo, but it wasn't true bypass, and it was cheaper and more convenient to get the Supa Trem as i worked for Guitar Center at the time. I hear the Diaz is more psychadelic sounding, but i am very happy with the Supa Trem. The half Speed switch is cool, it doubles the speed, or cuts it in half, and is pretty useful. The hard/soft switch is also a nice touch, and just adds to the versatility. When on hard, you get that square wave machine gun like tremelo which is very cool. I dont give the pedal a 10 just because there could always be a better pedal out there like the Lovetone Wobulator which i would LOVE to have but, unfortunetely is no longer made. However, for a more traditional tremelo, this pedal really nails it. It almost sounds like the tremelo is built into the amp. Very impressive.

I have had the Supa Trem for a couple years now, and NO problems.
It is True Bypass, and built solid.
I used it in a studio session and some jam sessions and it performed flawlessly.
I have no qualms using it without a back up. Besides, i think it to be a waste of money to have a back up for each pedal you own. Amps are another story, but pedals? Maybe if it's a vintage pedal. Anyway, i am very confident in this pedal, and with my experience, it has been very dependable.

I have never dealt with Fulltone, so i can't really comment on this.
I have heard good and bad things, so who knows.
You can't please everyone anyway, and for the most part these pedal makers are very busy and just might come off as abrupt or rude, so give 'em a break.

Overall, i'd have to give the pedal a 10 just because of the build quality, and the versatility and the fact i have had no problems with the pedal. I know i gave the sound quality a 9, but adding up all these factors, i have to give it a 10 overall. So there you go.

Very easy to use. A no-nonsense kind of tremolo pedal.

I play a Mexican Strat through a Blues Junior. No noise whatsoever from this pedal. Sounds excellent, it does not change the tone of the signal at all, just like a tremolo pedal should behave. The Supa Trem has a wide, constant range of speeds to set it to. I enjoy using this pedal with chorus and some reverb, gives that nice low-fi, playing in a Quentin Tarantino movie kind of feel.

I don't tour or play with a band or anything like that, so it won't go through any bumps or bruises. But it looks to be solidly built. Should more than hold up just sitting on my floor.

Have not dealt with them. I bought this pedal used off eBay for $160, hell of a deal considering it sells for about $200 new.

I play anything from classical to punk. But I don't play country or metal (some rockabilly though). I'm only so-so, playing off and on for about 8 years. I did a lot of research before buying this tremolo pedal, and it was hard finding one in a shop that I could play. So I felt like I was taking a big chance by getting this pedal ($160 is a lot for a student). I'm glad I did, it was worth every penny. This pedal beats every other trem pedal with ease.

Pretty easy to use, though because mine is Serial#00001 (no shit!), it had no labels so at first I had to figure out what the controls did. Sometimes, if I haven't used it for a while and I've forgotten, I have to re-learn what they are.

Also probably because mine is such a weird handmade version it doesn't have the big knobs, so I can't really manipulate it with my feet like you can with the regular production versions. That's a cool idea.

Mine is in a plain aluminum housing. Same size as the production models, but unpainted and there are no labels. There's a sticker on the bottom that says Fulltone and it looks like it's signed by some people. Then there's another clear sticker that says Serial#0001.

I use this with Jazzmaster guitars and a '69 Marshall Super Lead 100W amp. I got it because I used to be a Fender guy and so I was used to being able to get that nice tremelo sometimes, which my Marshall doesn't have. This box has a very amp-like quality because, as I understand it, it uses a photo cell like the old amp designs. It's a glorious sound.

I don't use the "soft" tremelo setting. It just doesn't work for me. Too subtle. I like to use the "hard" setting, which feels very much like a Fender amp. There's also a button that seems to double or halve the frequency of the modulation. That's cool to have too.

Mine is slightly noisy / hissy. Nothing horrible, but you know when it's on.

It's a little unpredictable, or maybe my reaction to it is, so I don't really rely on it. Luckily, trem isn't a real integral thing for me anyways.

Never had to deal with them. I bought this thing used from another musician.

I play loud & sonic song-oriented stuff. http://www.richardbitch.com This thing is a great match for me because I'm into vintage gear and totally off the hook super loud vintage tones. Also, I totally dig the cachet of owning the prototype version. YOU GUYS ARE JEALOUS, HUH!!

I wish it didn't have the hard/soft switch. I only like the hard setting, and sometimes I step on the damn thing by accident.

I don't remember explicitly comparing this to anything else, though I'm sure I did. I can't imagine another pedal sounding as good as this. Only an amp would rival it.

I might not replace it if it were lost b/c I don't have that much of a boner for tremelo. ANYONE WANNA TRADE IT STRAIGHT FOR A BOSS VB-2??? Now, vibrato I could use.

This baby's as easy as it gets...two knobs, two switches...I personally have it set for one speed, and one mix...that's all I need!

Perfect trem...never noisy, no "woosh" sound when activated like some others, including the trem in my $3,000 Carr Imperial amp.
My setup is simple...guitar > Loooper A-B > tuner > Supa-Trem > Visual Sound H2O (for some ambient delay) > Carr Imperial 4x10 combo...so sweet.

Never had a problem...I emailed Mike Fuller about the knobs that came on it...I had the big black ones, but wanted the smaller style...he emailed me back the same day. That's customer service!

They ROCK!!!

I play old-school reverb heavy guitar...www.bigbluehearts.com
This is the only Trem pedal i'll ever need! I'm set!!!