Guyatone VT-3 Vintage Tremolo

2 knobs, takes a little experimenting like everything, but is real simple to find good sounds

I put this in my effects loop towards the end and it sounded great. Tryed it with my delay, phaser, and chorus and it was still nice and clear, without much tone loss or mudding of the sound.

Havent had any problems thus far. Its small but seems to be constructed well.

I play a weird mix of phsycadehlic rock and punk. This thing just adds another great vintage sounding effect to my line for make crazy music.

no-brainer

for what I need this is a great pedal. I run it through the effects loop on my amp (currently the only thing) I basically needed a "set it and forget it" trem. This is it. it doesn;t thin out my tone and I perceive no volume jump.

so far so good, no issues (had it for almost a year)

I suppose if you wanted a versatile pedal this probably isn;t the one. but if you want a basic trem then look no further.

also it's worth mentioning the size is a big plus. since it's the only pedal I use through my loop I drilled 2 holes in the side of my amp and attached it in the actual cab w/ a cable tie. I use the amp's loop switch and save setting up 2 long cables to my pedal board. . .

intensity, speed, footswitch. this is a no brainer.

the speed knob is quite uppity between 2 and 4 o clock, but it's easy to navigate.

it does one thing and does it well.

it's a simple pedal. it does what i want it to do.

Easy. Two knobs. No issues

Awesome. The best sounding organic trem I've played. Very tube amp like. But the tube amp like thing comes from some underlying overdrive/distortion/gain that you can't get rid of. It makes the pedal sound amazing, but it's an added overdrive that I would prefer not to have mixed in unless I wanted it. By itself the pedal is the sh!t. With another overdrive going, my signal gets too distorted. It should just get tremoloed, but the distortion jumps because of the built in gain. Arg.

The volume boost is huge. Change resistor R15 (there are two--do the one in the middle of the board) to 150k-160k to get even volume.

Too much treble too and no tone control. Maybe a result of volume boost.

rating is for pedal by itself. Too bad it doesn't play well with others.

Reliable enough for my use.

Blues and old rock. Les Pauls, Flying Vs, Ibanez.

I've modded my VT3 so that it is just an overdrive. That crumbly overdrive sound is what I've been looking for for a long time. With the intensity and speed on zero, I have a great overdrive that sounds WAY tube-like. So I shorted the Intensity and Speed to zero level and changed the functions of the knobs to be volume and tone. End result is the be-all overdrive for what I need to hear.

rating is more for my new overdrive pedal than the tremolo.

I've read other reviews that say there are instructions that tell you how to take the volume boost down.. I bought mine new from Musician's Friend, and there were no such instructions included... although, it won't be hard to figure out. You know all the specs from other reviews.. I have two problems with this pedal.. 1) the input and outputs are on the top of the unit, sandwiching the AC input.. I normally connect my effects with a one piece connector, since most pedals have the inputs and outputs on the sides.. and the angle of those pedals (in my chain: Analogman upgraded Boss overdrive, MXR phaser), makes it difficult to fit this into my chain.. I may not have explained this very well, but when you go to put it in YOUR chain, you'll see what I mean! and, 2)..what's up with the rubber thingy holding the back together..that you have to remove and fit back everytime you change the battery?! Maybe that's why the price is low on this unit.. I would have paid a little more for a pedal that sounds this good, that had a reasonable way to access the battery.. I hooked up the battery, and the wires attaching it to the inside of the unit wouldn't let it lay flat, so the 'rubber thingy' wouldn't fit correctly, either!! Hate to be negative, but everyone else is bragging about this unit, and you should know before you make the purchase, that there are things about it that will annoy you.

certainly the reviewers who mention the volume boost are not fibbing.. there is a very obvious boost when you step on this pedal.. I don't have a problem with this, since on most units, it's just the opposite..and I would rather have it boost than go the other way. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I hear some noise with this pedal on.. (I play a Tele with Seymour Duncan humbuckers in both positions through various amps). If you're recording, this may be a problem.. If you're live, I doubt if anyone but you will notice.

The rubber 'thingy' (LoL..what is it called?!) that holds the backplate on can NOT be that reliable.. I mean, rubber gets old and breaks apart, doesn't it? Most of my pedals have been Boss, which are built like a tank, and this pedal seems fragile as compared to them. I will make sure it is in it's box before putting it into my effects gig bag (bowling bag)..

I play alot of classic rock, and this pedal sounds pretty good on the CCR stuff, which, along with the price, is why I bought it.. It has been awkward to fit into my chain of pedals because of where the inputs and outputs are located..and I don't like the rubber that holds the backplate on.. That being said, for the price, is is a great sounding pedal. I guess if the rubber wears out, you could buy another, and another, and still be up financially from buying a Fulltone, (which I would really like to have).

Easy to use, if you know how to use it, why it was made the way it is, and how it has the potential to be the most valueable pedal in your chain. This is the best pedal tremelo i've ever heard for a lot of reasons. By the way, i've had this pedal on my pedalboard for 3+ years and after reading the reviews below I can't beleive that everybody's gripeing about the boost in volume without actually reading the manual which specifically states that there is an adjustable pot on the circuit board for adjusting the effect volume. When I first bought this effect it was too loud at factory settings, so, DUH! I took the back off, located the trem pot and adjusted to my taste which is still boosted, but a little more subtle. Hello? Does anybody read anymore? Are companys putting out adjustable to YOUR taste effects supposed to stop so you can get a generic sounding no-brainer?

Without boring you with the guitars and amps I use, I will tell you that this is a Magic little pedal because it does something besides vintage tremelo that makes it INDESPENSIBLE in my rig. It's THE BEST treble boost i've ever used. Yep, thats right, using a Fender amp set for clean Fullerton riddim', I can hit this baby and get instant VOX style chime, and it gets REAL SCARY close! You can turn the tremelo off and use it just as a treble boost and it's worth twice what it costs! Don't forget, the effect volume is totally adjustable, from below your overall effect volume, to way louder when you hit the pedal.

Three years of heavy duty gigging. No problems.

Never had to deal with them.

I really feel like i'm letting the cat out of the bag here, but this pedal has been on pedal board longer than any pedal I own (alot). I use it mainly to add a "British Style" top boost to my rig when I need it. Don't get me wrong, it does a great vintage tremelo effect and I use the tremelo for swampy stuff. It's really MAGIC, if lost or stolen I would replace it immediately and hope that Guyatone is still making them!

Two knobs...if you've played any amp with tremelo, you know how to work this pedal. I didn't even look at the manual and now I can't find it, so I don't know how good it is (was).

I play in a psychobilly band using a Gretsch Duo Jet reissue w/Bigsby and flatwounds to a Maxon AD9 to the VT3 to a vintage Premier reverb tank to a blackface Fender Bassman head and a 4 x 10 Sovtek cabinet. Yes, I suppose there is a slight boost to the signal but as I either use tremelo through out the whole song or not at all it is not a problem. I will say, however, that it is the only trem pedal I've played that had any kind of good sound at all. I started off using the Dano Tuna Melt, but its sound was gritty (along with other problems...see below). The Boss sounded weak (low output?) and the Voodoo Labs made my rig sound thin. The VT3 sounded like a tube amp's tremelo with a very heavy sine wave swing. The sound really pushes our songs. I use a slower rate for our "creepy" songs and a faster rate for our Link Wray cover. Both sounds were awesome. The depth knob seems to give good variation, but I don't know why anyone would not have it all the way up. As far as my sound, I don't feel it changes my tone that much and it certainly doesn't hurt it!

I've been playing it steady for five months and no problems so far...who knows what the future holds, but I went through two Tuna Melts in half that time, before I bought the VT3.

Never had to deal with them.

I am very satisfied with this pedal. It sounds great, better than any other trem pedal I've tried and more "present" than an amps trem. I guess I hear the "boost", but my guitar sounds very natural to me when i'm using it. Basically, i've stopped looking for a trem pedal...this is it!

Nothing much to it. 2 buttons....

5 - It does it's job as a tremelo pedal, but to compensate so greatly with so much of a boost? Nuh uh...way too much. Like others have said, I don't know what Guyatone was thinking. Tremelo pedals are supposed to stand out, yet still be subtle enough to blend in with the other instruments. This sticks out like a sore thumb with it's unnecessary volume boost.

Guyatone Micro pedals are always well-made, but I don't know how well it'd stand up to used in a live-rig.

Never dealt with them, but I'm sure they're decent or great.

I play alternative music and modern rock if that's general enough. As stated, there's way too much of a volume boost. It's literally annoying....

It's very easy to use: two knobs "intensity" and "speed". Battery replacement is easy two. There's a manual and warranty card in its package.

The sound is clean, and the effect itself is good. BUT, when you step on it...WOW..close your ears. When switched on the unit seems to gain power (about 3dB) and your sound goes to the highs!!! It's terrible! I don't know what Guyatone wanted with this but it's like there's an amp inside this pedal. Very strange.

It's a simple unit (aluminium case with plastic knobs). The footswitch seems to be fragile with low reliability. In fact this one i wouldn't gig without a backup.

As I brazilian, knowing other brazilian players, i'm the one who have a guyatone pedal around here. I also don't know if there is any guyatone dealer here in Brazil, so I pass with this question.

A very pretty pedal but a bad deal if you want something "perfect".

Two knobs - just like on your amp. Intensity and speed - pretty intuitive. Plugging into the input jack swithches unit on. Red LED shows when its engaged.

Running my VT3 off a fresh Duracell 9V, I immediately noticed a healthy amount of gain in the unit. Unfortunately, it wasn't a straight smooth signal but more of a shrill, treble-laden boost which prompted me to turn down the presence control on my Fender.
I put the unit on my bench and ran an signal generator (sine wave at 1 KHz) through the unit while observing the output on my oscilloscope. Sure enough, there was about 3dB of gain along with some noise and distortion.
Tremolo seemed fine but the change in character to my sound was unacceptable even for a low-end pedal.

It is possible I just got a bad unit - I boxed the unit up and sent it right back, trading up for a Voodoo Lab trem unit. Hope I have better luck with it than the Guyatone. Good luck.

2 knobs -- can't get much easier to use.

GREAT vintage trem sounds. I've owned several combo amps with on-board tremolo -- Fender Deluxe Reverb and Twin Reverb, Ampeg SuperJet and Peavey Delta Blues -- and IMHO the trem on this pedal sounds better (smoother, more "throbby" than "choppy") than any of them. Also, it has true bypass so it doesn't change your tone when in the off position -- very nice feature to have (especially when you're stringing a bunch of pedals together).<p>
The reason for the low rating in this category is the annoying volume boost that Guyatone felt compelled to build into this pedal. I've owned MANY trem pedals (both Dunlop models, Boss PN-2, Boss TR-2, Diaz Trem-o-dillo, DOD Vibrothang) plus too many digital effects processors with trem to name here. This WOULD be the best if not for the volume boost! I wouldn't mind if it were a slight boost but it's pretty substantial -- I actually had to roll the volume down to 6 to compensate! Why they designed it that way I have no idea -- what a shame. I actually returned the pedal days after buying it because I couldn't live with the extreme boost.<p>
The Boss TR-2 is a nice pedal with the opposite problem, the volume drops when you kick in the effect. Right now I'm waiting for delivery of a Dano Tuna Melt that I won on eBay. That is supposed to have a slight volume boost too but not as extreme as the Guyatone. If that doesn't cut it I guess I'll have to spring for the extra bucks and try the Voodoo Lab tremolo pedal after all. Ouch!

Great vintage trem tone and true bypass BUT has an extreme volume boost when you kick it in. Buy it only if you can live with the boost -- I couldn't.

A simple, straight forward pedal that does very well. It couldn'r be more simple to use.

After careful consideration and reading Rick's review below I was all set to turn the intensity up to 12 o'clock. Rick also mentioned that the pedal was very quiet. I found on mine that I still get useful effect turning down even to about 9. and the pedal hisses just like the old tremolo amps. This is O.K., in fact prefered as it does sound exactly like the old Fender/ Ampeg amps of yore. A little sonic enhancement is welcomed when searching for that "vintage" tone. So, I rate this pedal to be ideal. It is not pristine so it gets a 9.

This pedal is as stout any and better than most. With an inexpensive micro pedal it's a moot point. No need for backup here.

This company does a good job with their web site. I suspect they are as good as any Japanese company in this catagory.

I primarily use a tape delay and wanted a splash of wave for surf-rock and duplicating some of those old early sixties tunes. It fits the bill perfectly and at a reasonable price point. I don't place any creedance on Editor picks from GP magazine. They thought the Zoom 505 was great. But they did hit the nail on the head on this one. It's way cool !.

Like most Guyatone pedals, there is minimal difficulty in getting a great sound. With only two knobs, how hard could it possibly be? I'm not crazy about the battery access (a rubber ring around the bottom plate) but no big deal really.

I use two Telecasters that I made. One has Seymour Duncans (loud rock)and the other has Rio Grandes (twaaaang!). My amp is a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, which you absolutely can't beat for the money but you'll have to go to that review for more on the amp. Occasionally I use a Boss CS-3, but the tremolo and compressor are rarely used together--it just doesn't sound good. This tremolo is good for getting a jumpy, boogie-down funk a la Southern Culture on the Skids or just groovy twangin' surf/spy music. Using it with distortion just muffles the effect really, but it is good for noise in that respect. It doesn't compare to amp tremolo in most respects, but it is only a 3 inch box! Also worth mentioning is the fact that it gives you a slight signal boost. This can be good or bad, depending on the user--I like it myself.

I have only had it for a few months but it seems pretty solid and it is obviously put together well.

I have never dealt with them. That speaks for the reliability I guess.

I have never been one for a floor full of pedals, but I bought this because I heard tremolo on so many songs I loved. I am very satisfied with it. The only way I have compared it is by price and by sound clips at musictoyz.com and other sites. It fit my budget and it sounds as good as anything on any C.D. I've heard, so that is good enough for me.

If simplicity is what you crave in an effect, look no further: Input, output, 9-volt adapter plug-in, a knob for speed and another for intensity, on/off switch, indicator light. Nothing more, nothing less. Almost impossible not to get a good sound out of it unless the intensity knob at less than 12 0'clock, then it's a trifle weak. The manual (as if it's really necessary...) is a generic map of all the features of all of Guyatone's "micro" series effects and tells you what you need to know if you've never used a tremolo effect before--and this, of course, is not much. In other words, everything you need in a good tremolo box.

I'm running it with various guitars (G&L legacy, Les Paul, Guild Starfire) into an SKB pedalboard w/ a Dano tuner, reissue Vox wah, Boss BLues driver, CE-3 Chorus, the Guyatone and a Boss RV-3 reverb/delay and amplified by a reissue '59 Bassman. All of my effects are fairly quiet, but this is the quietest of them all. The 'true bypass' switch is absolutely noiseless when switching, and when it's off, you'd never know it's there-- unlike Boss' trem boxes (I own a PN-2), where there is an audible clicking sound that gets worse as you turn up the amp.
The effect itself is very, very intense when you want it to be, and seems to have more depth than even my PN-2. It also goes much faster, although I am aware that the PN-2 is capable of going just as fast with a simple modification. In any case, I do not need or want all of the speed and depth this thing is capable of-- however, it always nice to have more on tap than you need, and I can get some fabulous tones out of it. It doesn't quite nail the sound of the PN-2 or that of a vintage Fender amp, but it's sound is quite pleasing, and well within the scope of what one could easily call 'vintage.' With enough reverb you can positively nail the 'Twin Peaks' tone, for example, and reproduce surf-type sounds convincing enough for live work or recording. Not bad for a solid-state gizmo.
It does have certain limitations, however. The one that bothered me the most was listed above: the weakness of intensity settings less that high noon. Past this point, you've got all the throb you can stand, but it would be nice to have an effect whose entire range is useful-- although, to be truthful, I don't believe I've come across any such pedal yet. The second big thing is certainly no difficulty for me, but it may pose problems for those out there who prefer sharper, 'square wave' tremolo sounds. You can't get 'em. End of discussion. The pedal is called 'Vintage Tremolo' because that's what it does- smooth, triangle wave modulation. I've never so much as swtiched over to the square setting of my PN-2, so I don't miss it, but if square is what you crave don't look for it here. My other beef with the sound is very minor, and has to do with Guyatone's addition of a volume boost. I don't find this necessary at all, although I can see the reasoning behind it. Their website says that this ensures that no notes will be lost. This is true, however the boost seems to be just a tad too harsh. It'll start to break up a tube amp on anything over '2.' I tried it with my Bassman, my Sovtek MIG 100, and a solid state Fender at the music store. Both of the tube amps started getting crunchy even with low-output single coils. It actually is a cool sound and if you don't want it, it can be corrected pretty easily, of course, by backing off the guitar's volume. I didn't feel that any detail or clarity was sacrificed by doing this, but I see how it could be a hassle. I wouldn't change the design, though, as it is a rather interesting quirk and that's one of the reasons I prefer pedals to multi-effect racks and such.

Simplicity and reliability often go hand in hand-- although they are not necessary correlates. This pedal is consummately simple, and it's stamped steel casing and apparently elephant-proof footswitch hint of extreme reliability. The bottem, however, tells a different story. The battery case is held on by a rubber gasket that wraps around a sheet of something that isn't quite cardboard and isn't quite aluminum that comprises the bottem casing and battery door. Cheesey. The circuit board looks very neat and tidy, but there is nothing separating it from the battery or the other guts. This isn't a problem for me since I power it through my board, although I could forsee a leaky battery destroying a circuit or two on someone who isn't so equipped. Needless to say, I took the included battery (although it is a nice touch) out immediately. Overall, I think it is dependable and I would gig with it without a backup. There's very little that can go wrong and without a battery, less still.

A warrenty is included... I'm not sure how long. Never dealt with Guyatone, no idea how they would treat you. They are based in Japan and the pedals are distributed by another company. This might be problematic....

I play may different styles of music, and its tone certainly matches every kind of tremolo effect I've ever needed. From spacey psychedelia (think 'Beyond the Twilight Zone') to raunchy surf trembling to mellow jazz warbles to waves and walls of swamp boogie wiggles, this little gem will handle everything I do-- but it won't do square waves in case you missed my comments above.
I've been playing for 13 years and bought a Boss PN-2 when they first came out. I got the VT-3 so that I wouldn't have to risk taking my discontinued Boss out on the club&bar scene, and what I got was something that will definitely fill in for it live-- but has a distinct voice of its own and might be useful for recording by virtue of this quality.
If it were lost or stolen, I'd pray nothing happened to my PN-2 while I had to use it before having the funds to purchase another Guyatone.
I absolutely love its elegant simplicity and wish the Boss had fewer frills. I love its compact size, and its bizarre-yet-enchanting white background/purple lettering. The voulme boost is unnecessary and perhaps a trifle annoying for late night flash-of-inspiration work, but it does lend an element of character that other trem pedals lack.
Whilst shopping around I found the only other comparatively priced pedal to be the new Boss TR-3, and I don't know what changes they made to the ciruit, but that thing is not fit to wiggle the volume of the lowest grade rig. The Dano Tuna-melt is quite a bit cheaper, but I found it to be a bit on the weak side (although you can get square-wave sounds out of that one), and, well, just lacking the overall character of this box. The only thing that might sound more like an old Fender is Guyatone's own FLIP series tube tremolo box, but that darned thing is at least half-again as much; the tube is just a different class of pedal.
I would not add or change a thing about the VT-3, except for the weakness of its left-of-center intensity settings-- although this is easy enough to overlook. Bottem line: a superb deal for a solid-state tremolo. If you need affordable, convincing 'vintage' tones, look no further-- it will also take you out into a wilderness of trem tone all its own if you want to tap into it, just keep the intensity up there.