Z.VEX Tremorama

If you know the concept of turning a volume knob to its minimum and to its maximum and everywhere in between....if you understand sequencers....if you have ears and can hear well with them....then you will be able to use the Tremorama. What it is is it's a step sequencer in which every step (4,6, or 8 total) has a control knob which controls the level that it will play your incoming signal at. If you turn a knob all the way to the left you will have maximum output....all the way to the right you will get no output at all....middle is mid output....and then there are all the in betweens. So, you get to adjust this for all eight knobs. So, that means that whenever the sequence passes by that step your volume will either stay at maximum (which is your normal incoming level) or it will drop to where you have set it. With this, you can create rhythmic tremolos or, if all of the knobs are in maximum position you get a simple, normal tremolo effect. Then, you have a knob that gives you control over the speed of the tremolo....the rate. Also, you have a tiny little switch to chose between a 4, 6, or 8 step sequence. It seems to me that leaving it at eight is more fun because you have more to work with. Although, it is a nice addition because it can be useful. So, pretty much you have a speed knob, a step selector switch, and eight volume knobs for up to eight steps. There is a little light for each step for a visual reference of what step the sequence is passing through from left to right. Then you have a true-bypass switch to turn the effect on and off....and a random switch. When you step on the random switch the sequencer no longer goes from left to right but it skips from step to step RANDOMLY. So, with this, the tremolo effect isn't repetative and constantly changes and the light bounces around to show how the signal is jumping around randomly. This sounds very good when the speed is set pretty fast and you put about 2 knobs to zero output, 3 to maximum and 3 in between set on the 8 step function because 4 or 6 isn't enough to have very many opprotunities to be random. It sounds like your instrument is breaking up or a battery is dying. You get a very broken up, scattered, random pulsating sound. This is what I use the Tremorama for with the input source being a guitar. I have rated Ease of Use with an 8 because for some people who are not experienced with sequencers, it might take a while to get used to, and also because creating a rhythmic tremolo can take some time to perfect. but once you understand it, you understand it. Just like anything else.

the sound quality of all the ZVEX effects that I have tried are very good. These little effects are very well made, hand built stomp boxes. The only thing that I wish I had with the Tremorama, and Ooh Wah, which is the same concept but with filter frequency ranges in each step instead of volume levels, is a level control for the effect. Or, a dry/wet blend knob. I think that this could potentially make the sound possibilities a little more open. but, even without it, the sound quality is great. I use very many effects....too many to list...with Fender guitars and Fender amps and ZVEX sounds good with it all. I have rated Sound Quality a 9 because there is always potential to improve.

I would gig without a back up but only because I don't have enough money to get duplicates. If I could, I would have a second for everything that I own. Because you never know what can happen. But, I don't have the money for that. Anyway, ZVEX effects seem well built and reliable. I haven't ever had a problem with any ZVEX effects. I think that they could be trusted and depended on. I have rated reliability a 9 because potentially anything can act in a way that it is not meant to randomly.

ZVEX always responds to my e-mails to any type of questions that I may have. Zachery Vex is very nice and helpful. Plus, he has great effect ideas. Very unique. I'll give it a 10.

I am going through an experimental, art-rock, ambient kind of phase right now. I use synths and a lot of effects with my guitar and unusual instruments....the Tremorama is a wonderful addition to that as it can make an istrument sound like it is dying....or like a broken radio with bad reception. I like this. If it where stolen, I would get another one eventually. My only minor complaint is the Blend or Effect Level knob that could exist on this pedal. Otherwise, it is very useful to me and I imagine that it can be very useful to anyone who plays any style of music and wants a tremolo effect.

It took a few minutes in the store to figure out that the leftmost pot controls the cycle time (aka speed) and that each of the eight adjacent pots control the volume of a successive time slice within the cycle. The 3-way switch selects between 4, 6 or 8 time subdivisions within a single cycle.

I was able to get a decent chop effect fairly easily. As reviewers of the Tremseek have noted, the pots are very small and difficult to read their position.

I tried a variety of guitars through it into a variety of vintage and reissue Fender and Ampeg tube amps. One good combination was a G&L ASAT through a 57 Bassman reissue. Arpeggios and moving double stops played in sync with the speed setting were sweet. Switching to the random mode was good here too.

I was much less happy trying to dial in a vintage tremolo sound using a MIJ Jagmaster rewired with dual P90's. These pickups seemed to accentuate the weaknesses of the Tremorama. A noticeable thumping or chunking sound became evident at the wraparound of the cycle back to the beginning. It was very difficult to set the successive time slice volume levels such that there was a smooth transition. It's not impossible, but the amount of tweaking required takes longer than would be practical in a live stage setting with poor lighting conditions. The micro-sized knobs don't help in this regard.

These same problems were magnified when I played a Bass VI through it. Doesn't seem to like large single coil designs. Humbuckers and the MFD's perhaps masked these issues.

Probably reliable. Seemed well built but wasn't for me.

Don't know.

Perhaps better for studio use than live, especially if you expect to switch from a modern, chop tremolo sound to a vintage (sinusoidal) tremolo sound on the next song. I exchanged mine for the less expensive Guyatone VT-X flip series tremolo (with tube). Not that the VT-X doesn't have its limitations, but at least it can quickly go from one great sound to another, then another, without minutes of knob twizzling. And the VT-X has stereo panning, which the Tremorama does not.