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Joe Bonamassa Forum → Joe's Guitars, Amps and Gear → Joe's use of Fulltone Supa Trem?
I don't know if this question has been asked, but I always see this pedal on Joe's board and I don't really know what he uses it for. I never really hear tremolo in any of his songs...Can anybody shed some light on this?
Thanks!
I don't know if this question has been asked, but I always see this pedal on Joe's board and I don't really know what he uses it for. I never really hear tremolo in any of his songs...Can anybody shed some light on this?
Thanks!
He puts it before his gain which means Its real subtle when hes full on, but when he rolls back his volume thing start pulsating and swelling.
It is always on.
He puts it before his gain.
I wondered about this too. Does that only mean in front of the amp? Or even in front of his Tubescreamer, Fuzzface etc. on his pedalboard?
I don't know if this question has been asked, but I always see this pedal on Joe's board and I don't really know what he uses it for. I never really hear tremolo in any of his songs...Can anybody shed some light on this?
Thanks!
he uses it on Dust Bowl, in sections of Too many roads
schrom81 wrote:He puts it before his gain.
I wondered about this too. Does that only mean in front of the amp? Or even in front of his Tubescreamer, Fuzzface etc. on his pedalboard?
yes it is in front of his overdrives. Im not sure on the fuzzface, but believe so.
Pitch shifting effects are generally better suited to up front in the signal chain. This will depend highly on your setup, and unless you are an exact replica of JB in terms of rig, you will have to play a little. Compression, wah, and fuzzes are also generally recommended to be closest to the guitar signal. So if you use all four of those components (comp, wah, trem, fuzz) then you will have to play and see what sounds best to you. On Dust Bowl there is some very prominent trem sounds like it was stated, but that could have been anything (even an amp with built in trem) as it is a studio track. JB's old instructional video, when he is sill playing strats and the buddas, show him discussing his use of trem (at the time a guyatone flip); set low, the trem adds a bit of a bounce to the tone, which helps thicken the sound; this is a specially useful sort of trick that works great for bands with a single guitar player.
Pitch shifting effects are generally better suited to up front in the signal chain.
I would not put tremelo in the pitch-shifting category. Of course, there is no right or wrong in pedal order...just what sounds best to you. I run a Supa Trem near the end of my chain (but before delay if there is no loop).
macg1 wrote:Pitch shifting effects are generally better suited to up front in the signal chain.
I would not put tremelo in the pitch-shifting category. Of course, there is no right or wrong in pedal order...just what sounds best to you. I run a Supa Trem near the end of my chain (but before delay if there is no loop).
yeah whatever sounds good. but a real vibrato is a cyclic pitch shift. consequentially the only amps (not sure about pedals like the supra-trem) to have a true vibrato circuit were the Magnatones from the 50's. All others are "tremolo" which attempt to emulate that sound are not quite the same but are perceived by the ear to be a darn good approximation. Anyhow, for those interested, here is a techy read on the subject:
http://www.vibroworld.com/magnatone/vibrato.html
Does anyone have Joe's exact settings for the Supa-Trem?
With the mix that low, I would assume it is on the Hard setting..not soft. I only say this cause I have the same pedal and when using the Hard mode or whatever you want to call it, you can have the mix knob all the way off and still hear the trem effect. Also internal trim pots may be tweaked, there is a suggested trim pot setting in the manual when using the Hard mode.
Hard mode tends to mimic more of a vibrato, or more of a throbbing sound..to my ears at least.
Supa trem is an awesome pedal, I think the black cat trem sounds really good too, but pricey.
http://www.sikaudio.com/default.asp_fil … _board.jpg
I saw that pic too when I googled the settings but I thought this can't be right with the Mix set at zero. On the other pics one finds on google the knobs are covered with sticking tape, so anyone in the know, please chime in.
DamZet wrote:http://www.sikaudio.com/default.asp_fil … _board.jpg
I saw that pic too when I googled the settings but I thought this can't be right with the Mix set at zero. On the other pics one finds on google the knobs are covered with sticking tape, so anyone in the know, please chime in.
Did you read my post above? If you have it on the hard setting, you can set the mix knob at zero and still here the trem effect. OR..if you turn the number 2 trim pot (inside pedal) all the way clockwise, you can have the mix knob at Zero in the soft mode and still have a subtle trem effect. If you then turn the mix knob up at all, you get a very prominent throbbing tremolo sound..too much.
I've had one of these pedals for 3 or 4 years. I remember reading about a recommendation from Mike F. to set it like that for an "always on" tone enhancer. Here is a copy from my paper work:
Tone Tip!!!!! I've been getting calls from guys who are leaving it on the "Hard" setting with the "Mix" knob almost full-counter-clockwise for a normal trem sound, and when they switch to "Soft"...there is no effect except for a beautiful tone enhancement AND a healthy increase in volume depending on where you set the #1 Trimmer!
Try going to bypass and back and notice this phenomenon. Some folks are leaving their Supa-Trems on all night as a tone-booster!
I use the supa trem for just that purpose... A little amount of trem in the quiet parts but a good gain boost on the bottom end.. It acts like a fat switch... A very interesting pedal.. Been in the rig for years now....
Joe B
So does that mean following Mike Fuller's recommendation? Settings as seen on the pic?
There is something about a slight bit of modulation that has a nice tightening effect on the guitar and gives it a more forgiving feel. I think that is why I am addicted to having a chorus pedal on my board. It is on most of the time. But I keep it subtle.
Well, I did try it out in the meantime: "Mix" knob all the way down, and the "Rate" knob at about 1 o'clock with "Speed" at slow. With the "Soft" setting there is no discernable Tremolo effect as such but indeed a great tone enhancement, really like a Fat switch (like Joe said). This really improves the overall tone, so that setting certainly stays.
However, when using the "Hard" setting, I haven't quite found the Tremolo tone that I like. Still working on that one...
Keep in mind that if you have it on the Hard setting, the effect is More subtle IF you place the Supatrem before your OD pedal..if you use one. It will also dampen a bit of the high end and mellow out the trem effect itself. If you run the trem after an OD pedal, the effect can be a bit much unless you stick with the Soft setting.
Myself, I run the #2 trim pot all the way clockwise, and a slight boost on the #1trim pot, mix knob all the way down, set on Hard, and the pedal chain is sup-trem, TS808 etc..
Joe Bonamassa Forum → Joe's Guitars, Amps and Gear → Joe's use of Fulltone Supa Trem?
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