Harmonic Tremolo - why the fuss?

Everyone needs a stompbox.
User avatar
Telliot
Mods
Mods
Posts: 12201
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2011 6:38 pm
Location: CA

Re: Harmonic Tremolo - why the fuss?

Post by Telliot » Sun Oct 02, 2022 1:05 pm

Harmonic tremolo is my favorite tremolo, but I tend to play mostly clean and the subtle nature of the effect adds nice movement and texture. It’s just more complex to my ears and unlike anything else.
The cool thing about fretless is you can hit a note...and then renegotiate.

User avatar
øøøøøøø
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 5984
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2008 8:26 pm
Location: Los Angeles
Contact:

Re: Harmonic Tremolo - why the fuss?

Post by øøøøøøø » Sun Oct 02, 2022 1:06 pm

JVG wrote:
Sun Oct 02, 2022 12:27 pm
øøøøøøø wrote:
Sun Oct 02, 2022 10:40 am
But if you've never played a brown-Tolex Super, Concert or other amp that has the effect (and are relying only on demo videos and pedals that claim to copy it), I recommend reserving judgment until you've actually heard it.
Sadly I haven’t, but definitely keen to.
It's my favorite tremolo.

It doesn't sound like a Univibe to me... but it does sound a bit more lush and complex than a normal bias-vary tremolo (which can be very good), and is much nicer than an optical tremolo (black/silver-panel style) to me for almost everything.

"Harmonic vibrato" was always a bad name, and the Univibe comparison is pretty misleading as well.

Basically, it splits the signal into high-end and low-end, and amplitude-modulates those two bands out of phase with each other. This is a pretty cool thing unlike anything else, but it's still fundamentally an amplitude-modulation tremolo... just a very rich, interesting and unique one

User avatar
fuzzjunkie
Expat
Expat
Posts: 7276
Joined: Thu Oct 12, 2006 11:32 am
Location: Seattle

Re: Harmonic Tremolo - why the fuss?

Post by fuzzjunkie » Sun Oct 02, 2022 4:19 pm

The Roger Mayer Voodoo Vibe is one of my favorite pedals and has been on my board longest despite its giant size.

It has 3 functions: tremolo, vibrato, and chorus, based on a lightbulb circuit. There are 3 waveforms as well.

Obviously the tremolo is a Blackface Fender style optical tremolo. The chorus is the Univibe, but it has a lot more controls than a standard Vibe pedal, symmetry and bias being very important to the sound, along with the waveform. It can also go much slower, so you can get a number of Harmonic Tremolo type sounds out of it. I actually use it more for that than for Univibe and the optical Tremolo is top notch too.

User avatar
sessylU
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 533
Joined: Sat Oct 03, 2015 9:33 am

Re: Harmonic Tremolo - why the fuss?

Post by sessylU » Mon Oct 03, 2022 1:34 am

Hmmm, I've always loved the sound of the Catalinbread Pareidolia in demos, but never realised that it was a harmonic tremolo (or even that such a thing exists).
a total idiot jackass

User avatar
thegreatbigsby
PAT PEND
PAT PEND
Posts: 19
Joined: Wed Jul 13, 2022 2:10 am

Re: Harmonic Tremolo - why the fuss?

Post by thegreatbigsby » Tue Oct 04, 2022 9:29 am

I really don't get why a lot of demoers only seem to be interested in "wild" settings, which is a gripe I have with 90% of demos of pretty much anything.

This here is a pretty good example of a subtle sound. At times, it could also be a bias trem. What I really like about harmonic or a good bias trem is that, when you dig in, it almost seems to disappear, only to fade back in slowly when the notes decay.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhB6s20xYN4

(Phil Cook is an avid Flint user.)

User avatar
øøøøøøø
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 5984
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2008 8:26 pm
Location: Los Angeles
Contact:

Re: Harmonic Tremolo - why the fuss?

Post by øøøøøøø » Tue Oct 04, 2022 1:12 pm

thegreatbigsby wrote:
Tue Oct 04, 2022 9:29 am
What I really like about harmonic or a good bias trem is that, when you dig in, it almost seems to disappear, only to fade back in slowly when the notes decay.
Yes, one of many things about these tremolo topologies... and a sneaky one that might be elusive to duplicate exactly

User avatar
jthomas
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1209
Joined: Sat Feb 16, 2013 12:44 pm
Location: Downeast Maine

Re: Harmonic Tremolo - why the fuss?

Post by jthomas » Tue Oct 04, 2022 1:34 pm

I have a Flint and really wanted to like the harmonic trem, but the whomp-whomp-whomp just sounds odd. The cut off is too severe and trying to adjust the speed of the trem doesn't make up for the cut-off. I have not tried any other harmonic trem, and maybe there is some other pedal or outrigger that would sound better to my ear.

EDIT: Just listened to the Phil Cook video. Really good stuff. Maybe the key to using harmonic tremolo is to not try for a very slow trem which I likle sith bias anbd roach trems.

Sauerkraut
Expat
Expat
Posts: 2827
Joined: Mon Oct 02, 2006 6:23 am

Re: Harmonic Tremolo - why the fuss?

Post by Sauerkraut » Wed Oct 05, 2022 2:06 am

I had an EQD Night Wire harmonic tremolo for a while. Great pedal, but somehow didn't quite do it for me. Too sweet or something.
Now I use a Fairfield Randy's Revenge ring modulator. It's not technically a harmonic tremolo, but it covers a lot of the same ground and more (well, ring modulation). More of a vibey tremolo I guess? It's also a lot more intuitive to control than the Night Wire. I think any good ring mod pedal would make for an excellent harmonic tremolo pedal.
The optical tremolo in my black panel Fender (AB763) rarely gets used. It's a one trick pony; instant Bo Diddley. It's a great, but limiting trick.

User avatar
bubba899
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 829
Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2010 10:22 am
Location: Chelmsford, UK

Re: Harmonic Tremolo - why the fuss?

Post by bubba899 » Wed Oct 05, 2022 5:24 am

I'll echo the perspective that it's the subtle movement that does it for me. Regular Trem is also great obviously but I like that to be more present in the mix. There's something about the harmonic setting on the Flint, where you set it so it's almost imperceptibly there, that just suits me perfectly.

User avatar
del
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1585
Joined: Sat Aug 04, 2007 4:57 am
Location: rusted jack-knife

Re: Harmonic Tremolo - why the fuss?

Post by del » Wed Oct 05, 2022 9:25 am

bubba899 wrote:
Wed Oct 05, 2022 5:24 am
There's something about the harmonic setting on the Flint, where you set it so it's almost imperceptibly there, that just suits me perfectly.
I use this sort of setting with the Caroline Parabola, too. And then that pedal's "havoc" footswitch can be engaged to momentarily increase speed and depth when a more dominant effect is warranted.

And that pedal also has a more conventional amplitude-modulation setting that can really bring on the chop when that's what you're looking for!
The Kinks - The Fall – The Bad Seeds - Spacemen 3 - The Gories - Royal Trux
"The idea is to put a pick in one hand and a guitar in the other and with a tiny movement rule the world." - David Fair

User avatar
bubba899
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 829
Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2010 10:22 am
Location: Chelmsford, UK

Re: Harmonic Tremolo - why the fuss?

Post by bubba899 » Thu Oct 06, 2022 6:19 am

del wrote:
Wed Oct 05, 2022 9:25 am
bubba899 wrote:
Wed Oct 05, 2022 5:24 am
There's something about the harmonic setting on the Flint, where you set it so it's almost imperceptibly there, that just suits me perfectly.
I use this sort of setting with the Caroline Parabola, too. And then that pedal's "havoc" footswitch can be engaged to momentarily increase speed and depth when a more dominant effect is warranted.

And that pedal also has a more conventional amplitude-modulation setting that can really bring on the chop when that's what you're looking for!
I've never tried Caroline pedals, but every time I see a demo I realize I should change this. Thanks for the tip!

User avatar
garyfanclub
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 571
Joined: Fri Jun 29, 2007 7:29 am
Location: NYC

Re: Harmonic Tremolo - why the fuss?

Post by garyfanclub » Thu Oct 06, 2022 5:52 pm

bubba899 wrote:
Wed Oct 05, 2022 5:24 am
I'll echo the perspective that it's the subtle movement that does it for me. Regular Trem is also great obviously but I like that to be more present in the mix. There's something about the harmonic setting on the Flint, where you set it so it's almost imperceptibly there, that just suits me perfectly.
Yep, 100%.

I'll use the Harmonic setting when I want to accentuate some arpeggios when playing up high on the neck, works perfectly for that kind of thing - almost sounds like an electric piano with the right voicings and tone settings. Doesn't work in every situation, but when it's good, it's really good.

If I just want subtle movement I'll go with the bias setting, unobtrusive but adds some lushness and movement without being overbearing. Perfect for playing behind vocals or when there's a lot happening in the song/mix.

User avatar
pj
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 745
Joined: Sat Feb 09, 2008 2:33 am

Re: Harmonic Tremolo - why the fuss?

Post by pj » Wed Oct 12, 2022 1:37 am

I like that it kind of sits between Univibe and regular trem.

User avatar
blacktiger
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 4125
Joined: Sun Nov 12, 2006 7:05 pm
Location: banned in DC

Re: Harmonic Tremolo - why the fuss?

Post by blacktiger » Thu Oct 13, 2022 7:47 pm

As many have already said, if you haven’t heard it on a ‘60s brownface Fender, you haven’t really heard it. I’ve listened to a lot of pedal demos, and none of them really had that sound. I don’t think the circuit in the amps sounds anything like a univibe. It’s definitely trem, just with a little more wobble to it. It’s got a depth and complexity that I haven’t heard in the pedals. All my actual Brownface amps are long gone, and I’d love to have that sound in a pedal, but I haven’t heard one that does it.
Thread killer

Post Reply