The tremolo effect, sometimes wrongly named vibrato by musicians and even manufacturers , is the effect of modulating the amplitude of a sound. The first electronic tremolo effect for guitar was designed by DeArmond in the early ’40s. From the ’50s, many companies began to incorporate the effect into guitar amplifiers and electric pianos. The effect became a defining feature of some equipment such as the Vox AC30, Fender Vibrolux, Fender Rhodes and Wurlitzer A200, as well as the sound of surf music. The tremolo effect is a great way to add movement to a sound, from a subtle wavery feel to a full on pulsating groove.
If the early analogue devices had limited parameters, mostly depth and speed, digital devices tend to offer more controls to shape your sounds. Soundtoys’ Tremolator is a perfect example of what a modern tremolo effect can do. Not only does it incorporate modelling from vintage pieces of equipment, it also provides a range of editing tools that allow the user to draw the actual shape of the modulation and sequence it for up to 32 bars. With its arrays of features, Tremolator can create sounds far beyond the simple tremolo effect and is a very powerful tool for sound designers and producers.
We took a look at Soundtoys’ Tremolator in our latest Plugin of the Week – watch it above and make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel for more tutorials and live events.
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** Editors note: Things have moved on significantly since this article was published 🙂 Please head to our blog homepage for the very latest product reviews at pointblank.