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Post by Abel on May 25, 2016 21:07:22 GMT
Anyone any experience with this pedal? I'm looking for a tremolo pedal and this one is very well regarded (and cheap). The Mooer Trelicopter is around the same price second hand so that is also an option. Just wondering if any of you guys had an opinion on this piece of gear.  www.thomann.de/be/harley_benton_vintage_tremolo.htm?ref=search_prv_1_1(those graphics though...  ) |
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Post by Deleted on May 30, 2016 17:59:42 GMT
Just deciding myself if it's worth the risk. Could be. Look at Ammoon's version. It's got to be the same thing...but cheaper.
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Post by Abel on May 30, 2016 18:58:41 GMT
Just deciding myself if it's worth the risk. Could be. Look at Ammoon's version. It's got to be the same thing...but cheaper. That's interesting. Almost definitely the same indeed. And a skateboarder has just as little to do with tremolo as an attack dog, ha! Very frustrating that it's 1.50 euro too expensive to be exempt from import duties on AliExpress. :/ Do you think they'd give me a discount if I ask nicely?  |
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Post by Deleted on May 30, 2016 19:58:16 GMT
Just deciding myself if it's worth the risk. Could be. Look at Ammoon's version. It's got to be the same thing...but cheaper. That's interesting. Almost definitely the same indeed. And a skateboarder has just as little to do with tremolo as an attack dog, ha! Very frustrating that it's 1.50 euro too expensive to be exempt from import duties on AliExpress. :/ Do you think they'd give me a discount if I ask nicely? Yeah. Point it out to them. They're sure to feel sorry for you. Last time I skateboarded I tremoloed a lot. Think I had a wobbly bearing. |
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Post by Deleted on May 31, 2016 16:46:02 GMT
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Post by Abel on May 31, 2016 17:44:34 GMT
Nice! Let me know what you think. If it's any good then I'm definitely interested in buying one for myself.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2016 9:42:28 GMT
OK the Ammoon tremolo certainly appears to be identical to the Joyo and Harley Benton ones. Mine arrived today in one of those generic 'pedal' cardboard boxes that Joyo use. It's a very simple thing really with just two knobs. The 'intensity' one just affecting how much of the effect is mixed into the overall sound and the 'rate' one sweeping from so slow it's barely noticeable to crazy fast. In use it would give general 'Wicked Game' warble and Pink Floydish 'Any Colour You Like' univibe - to some extent. The intensity knob won't go to total stuttering which is a shame but I'm sure it could be modded to do so. I like the ability to alter the rate whilst playing a la Johnny Greenwood - something that my Blackstar won't allow as that only has a tap function. I could also get almost chorus with careful balance of the two knobs and my delay pedal on. Almost chorus is enough chorus for me. I was in two minds how to set up my chain and my gut told me to place it before my American Sound amp sim pedal (delay coming after the American Sound then into a reverbed amp). but I realised that this would mean the trem effect would be clean and then overdriven so I tried it first with the American Sound pedal before the tremolo. Rather as salteedog found with his looper pedal, the American Sound pedal doesn't really seem to like to go before other pedals. The effect of tremolo was there alright but sounded really emulated and modelled and not nice. So my gut appeared to be right. I switched them round and all was well in my world again. When used clean without any other pedals on at all, the tremolo sounds nice and quiet ( a very slight sort of gated shushing sound when set to max intensity but I'd never use it that way). BUT rather like the Joyo Vintage Overdrive (identical to the HB Vintage Overdrive) it does seem to apply a very small, barely discernible amount of compression EVEN WHEN IN BYPASS MODE. It somehow slightly cleans the sound, but not in a bad way - unless you don't want your sound slightly cleaned. It gives an oh so slightly finer attack which is ideal for funkier clean playing. I even tried comparing my guitar direct into an amp and then solely through the tremolo without any other pedals even plugged in. I used a Pacifica with single coils and a bridge humbucker and a Shine ES335 with humbuckers and both just seemed to minisculely gain a tiny, tiny bit more snap. Once any kind of overdrive or distortion is applied this tiny, tiny compression feeling is only a good thing. Funnily enough, when I noticed this effect with the Joyo Vintage Overdrive I left my Boss Compressor/Sustain pedal out of my chain for about 6 months. It's back in now but I use it much less than I did and then only to add sustain to ovedriven single note playing. So, I'm happy with it on this first test. I've not seen how it behaves with my other pedals properly yet. I did try my Vintage Overdrive through it and that sounded really fine. For £16.89 or whatever it was I'm definitely not complaining. Another colour I like. |
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Post by salteedog on Jun 10, 2016 15:39:00 GMT
Nice review. A Tremolo pedal isn't top of my wish list but it's good to hear that it sounds decent. Did you order via ebay or ali-express?
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1,481 posts
Disclosures: Everything I don't like I can modify.
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Post by blablas on Jun 10, 2016 15:44:23 GMT
I could no longer resist the urge to get one these tremolo's, placed an order for one.
Did some YouTube checking what a tremolo can do on bass and really liked what it does.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2016 16:43:55 GMT
Nice review. A Tremolo pedal isn't top of my wish list but it's good to hear that it sounds decent. Did you order via ebay or ali-express? What is top of your list salteedog? I need an new inspiring pedal. I made an offer of £15 to the Chinese retailer on ebay. They counter-offered with £16.89 and the deal was done. Shady!  |
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3,968 posts
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Post by salteedog on Jun 10, 2016 20:16:46 GMT
@defjef Well I dont have a tubescreamer clone so I'd probably go for the Vintage OD first. Plenty others seem tempting too - would the dynamic compressor be the job to help my tele get a real good country twang?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2016 21:16:32 GMT
@defjef Well I dont have a tubescreamer clone so I'd probably go for the Vintage OD first. Plenty others seem tempting too - would the dynamic compressor be the job to help my tele get a real good country twang? Vintage Overdrive is nice. It's my kick-in pedal. Having said that I get a heck of a lot of what I want from the American Sound. In fact I just spent an hour bonding with my tremolo through it and have to say I'm knocked out at the extra level of loveliness that it's given my rockier riffs. A rocked up version of papache's Everyone's Gone to the Zoo sounded splendid (I'm still trying to work out what he was doing with his fingers on that G to A bit) and I got some real poke playing the solo bit that I'd previously done on acoustics. Again a bit of compression is great to level out your louds and quiets and the Boss CS3 gives me loads of sustain if I want looooong notes. Having said that I'm no fan of too much snappy attack on the note - twang is great but the sound of your plectrum breaking at the beginning of each note sounds very brittle so you might want to try a few to get the effect you're looking for. The Boss was a bit useless until I modded it using a kit off ebay to find more usable tones and less noise. I guess a good wah might be my next pedal if I can find a Chinese super cheap one. I have the Boss Dynamic wah and it won't sit in my chain as it isn't at all transparent in bypass mode and is much louder than my other pedals, with no external level control though there may be a trim pot inside that I can tinker with. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 11, 2016 18:47:42 GMT
Spent the day really tinkering with my amp/American sound setup and then just leaving this tremolo pedal on. It has made me reassess a couple of my ceramic pickup sporting strats. They sounded great. My teles sounded fantastic too and I seemed to hit my stride with very few bum notes. So single coils are sounding really fine through this.
Not going to push my luck by trying to love my humbuckered SG and Les Paul yet though. That's asking a lot of a little, Swiss cheese coloured, Chinese pedal.
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1,481 posts
Disclosures: Everything I don't like I can modify.
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Post by blablas on Jun 20, 2016 17:02:14 GMT
 Got mine today and put it in place, still need to fiddle around with the settings more but it does what I was hoping for. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 20, 2016 19:12:10 GMT
Great blablas. It could do with a level control to even out the volume depending on what your tremolo intensity is but there are workarounds. It seems to be one of those pedals that I leave permanently on and only switch OFF for effect. |
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