Which trem to build?

[shawsofhell]

Hi I was just wondering what you guys thought of the EA trem and the EH Pulsar trem? Which gives a better sound and range of sounds?

[axr]

a 4ms tremulus lune
www.commonsound.com/kits.html

[PB Wilson]

I've built the EA trem (using the GGG pcb), but have no info on the EH Pulsar. I will say that the EA sounds warm and has a nice boost. It's not very choppy (if you are looking for that sound), but I believe that there are a number of mods to perform if you choose to change it from stock form. It seems to be a favorite and others should come along soon with tips and more info.

[Greg M.]

I'll be interested to hear what you guys have to say about this also.  I'm going to add a tremolo soon and I'm debating between buying a Voodoo Lab Trem, an EH Pulsar or building my own.  I like what I've heard others describe as a "buttery" trem sound.  I've also recently discovered the Area 51 add-on tremolo which is hard-wired into the amp.  I wonder if there is a DIY tube trem plan available to us builders?

[marrstians]

i built the ea trem... it sounds real nice... it's not very harsh so it sounds like butter but if you want a choppy sound to cut through the mix it won't do that well... i did the pulsar but couldn't get rid of the damn tick... besides the pulsar trem sounded more artificial... i'm going to try the tremulus lune next week...

[aaronkessman]

Greg,

I have a danelectro tuna melt, recently build an EA trem, and want to build a pulsar. I also have original vintage tremelo in my bandmaster head. the Dano is good, especially for the money - you can buy em used for <20 bucks, and the original fender trem is good too (heh, it's typically the standard for trem sound), but i find that the problem with these is an apparent loss of volume when you turn the effect on. you dont actually lose volume, but it doesnt cut through a mix well. The EA trem has a preamp to boost volume - i use it to give it just a little more kick and love it.

as far as i know, there's no reason to use tube based tremelo. maybe someone will prove me wrong, but i think that the tube is just use to drive a light bulb for an LDR circuit. instead of wasting valuable tube space, you can install a solid state equivalent - check geofex.com for the schematic. it looks pretty simple. since the signal never hits the tube, i can't understand how it would affect tone. it'll be cheaper and more efficient to use the SS equivalent.

HTH

Aaron

[Gringo]

You can find some pulsar samples here :

http://www.pisotones.com/Pulsar/PulsarTremolo.htm

(at the bottom of the page)

I have a couple of samples of it at my site, but those at pisotones are much better.

I'd go for the EA for those classic trem sounds, and the pulsar for more range/extreme settings/chop tremolo-ing

[puretube]

I dare say that in most tube-based tremolos (e.g.: E-H "Wiggler")
the signal hits the tubes very well, and the tubes hit the sound!

Cc. "EH Pulsar": note that the new aka "re-issue" Pulsar has absolutely nothing in common with the vintage one (which appears in some DIY-archives), except the name...

[petemoore]

On the other hand...there's that 'new' little 555 timer cct
 so few parts to make an LED blink...
 that and the opto chip.
 Seems like some pretty cool trem type stuff could be made using these without big hassles?
 I haven't read of any finished works yet
 I'm fancying the idea of two or three separate 555 controlled LED's [flashing at different speeds] driving an LDR or optochip...seems feasible..I just gotta getta BreadBoard !

[Paul Marossy]

One word. EA.

I honestly think that it sounds just about as good as the tube vibrato on my '74 Fender Twin Reverb. It just won't "trem" quite as fast, but I'm sure that could be changed by tweaking the cap sizes in the oscillator section. But, I am perfectly happy with mine as it was shown in the original article. I don't like super fast trem anyhow.  

[bioroids]

I built both and I like much more the Pulsar than the EA. Its more versatile and more easily tweaked.

I have some samples at my site:

http://ar.geocities.com/bioroids

I think both needed a buffer in front of them, so i added it in both cases.

Luck

Miguel

[phillip]

My vote is for the Tremulus Lune.   It can do the smooth "buttery" tremolo, square wave, and with an add-on switch and two diodes...it can do ramp up and ramp down.  Much better than my EA

Phillip

[Chris S]

I built the EA trem as on the Runoffgroove site (with rate light). it's great! and there are sound clips there too

[travissk]

I'll third the 4ms Tremulus

[mstoppini]

I think EA is the best, it has that tubeish vibe I find in fender amp trems. It kicks a little the volume too, and sometimes it's really useful. The only mod I made were the oscillator cap, for a little faster action.
Runoffgroove has the 'good' schematics for me

[bwanasonic]

I have what I consider to be a nice tremelo (Supa-Trem) and wasn't really *in the market* for a trem build, but damn if that Tremulus Lune doesn't look cool. I also really like the schematic presentation with the different sections outlined. Very good for where I'm at in my learning curve.

Kerry M