Tremelo Mods

[The Gotcha Guys]

Hey,
I'm getting ready to build a tremolo and I need help deciding on a circuit and then some more help modding it.  The following is a quote from http://www.missionofburma.com/elec_body.html, part of the Mission of Burma website:

Tremelo units have always been less required: I'd used them off and on in bands I was in for their shimmering quality. My Peavey Amplifier had built in tremelo, and early on Clint wrote "Tremelo", thereby making a tremelo effect mandatory (we couldn't do the song without it's pulse). When the Peavey amp mercifully died, I chose a 50 watt Marshall amp - which had no tremelo. Again, Lou Giordano to the rescue. In the same type of "hit me with a bomb, I couldn't care less" metal box, he built a hyper tremelo unit. The two parameters, speed and intensity, were both maxed out. My later song, "Trem II", was at a slow speed setting w/the intensity on full (becoming a strong on/off pulse). Lou had maxed the speed and intensity so far out that at levels of "11" or higher, it sounds as if 3 or 4 chords are piled on top of each other about 1/16 step apart.

I want my tremolo to be able to duplicate these 'hyper tremelo' sounds, especially the maxed out speed and intesity.  Does anyone know a good circuit (EA, Anderton's, any others?) that is an easy build but could also take these mods?  And how exactly would I 'max out' the speed and intensity

[cd]

And how exactly would I 'max out' the speed and intensity

Tremolo.  Turn the knobs up all the way.

Circuit-wise, if you want to DIY, I would recommend the Tremulus Lune, otherwise buy a Dano Tuna Melt and be done with it.  I defy anyone to build a better trem for the same price!!

[The Gotcha Guys]

Thanks

But as far as 'maxed out', I meant is there any way to make it so that when the pots are turned up it goes beyond what a normal tremolo can do?

[puretube]

try if you can dial in that sound with the (new) E-H Pulsar ("re-issue").
Not a DIY, though...

[moosapotamus]

Well, the DIY Pulsar is pretty nice, too... currently, my personal favourite DIY trem.

Most trems can be modded to go as fast as you want, 'till you can't even tell it's a trem anymore, by just changing one capacitor. The depth on most trems can be increased, too. But, usually at the expense of getting some audible clicking (LFO bleedthrough).

If you pick a circuit, there's lots of folks here who could tell you specifically which cap to change, etc...

~ Charlie

[audioguy]

Well, the DIY Pulsar is pretty nice, too... currently, my personal favourite DIY trem.

I love the DIY Pulsar too... but I hate the click. Has anyone drawn a layout with some of the noise reduction mods?

Audioguy

[The Gotcha Guys]

Most trems can be modded to go as fast as you want, 'till you can't even tell it's a trem anymore, by just changing one capacitor. The depth on most trems can be increased, too. But, usually at the expense of getting some audible clicking (LFO bleedthrough).

At the moment im leaning towards the Craig Anderton Trem

Schematic


Layout:


so i guess which parts would i change to get this thing going reall really really fast?

Thanks Again
--Andy

[onboard]

Hmmm, I don't quite get this circuit, but intuitively I'ld say try 4.7uf for C3. And if R11's function is anything like the feedback resistor in a straight-up transistor LFO, then try 470k instead of 1M.

Those suggestions could be completely wrong, though. I would breadboard it and go through the entire thing part by part, but then again a lot of tinkering can be replaced by just a little theory.

[The Gotcha Guys]

I just sent an email to Craig Anderson himself, and he said that OC1, the CLM6000, is what controlls the speed.  Therefore, even if you do change the capicitor, the optoisolator would not be able to keep up, and the tremolo wouldn't sound any faster.  So now I'm going to try the EH Pulsar off of www.tonepad.com.  Does anyone know which capictor from this layout is the one I want to change.
--Andy

[puretube]

C8 & C9;
(I`d also decrease C6 & C7 by the same factor, to maintain the waveforms/amplitudes...):

I don`t like mr. Anderson`s term: "OC1 controls the speed"
- it rather sets a limit to the maximum achievable speed...

[onboard]

Chalk another one up for being wrong.

What about using a different optocoupler?

[The Gotcha Guys]

Would an optocoupler  be the same thing as a optoisolator?  If not, what is the difference?  And if I were to change it, what would I change the CLM6000 to?  I'm pretty clueless when it comes to optoisolators/optocouplers.
--Andy

[The Gotcha Guys]

I emailed Craig again and he said that changing the optoisolator wouldn't do much and that I should try a VCA based circuit.  So I'm going to try the Pulsar and add a 'Double Speed' mod.  Someone on here said that by wiring two capacitors in series would double the speed, and two in parallel would cut the speed in half.  So I figured at C8 and C9 Id put SPDT switchs, one pole goes directly to C8/C9, and the other with another capacitor that then goes to C8/C9.  Do you guys think this would work?
--Andy