AX8 Tremolo just doesn't sound...right

PhillyGTR

PhillyGTR

Member
I've been really loving my AX8 for the past 6 months. The more I use it the more I appreciate it. That being said I just can't get the tremolo to sound right. When compared to my Fender amps and my Strymon Flint there's just something wrong about the shape of the wave. does anyone have any tips for replicating a vintage sounding trem on the AX8?
 
PhillyGTR said:
I've been really loving my AX8 for the past 6 months. The more I use it the more I appreciate it. That being said I just can't get the tremolo to sound right. When compared to my Fender amps and my Strymon Flint there's just something wrong about the shape of the wave. does anyone have any tips for replicating a vintage sounding trem on the AX8?
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Use the Log wave. That feels more like the optical sound to me. I use it in the vibe as well.
 
I did something similar to try to get that Flint style trem...ended up using 2 filter blocks in parallel. Both were notch filters @ 400hz and 1600hz. Then I added a lfo/sine wave controller to the volume to vary the volume from 0 db to -12. I went a step further and added an envelope controller to the sine wave rate from 3.8 hz to 7.3 hz. This adds a cool effect to the tremolo...it will respond to how hard I pick and the decay of my notes. You can shorten the range to have a more subtle effect. Honestly its fairly subtle as is.

I was inspired by some of the threads h.c.e. mentioned...I originally used 2 highpass/lowpass filters, but I found it to change the overall tone too much.
 
One trick is to use the envelope controller to manipulate the tremolo depth based on input level. If you swap the start and end values, the tremolo can be deep when you play soft or during note decays but then harder attacks can cut through the pulses more. Mimics the self ducking kind of response you get with bias tremolo.

Also, experiment with putting the tremolo before the amp block. The compression of the amp will give the tremolo a different response. Fender's optical and harmonic vibrato circuits were part of the preamp section. Bias tremolo is in the power amp section. For a more authentic surf vibe, put the tremolo after the reverb as well so the long spring reverb tails pulse as they decay.
 
shizzaq said:
Use the Log wave. That feels more like the optical sound to me. I use it in the vibe as well.
Click to expand...
I did take note that the triangle and log were my favs in terms of wave shape. The thing I'm not loving is how linear the rise and dip sounds. It's too perfect to something. Maybe I'll try to use a different mod source like an LFO or something. So far I've always found a way to get the AX8 to do what I need. Thanks for the insight!
 
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