Here are a few of examples of what is (to me) excellent use of the effect.
You beat me to it! The Smiths (or most accurately Johnny Marr on guitar) and "How Soon Is Now" is the song that came to me right away. Tremolo totally makes the song!
Here are a few of examples of what is (to me) excellent use of the effect.
As for what it's supposed to replicate....I'd say it's closer to the open/close hand muting of harmonica playing than a Leslie. Why so many classic tube amps have it? Consider there was a time when most small combo amps were built to be paired w/ a Hawaiian (lap steel) guitar. All things Hawaiian were all the rage in the 40's/50's...and trem was an essential part of that sound.
As I said above, since you specified onboard amp trems, it's still not clear how you feel about tremolos that are separate from the amp, like Pops Staples' DeArmond 601 and Ry Cooder's Demeter Tremulator.Thanks for the replies everyone!
I do think it’s an issue of musical preferences. Most effects I can get behind in some capacity or another but the music I (mostly) grew up with didn’t really use it, and come to think of it much of that music used amps that didn’t include any effects Marshall, Orange, Hiwatt, etc.).
I think some of the songs posted do sound “right” the way they are and certainly the songs in my original searches do, too. One that surprised me was Green Day’s Boulevard of Broken Dreams which I never even realized was tremolo. LOL
I think the idea of tremolo being a carry over from organs makes a lot if sense, especially considering the time frame of the earliest Fender amps along with the fact that so many amps had accordion labeled inputs. It was just a different time.
Thanks again for the great insights!
The tremolo on that Princeton Reverb doesn't sound healthy and it makes me wonder if all those amps really needed servicing before doing a comparison.A vid on a few amp trem comparisons.
Agree on that Princeton (seemed way too weak), but the 3 others were evident enough, especially the brown fender, which even compared to a freshly serviced Princeton still has a much harder slope.The tremolo on that Princeton Reverb doesn't sound healthy and it makes me wonder if all those amps really needed servicing before doing a comparison.
Dr John out-bo-diddley-ing Bo Diddley! (yes, on guitar on this one!)
there's not a lot more Duane Eddy in this than that big tremolo six-string bass lick in the intro, but boy, does it ever set a mood!
I don't understand the allure of amp tremolo. I assume it was an attempt to simulate a Leslie rotating speaker? I think a Leslie in the room sounds cool because it's something you experience and not just hear but for the most part Tremolo on an amp is a completely unused effect for me.
Doubting myself I did a search for hit songs with tremolo and found a handful of songs that I recognized. Was tremolo on an amp a super desirable thing at one time? Why do so many amps have it? I feel like I've been missing something for almost 50 years.
Leo Fender.Why do so many amps have it?
As I said above, since you specified onboard amp trems, it's still not clear how you feel about tremolos that are separate from the amp, like Pops Staples' DeArmond 601 and Ry Cooder's Demeter Tremulator.
Are tremolo pedals okay, or do you dislike all trems?
Yeah, like so many guitar related questions this is probably the answer.Leo Fender.
It may not have stuck out to you, but at the time those amps were being built, the reverb/tremelo effect combo was being used pretty regularly …from surf music, to spaghetti western films, to James Bond themes. Those amps became such iconic amps that featuring it on the amp decades later likely became tradition/standardized. But as far as it being something on an amp that wasn’t being used…definitely not the case. It was all over the place, not just in a blues/R&B/rock musical genres. Heck, Link Wray basically set the stage for the next 50 years of guitar driven rock by big reverb/tremelo power chords w/ Rumble!It was really more me wondering why an effect that didn’t really seem all that popular (at least from where I sat) was included on so many amps.
Byt it's also why they seemed 'old fashioned ' in the late 70s.It may not have stuck out to you, but at the time those amps were being built, the reverb/tremelo effect combo was being used pretty regularly …from surf music, to spaghetti western films, to James Bond themes. Those amps became such iconic amps that featuring it on the amp decades later likely became tradition/standardized. But as far as it being something on an amp that wasn’t being used…definitely not the case. It was all over the place, not just in a blues/R&B/rock musical genres. Heck, Link Wray basically set the stage for the next 50 years of guitar driven rock by big reverb/tremelo power chords w/ Rumble!