Keeley DynaTrem

The Danelectro DJ-5C Tuna Melt Tremolo guitar effect pedal’s warm, pulsating tremolo effect has become a modern classic. It features an easy-to-use two-dial interface. One knob controls the tremolo effect’s speed, while the other controls the effect’s depth and intensity. Nestled between these two dials is a two-way toggle that lets you switch between Hard and Soft to achieve tremolo effects reminiscent of different amps manufactured in the ‘50s. Definitely a must-have for budget-minded tremolo heads.

The Big Joe R-409 Tremolo is an all-analog, vactrol-based optical tremolo guitar effects pedal. You can control the pedal’s modulation effect from 1Hz to 10Hz using the Speed and Depth knobs, while the Shape knob lets you go from a square waveform to a triangular one for amp tremolo sounds emulating everything from a vintage Vox to a classic Fender. The Big Joe R-409 Tremolo features true bypass switching and supports 9V to 18V power supply units.

The Diamond Tremolo features an all-analog signal path leveraging an optoisolator like the 60’s vintage tube amps. The analog signal path is coupled with a microprocessor controller to give you a range of quirky features. The Tremolo boasts a double speed switch and multiple selectable waveforms, from sine and sharkfin wave to square wave and chop. That is comparable with the Empress Tremolo regarding its shaping ability but has a bit more far-out settings.