The Boss TR-2 Tremolo is designed to give a tremolo effect in a simple compact unit. Dedicated "Wave," "Rate," and "Depth" knobs provide a multitude of effect possibilities.
Submitted by michael from Upland, CA (82 points) on Jul 23, 2008:
i mostly use this pedal for slow tremolo effects in one of my projects which is guitar-based. it does that really well. however, this pedal seems sort of useless for harsh noise. i'm sure you could find a place in a chain where the effect wouldn't sound overpowering and obvious, but i'll just keep it at the end near my delays and use it for what its for.
Good Points: + controls are responsive
+ two tremolo types
+ sturdy construction
+ essential for quieter, more ambient projects/tracks
Bad Points: - Expensive for what it does (if you buy it new)
- Sounds "obvious" when engaged after distortions and other effects
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Price Paid: US$35.00
Purchased At: used at Guitar Center
Submitted by Montez from West Midlands Uk (416 points) on Jun 4, 2008:
This is alot of money for one effect. You can get a nice cut up sound or you can get a slow volume swell. I think I was just really disappointed with this pedal. Check out the Redwitch, This doesn't have enough features for the money.
Good Points: Has an ok volume swell,
Built tough.
Bad Points: Very expensive new,
Not enough features.
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Price Paid: US$50.00
Purchased At: Nick Fisher Music
Submitted by Iain David from United Kingdom (112 points) on Sep 21, 2006:
I tend to get the most use out of this pedal on it's slower settings, to create rhythmic volume swells. It also allows me to completely jumble the signal when used in conjunction with an EHX Pulsar set to a moderate or fast speed. Other than that it's not really much cop for noise. The amplitude and top speed just don't cut it. The most intense thing you can pull from this thing is a kind of stuttering shimmer. Like one of the previous reviewers said, pure country and western. If yr looking for a more noise friendly tremolo then you'd be advised to get hold of the afore mentioned Pulsar. That pedal gives you far more tweakablity and greater control over the wave shape.
Good Points: - Sturdy build.
- Can be useful for ambience on slower settings.
Bad Points: - Inflexible.
- Rather weak sounding.
- Seems to eat batteries quickly.
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Price Paid: US$0.00
Purchased At:
Submitted by Marco from Brescia (114 points) on Apr 22, 2006:
The only good thing of this pedal is the waveform control, wich can alter your wall of noise intensely.
However, it causes an horrible volume drop when activated. I hate this. I prefer those tremolos that have a volume knob, like Voodoo Lab.
Good Points: -fine controls, good range of sounds
-cheap
Bad Points: -horrible voume drop!!!
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Price Paid: US$45.00
Purchased At: ebay
Submitted by Kinetic Turtle from Oakland, CA (134 points) on May 21, 2005:
It's an alright tremolo; IF YOU'RE PLAYING COUNTRY GUITAR.
Seriously, this pedal doesn't go extreme enough. It's boring; it catches all the normal "classic" tremolo sounds, then leaves you hanging from there. We need high speeds! Extreme cutoffs! We're noise players!
Get an Electro-Harmonix Pulsar.
Good Points: Boss construction.
Great if you're not playing noise (hah).
Bad Points: Boring.
Normal.
Doesn't go far enough.
It's not a different Tremolo pedal.
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Price Paid: US$0.00
Purchased At:
Submitted by Rob from London (262 points) on Aug 2, 2002:
This pedal is interesting because it has a knob for the waveform whereas most stompbox tremalos have a hard/soft switch. There's no stranger waveforms (eg sawtooth or random) but it is only a stomp box. You can do everything from a subtle shimmer to very harsh stutters. The one thing that drives me mad about this pedal is that there is a volume loss at higher speeds. I know a tremalo is supposed to lower the volume but this lowers overall volume as well, and then the part just drops out of the mix. It's infuriating. It only happens on the faster speeds (which happen to be the most useful for noise). Adds a bit of a *tick* *tick* noise to silent bits too so a noise gate is needed. A real pain.
Good Points: Nice sound and quite a useful waveform knob.
Durable and a nice green colour.
Bad Points: Volume drop that drives me insane. This totally spoils the pedal.
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Price Paid: US$0.00
Purchased At:
Submitted by Jonathan from Marine City, MI (60 points) on Mar 12, 2002:
The wave control goes from sawtooth wave (knob turned all the way counter-clockwise) to square wave (knob turned all the way clockwise). In simpler terms when the wave knob is set at sawtooth the volume moves up and down and you can control how long the peaks and valleys in volume are by using the rate control (from half-a-second to maybe 100 milliseconds). If the wave is set at square then the volume cuts in and out. The depth knob controls the affected vs. dry signal. I like to place it after a pitch-shifter or a DD-3; this helps to give the illusion of a sound becoming random. I also like to set it after a delay or phaser as something to randomize sound. Not a great pedal on its own but if used with other pedals and imagination you can create unique sounds.
Good Points: Simple to use. Can help to randomize repetitive sound waves.
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The Boss TR-2 Tremolo is designed to give a tremolo effect in a simple compact unit. Dedicated "Wave," "Rate," and "Depth" knobs provide a multitude of effect possibilities.
