MusicRadar Verdict
From the subtle to the extreme, Walrus Audio Monumental Harmonic Stereo Tremolo could satisfy all your tremolo needs
Pros
- +
Compact size for a twin-footswitch pedal
- +
Mono or stereo operation
- +
Foot-operated performance options
- +
Variation in tremolo sound
- +
Expression pedal control over every parameter
Cons
- -
Ramping speed is not adjustable here
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Walrus Audio Monumental Harmonic Stereo Tremolo: What is it?
Walrus Audio's original Monument tremolo has a varied feature set for anyone wishing to explore a wide range of tremolo sounds and put them to use on stage.
The major shift with this expanded version, the Monumental Harmonic Stereo Tremolo, has been adding stereo operation so that, besides standard mono, the new pedal offers stereo in/stereo out and mono in/stereo out with a Pan knob to determine stereo width.
Other changes include additional wave shapes and tap divisions, plus, instead of a switch to select Standard or Harmonic tremolo types, you now get a knob to blend from one type to the other.
You can also save and recall three onboard presets, and the Tap footswitch now also offers a momentary ramp (up or down) of tremolo speed, similar to that of a rotary speaker.
Walrus Audio Monumental Harmonic Stereo Tremolo: Performance and verdict
For its most classic application, set the pedal for sine wave, adjust your Rate and Depth accordingly, and you’ll be accessing familiar tremolo sounds that work brilliantly in a standard mono chain. Beyond that, there’s plenty more to explore, including the variation offered by other waveforms, whether you plump for a square wave regimented stutter, its more lopsided sawtooth companions, or even the random trem that will have your audience thinking you’ve got a pedal malfunction. Furthermore, the S-B-H knob allows some subtle shadings between its two end stops, gradually separating low and high frequencies as it travels.
The pedal’s crowning glory, however, is that it sounds stunning when used in a stereo role. The Pan knob moves from standard tremolo by offsetting the phase of the right LFO until you get the two LFOs 180-degrees out of phase and a huge stereo spread with a great sense of depth and movement as the tremolo sweeps back and forth across it. While we realise not everyone will have the opportunity to exploit this functionality in a live situation, it’s certainly still available to all for recording.
A pretty comprehensive feature set makes this do-it-all tremolo pedal an extremely practical compact choice for onstage needs thanks to instantly accessible presets and spontaneous changes available via the Tap/Ramp footswitch or a connected external expression pedal.
MusicRadar verdict: From the subtle to the extreme, Walrus Audio Monumental Stereo Harmonic Tremolo could satisfy all your tremolo needs.
Walrus Audio Monumental Harmonic Stereo Tremolo: Alternatives
Mono
- The original Monument (£199) remains a potent tremolo pedal.
- Jam Pedals’ Harmonious Monk mk2 (£239) includes tap tempo and adjustable ramp.
- Old Blood Noise Endeavors’ Blackcap (£209) combines a traditional analogue tremolo and a harmonic digital tremolo with various routing options.
Stereo
- Electro-Harmonix’s triple-footswitch Super Pulsar (£199) has tap tempo, presets and lots of adjustable parameters.
- Mr Black’s Pana-Trem (£249) is a twin-footswitch true-stereo harmonic tremolo and panner.
- Source Audio’s single-footswitch Vertigo (£195) has three tremolo types.
Walrus Audio Monumental Harmonic Stereo Tremolo: The web says
"The Monumental is not cheap, but it should do just about everything that you’d want a tremolo pedal to do... Monumentally flexible and practical."
Guitar World
Walrus Audio Monumental Harmonic Stereo Tremolo: Hands-on demos
Walrus Audio
Michael W. Westbrook
TheGuitarGeek
John Nathan Cordy
Walrus Audio Monumental Harmonic Stereo Tremolo: Specifications
- ORIGIN: USA
- TYPE: Tremolo pedal
- FEATURES: True bypass, 3 onboard presets. Tap tempo, Ramp function, available in orange/copper or black
- CONTROLS: Volume, Shape (Sine, Square, Saw, Ramp, Bumps and Random), Pan, Rate, Depth, S-B-H switch (Standard/Both/Harmonic), division button (quarter, quarter triplet, 8th, 8th triplet, 16th), internal dip switches for Tap/Exp, Tap/Ramp footswitch, Bypass footswitch
- CONNECTIONS: Standard inputs Mono + Stereo, standard outputs Mono + Stereo, Tap/Expression pedal input
- POWER: 9V adaptor (not supplied) 100mA
- DIMENSIONS: 122 (d) x 72 (w) x 67mm (h)
- CONTACT: Walrus Audio
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