When some pedal brands went mini, and other went down the rabbit hole of digital features, T-Rex has stayed refreshingly consistent in its offerings. It's had to weather its share of storms but has come through them in the hands of founders Sebastian Jensen and Lars Dahl. And while everything else got pricier in the boutique world, the Danish brand is now in relative bargain territory with its range.
That's great news, but that doesn't mean its pedals aren't extremely versatile – the Alberta and Alberta II Dual overdrives are examples that the TS-808 / SRV fans should be checking out for starters. But T-Rex's real surprise is the Tremster tremolo pedal.
Like the Alberta, and many of the brand's other Denmark-made flagship pedals (Asian-made versions are also out there too), it's on the larger side of the Boss compact blueprint. And this cherry red devil can start to justify the pedalboard real estate with a range of wonderfully vibesome vintage tremolo sounds that take their cue from Fender amps like the Twin.
'The Tremster´s strength lies in the way the effect is modulated,' explains T-Rex 'In simple terms, it means that the waveform used to turn the volume up and down (creating the tremolo effect) is a bit special. Instead of a sinus wave or a triangular wave, the Tremster´s waveform is quite soft around the peaks, but otherwise relatively abrupt. This creates a very nonobtrusive effect, that melts in with your playing – even at maximum depth.'
The company describes the contrast with some other pedals as the difference between the Tremster breathing and others hyperventilating. It allows more room to dial up the depth and speed without the tremolo becoming offensive. All good, with a Mode switch that takes you from soft square to a harder sine vibrato effect if that's what you do want. So that's kind of a two-for-one deal, but the Tremster has another sell that the company doesn't mention on its site. This excellent amp-inspired tremolo from the Danes can also be used for something else entirely.
It can be a clean boost pedal. Ok, that might not be revelatory to some but it does mean the Tremster has another string to its bow. With the volume set to max there's +15db of boost on offer. Now this is useful for the tremolo modes anyway – preventing the drop that can plague the effect in the mix – especially for the tube amps it's inspired by – but with the depth and speed dialled down you have a clean boost when required.
A well-priced pedal offering musical, smoother tremolo that can be subtle and pull double duty, all the Tremster really has going against it is its physical size. Well, that never hurt the Klon, and if you can make space on your pedalboard it could win you over. While the Tremster isn't currently offered in the company's webshop, it could be well worth hunting one down elsewhere.
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