JAM Big Chill review

Tremolo with a trio of waveforms

  • £229
  • €239
  • $295
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A third footswitch brings in the CHOP effect, a more brutal square wave on/off tremolo

MusicRadar Verdict

A practical feature set makes this a great trem for live work.

Pros

  • +

    Two speeds. Trio of waveforms. Works with external expression pedal. CHOP effect.

Cons

  • -

    Not much.

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The Big Chill, from Greek effects-maker JAM, offers vintage-style sounds with a range of practical features.

You can choose from three tremolo waveforms - sine, triangle and square - and have the option of two speeds, selectable by a second footswitch.

"The classy range of sounds, including vintage Fender, should suit most players' tremolo need"

Each speed is set with its own knob, while there's an internal control to set the second speed quieter or louder than the first.

There's also a knob for tremolo depth and one for the output volume that offers a useful boost (set the trem depth to zero for boost only); you can also use external expression pedals to control tremolo depth and the second tremolo speed.

A third footswitch brings in the CHOP effect, a more brutal square wave on/off tremolo that chops the audio into segments.

The classy range of sounds, including vintage Fender, should suit most players' tremolo needs, but it's the switching and control that set this apart from other pedals. While the vintage tone hits the spot, versatility is the key word here.

Trevor Curwen

Trevor Curwen has played guitar for several decades – he's also mimed it on the UK's Top of the Pops. Much of his working life, though, has been spent behind the mixing desk, during which time he has built up a solid collection of the guitars, amps and pedals needed to cover just about any studio session. He writes pedal reviews for Guitarist and has contributed to Total Guitar, MusicRadar and Future Music among others.