The Empress Tap Tremolo is an original design built from the ground up to include innovative features without sacrificing tone. The audio signal path is analog, but the tremolo effect is controlled digitally via opto technology.
Reviews
User Manual
Upgrade
Features
Soundclips
Pictures
Vintage Guitar review
UK's Guitarist Magazine review
AMZ Tremolo Shootout
Harmony-Central User Reviews here
and here
Guitar One Review
Dutch Magazine Review : Translation
of last paragraph (thanks Carlos!)
We have made a number of aethstetic upgrades to the tremolo in the last couple weeks. These include: 1) New aluminum knobs that sit close to the tremolo. 2) Addition of a second LED that flashes with the tempo even while in bypass mode. 3) Shorter switches at the back for greater durability.
If you own an older tremolo that doesn't have these upgrades, we can get your trem up to spec for $65 CAD. This includes return shipping. Please email me at steve at empresseffects dot com if you are interested.
Features of the Empress Tremolo
Pristine Sound - The Empress Tremolo has to be heard to be believed. It's whisper quiet and free from the "LFO throb" usually associated with tremolos. We dare anyone to find a better sounding tremolo.
Waveform Selection - You can modulate your sound with three different waveforms. An asymmetrical tremolo was modelled after a '65 Fender Vibrolux (brown face) to give you the fullest tremolo sound possible. A square wave can be utilized if you're after a harder sound. And if you're looking for a more normal tremolo, you can use the triangle wave setting.
Tap Tempo - The Empress Trem averages your last four taps so it plays in sync with your music. You can also choose different tap to tremolo rate ratios. 1:1, 1:2, and 1:4 are available.
Two Speed Mode - An exclusive feature to the Empress Trem. You're able to set two different rates, and switch between them using the tap tempo stompswitch. This is similar to playing through a Leslie cabinet and changing the speed.
Rhythms - Another exclusive feature. The Empress Trem will definiately do your run-of-the-mill tremolo sound to a tee. But you can also set it to play different rhythms. Check out the soundclips for examples.
Gain - A problem with most tremolos on the market is that when they're engaged, you hear a noticeable drop in volume. The Empress Trem solves this by having a gain stage on the output. It's able to deliver up to 6dB of gain without adding any distortion to the signal.
True Bypass - The Empress Trem employs true bypass, so you can be sure that it's not affecting the signal when disengaged.
Perfect Size - The enclosure measures approximately 4.5" by 3.5" by 1.5", which is delightfully small when considering all the features packed into this unit.
45 Day Money Back Guarantee - If for any reason the Tremolo isn't for you, send it back within 45 days for a refund. Read our Guarantee for more details. This guarantee does not cover Empress products not bought from www.empresseffects.com.
Two Year Warranty - The Empress Tremolo comes with a two-year warranty. Read our Warranty for details. You can extend the warranty to 4 years by simply registering online.
Great Value - The Empress Tremolo, a perfect blend of quality and innovation, will retail on empresseffects.com and in select music stores for $249 CDN. Order one now!
The Empress Tremolo does not run off of batteries. It is powered by a standard 9VDC negative tip wall wart (like the BOSS PSA-120). Power supply sold seperately.
Soundclips of the Empress Tremolo
John Caban plays guitar for planetJABR. Here's acouple clips from their new album that feature the Empress Trem.
Avi Bortnick plays rhythm guitar in John Scofield's band. He was kind enough to record some clips of the Empress Tremolo. The recordings are done with Avi's Frankenstrat into Fender Deluxe Reverb II mic'd with SM57. No processing.
Avi Bortnick 1 - Rhythm 4, two speed mode, depth full, square wave setting(with scrabler fuzz).
Avi Bortnick 2 - Rhythm 2, two speed mode, depth full, tube wave setting (with overdrive).
Avi Bortnick 3 - Rhythm 3, two speed mode, depth full, tube wave setting.
Avi Bortnick 4 - Rhythm 3, two speed mode, depth full, tube wave setting.
Jon St James - Legendary producer Jon St James was kind enough to record a soundclip of the Empress Tremolo in action. Andy Carpenter (Faulter) is on guitars and Josh Freese (A Perfect Circle, Nine Inch Nails, Sting) is on drums.
Here's acouple soundclips to give you an idea of how the Empress Tremolo sounds. They were recorded like so: Italia guitar > Empress Tremolo > Fender Champ 25 > 414 > M-audio MobilePre. No noise reduction or other manipulation was done to the sound files.
First 4 Rhythms - The first 4 rhythms of the tremolo are your basic 1, 2, 3, and 4 beat bars with an accent on one.
Rhythm in 5 - One of the 8 rhythms on the Empress is in 5. Things get interesting when you use it on a part that's in 4...
Ring Modulator - The Empress Trem can double as a ring modulator if you tap it really fast while using the 1:4 ratio in tap tempo mode.
Two Speed Mode - While in Two Speed Mode, the tremolo rate is switched back and forth between a fast and slow setting. Notice how it ramps up/down to the speed like a Leslie.
Quiet Effect - For your spy movie film scores... (it's quiet)
Asymmetrical Waveform - Just your basic asymmetrical tremolo.
Fastest/Slowest - Triangle waveform. Depth set to half. First the tremolo is played to the fastest rate, then it's played to the slowest.
Two Speed - Asymmetrical waveform. Full depth. Trem is in two-speed mode and is switched back and forth between two different rates.
Rhythm 1 - Asymmetrical waveform. Full depth. An example of the rhythm feature.
Rhythm 2 - Square waveform. Full depth. Another example of the rhythm feature.
Click on the pictures for an enlarged view.
