three wave forms, eight rhythm patters) and control options (external tap, expression, control voltage, MIDI.) to inspire you to continue deepening your knowledge of the pedal’s creative possibilities. Yes, the T2 is gig-ready, but there are enough unique features (e.g.
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The T2 is not only is good-to-go right out of the box (note: the manual is available online and is written to get you started playing ASAP), there are features a-plenty under the hood.
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Some boutique pedals are difficult to use right out of the box - you probably know which ones I’m talking about - because they offer so many options from the get-go that you have to read the full manual before you can even summon a tone as basic as Link Wray’s “Rumble” tremolo. These tweaks aren’t saved, unless you go to the trouble of saving them, but making adjustments like this quickly, without having to go through screens or menus on a digital pedal, can be a song-saver. Has the drummer counted off that ballad too quickly? Then adjust your preset with the speed knob. On top of all that, you can tweak each preset on the fly with the knobs on the pedal’s face.
To switch presets, hold the tap tempo button down until the LED changes color, and there you are! Set the switch to “Presets” then click the bypass button - you are in preset 1 (blue LED).
After adjusting a mellow Blackface Fender-tone in preset 1, and a faster, deeper version of that in preset 2, I made preset 3 a hard, choppy Valco-style trem for a couple of more garage-y songs, and gave preset 4 a less choppy, but rhythmically unusual, flavor of the same.Ĭhanging between presets is a breeze, even for a stone-cold idiot like me. I liked the four presets that came with the pedal (I have no idea if they were the factory settings or had been set by the previous owner), but ended up tweaking them to my liking and to the needs of the songs I’d be playing. However, the combination of technologies does explain how the T2 is able to save multiple presets (I used 4 - with some additional fiddling around, you can set up to 8!) that allow you to tweak and save all of the manual settings you make for each sound/speed/rhythm you need. The Empress site describes the pedal as having an all-analog signal path with the tremolo effect “controlled digitally via opto technology.” Whatever digi-log voodoo mojo they performed works for me, because my ears don’t detect even a hint of artificiality in the tones the pedal produces.
The T2 has a digital heart hiding beneath its analog trappings. The T2 is both gig-worthy and musically inspiring, my main criteria, but it also shines in some very specific ways.
I’ve had it for about a month, now and have used it on two 3-hour gigs and for lots of at-home fiddling around. Now, I can finally declare a winner in the ‘Tournament of Tremolos’ - it’s the Empress Tremolo2. I’ve found that this is a better and, in the end, more affordable way to “audition” pedals than using a Netflix-style effect rental service because 1) I can usually find the pedal I want when I want it, and 2) if I’m patient I can make $5-$20 per sale, beyond the initial cost of the pedal - or at least break even. Note: I acquired almost all but one of these pedals second or third-hand via Reverb I’ve also turned around and sold many of them via Reverb, once I’d decided to move on. I’m not going to rank them (because ‘different strokes for different folks’), but these effects are all worthy of mention as gig-worthy Tremolos that spent considerable gigging and playing/writing time on my board: From high-priced, high-tech and boutique offerings to plain-jane no-names, quite a few contenders have spent quality time on my pedalboard. I’ve spent the past year or so trying out various tremolo pedals, in search of “the one” that can both suit my gigging needs and give me that little ‘something extra’ to spark the creation of new songs, sounds, riffs and licks.