Remember the great tremolo tones of the 50’s and 60’s? The ‘Surf Trem’ gets its’ trem circuit from the CM Tremovibe. With just a ‘speed’ and ‘depth’ control (just like our old tube amp) those classic tones are easy to achieve. The retro heavy diecast case with 9 volt battery compartment, cool colour and heavy duty bypass switch, make the ‘Surf Trem’ a must have in every pedal box.
VINTAGE GUITAR (USA) MAY 2006
First up we tried the Surf Trem and with excellent results, it proved to have a lush 50s Fenderish style tremolo effect with an un-choppy deep swish and smooth wave form that sounded great. Switching the pedal in and out several times revealed that it did not color the tone at all and did not add any noise, clean and transparent, just adding the an outstanding tremolo effect. We compared the Surf Trem to the tremolo circuit in the Fender Bandmaster, and could get them to sound nearly exactly the same, in fact we almost preferred the Surf Trem because of its ability to produce a deeper effect and its wider range of speed settings.
From Harmony Central
It’s not just for surf. Deep, rich, thick, even on lower depth and rate settings. High rate and low depth gives almost a chorus-ey shimmer. Very nice. Does not effect tone when on or off. That’s not a signal drop you’re hearing, that’s the volume drop when the trem cycles. That’s what a trem does, duh.
From Harmony Central
Just great for what it does. I’m using Fender Mustangs and a Jag into a string of pedals and a Laney LC-30 tube combo or, on special occasions, a Vase Trendsetter 60 valve head (through a Marshall 212 cab).The only criticism I can find is sometimes there’s a slight pop when engaging it, but a couple of my pedals get that, so it may be my set up. I admire companies that just pick one sound (ie., one trem wave shape) and run with it, instead of having all the variations under the sun. Shows some confidence in their tone. I have an old old old MXR Phase 45, with only a rate knob. They banked on every other adjustment for the pedal being perfect- and they were right. As were Carl Martin.