Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

The Ultimate TremPan

27/11/2020

I never lost faith in the potential of tremolo, even after those opto-based amplitude processors in guitar amps had become quaint. X-Trem rewarded my faith-and it's about time tremolo joined the 21st century, given that we're a fifth of the way through it already.

This FX Chain does dual-band standard tremolo, harmonic tremolo, and panning-and because it's dual-band, the high and low frequencies are processed independently. You can download the Ultimate TremPan FX Chain if you can't wait, but because of the flexibility, let's go through the control panel before covering how it works.

Download the Ultimate TremPan FX Chain! The control panel (Fig. 1) gives multiple ways to configure the effect. The low- and high-frequency bands have identical switches.

Figure 1: The TremPan control panel.

Trem/Pan - chooses tremolo or panning mode

Sync - Syncs to tempo

Flip - Reverses the LFO phase, e.g., from positive-going to negative-going sawtooth

Bypass - Bypasses a band, so you hear the effect on only the non-bypassed band

Let's look at the controls. The low- and high-frequency bands have three controls in common.

Speed - The sync switch determines whether the LFO speed syncs to tempo or runs free. When running free, the Speed control calibration still shows rhythmic values, but it's actually continuously variable.

Depth - Controls how much the tremolo or panning affects the signal.

Shape - Available LFO waveforms are Triangle, Sine, Sawtooth, or Square.

The Hi/Lo Mix control determines the balance of the low- and high-frequency bands. Imaging spreads the low and high bands; when centered, the low and high bands are centered too, and if a band is in panning mode, it pans the full stereo field. Turning this control counter-clockwise moves the low band toward the left and the high band toward the right, while de-emphasizing panning so that when fully counter-clockwise, both bands are acting as tremolos in their respective channels. Turning this control clockwise reverse the action, i.e., when fully clockwise, the high band sounds like a tremolo in the left channel, while the low band sounds like a tremolo in the right channel.

How It Works Figure 2 shows the block diagram.

Figure 2: The processors inside the Ultimate TremPan FX Chain.

The Splitter does two splits based on frequency, with a split around 800 Hz. This seems to work well for guitar, but feel free to play around with it (I hope that in some future update, Splitter parameters will be assignable to control panel Macro knobs).

The Mixtools have their gains varied oppositely by the Lo/Hi Mix control to set the proportions of the high and low bands. The Dual pans in the Splits have their Input Balance controlled oppositely by the Imaging knob.

Applications You have a lot of options, but here are some of my favorites.

Different tremolo speeds and waveforms avoid the stereotyped tremolo sound.

For EDM tremolo, try two negative-going sawtooths (i.e., don't enable Flip) with the low band set to 1/8th notes and the high band set to 16th This gives a cool percussive effect.

You can do the harmonic tremolo effect, as found in some old Fender amps, by setting both modes to tremolo and the same speed, but choosing Flip for one of the bands.

Panning the low band back and forth slowly while setting a fairly fast tremolo for the high band gives a wide, interesting imaging effect.

The rhythmically synched effects can make one instrument almost sound like two instruments, working together as a team. This FX Chain can also animate hand percussion tracks by varying where the percussion happens in the stereo field. Have fun with this sucker-it's time to re-discover amplitude modulation.
LINK: https://blog.presonus.com/index.php/2020/11/25/the-ultimate-trempan/...
See more stories from presonus

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

29/05/2026

Roku Unveils Redesigned TV Home Screen

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/05/2026

Sinclair and AMP Sports to Launch Style of Play' Podcast

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/05/2026

TV Pharma Ads Are Getting Longer, VAB Says

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/05/2026

Comparing 5 AI Video Enhancers for Restoring Old Video Quality

Comparing 5 AI Video Enhancers for Restoring Old Video Quality Kate Luvis May 29, 2026 0 Comments Digitizing VHS, MiniDV, and other legacy formats doe...

29/05/2026

Studio Hamburg Builds New Post Pipeline with DaVinci Resolve Studio

Studio Hamburg Builds New Post Pipeline with DaVinci Resolve Studio Brie Clayton May 29, 2026 0 Comments Workflow replaces a patchwork of legacy tools...

29/05/2026

FCC Reminds Broadcasters of Their Public Interest Obligations

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/05/2026

Roku Unveils New TV Home Screen

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/05/2026

Sinclair and AMP Sports Announce New 'Style of Play' Podcast

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/05/2026

Study: YouTube Leads Global Streaming Ad Growth

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/05/2026

TV Pharma Ads Are Getting Longer, According to VAB

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/05/2026

At the Intersection of Music and Dance, an Epic Collaboration

At the Intersection of Music and Dance, an Epic Collaboration Boston Conservatory musicians and dancers found creative parallels in their recent performance o...

29/05/2026

Super Garden 2026 winner revealed

At just 20 years old, Sean Melia from Summerhill Co. Meath has been revealed as the winner of Super Garden 2026. Sean is the youngest ever contestant and winner...

29/05/2026

May 28, 2026

Experimental HIV vaccine achieves a long-sought goal In a first for the field, all non-human primates given a new series of vaccines generated antibodies capabl...

28/05/2026

How Thomson's Climate Crisis Toolkit is helping journalists tell the climate story

Thomsons Climate Crisis Toolkit is already being put to work, helping journalist...

28/05/2026

Matt Gangl and Pete Macheska on FOX MLB's Huge Night and Unforgettable Postseason Run

FOX Sports' MLB coverage dominated the night at the 47th Annual Sports Emmy ...

28/05/2026

FOX's Mike Davies and Team on Win as Outstanding Technical Team for 2025 World Series

One of the most memorable postseasons in baseball history would have had no memo...

28/05/2026

NBC Sports' Rob Hyland Reflects on an Unforgettable Sunday Night Football Season

NBC's Sunday Night Football is among the most-decorated and most-watched pro...

28/05/2026

Prime Video's John Ward and Mike Francis on Groundbreaking NBA on Prime Video Studio

The 2026 Sports Emmys marked a watershed moment for Prime Video Sports. After bu...

28/05/2026

18th-Annual SVG College Sports Media Awards Crown Years Best Work in Atlanta

Hosted by ESPN Senior Writer Ryan McGee, the ceremony honored winners from athletic departments, conference offices, professional networks, production companies...

28/05/2026

Networks Unveil 2026 College Football Broadcast Schedules

Major rights-holders rolled out their 2026 college football slates today, offering a first look at marquee windows, kickoff partners, and conference distributio...

28/05/2026

NHL's Steve Mayer on the Behind-the-Scenes Access of 4 Nations Face-Off: Unveiled

The 4 Nations Face-Off, an international competition that launched in February 2...

28/05/2026

ESPN's Manny de la Fe on the Gratifying Conclusion to Inaugural Season in Spanish

Soccer is a truly global sport, and, to match the U.S. viewing audience's in...

28/05/2026

CBS Sports' Graphics Team on the Vision of The NFL Today's Virtual Time Machine

The NFL Today, CBS Sports' top-of-the-line NFL studio show, has a storied hi...

28/05/2026

Prime Video's Mike Muriano on the Immediate Success of Fan Optionality Feature

Prime Video is no stranger to innovation, and, within the realm of live streamin...

28/05/2026

FOX Sports' Jamie McCombs on Showcasing MLB Atmosphere With Immersive Audio

The crack of the bat, the pop of the glove, and the cheer of the crowd: those are three prime examples of the glorious sounds fans hear on televised baseball ga...

28/05/2026

CBS Sports' Harold Bryant on Capturing the Essence of March Madness in the Studio

Every year, March Madness captivates the entire sports world. Nonstop action, un...

28/05/2026

NBC Sports' Chad Hudson on Developing Graphics for the Return of NBA on NBC

NBA on NBC was an integral part to live sports production in the 1990s, and, when the league made these media rights available, NBC Sports saw an opportunity to...

28/05/2026

MLB's Ryan Zander on the Tech Innovation Behind the League's UmpCam AR System

UmpCam is a technological wrinkle that has given fans unprecedented views of wha...

28/05/2026

T-Mobile Brings America's Best Network to the USGA

T-Mobile and the United States Golf Association (USGA) announced a multi-year partnership, making T-Mobile the Official 5G Network Partner of the U.S. Women'...

28/05/2026

Time and Water Is a Moving Portrait of Family History and a Warming Iceland

By Gina McIntyre (L-R) Sara Dosa and Andri Sn r Magnason attend the Time and Water premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at Library Center Theatre ...

28/05/2026

More Control, Faster Playlist Editing, and Other Updates for Everyday Listening on Spotify

A little refresh can go a long way. We've been making behind-the-scenes upda...

28/05/2026

Introducing the Newest Winners of Spotify's Creator Milestone Awards

Since early last year, our quarterly Creator Milestone Awards have celebrated podcasts from around the world that hit major streaming milestones on Spotify. Tod...

28/05/2026

Rapid Flow launch Omniclock

New software-based MIDI multi-clock announced Rapid Flow have just announced the launch of a new MIDI utility plug-in that aims to solve one of the most per...

28/05/2026

SSL announce the SSL 1

Company introduce most affordable interface yet SSL's range of audio interfaces has just gained its latest, and smallest member, the SSL 1. Designed to ...

28/05/2026

Deconstruct Minimal from Sonicware

New compact drum machine & sampler announced The latest instrument from Sonicware sees the company kick off an all-new Deconstruct series with a compact dru...

28/05/2026

Get fit for the FIFA World Cup 2026 with new SBS On Demand features for the ultimate viewing experience

Get fit for the FIFA World Cup 2026 with new SBS On Demand features for the ult...

28/05/2026

Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority modernizes nationwide ATC voice communications with Rohde & Schwarz CERTIUM Radios

Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority modernizes nationwide ATC voice communications...

28/05/2026

Amazon MGM Studios, AWS Launch GenAI Creators' Fund

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/05/2026

AudioShake Launches Copyright Compliance System

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/05/2026

Big Blue Marble Advances 5G Broadcast

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/05/2026

Will Must-Carry Make It to NextGen TV?

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/05/2026

Swiss Broadcaster Canal Alpha Streamlines Playout to Deli...

Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced that Swiss broadcaster Canal Alpha has deployed Harmonics award-winning, software-based XOS Advanced Media Processor to ...

28/05/2026

Calrec Scales ImPulseV to Expand Choice in Virtualized Audio Workflows

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/05/2026

Berliner Ensemble Upgrades Backstage Infrastructure With...

Riedel Communications today announced that Berliner Ensemble, one of Berlin's five major theater companies, has expanded its backstage communications and te...

28/05/2026

Digital Alert Systems Ed Czarnecki to Speak on Advanced E...

Company's VP Government and International to Address How Broadcasters Can Operationalize Advanced Emergency Information for NextGen TV Digital Alert Syst...

28/05/2026

Radio BGM Upgrades and Futureproofs with DHD SX2 Audio Mi...

Radio BGM (https://radiobgm.org.uk/), Llanellis multiple-award-winning community and hospital radio station, has invested in a DHD SX2 audio mixing console and ...