T-Rex Tapster tremolo review

Tap tempo trem sounds

  • £230
  • $399
The Tapster Tremolo combines a vintage trem sound with tap tempo capabilities

MusicRadar Verdict

The Tapster is a warm, organic amp-style tremolo that's always in sync with your music.

Pros

  • +

    Tap tempo. Vintage-style tremolo sound.

Cons

  • -

    Some waveform variations would make it more versatile.

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You only have to listen to The Smiths' How Soon Is Now? to realise that tremolo sync'd to a song's tempo is one cool sound, so a tremolo stompbox with tap tempo makes perfect sense.

The Tapster takes the T-Rex Tremster (£155) to another level by adding a tap tempo footswitch linked to a subdivision switch, which determines how your tremolo operates in relation to the taps - in quarter notes, eighth notes, or eight-note triplets.

Sounds

It gives you a nice rounded sine wave tremolo throb with a useful range of speed and depth, plus a volume control so you can dial in a volume drop or boost when you kick the effect in.

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.