The Cusack Tap-A-Scream is a tap tempo overdrive pedal from Cusack Music, built on the company's Cusack Screamer, a Tube Screamer-inspired overdrive. What makes it different from a standard Screamer is that an all-analog vactrol circuit ramps the amount of overdrive, and the volume with it, up and down in repeating patterns. Cusack describes the result plainly: it is "best described sonically as an overdriven tremolo"1.
The modulation follows any of 24 waveforms, which modulate the gain rather than just the volume the way a conventional tremolo pedal would. Cusack called it "the world's first and only tap tempo overdrive"1. The pedal is discontinued, and the last run was a limited new old stock edition1.
An overdriven tremolo built on the Cusack Screamer
The Tap-A-Scream is, in Cusack's own words, "in essence, a Cusack Screamer that is capable of modulating overdrive into 24 waveforms"3. The Screamer itself is the company's take on a classic overdrive, in the Tube Screamer tradition4, and the same lineage runs through the family, including the Screamer Bass for bass players.
The modulation is not a digital effect layered on top. The TAS uses an all analog vactrol circuit to actually ramp the amount of overdrive, and the volume as well, up and down1. Because the drive itself is being swept, the character of the distortion changes through the cycle rather than only its loudness, which is what separates it from a plain tremolo in front of an overdrive pedal.
Controls, waveforms and tap tempo
The front panel keeps the Screamer's core controls and adds the modulation layer13:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Level | Volume1 |
| Gain | Sets gain, and also acts as LFO speed1 |
| Wave | Selects the waveform, in combination with the Bank switch1 |
| Option | Determines fade-in time, brake speed, and tap divide1 |
The Gain knob does double duty in a way worth understanding. According to the manual, it acts like a standard depth control from 0 to about halfway, or noon. Above noon the waveform itself starts to get clipped, which makes the waves asymmetrical and changes the shape of the modulation, not just its intensity2.
Hold the Bypass footswitch briefly and the modulation switches off entirely, leaving the pedal working as a standard version 1 Cusack Screamer1. That makes it two pedals in one enclosure: a straight Screamer overdrive, or the modulated overdriven tremolo.
Presets and saving settings
Settings are saved per waveform. Once the pedal is dialed in for a given waveform, pushing both footswitches at the same time stores those settings, and they can be stored to correspond to the 8 settings of the Wave switch13.
The manual details what is programmable:
- Fade-in, Brake Speed, Tap Divide and Tempo are all programmable for each waveform independently2
- These settings are stored in EEPROM, so they survive the pedal being powered off and the battery being unplugged2
- An internal Mode Jumper selects behavior: in Preset mode, changing the waveform loads the saved parameters for that waveform; in Live mode, all current settings apply to all waveforms2
MIDI sync
The Tap-A-Scream can also lock to external timing. Molten Voltage documented it among the pedals that can sync to MIDI Clock using its CTL-Sync system, the Classic Effect Sync interface, which drives the pedal's tap tempo from an external clock5. Players building synchronized rigs can find more on MIDI pedals.
Videos
Nashville Song Studio
Gray Bench Electronics
Questions
Can the Tap-A-Scream be used as a normal Screamer?
Yes. Hold the Bypass footswitch briefly and the modulation turns off, leaving the pedal working as a standard version 1 Cusack Screamer overdrive. The underlying circuit is a Screamer, so the unmodulated sound is that of the company's Tube Screamer-inspired overdrive.
How do you save settings on the Tap-A-Scream?
Set the pedal as you want it for a given waveform, then push both footswitches at the same time to store those settings. Fade-in, Brake Speed, Tap Divide and Tempo are programmable independently for each waveform, and the values are kept in EEPROM so they survive power off and battery removal.
Can the Tap-A-Scream sync to MIDI clock?
Yes, with add-on hardware. Molten Voltage documented the Tap-A-Scream among pedals that can sync to MIDI Clock using its CTL-Sync system, the Classic Effect Sync interface, which taps the pedal's tempo input in time with an external clock.
Is the Cusack Tap-A-Scream discontinued?
Yes. Cusack Music lists the Tap-A-Scream as discontinued on its product page. The final version was a limited new old stock edition, engraved raw aluminum with a textured black bottom cover and black butyrate knobs, priced at $225.00.
Is the Tap-A-Scream stereo?
No. The manual states that the output jack is mono, so the pedal runs a single mono output and is not a stereo effect.
Sources (5)
- Tap-a-Scream Tap Tempo Overdrive, Cusack Music
- on:, Cusack Music, 2011-07-21
- Tap-A-Scream, Cusack Music (cusackmusic.com)
- Screamer v3 single, Cusack Music, 2022
- MIDI PedalBoard Devices: Guitar Effect Pedals that Sync to MIDI Clock, Molten Voltage (blog.moltenvoltage.com), 2014-10-07
