The Supreme Balloon Stereo Tremolo & Panner is a stereo tremolo and panner from Discomfort Designs, housed in a green enclosure the maker's own copy refers to as "this green machine"1. Of the pedal, the reviewer wrote: "This, like other Discomfort Designs creations, is a wonderfully innovative and distinct pedal, unlike anything in this realm that I've seen before, and I absolutely love it overall"1.
Where a conventional tremolo simply turns the volume up and down, the Supreme Balloon splits the signal into frequency bands, modulates them independently, drops beats out of its own LFO, and pans the result across a stereo field. Pedal of the Day sums up its range as running "from smooth, vintage-inspired pulses to complex harmonic movement and unpredictable modulation patterns"1.
What it does to your sound
At its most conventional, the Supreme Balloon behaves as a traditional full-spectrum tremolo: the Depth knob sets the intensity of the modulation and the Rate knob sets its speed1. From there it widens out. The Split control blends between standard tremolo and harmonic tremolo by dividing the incoming signal into separate frequency bands and modulating them independently. At lower settings the effect is a traditional full-spectrum tremolo; as the control is increased, the signal transitions smoothly into harmonic tremolo, which Pedal of the Day describes as producing "rich, phase-like movement and enhanced dimensionality"1.
The waveform engine is built around sawtooth, sine and square LFOs, selected by a three-position waveform selector14. The Morph control allows smooth transitions between waveform shapes, creating continuously variable modulation curves rather than abrupt changes from one wave to another1.
On top of that sit the controls that give the pedal its character. A Skip toggle introduces randomized dropouts in the modulating LFO cycle, creating irregular pulses, missing beats and unexpected rhythmic variations1. Lag offsets the two phases of the harmonic tremolo, which Karlsson found creates "a more off-kilter and skewed modulation"3. LFO Melt adds what Guitar Pedal X labels deformity and disruption, and Jitter adds fluctuation to the LFO2.
The controls and footswitches
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| LFO Depth | Sets the intensity of the modulation14 |
| LFO Rate | Sets the speed of the modulation14 |
| Split | Blends between standard and harmonic tremolo3 |
| Wave Morph | Smooth transitions between waveform shapes12 |
| LFO Melt | Deformity and disruption of the LFO2 |
| Lag | Offsets the two phases of the harmonic tremolo3 |
| Skip | Randomized dropouts in the LFO cycle12 |
| Jitter | Fluctuation of the LFO2 |
| Waveform selector | Sawtooth / Sine / Square4 |
There are two footswitches: an Engage Tremolo switch and a Speed Multiplier x 4 switch32. The Speed footswitch multiplies the current modulation rate by four, enabling smooth transitions from slow, subtle movement to rapid stutter-like effects1. Karlsson notes it can be used for momentary trills and flutter: "I enjoy using the Speed Footswitch for a Momentary Trill / Flutter"3.
Stereo, mono and the internal dip-switches
The Supreme Balloon is a full-stereo pedal, and its output configuration is set by an internal four-way dip-switch4:
- Switch 1 ON: SISO operation, using TRS cables4
- Switch 1 OFF: MISO, TS to TRS cabling4
- Switch 2 ON: Stereo widening4
- Switch 2 OFF: No widening4
That means a player running a mono rig can set the pedal to MISO and still get the stereo spread on the outputs; Karlsson's own review unit ran with stereo spread enabled through the SISO output setting3.
Origins in the Boss PN-2 format
Guitar Pedal X frames the Supreme Balloon as "a massive evolution over the original Stereo Tremolo Panner, the Boss PN-2 Tremolo/Pan from 1990"2. The PN-2 combines tremolo and panning effects in one design, with a Tremolo mode that Boss says produces a tighter amplitude modulation effect than traditional circuits, and a Pan mode that moves the audio signal across the stereo field, with triangle and square wave shapes available5. With full stereo I/O, the PN-2 can bring movement and width to mono instruments or enhance stereo sources like keyboards6, and Pedal of the Day has long noted its stereo output capabilities7.
Karlsson's verdict on the comparison is blunt. Having owned the originals, he writes that he found the PN-2 "somewhat underwhelming in their scope"4, and of the Supreme Balloon he says:
"this is a genius evolution of the Stereo Tremolo/Panner format - with all the stops pulled, and all the necessary bells and whistles added. Makes the PN-2 look very dull indeed!"2
What reviewers said
The two published reviews agree on the pedal's character while weighing it differently. Pedal of the Day's overall take1:
"This, like other Discomfort Designs creations, is a wonderfully innovative and distinct pedal, unlike anything in this realm that I’ve seen before, and I absolutely love it."1
Karlsson is more measured on the core sound but equally positive on where the pedal takes you: "Its core tremolo is not the lushest, but it offers glitchy, off-kilter yet musical sounds" and takes players into territories other tremolo pedals cannot3. His review also served as his introduction to the design approach of Discomfort Designs' circuit designer, Justin3.
Price and availability
The Supreme Balloon lists at $295, the price Discomfort Designs set for all three of its start-of-2026 stereo pedals2. As of October 2026 it is listed as sold out at the Discomfort Designs Webstore, while the Queasy Feels and Young Star remain available2. Karlsson, reviewing in the UK, bought his own unit secondhand for £186 including shipping from Reverb.com4.
The Supreme Balloon is currently sold out at the maker's webstore. One reviewer suggests a new batch is likely to follow eventually, but a player wanting one now may need to look at the used market3.
Videos
Pedal of the Day
Questions
Is the Discomfort Designs Supreme Balloon still available?
As of late October 2026 it is listed as sold out at the Discomfort Designs Webstore. Guitar Pedal X's reviewer, who bought his own unit used, noted the sold-out listing and suggested a new batch would likely follow eventually. It was released at the start of 2026 alongside two other stereo pedals from the maker.
How much does the Supreme Balloon cost?
The listed price is $295, the same price Discomfort Designs set for the three stereo pedals it released at the start of 2026. One UK reviewer reported buying a used unit for £186 including shipping on Reverb.com, though that is a secondhand price rather than the maker's list price.
What is a harmonic tremolo?
A harmonic tremolo splits the incoming signal into separate frequency bands and modulates them independently, rather than turning the whole signal up and down together. The result is a rich, phase-like movement with more dimensionality than a standard full-spectrum tremolo. On the Supreme Balloon, the Split knob blends continuously between the two.
Can the Supreme Balloon be used in mono?
Yes. An internal four-way dip-switch sets the output configuration: switch 1 ON selects SISO operation using TRS cables, while OFF selects MISO with TS to TRS cabling, so the pedal can be set up for mono input into stereo output. A second dip-switch adds stereo widening when switched ON.
Sources (7)
- Discomfort Designs Supreme Balloon Stereo Tremolo & Panner, Pedal of the Day, 2026-07-29
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2026-10-13
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2026-10-09
- BOSS - PX-1 | Plugout FX, BOSS (boss.info)
- The PX-1 Plugout FX: Timeless BOSS Pedals Reborn, BOSS (articles.boss.info), 2025-06-06
- Boss PN-2 Tremolo/Pan + DC-3 Digital Dimension, Pedal of the Day, 2021-01-01
