The GUP Tech Wave Rider is an optical tremolo pedal with tap tempo, made by GUP Tech in Saguenay, Québec, Canada1. Tremolo is a volume pulse, the rise and fall of your signal level at a rate you set, and the Wave Rider puts that pulse under your foot with a tap tempo switch alongside its knobs. Optical tremolo works by varying the light reaching a sensor rather than chopping the signal with a transistor, the same approach behind the tremolo circuit in Fender blackface amplifiers, as Premier Guitar noted when reviewing the related Jonny Rock Gear Wave Rider2.
The pedal is listed by GUP Tech at £169.00 GBP1.
What it does
GUP Tech describes the Wave Rider as "an astonish sounding optical tremolo with a tap tempo at your feet"1. In practice that means the pedal pulses your volume along a shape you choose, at a speed you either dial in or tap in, and the optical circuit does the actual gain riding. The eight wave shapes cover the familiar cycles, sine for a smooth swell, triangle for a more even ramp, square for hard on/off chopping, plus ramp up and ramp down sawtooth shapes, a Sweep shape, a Lumps shape, and a Random shape that steps unpredictably rather than repeating1.
Premier Guitar reviewed the Jonny Rock Gear Wave Rider, a pedal of the same name from a different maker, and found its optical circuit with digital control produced varied waveforms, with triangle, forward and reverse sawtooth, square and sine waves all distinct2. That review's verdict on the concept: "Modern tremolo tones shine, tap tempo is easy to use, works well with other instruments. Versatile, if you know how to us"2.
The controls
The Wave Rider's front panel breaks into a wave selector, a speed section, and level controls.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Wave | Chooses the wave shape: Random, Lumps, Sweep, Sine, Triangle, Square, Ramp Down, Ramp Up1 |
| Speed | Sets the tremolo time, or you can use tap tempo instead1 |
| Tap Tempo | Soft touch switch for tapping the rate with your foot1 |
| Multi | Chooses one of six tempo multipliers: Half-note (2), Quarter (1), Quarter triplets (3/2), Eight (1/2), Eight triplets (1/3), Sixteenth (1/4)1 |
| Depth | Sets the blend, how deep the volume pulse cuts3 |
| Size | Sets the overall volume of the effect3 |
The Multi knob is the rhythmic heart of the pedal. You tap in a tempo, then the multiplier divides or multiplies it against the beat: Quarter (1) follows your taps one for one, Eight (1/2) doubles the pulse rate, Sixteenth (1/4) runs four pulses per tap, and Half-note (2) slows the cycle to one pulse every two beats. Quarter triplets (3/2) and Eight triplets (1/3) add triplet feels1. For a player locking tremolo to a song's tempo rather than hunting by ear, that is the difference between a pedal that wobbles and one that subdivides.
Power and connections
The Wave Rider runs on a DC input with negative center, compatible with a standard 9V AC adapter, drawing 28mA1. That is a light draw, well within what a typical isolated pedalboard supply offers on one output. The pedal uses a true bypass design, so when it is off the signal path is not loaded by active circuitry1.
The Wave Rider is powered through a 9V DC center negative input. There is no battery option listed, so it needs an adapter or a powered board from the start.
The Douche Edition
In March 2025 GUP Tech launched an ultra limited Green Sparkle Douche Edition of the Wave Rider, with only 2 units ever made3. It carries the same optical tremolo circuit, the same eight wave shapes including the Random shape, the same tap tempo with soft touch switch, and the same true bypass and power spec as the standard pedal3. Its addition is a Flip control, which GUP Tech says can distort the wave shape3. It is now sold out; it carried a sale price of £191.00 GBP3. The standard Wave Rider Douche Edition page covers it in full.
Where it sits
The Wave Rider is one of GUP Tech's tremolo offerings, alongside effects like the Voodoo Doll Vibe. For a player weighing it against other tremolos, its optical circuit, its tap tempo with six rhythmic multipliers, and its eight wave shapes including a Random mode, in a 1590BB enclosure that fits a mid size pedalboard, stand out1.
Videos
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Questions
Is the GUP Tech Wave Rider true bypass?
Yes. GUP Tech lists the Wave Rider with a true bypass design, so with the pedal off your signal passes through without active circuitry in the way. The limited Douche Edition shares the same true bypass design.
What waveforms does the Wave Rider have?
Eight wave shapes: Random, Lumps, Sweep, Sine, Triangle, Square, Ramp Down and Ramp Up. The Random shape gives irregular, stepped pulses rather than a repeating cycle, and the Wave knob selects between them.
What was the Wave Rider Green Sparkle Douche Edition?
An ultra limited Green Sparkle Douche Edition of the Wave Rider launched in March 2025, with only 2 units ever made. It carried the same optical tremolo circuit and controls, plus a Flip control that can distort the wave shape. It is now sold out.
How much does the GUP Tech Wave Rider cost?
GUP Tech lists the standard Wave Rider at £169.00 GBP on its product page, as of October 2026. The limited Douche Edition carried a sale price of £191.00 GBP and is sold out.
What size enclosure is the Wave Rider?
It sits in a powder coated die cast 1590BB aluminum enclosure measuring 4.7 in x 3.7 in x 1.34 in (119 mm x 94 mm x 34 mm), length by width by height. That is a common mid size pedalboard footprint.
Sources (3)
- Wave Rider, GUP Tech (guptech.ca)
- Jonny Rock Gear Wave Rider Review, Premier Guitar, 2017-09-15
- Wave Rider Douche Edition, GUP Tech (guptech.ca), 2025-03
