The Josh Smith Dual Trem is a tremolo pedal from J. Rockett Audio Designs, created in collaboration with US blues guitarist Josh Smith and boutique pedal designer Tim Jauernig1. Where most tremolo pedals give you one speed and one depth setting, this one carries two independent tremolo sections, each with its own Rate and Depth controls, plus a global Boost control to compensate for volume loss or to act as a clean boost2.
The pedal is voiced to capture the tremolo sounds of classic "Leo" style amplifiers, meaning the tube-amp tremolo associated with Fender designs, and it lets you dial two distinct trem settings, switch between them, or stack them2. Guitar.com's reviewer described it as "designed with the bewitching pulse of early Fender amp tremolo in mind"1.
What it does: two independent amp-style tremolos
Tremolo raises and lowers your volume in a repeating wave, and the Dual Trem gives you two of those waves in one box. Each side is a full tremolo section with its own speed and depth settings, so you can prepare two very different sounds before a gig and call up either one from a footswitch23.
The two sides also work together. The pedal allows you to dial two distinct trem settings, switch between them, or stack them2. Stacking means both tremolo sections modulate your signal at the same time, so a slow, deep pulse on one side can be combined with a faster, shallower shimmer from the other, something a single-setting tremolo cannot do.
The voicing is deliberately old-school. RockBoard's PedalPedia entry notes it is "voiced to capture the tremolo sounds of classic 'Leo' style amplifiers"2, and guitar.com's Chris Vinnicombe wrote that it was "designed with the bewitching pulse of early Fender amp tremolo in mind"1. On the depth of the effect, he found "there's a spellbinding, vintage amp-like depth here that's rarely available from a stompbox tremolo"1.
"there's a spellbinding, vintage amp-like depth here that's rarely available from a stompbox tremolo."
Design, controls and who uses it
The Dual Trem came out of a three-way collaboration: blues artist Josh Smith, pedal designer J. Rockett Audio Designs, and designer Tim Jauernig2. Josh Smith is a US blues guitarist1, and the pedal carries his name as the player it was built around2. J. Rockett Audio Designs is a boutique pedal maker, and Tim Jauernig is another stateside boutique pedal maker who joined the project1.
The control layout is straightforward once you understand the two-sided design:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Rate (left side) | Sets the speed of the left tremolo section3 |
| Depth (left side) | Sets the depth of the left tremolo section3 |
| Rate (right side) | Sets the speed of the right tremolo section21 |
| Depth (right side) | Sets the depth of the right tremolo section3 |
| Boost | Global level control for both sides, compensating for volume loss or acting as a clean boost23 |
| L/R footswitch | Toggles between the left- and right-hand control settings1 |
The controls are listed by guitar.com as 2x rate, 2x depth, and boost1, and the pedal uses true bypass switching, so your signal passes through untouched when the effect is off1.
Pedal of the Day's Mike B went through what the knobs do in practice. On speed: "The Speed control has a nice range, from uber-slow and subtle to a fast, Leslie-like spin"3. On depth: "The Depth is nice as well, allowing you to go from just a smidge of trem up to a full-on, pulsing wave of sound"3. The Boost knob, he explained, "controls the level output for both sides of the pedal," letting you counteract the volume drop typically associated with tremolo pedals3.
The build follows J. Rockett's usual standard. Pedal of the Day described it as "Built in a typically hardcore enclosure, like all their pedals"3.
Power and setup
The Dual Trem runs on 9V DC with a center negative plug2, the same arrangement as the vast majority of modern guitar pedals, so it works with standard pedalboard power supplies. The circuit is analog2, and with true bypass switching1 it leaves your clean tone alone when disengaged.
What reviewers said
Both published reviews from 2015 were positive. Pedal of the Day's Mike B called it "one of the coolest tremolos I've come across in quite a while"3 and predicted it "will become an instant permanent staple on your pedalboard"3. Guitar.com's Chris Vinnicombe highlighted the switching system as the clever part, noting "the clever feature is the way the L/R footswitch can be used to toggle between separate settings governed by the left- and right-hand controls"1, and praised the vintage amp-like depth of the effect1.
Players looking at J. Rockett's later work in this area may also want to look at the J. Rockett Mr. Moto, a pedal the company unveiled in 2022 that combines tremolo and spring reverb in one unit.
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Questions
Can you stack both tremolos on the Josh Smith Dual Trem at the same time?
Yes. The pedal lets you dial in two distinct tremolo settings and then either switch between them or stack them together. Stacking both sides means both tremolo sections act on your signal at once, which opens up more complex pulsing sounds than a single tremolo setting can give.
Is the J. Rockett Dual Trem analog?
Yes, the Josh Smith Dual Trem is an analog tremolo pedal. Its circuit is built the old-fashioned way rather than modeled digitally, which fits its design goal of reproducing the tremolo sound of classic Leo Fender-era tube amplifiers rather than a modern digital approximation of it.
What power supply does the Josh Smith Dual Trem need?
The pedal runs on a 9V DC power supply with a center negative plug, the standard arrangement used by most modern effects pedals and pedalboard power supplies. Check your power supply's polarity and voltage rating before plugging in, since a center positive supply can damage the pedal.
Can the Boost on the Dual Trem be used as a clean boost?
Yes. The global Boost control has two jobs: it can compensate for the volume drop that tremolo pedals often cause as the effect deepens, or it can be pushed further to work as a clean boost, raising your overall level without adding overdrive or distortion.
Can the two tremolo sides of the Josh Smith Dual Tremolo be set independently?
Yes. The two tremolo sections are completely separate, and each has its own Rate and Depth controls. You can set one side slow and shallow and the other fast and deep, for example, then use the L/R footswitch to toggle between them or stack both at once.
What does the Boost knob do on the Josh Smith Dual Tremolo?
The Boost knob controls the level output for both sides of the pedal at once. Because deep tremolo settings naturally make your average volume dip, the Boost lets you raise the output to match your bypassed level, or go beyond it to push your amp harder as a clean boost.
Sources (3)
- J Rockett Audio Designs Pedal Reviews, guitar.com, 2015-07-14
- Josh Smith Dual Trem by J. Rockett Audio Designs, RockBoard PedalPedia, 2026
- J. Rockett Audio Designs Josh Smith Dual Tremolo, Pedal of the Day (www.pedal-of-the-day.com), 2015-03-14
