The Big Chill is a tremolo pedal made by JAM Pedals. A tremolo raises and lowers your volume in a repeating cycle, and the Big Chill is built to cover the full range of that effect, from gentle pulses to hard, rhythmic gating. JAM Pedals describes it as an extremely flexible tremolo, one the company counted among its more successful designs when it turned ten in 2017, placing its introduction around 20071.
What the Big Chill does
The pedal's range runs from smooth, vintage-style pulses to extreme chopping. As Delicious Audio's product page puts it, the Big Chill "will take you from lush smooth tremolo sounds found in vintage Fender® amps, to strobe-like chop effects capable of slicing through any mix"1. Three waveform shapes set the character of the volume swings: Sine for smooth rises and falls, Triangle for more angular movement, and Square for hard on-off chopping2.
Controls and switching
The Big Chill's control set is what separates it from a basic two-knob tremolo.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Depth | Dials in the amount of tremolo2 |
| Level | Sets output volume; with Depth at zero the pedal works as a clean boost1 |
| Speed 1 / Speed 2 | Two separate speeds, each with its own knob2 |
| Waveform toggle | 3-way switch selecting Sine, Triangle or Square2 |
| Chop switch | Makes a super choppy, intense variation of the selected waveform, like Depth fully clockwise but more intense2 |
Two footswitches handle the switching. The left-most footswitch toggles between Speed 1 and Speed 2, so you can set two rates and jump between them mid-song2. A third footswitch engages the CHOP effect3.
When the CHOP effect is engaged, the Depth control stops working. The maker says this is perfectly normal: Chop already takes the intensity past what the Depth knob can reach1.
Expression pedal control
The Big Chill carries two expression pedal inputs. One controls Speed 2, and the other controls the depth of the effect, so you can sweep tremolo speed or intensity with your foot while playing rather than bending down to turn a knob2.
On bass and as a boost
The pedal is not limited to guitar. The Delicious Audio reviewer reported using the square wave chop on bass in a band he plays with, for what he called "super spooky choppy bass effects"2. It also doubles as a clean boost: set Depth to zero and adjust Level to taste, and the pedal simply makes your signal louder1.
What reviewers said
Delicious Audio reviewed the Big Chill in August 2013 and was strongly positive, praising the dual speeds, the expression inputs and the Chop switch. The reviewer's overall verdict2:
"The Big Chill Tremolo pedal by JAM Pedals, out of Greece, is FANTASTIC!"
He summed up its appeal as a combination of doing traditional tremolo very well alongside unique, innovative features he found invaluable overall2.
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Questions
Is the JAM Pedals Big Chill true bypass?
Yes. The Big Chill was announced as a true-bypass pedal, so with the effect switched off your signal passes through without the circuit coloring it. True bypass is the switching style most players expect on a modern boutique pedal.
Why does the Depth knob stop working when Chop is on?
That is normal behavior, not a fault. When the Chop effect is engaged the Depth control stops working, which the maker says is perfectly normal. Chop itself acts like turning Depth fully clockwise, but more intense, so the knob is bypassed in that mode.
Can the Big Chill be used as a clean boost?
Yes. Set the Depth control to zero so no tremolo modulation is applied, then adjust the Level control to taste. With no depth to the effect, the pedal simply passes your signal at the volume you set.
Does the Big Chill work on bass?
Yes. The Delicious Audio reviewer reported using the square wave chop on bass in a band he plays with, for choppy bass effects. The square waveform setting is what produces the most aggressive, on-off chopping character.
Can an expression pedal control the Big Chill's speed and depth?
Yes. The Big Chill has two expression pedal inputs: one controls Speed 2 and the other controls the depth of the effect. This lets you sweep tremolo speed or intensity with your foot while playing.
Sources (3)
- Jam Pedals Big Chill Tremolo (turns Ten!), Delicious Audio, 2017-11-06
- Guitar Pedal Reviews: Jam Pedals Big Chill Tremolo, Delicious Audio, 2013-08-15
- Guitar Pedal News: Jam Pedals' Big Chill, Delicious Audio, 2013-03-08
