The Jonny Rock Gear Wave Rider is a tremolo pedal built around an optical circuit with digital control, the same optical approach the reviewer notes is the backbone of Fender blackface tremolo, paired with tap tempo and a choice of eight waveforms1. The maker's product page, under GUP Tech, describes it plainly: "The Wave Rider is an astonish sounding optical tremolo with a tap tempo at your feet"2.
An optical tremolo with eight waveforms
Tremolo pedals vary in character more than players sometimes expect. As Premier Guitar's reviewer put it, "Tremolo comes in a surprisingly diverse range of colors"1. The Wave Rider's contribution is an optical circuit, the design behind the tremolo in Fender's blackface amps, run under digital control so it can offer a wide set of wave shapes1.
The eight waveforms include triangle, forward and reverse sawtooth, square, and sine waves, and the reviewer found them varied and productive to use1. Each shapes the tremolo differently:
- Sine: a transparent tremolo with few wave irregularities, producing clean, well-defined waves that cut through fuzz or harmonically rich signals1
- Hump waveforms: sound like more subtle sine-wave pulses, which leaves room for more complex riffs and chords1
- Sawtooth and triangle: more intense, but still clean and slightly dark1
- Random: sounded best with the depth cranked up all the way, in the reviewer's finding1
The pedal's overall voicing leans dark. Premier Guitar's reviewer found it very focused in the low-end, making it darker and more brooding than a brightly voiced Fender-style tremolo, and called it killer with bass1. Players comparing it against other tremolo pedals should expect that low-focused character rather than a bright amp-style shimmer.
The controls: flip, multi and tap tempo
The Wave Rider's front panel combines familiar tremolo controls with two less common ones, flip and multi.
- Tap tempo: a soft touch switch, and the Speed knob can set the tempo as well2
- Multi knob: chooses between six tempo multipliers: half-note (2), quarter (1), quarter triplets (3/2), eighth (1/2), eighth triplets (1/3), and sixteenth (1/4)2
- Flip: reverses the LFO wave, changing the normal tremolo effect to a more unpredictable backwards effect, working as a faux-reverse reverb effect1
The multi control is the reviewer's percussive tool: "The dial marked multi subdivides and multiplies tempos for percussive, stuttering effects and odd-meter modulations"1. A quick turn of the subdivision pot makes the tremolo a slower or faster division or multiplication of the tapped tempo1.
The tap tempo itself earned specific praise. The reviewer found it easy to use when matching riffs and chords to a drum track or other rhythmic elements, and could change timing without lag or sudden jumps1.
What reviewers said
Premier Guitar's 2021 review summed the pedal up in its pros list: "Modern tremolo tones shine, tap tempo is easy to use, works well with other instruments. Versatile, if you know how to use it"1. The reviewer's findings on the individual waveforms, the flip function and the tap tempo all point the same way: a tremolo with more shapes and rhythmic options than the standard speed-and-depth pedal, voiced darker than a Fender-style circuit1.
Related version
The maker also lists a GUP Tech Wave Rider Douche Edition, described as the same optical tremolo with tap tempo, with the Speed control labeled Speed (Time)3.
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Questions
How much does the Jonny Rock Gear Wave Rider cost?
Premier Guitar's 2021 review listed a street price of $239 USD. The maker's product page more recently listed the pedal at £169.00 GBP, a price given in British pounds as stated and not converted to dollars. Prices can change over time, so the two figures reflect different dates and currencies.
Does the Wave Rider work on bass?
Premier Guitar's reviewer found it works well on bass. The pedal is described as very focused in the low-end, darker and more brooding than a brightly voiced Fender-style tremolo, and the reviewer called it killer with bass. That low-end focus is what makes it suit bass as well as guitar.
Can the Wave Rider do a reverse tremolo effect?
Yes. The flip function reverses the LFO wave, which changes the normal tremolo effect into a more unpredictable backwards effect. Premier Guitar's reviewer described it as working like a faux-reverse reverb effect, alongside the pedal's eight standard waveforms.
What happens when you max the speed on the Wave Rider?
Premier Guitar's reviewer found that maxing the speed created a sort of self-oscillation with octave-down overtones and hints of metallic ring modulation. It is an extreme setting well beyond a normal tremolo pulse, but it is one the reviewer documented as part of the pedal's range.
Sources (3)
- Jonny Rock Gear Wave Rider Review, Premier Guitar, 2017-09-15
- Wave Rider, GUP Tech (guptech.ca)
- Wave Rider Douche Edition, GUP Tech (guptech.ca)
