The Tremulus Maximus is a fully analog optical tremolo effects pedal from RPS Effects12. Optical tremolos use a light and a light-sensitive element to vary the volume of the signal, the same approach as the tremolo circuits built into some vintage amplifiers. What sets this one apart is how far its speed control reaches: the upper half of the Rate knob pushes past ordinary tremolo speeds into ring modulator territory2.
RPS Effects released the pedal in August 2018, alongside the Warp Drive analog delay, describing it as a tremolo and amplitude modulator1.
What it does
A tremolo raises and lowers the volume of your signal at a rate you set, from a slow pulse to a fast shimmer. The Tremulus Maximus is a fully analog optical take on that effect2, and Pedal of the Day, reviewing it in October 2018, described the sounds it produces as "the mean, dirty, choppy trem sounds from the Tremulus Maximus"3.
The controls, as described in that review2:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Rate | Spans a large frequency range, 2Hz to 600Hz. The lower half of the knob gives a tremolo effect; the upper section gives a sort of ring modulator2 |
| Depth | Sets how intense the effect is, from just barely there to a full-on modulated nightmare, in the best of ways2 |
| Auto | Provides a very natural and musical variation of the modulation rate, speeding up when the note is first hit and then slowing down as the note fades out2 |
The pedal also offers two waveforms. As the review puts it:
"Triangle offers a smoother sound, whereas the Square is more extreme, bringing out additional harmonics and, at its higher settings, allowing for a more chopped-up, glitchy kind of tremolo."
The Auto knob is the control that responds to your playing rather than being set once and left alone. Because the rate change directly follows your attack and decay, the modulation speeds up on the front of a note and relaxes as it fades, which the reviewer found natural and musical2.
For more on the effect type itself, see tremolo pedals.
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RPS Effects
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Pedal of the Day
Questions
What does the RPS Effects Tremulus Maximus do?
It is a fully analog optical tremolo, meaning it uses a light-based circuit to raise and lower your volume at a set speed. Its Rate control covers a very wide frequency range, so the lower half of the knob gives tremolo while the upper section behaves more like a ring modulator. Depth sets how deep the effect is, and an Auto knob varies the rate in response to your playing.
What controls does the Tremulus Maximus have?
It has a Rate knob spanning 2Hz to 600Hz, a Depth knob that runs from subtle to a full-on modulated sound, and an Auto knob that speeds the modulation up when you first hit a note and slows it as the note fades. It also offers two waveforms: Triangle for a smoother sound and Square for a more extreme, chopped-up tremolo.
Sources (3)
- RPS Effects Tremulus Maximus Analog Optical Tremolo, Pedal of the Day, 2018-10-09
- RPS Effects Tremulus Maximus Analog Optical Tremolo, Pedal of the Day, 2018-10-17
- RPS Effects Arcade Machine PLL Analog Synth Harmonizer, Pedal of the Day, 2020-08-25
