The Sentimental Bob Electronics Tacana Tap Tremolo is a tremolo pedal with tap tempo built in, made by Sentimental Bob Electronics in the Ukraine1. Its headline feature is a Waveform selector knob that gives access to 16 waveforms: 8 Standard waves and 8 Alternative waves, ranging from normal Sine and Triangle waveforms to Quad Pulse and Ramp +Oct1. Pedal of the Day's review, published on 21 March 2020, summed it up as a pedal that "sounds fantastic" with "a whole lot packed into a normal-sized enclosure sound and feature set"1.
Controls, modes and switching
The Tacana's control set covers standard tremolo functions plus deeper shaping:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Volume, Depth, Speed | Cover the standard tremolo functions1 |
| Waveform selector | Access to 8 Standard and 8 Alternative waves1 |
| Shape | Distorts the waveform, changing the duty cycle between the upper and lower peaks1 |
| Tap Division | A tempo multiplier used to determine the final LFO frequency, allowing double or half-speed or triplet times1 |
The Tap Division is the control that makes the tap tempo more flexible than a simple speed match: because it multiplies the tapped tempo, the LFO can run at double or half speed or at triplet times against what you tapped1.
Switching is handled by soft switches with relay bypass, and the Bypass switch does double duty for an extra mode1:
- Hold mode: quickly double-click the Bypass switch to enter it. The tremolo effect only comes through while you hold down the Bypass switch1.
There is also a 3.5mm jack for external synchronization, so the pedal can follow an outside clock1.
What reviewers said
Pedal of the Day's review is the published verdict on record, and it was positive on both sound and feature count. The reviewer opened by noting that "we love a good tremolo pedal that incorporates Tap Tempo functionality" and closed with the judgment that "it sounds fantastic"1.
Videos
Pedal of the Day
shnobel
Jason Limitless
Questions
Can the Tacana Tap Tremolo be used as a clean boost?
Yes. Pedal of the Day's review notes that the Volume output also works as an excellent clean boost, meaning you can run the pedal with the tremolo effect effectively out of the picture and use the Volume control to push your amp or add level to your signal. That makes it a two-in-one pedal for players who want a tremolo on the board and a clean level lift in the same enclosure.
How does Hold mode work on the Tacana?
Quickly double-click the Bypass switch and the Tacana enters Hold mode. In Hold mode, the tremolo effect only comes through while you hold down the Bypass switch, so you can punctuate your playing with swells of tremolo and let the dry signal through in between. It is a performance feature rather than a set-and-forget one.
Can the Tacana sync to an external clock?
Yes. The Tacana has a 3.5mm jack for external synchronization, so its speed can be slaved to an outside clock rather than set only from the pedal's own tap switch or Speed knob.
Is the Sentimental Bob Tacana true bypass?
The Tacana uses soft switches with relay bypass switching, according to Pedal of the Day's review. Relay bypass is an electronically controlled switching method, and the review presents it as part of the pedal's switching design rather than describing it as a simple mechanical true bypass circuit.
Where is the Sentimental Bob Tacana made?
Pedal of the Day's review describes the Tacana as coming from Sentimental Bob Electronics in the Ukraine, making it one of the pedals on the market built by a builder outside the usual US and Japanese pedal manufacturing centers.
Sources (1)
- Sentimental Bob Electronics Tacana Tap Tremolo, Pedal of the Day, 2020-03-21
