Z-Vex Super Seek Trem

The Super Seek Trem is a step sequenced tremolo pedal from Z.Vex. Where a standard tremolo pedal sweeps the signal's volume with one continuous wave, the Super Seek Trem works more like a sequencer: MusicRadar's reviewer Trevor Curwen described it as "effectively a step sequencer of 16 volume pots," designed to go beyond standard tremolo effects¹. Z.Vex itself calls it "a much expanded 16 step version of our original Seek Trem sequencer pedal"².

How it works

Each of the 16 steps has its own knob that sets the effect parameter for that single step, and you can activate as many steps as you want, so patterns can be anywhere from a couple of steps to the full 16³. Because the steps are volume settings, the pedal chops and shapes the signal in repeating programmed patterns rather than with a single LFO wave.

Two extra controls shape how the pattern moves:

• Glissando knob: controls how gradual the transitions from step to step are. MusicRadar notes that glissando "sets a slide from one step to the next, either globally or for individual steps," so changes between steps can be abrupt or smoothed into slides¹³.
• Delta function: borrowed from Z.Vex's Sonar tremolo, it ramps the speed of the sequence up and down³.

MIDI sync

The Super Seek Trem was introduced alongside revamped versions of Z.Vex's other step sequence pedals, the Super Seek Wah and RingTone II, and one of the headline additions was MIDI: the pedals "can now synch with each other (and with external sources) via Midi," which lets the sequenced pattern lock to other gear³.

Background and status

The pedal is a revamped version of Z.Vex's earlier step sequence tremolo, the Seek Trem, shown at the August 2013 NAMM period with the new 16 step layout, glissando knob, Delta function and MIDI sync³². At the time of that announcement the pedal was not yet shipping³.

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