Zeppelin Design Labs Quaverato Harmonic Tremolo Pedal DIY Kit

The Quaverato Harmonic Tremolo Pedal DIY Kit is the build-it-yourself version of the Quaverato Harmonic Tremolo, a tremolo pedal released by Zeppelin Design Labs of Chicago on August 13, 2018¹. Where a standard tremolo raises and lowers your volume as one signal, a harmonic tremolo splits the signal and modulates the high and low portions out of phase with each other, producing a smoother, more swirling pulse. The Quaverato offers both flavors: Traditional (In-Phase) tremolo and Harmonic (Out-Of-Phase) tremolo modes².

The kit is rated intermediate skill by the maker, and it carries a list price of $99.95, down from a launch price of $114.00².

What a harmonic tremolo kit does

A traditional tremolo modulates the whole signal up and down in volume. The Quaverato's Harmonic mode instead runs the tremolo out of phase, the style of tremolo associated with vintage amplifier circuits, while the Traditional mode gives the conventional in-phase volume pulse². You choose between the two modes on the pedal itself.

The pedal is digitally controlled but keeps an all analog signal path, a combination Zeppelin Design Labs describes as "combining maximum flexibility with great tone"². In practice, the digital side handles control functions such as tempo and switching while your guitar signal passes through analog circuitry. The pedal also provides up to 15dB of gain, so it can push your amp rather than only cutting level².

The controls: wave shape, rate, depth, spacing and tap tempo

The Quaverato gives you control over the low-frequency oscillator (LFO, the circuit that creates the tremolo pulse) from the top panel²³⁴:

A tap tempo footswitch lets you set tempos quickly and easily by tapping the speed you want, with a multiplier selection for reaching rates beyond what you tap²¹. Gearnews highlighted this as "a rather useful tap-tempo footswitch" alongside the Tempo Multiplier, Rate, Depth and Spacing controls and the adjustable LFO wave shape³.

Switching and the MIDI upgrade

The Quaverato uses relay controlled, true-bypass switching with click suppression for quiet switching². When the pedal is off, your signal passes through without the active circuit in the path, and the relay design keeps the switch from popping.

The bypass footswitch can be used as either a toggle or a momentary switch²¹. As a toggle it works like a standard stomp switch, on and off. As a momentary switch the effect engages only while you hold it down, useful for quick pulses of tremolo.

Full MIDI implementation is available as an option, giving remote control over every feature². Zeppelin Design Labs sells this as a separate MIDI Upgrade DIY Kit, which the maker describes as "a simple DIY upgrade mod" that adds full MIDI functionality to the Quaverato Tremolo pedal⁵. The upgrade kit is rated intermediate skill, the same as the main pedal kit⁵.

History and versions: kit or ready-made

Zeppelin Design Labs of Chicago released the Quaverato Harmonic Tremolo guitar pedal on August 13, 2018, available ready-to-use or as a DIY kit¹. Guitar.com noted at the release that Zeppelin Design Labs is known for its avant garde approach⁶. Gearnews framed the choice plainly: "you can buy ready-made or, should you be handy at that sort of thing, order as a kit to build yourself"³. MusicRadar likewise listed it as available fully assembled or as a DIY kit⁴.

The MIDI upgrade followed later, after being promised around the time of launch³. The maker's product page for the DIY kit lists 12 reviews and names retailers for the UK (Break The Machine) and the EU (Floating Point Audio)².

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