Re: [Harp-L] tremolo chromatic and effects units

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

Tremolo on a harmonica or accordion is created when two reeds are tuned to the same note but are delibratley made slightly out of tune with one another. The slight difference in pitch between the two notes makes them "beat"
once per second for every Hertz (vibration per second) of difference in pitch. Do this with
three notes and you get what accordion players consider to be "musette."

Free reed tremolo has nothing to do do with delay.

The only way I've been able to achieve tremolo electronically has been
to record a harmonica part, make a second copy, then pitch shift the
copy up a few Hertz  There should be no delay of the second signal, just ap pitch shift.

If I try using a phaser plug-in, all I get is something that sounds like hand vibrato (using some of the Leslie settings).

Can you get free-reed tremolo with a chorus unit? Remember, the ability to split a sginal is good, but tremolo is about pitch shifting and not about time delaying the second signal. 

After playing around with the parameters of the chorus plug-in in Adobe Audition 3.0, I find I can't get it to deliver a true tremolo effect, though there may be a sort of resemblance.

Maybe a harmnizer could deliver true tremolo, if you could tune the second note to within a few cents (or Hertz) of the original signal.

Short of that, maybe someone could adapt a chorus or harmonizer design to allow for two and three voice tremolo with the ability to vary the amount in Hertz and maybe even to vary it according to different parts of the musical spectrum of notes.

Winslow

Winslow Yerxa

Author, Harmonica For Dummies ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5

--- On Sun, 1/4/09, Slim Heilpern <slim@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
From: Slim Heilpern <slim@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] tremolo chromatic
To: jim.alciere@xxxxxxxxx
Cc: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Date: Sunday, January 4, 2009, 7:58 AM

Actually, any pedal that has a good chorus effect may be able to do the job. You
just need to set up a chorus preset so that it doesn't sound too unnatural
(tweak until it sounds good to you). An added advantage: it's difficult to
bend the notes on a tremelo chromatic, not so with a standard chromatic going
through a chorus unit.

- Slim.

www.slidemanslim.com

jim.alciere@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
> I want one. I can't afford one. Is there any pedal I can connect my
normal
> chromatic and magically get a tremolo harp effect?
> 
>   
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