Tap A Whirl - Empress Owners

[Last Nerve]

These both look great and I know the differences have been documented.
I'm wondering if anyone has played both?
If not, can owners comment on what you do own?
How you like it. Pros, cons?

[whowasthursday]

I dunno, but I'm sure a lot of people who have played one but NOT the other will comment. hehe...

(but I'm not going to be one of them)

[landru64]

abuloso has or has had both....

[derek2615]

I have the TAW and love it. I have not played the Empress but I have had the SupaTrem and Semaphore. All three sounded great but the TAW won out. I have the new version with the switchable/programmable tap speed (Thanks Jon!). It made a great pedal uhhh.. greater. It's more transparent than the others (pure amplitude modulation, no effect on tone). Tap tempo is very easy to get used to and the switches that Jon uses feel much better than the standard pedal switches. With the latest enhancements I can't think of anything else I would want to add to the pedal. It cost a little more but the quality and customer support is worth it. When I sent mine back to Jon to get upgraded, Jon got it shipped back out the same day that it arrived at his shop.

[musickbox]

Well I have not played a TAW. I own an Empress however. Here are my pros and cons.

Pros:
1. Tap tempo in different rhythm. It can subdivide the rhythm. Example if I tap quarter notes it can trem it in quarter, eighth, or sixteenth notes.
2. Has two speed mode. It ramps up like the old lesie speakers.
3. Its small. Hammond size box.
4. Constantly records tempo even when the unit is off. I can tap a new tempo when the unit is off.
5. The gain knob does not distort. It makes it louder without any breakup.
6. All the different rhythm patterns. It can accent on the up beat, down beat, or whatever other rhythm is set up.

Cons:
1. Led light is not bright.
2. No tempo light to know how fast it is set.
3. Triangle and Square are not crazy different.
4. Colors the tone (in a good way) a little bit.
5. In two speed it ramps up the speed, I like slowing down the speed.

I still would choose it over the TAW. I feel like the empress is more suited for my styles. I hope that helps.

[mild]

abuluso borrowed my TAW to have a direct shootout with his Empress. He ended up liking his Empress more... (but maybe that's cos he has to live with it...? )

I'll link him this thread now...

FWIW, my opinion is that they are both excellent tremolos - and really, its just a Trem effect. Either will work really well... I'd say go with whichever you can find easier.

[Last Nerve]

Originally Posted by whowasthursday

I dunno, but I'm sure a lot of people who have played one but NOT the other will comment. hehe...

(but I'm not going to be one of them)

thursday.....FESS UP!
Which one do you own and how do you like it?

[granite]

Originally Posted by musickbox

Well I have not played a TAW. I own an Empress however. Here are my pros and cons.

Pros:
1. Tap tempo in different rhythm. It can subdivide the rhythm. Example if I tap quarter notes it can trem it in quarter, eighth, or sixteenth notes.
2. Has two speed mode. It ramps up like the old lesie speakers.
3. Its small. Hammond size box.
4. Constantly records tempo even when the unit is off. I can tap a new tempo when the unit is off.
5. The gain knob does not distort. It makes it louder without any breakup.
6. All the different rhythm patterns. It can accent on the up beat, down beat, or whatever other rhythm is set up.

Cons:
1. Led light is not bright.
2. No tempo light to know how fast it is set.
3. Triangle and Square are not crazy different.
4. Colors the tone (in a good way) a little bit.
5. In two speed it ramps up the speed, I like slowing down the speed.

I still would choose it over the TAW. I feel like the empress is more suited for my styles. I hope that helps.

I own an Empress and have played a friend's TAW in the past. Both are really good pedals. The Empress' rhythm settings are what put it over the top for me and make it such a killer musical tool. I love the square wave pattern with a distortion pedal in front of it. I agree, a downward ramp would be better and more useful for my musical style. The fact that it is orange is also a plus in my book, but I know that to the other 99.9999% of you out there, this means nothing.

[musickbox]

It's orange, I totally should have put that. Now only if I can get an amp to match.... hmmm

[mild]

*SMACK*

Jimi/Abuluso plays an Orange AD30 Head/Cab.

So THAT'S why he liked it more!

[abuloso]

I also have an orange BB preamp.

Just wanna clarify, I'm pretty fussy about my tone but know very little about tremolos. I'll only use them if they sound good.

Well, I love the basic tone of the Empress as it is warm, fat sounding and melts itself to the sound of my rig really well. The main features I use are the tap tempo and gain control. In fact setting it with a slight volume boost is great if you wanna soar above the mix. The tube tremolo wave shape sounds the best to me in a band mix.

Tap a Whirl is another great tremolo with lots of nice weird features suitable for live use. The basic sound though is sterile and for some reason doesnt cut as well as the Empress in a band mix. By itself tho the tremolo is great. Very pristine and clean...but extremely hi fi. Which can be good and bad depending on how you like things...Sort of like, say the DD5 Vs DLS Echotap...tonewise.

For me, I love the buttery smooth tremolo sounds as I use slow tremolo lots. If you like choppy, Empress's square wave is good but not great... cusack's is great tho cos you have lots of different waveforms to choose from to sculp your choppy sounds.

[whowasthursday]

Ok, ok... I have Empress Tremolo #23. I like it a lot.

I changed out the yellow knobs for some black ones, and it looks a lot better now... easy way to make a pedal more attractive.

[granite]

Originally Posted by Jono L

*SMACK*

Jimi/Abuluso plays an Orange AD30 Head/Cab.

So THAT'S why he liked it more!

I also have an Orange AD30R. hmmm...

[jamison162]

Originally Posted by whowasthursday

Ok, ok... I have Empress Tremolo #23. I like it a lot.

I changed out the yellow knobs for some black ones, and it looks a lot better now... easy way to make a pedal more attractive.

Need Pics!!!!