Diaz Tremodillo owners ??

[thintele]

I am considering picking up a Diaz Tremodillo and I'm hoping there might be a couple of you out there that have had some experience with the newer version of this pedal...if there are any differences between the old and the new...

 

[Terry Hayes]

I have a Tremodillo and love it. However, it is an older model that I ordered directly from Diaz a few years before Cesar passed away, so my comments may not help you too much.

The older ones were odd pedals. Some of the problems were pretty well documented. But, I have always thought the Tremodillo was an amazing tremolo pedal even with the problems. Mine does the "ticking" thing (even when bypassed) but only on the slower speed! Still, it is such a cool pedal I can deal with the peculiarities.

I have not tried one of the new ones. At first, I believe there was some doubt about the quality since I recall one store saying they were primarily selling them to benefit the Diaz family and would not really vouch for the sound or build quality. That is the only thing I have heard however, so perhaps the new pedals ended up being much better than anticipated.

If that were the case it would be great because I have always wanted to get a Square Face fuzz or Texas Ranger but have held off.

Terry

 

[The Gainster]

Two words...

Swamp Thang! Built like a frickin' tank and sounds much better than my old Diaz trem.

 

[sstweed]

I have a '95 Tremodillo and love it. I also owned a Swamp Thang, and sold it. I don't agree that the Swamp Thang was better than the Diaz at all, though they are very similar in some ways. I just don't think the old Tremodillos can be beat. They have a very cool vibe to them. Mine doesn't tick that I have noticed. They aren't true bypass, but the buffer is very nice and I don't notice it at all. Can't speak to the quality of the new ones. Mine is quite old - no led or battery jack.

 

[The Gainster]

Originally posted by Mapleneck
I have a '95 Tremodillo and love it. I also owned a Swamp Thang, and sold it. I don't agree that the Swamp Thang was better than the Diaz at all, though they are very similar in some ways. I just don't think the old Tremodillos can be beat. They have a very cool vibe to them. Mine doesn't tick that I have noticed. They aren't true bypass, but the buffer is very nice and I don't notice it at all. Can't speak to the quality of the new ones. Mine is quite old - no led or battery jack.

Mine broke 4 times...each time Diaz "fixed" it. The Swamp Thang is based in the Diaz trem which is based on the old Kay trem...John makes them by hand with MUCH better components.

True bypass silver solder.....

 

[sstweed]

My Diaz has never failed or even hiccuped. My Swamp thang had all carbon comp resistors (noisey) and electrolytic caps (would have rather seen more audio friendly polys or metal film). No better than was used in the Diaz. Both are essentially the Kay or Trem Face circuit and both have great sound (I really did love the Swamp Thang). There is nothing wrong with the old Diaz take on this circuit. You had a lemon obviously, but in general there is nothing in Cesars implementation that can be legitimately considered inferior, electrically or otherwise. Again, I can't speak to the newer versions.

Oh, yeah, and I much prefer the smaller Diaz format. HATE those big boxes (even the "small" version of the Swamp Thang was just too big).

 

[HBob]

I had an old one several years ago and loved it but it started doing the ticking thing and then died. Got it replaced with another one ( Dave's Guitar Shop ) and it started doing the same thing. I think I traded it back to Dave's for something. I then emailed Cesar and he said while he was sick someone else was building the pedals and they had issues. He sold me one cheap and it's worked ever since. They sound great but I wouldn't know which ones to avoid. I don't know if he was signing the ones he didn't build.

 

[Dave Orban]

I had an older one that I got from Cesar, and I thought it was OK but not great...

I greatly prefer the Fulltone Supra Trem... but that's just me, ya know...?

 

[jetlag]

I also have an older one, no LED or battery jack, that I bought from Cesar way back. I haven't had problems and I've played the crap out of it - it's truly relic'd now. I also agree in that I like it's tone and trem and find the buffer unobjectionable. Can't vouch for the new ones. I heard that the first run post-cesar were contracted out by someone who did lousy work. I've heard that the family is building them and/or more involved and that the new ones are fine. Can't vouch for them first hand though. The thing I like about the diaz is the slight drop in highs and the asymetrical warble. It more closely resembles an amp in that way - with the warts and all. They are more organic sounding or something. In contrast, I did not like the demeter trem at all - it was too sterile sounding. I'm considering retiring the diaz and finding another trem that does trem and vibrato - and have austone on the top of the list. But that's another thread ....................

 

[Improviser]

Originally posted by Old Tele man
re: " True bypass silver solder....."


[WITH DUE CREDIT TO RANDALL AIKEN] ...is ONLY useful for "...fending off werewolfs..." at AUDIO frequencies -- silver solder IS useful at RF and above frequencies, however!

Ha, ha ! You're right, I've had no werewolf trouble since using my Swamp Thang...... (come to think of it though, I didn't have any trouble before either.... ).

When comparing 2 older Diaz pedals to my Swamp Thang I definitely preferred the Swamp Thang's tones. The only thing IMHO that could be improved (as mapleneck pointed out) is putting the thing into a smaller sized enclosure.

The Swamp Thang sound awesome !

Geoff

 

[jeffhef]

I have an original I got from a friend who is also a poster on this forum. He had 3 or 4 and I tried them all. I found them to all be pretty much exactly the same. Same autograph inside...same sound...same everything. I've never heard the ticking sound mentioned by someone else.

I've never played one of the new ones.

I have played A LOT of the other trem's around. For me it came down to this and a Keeley TR2. I prefer the Diaz. It's just an awesome sound. If there is ONE thing I don't like it's that it's in a case that's too small to house the 2 switches. It's almost impossible for me to hit only one switch unless I give it a lot of room on either side to turn my foot a little sideways. So...why not house it in a bigger case to start with. I've thought about moving the innards to a bigger case in fact. Just don't wanna kill the vintage factor I guess.

Anyway...I know somone who has 2 or 3 of these he may be interested in selling. PM me if you're interested. I've checked 'em all and will vouch for their quality. That is...if my word means anything.

BTW...I also had an original Square Face. Though it was a pretty cool fuzz I ended up selling it cos I just didn't use it that much. The original Diaz pedals are not made with high quality parts but they DO sound good.

jeffhef

 

[thintele]

Originally posted by jeffhef
If there is ONE thing I don't like it's that it's in a case that's too small to house the 2 switches. It's almost impossible for me to hit only one switch unless I give it a lot of room on either side to turn my foot a little sideways. So...why not house it in a bigger case to start with.
jeffhef

Thanks folks...alot of good info...

Yes, I've considered that 2 switchs in MXR size box would be a little tight ...
I like the fact that the newer versions have a power supply jack ...for the simple reason I'd rather not have to unplug it after every gig(I've gotten spoiled with my SKB PS45 board) but with that said if the new pedal is less than the original or just poor in quality or sound I think I'd look elsewhere.
The Swamp Thang clips Gainster has posted sounded pretty tasty.

 

[sstweed]

I definately don't want to come off as dis'n the Swamp Thang. It is a fine box. Some might prefer it over the Diaz, others not. I remember the ST had a greater max speed but less max depth, compared to the Diaz. Pretty much a wash. It probably comes down to preference, style, and different rigs. Also there is some truth to the inconsistancy of Tremodillos after Cesar took ill. Hopefully people aren't comparing inferior built Tremodillos to newer products like the Swamp Thang as that wouldn't do justice to the design. Cesar was a careful builder, a bright designer, and generally had a great ear. When Cesar was healthy his products were top notch and second to none. The Tremodillo is close to 15 years old now isn't it? 10 at least. When I was comparing the Tremodillo to the Swamp Thang it was so close, that honestly the size of the box was the biggest factor (that and I liked the extra depth more than the extra speed). I hate those big boxes. I have no problem stepping on the Diaz switches, but they are close together. I have to use the side of my foot. Also in fairness to the Swamp Thang, it would be hard if not impossible to fit a new 3pdt switch alongside the speed switch in the Diaz box to make it true bypass. Possibly another reason Cesar didn't go true bypass, and certainly one of the considerations when Monster Effects chose the bigger boxes for the Swamp Thang (but it still didn't need to be so tall!). Also the Swamp Thang I had was a small brown version, and the paint was already falling off in sheets. That bugged me, though obviously it didn't affect the tone. The Diaz I have is also painted and chips easy if you are hard on it, but its finish is basically superior to the Swamp Thang I had. Maybe the new black Swamp Thangs have a tougher finish.

I would really like to compare the latest Tremodillos to the older ones. I would hope that who ever is running Diaz today, is running the company such that the name and reputation of Cesar is honored appropriately. When the new Diaz products people try just don't stack up, it unfortunately affects their opinions about the old Diaz products.

Also I had a Fulltone (and a Demeter, and a Voodoo Labs 4 knob). They are all traingle wave photo optic circuits like is found in blackfaced Fenders. Not very similar to the sine circuit of the Kay, Tremface, Diaz, Swamp Thang, etc. they are VERY cool also, but not the same. They are different enough that a real trem freak could easily justify one of each. For a long time I kept the Demeter (again the smaller box won out) and the Diaz. I sold the Demeter in a fit of gas and should get another. Also a company caller KR is building a Tremface clone similar to the Diaz and it is even in a small box. I should check that one out someday too.

 

[jeffhef]

Originally posted by thintele
Thanks folks...alot of good info...

Yes, I've considered that 2 switchs in MXR size box would be a little tight ...
I like the fact that the newer versions have a power supply jack ...for the simple reason I'd rather not have to unplug it after every gig(I've gotten spoiled with my SKB PS45 board) but with that said if the new pedal is less than the original or just poor in quality or sound I think I'd look elsewhere.
The Swamp Thang clips Gainster has posted sounded pretty tasty.

Mine has a power jack. Must be a later one. Anyway...they are fairly easy to add yourself. Just tie it into the battery connector. Isn't that what Paul does on the Tim?

jeffhef

 

[sstweed]

I didn't want to drill a hole in my old Tremodillo to add the adapter jack, so I called Diaz and they sent me a new bottom which I made into something similar to the ZVex powerplate.

 

[Terry Hayes]

Originally posted by thintele
Thanks folks...alot of good info...

Yes, I've considered that 2 switchs in MXR size box would be a little tight ...
I like the fact that the newer versions have a power supply jack ...for the simple reason I'd rather not have to unplug it after every gig(I've gotten spoiled with my SKB PS45 board) but with that said if the new pedal is less than the original or just poor in quality or sound I think I'd look elsewhere.
The Swamp Thang clips Gainster has posted sounded pretty tasty.

I hope that what I said does not dissuade you from trying the Diaz. In an effort to help you I would hate to know that an offhand comment would do damage to the reputation of the new Diaz products. My comment was only based on a recollection of something I heard. The new pedals may very well be just as good as the old ones.

Perhaps you could order a Tremodillo through a company like Musictoyz.com who will give you a full refund if you return something within 5 days.

Terry

 

[thintele]

not at all Terry...I appreciate your input.
I had thought I had heard (correct me if I'm wrong) that Ceasars son had taken over . You would think he would have all the schematics and material list to build them like the originals...but I know in this day and age that is not always the case. Sometimes production gets farmed out and the quality suffers...

 

[warioblast]

Bumping an 11 years old thread, it must be a new forum record.

 

[HellRot]

Yessss!!!

 

[Jamey Simms]

I have a vintage tremodillo, blue and yellow, that belonged to the T Birds here in Austin. It's seen heavy use, two of the screws are stripped out on the back, but it still works like a charm, and is a super thick and chewy vibrato. I love it.