Troctave. Just say it once or twice – it sounds like something interesting, right? That’s because it is. This is the first (and only) Troctave I know of, and it combines 2 great effects into one unique and rare stompbox, capable of both smooth and choppy tremolo vibes, as well as an entirely new realm of sonic exploration, the likes of which few of us have seen.

The controls, although unlabeled, were fairly easy to figure out (plus, I had a nice piece of paper telling me what they actually were), and that allowed me to tweak and manipulate them all with ease. The main knob controls apply to the Tremolo section, which is always on. Like most tremolo pedals, these controls are Rate (Speed) and Depth (Intensity). The usual ranges are present in the Troctave, from a slow, subtle vibe to a sped-up, frizzy mind-cruncher. The Depth is the same way, from a barely audible tone covering to a completely wet signal, just pulsing and moving with each note and chord you play. There’s also a toggle switch that goes between Square and Sine waveforms, also fairly standard tremolo fare.

There’s another toggle, though, on the right, and when you flick that guy on, this pedal opens up and starts to sing, and yell, and do a bunch of other crazy stuff you have to hear to believe. Mixing in an octave pedal with a tremolo pedal produces some of the coolest guitar effects I have ever heard, and there are an absolute TON of them to dial in with just these few simple controls. You get the meat of the octave beefing up your guitar’s signal, while the tremolo washes over the top like a wave of pure musical glory, and occasionally some ring mod sounds will even sneak out. Change the settings on the knobs, and other new, exciting sounds pour out as if uncontrollable by man, or anything else, for that matter. This thing has a bit of a mind of it’s own, and isn’t scared to share it’s thoughts with us all.

Some players might be skeptical of some cross-hatch pedal weirdness like this, but not me. I jumped right in and am going to keep swimming in this pool for a long time to come. I like the basic setup of the tremolo, just what I was needing, and the fact that it can go into crazy mode with the flick of a switch is just icing on the sonic cake. Not sure how many of these are around, but if you come across one, buy it on the spot. Really.

Submitted by Mike B, Website

Demo Rock pedalboard by West Coast Pedalboard