Boss TR-2 Tremolo - Modded by Analogman

The stock Boss TR-2 is a pretty decent tremolo pedal that sounds fairly solid. It has a few issues, though. For one, it's a little noisy. For two, whenever you turn it on, the volume actually drops. Finally, the effect is kinda thin sounding. Analogman was able to fix all of these issues in this mod, and it looks 100% stock on the outside (except for the signature Analogman sticker, which you can take off).

UTILIZATION

The pedal is still in the same old Boss housing, so it's a very sturdy pedal. I've seen these things take tons of abuse without any issues. One thing that Keeley likes to do to some of his pedals is drill them out for a real true bypass mechanical switch, but I don't really recommend doing that as it's not necessary. The buffers in these are generally pretty good and don't suck too much tone. They also help with longer cable runs. The manual doesn't really apply to this anymore, but it's so easy to use that it's not needed.

SOUND QUALITY

The sound is much improved. First of all, the pedal sounds kinda thing in its stock form. This is a big turn off for those who are looking for a thick and organic sounding tremolo sound. With the higher quality components that Analogman installs, this is fixed. The other issue is that the volume will drop when you turn it on. Analogman installs a pot inside the pedal that you can adjust. He marks it so you can have unity gain, but you're free to boost or lower the volume when you turn it on to suit how you want your effect to be utilized. Very trick mod that you can't see just by looking at it.

OVERALL OPINION

The Analogman TR-2 is probably my favorite tremolo out there. It's not the most versatile, but the mod is very reasonably priced, and it sounds great. It's a super solid pedal with the mod and can fit on most boards for those looking for that signature tremolo kind of sound.