Boss TR-2 Tremolo.. Surfs Up!

Boss has been in the business of making affordable pedals that aspiring and working musicians can use to hone their craft. I can honestly say I have never met a guitarist who hasn't had or continues to own a Boss pedal. Perhaps the first thing that strikes you about Boss pedals is they are easy to accommodate on a pedal board since, for the most part, are all the same size.
I have probably tried most of them out over the years and few stand out as pedals I would likely keep for one reason or another, like the Boss TR2 Tremolo pedal.

Tremolo is the amplitude modulation or simply put the, cyclic change in volume. The resulting manipulation of your signal takes the form of a pulsing of that signal which can add a soothing to percussive quality to your playing as a result of your increasing or deceasing the low frequency oscillator which will time your effect to the desired rate. The Boss TR2 Tremolo pedal is a classic example of early onboard effects amps like the Danelectro, Gibson and Premier amps introduced in the early 50's and polpularized throughout the 60's through 80's.

The charm of the Boss TR2 Tremolo pedal is a vintage quality that has arguably been over-refined to the point that the original effect is barely heard today; not so with the Boss TR2.
 
Three controls dictate the parameters of effect achievable with the TR2:
 
Rate -  Controls the speed of the pulsing effect
Wave - Converts the signal into a square or triangle wave effect
Depth - Manipulates the intensity of the pulsing effect from a mild hint of pulsation to a more profound accentuated throbbing.
An led confirms pedals active status.

Playing Blues and 60's surf tunes are, in my opinion, the strong suit of the Boss TR2 Tremolo pedal.  Settings at 1:00 Rate and Depth and a 12:00 flat wave setting is a convincing bluesy ballad tone with a triplet pulse. Increasing the Wave setting produces more of a quartet, faster pulse which is more reminiscent of Ventures, Beach Boys material.

There is a bit of tone and volume degeneration when the pedal is activated. There is a popular modification that requires a simple snip of the C4 capacitor and replacing it with a 4.7Ohm replacement. Keeley also has developed a cottage industry modding Boss pedals like the TR2 with great results. The result is a quieter pedal with little or no noticeable signal dropout.

Powering the TR2 is via 9volt battery with a 20mA draw or with a  PSA 120s, and peace of mind comes through a 5 year manufacturer's warranty.

The bottom line here is you have a good pedal that has the capability of getting better if you choose. Frankly, it's a good value in a Tremolo pedal. Granted, it's not a Fulltone SupaTrem, it's just different.