Hi mff! Nice to meet you and thanks for picking up a Tremolessence!
There's a few differences between the old and new Tremolessences but they're minor enough that it's still basically the same pedal...
For the controls, the volume on the old style was an internal trimpot but for the new style I moved it to the outside.. I still think the volume on a tremolo pedal is pretty much a set and forget kinda thing but I know sometimes it just needs some tweaking too.
The speed toggle on the old one is a two position, giving ranges from quite fast to quite slow. On the new version I added a third position to the toggle just to open the ranges up a bit.. the new one goes very fast to very slow.
The treble control is new too and it's just a feature that I think is important to a tremolo as the warmth or brightness of the effect is a real defining quality. It's an active control so it can cut or boost the treble so the effect can be as bright or dark as you want.
On the old ones there's a very slight warmth to the sound, like having the treble knob just turned down very slightly. I've never had a single customer complain that it's too dark or warm or anything like that, but it is audible and something I decided to change.
When the time comes around to order new pcbs I take it as an opportunity to add something to the layout, maybe something I couldn't make fit before or hadn't realized was so important or some other reason like that. I didn't want to really change anything about how the Tremolessence works or sounds, just give it a bit more versatility or control over things. The old version is every bit as great sounding as the new version, you just won't have quite the same range of speed or the treble control. (If you want the 3 speed ranges, just email me (
ryan@drscientist.ca) and I'll do that mod for you free of charge. I can't add the treble though, I'm sorry, but it requires the new pcb layout as it's quite an addition to the circuit.)
Thanks again and let me know if you have any other questions about it!
PS - As for pedal placement with your Holy Grail, I'd generally suggest that the Tremolessence goes before the reverb. But try both and go with what sounds coolest, no right or wrong answer there!