Sentimental Bob's Tacana is a beautifully sparkly 16-Waveform Amplitude Tremolo with Tap Tempo
I’ve actually had the Tacana Tap Tremolo on my wishlist for quite some time now - several years really - the intention has always been there - and obviously now was the right moment for it to happen - in my Year of the Tremolo! And where the first edition of the Tacana emerged in early 2018 with block labels similar to the Tacana logo - since refined of course. The Tacana wasn’t the first Sentimental Bob tremolo, but rather a sequel to the somewhat larger 4-knob Lunana Tap Tremolo that emerged a couple of years earlier. The Tacana took the best aspects the Lunana, further expanded the feature set - to 6 knobs, and twice the number of waveforms - while at the same time shrinking the format down to compact dimensions.
Even the Lunana wasn’t the first Sentimental Bob Tremolo - as that format only got a proper name at the start of 2016. Before that there were a number of unique custom artworks editions in that same tremolo format - but each with its own styling and name - including ’Amsterdam Roofs’, ’White Whale’, and ’Surfing Tremolo’. I guess Sentimental Bob’s Volodymyr was just seeking out the right name for his tremolo - and the Lunana was the first moniker that properly stuck. The harder consonants in Tacana make that a much stronger product name - so I’m glad that the softer Lunana came first. In branding we always encourage brands to go for monikers with hard consonants - like Kodak - so Tacana is pretty perfect in that respect!
The Tacana Tremolo is quite a striking design - where you can elect to have Black, Red or White knobs. I had Red knobs on my Tephra - but felt that black was right for this pedals. At first glance you have an incredibly potent and granular control topology - with every function instantly identifiable. The only knob that requires the slightest explanation is the Shape control / aka Wave Symmetry - which adjusts the width and peaks of the waveform if you move that knob from its default centered / balanced position. That knob actually has myriad uses - both soft, and super impactful - you can totally change the feel of a waveform by manipulating its vectors!
Controls - Waveform Group : Standard / [Alternative], Volume, Depth, Speed, Waveform Type : 1 [9] : Ramp Up [Ramp + Oct] / 2 [10] : Ramp Down [Quad Ramp] / 3 [11] Pulse [Quad Pulse] / 4 [12] : Triangle [Triangle Step] / 5 [13] : Sine [Sine + Oct] / 6 [14] : Sweep [Sine + 3rd] / 7 [15] : Lumps [Sine + 4th] / 8 [16] : Random Levels [Random Slopes], Shape (Wave Symmetry), Tap Divide : Half Note / Quarter / Dotted Quarter / Eighth / Dotted Eighth / Sixteenth, Bypass Footswitch, Tap Tempo Footswitch.
NOTE - 3.5mm External Tap/Sync input socket on right side of pedal. Inside the Tacana you will find a jumper switch to sync by latching or via 5V gate pulses.
ALSO! - by double-clicking on the Bypass Footswitch you switch the pedal into Momentary mode which is indicated by a Green LED!
VOLODYMYR's TEMPO SYNC TOP TIP - when the tremolo pulses move away from the beat of the song, you can press the tap footswitch once (or simultaneously on both footswitches when the tremolo is activated), - then the Tap Tempo footswitch will work as a reset of the wave / duty cycle - and you can further adjust the LFO to the beat (until it floats away again without external synchronisation).
So it's very much one of those instant satisfaction pedals which sounds beautifully sparkly twittery from the start. It has a noticeable brightness to its output for sure - which I really like. And you have 16 perfect spots in terms of optimal waveforms for getting your favourite textures. All the controls feel prices and intuitive - while I would really like a notched control for the Waveforms - to make it easier to dial the appropriate one in. Those waveform symbols are not that easy to see - and being able to click things into place - next .. next .. next thant to rather more gradually feel the change - I know which method I prefer!.
You get 2 Sets of Waveforms - Standard and Alternative - which are mentioned in duplicate with the control labels, and which I will focus on a little closer here below :
Waveforms
There's a hand guide on the left-side of the pedal that indicates the two banks of 8 Waveforms :
STD / STANDARD :
[1] Ramp Up [2] Ramp Down [3] Pulse (Square) [4] Triangle [5] Sine [6] Sweep [7] Lumps [8] Random Levels
ALT / ALTERNATVE :
[1] Ramp + Oct [2] Quad Ramp [3] Quad Pulse [4] Tri Step [5] Sine + Oct [6] Sine + 3rd [7] Sine + 4th [8] Random Slopes
Personal Favourite Waveforms are indicated thusly above!
Note that the Shape knob play a big part in fine tuning the sound of those waveforms - and you can make them slightly smoother or more spiky as appropriate! Also - a lot of the time the modulation effect is about serving the music - so you use different waveforms and settings across different gain stages, and different combinations effects - so all the Waveforms have validity - while if you're just sequentially testing them out - you're often missing the added element of context. This is a really clever take on the Tremolo format for sure.
Aslo on the Alternative Quad Waveforms you get a little harmonic distortion / grit into the mix - where I prefer the slightly softer Quad Ramp for that effect. In combining those 16 Waveforms with the Shape knob you get a phenomenal variety of sounds. I do mention the brightness of the circuit - while the Shape knob also allows you to temper that a lttle - as of course to the Level and Depth controls.
As far as a classic Amplitude vintage amp style tremolo it would take a lot to beat this exact formula!
Actually only the STD/ALT switch is tricky to access on-the-fly - I can control everything else with my toes!
Overall all the dials are easy to manipulate with even and predictable tapers. I would like to have the Waveform knob as an 8-position clicking / detented control - so that it's easier to accurately switch between waveforms - but that is my only tiny niggle really - I guess along with the accessibility of the STD.ALT switch!
The Sounds!
So the important question really is how does it sound?
Actually sounds pretty marvellous really - it has quite a bright and sparkly almost springy profiles at times, while it can also be really smooth and subtle if that's how you like it.
If I were to change anything - it would be the STD/ALT switch - which I would make one of those push-buttons - that I would move down the facia a little so that I could control that with my toes too! Just a cool nice to have really.
Also the sound is beautifully sparkly and bright - so for some pickups it might be nice to have some sort of Tilt EQ - so that you darken the tone a touch. I personally really love it as is, but can imagine it could be a touch bright for some pickups.
I have nothing but positive things to say really - it's in the style of those vintage amp Bias / Amplitude tremolos and is one of the finest of that kind!
Equally importantly the Tacana is fantastic value @ $150 ± - there are two instances of it on the Reverb.com Sentimental Bob Wesbtore as depending on where you live - you can have it inclusive or exclusive of VAT / Tax, and of course with shipping costs added too.
Volodymyr further offers a 1/4" / 6.3mm expression jack Mod for the rate knob - which is an extra $10.
I really don't think you can go wrong with this - it has legions of fans already and is totally one of the best of its kind - which is priced really well! It comes highly recommended!
For my preferences I like my Modulations to deliver quite a bit of flavour and so I typically have the Volume set to 3 o'c, Depth @ 3 o'c, Speed in the middle (I use the Tap Temp), Waveforms to taste, shape mostly default in the middle - but often with the centre frequency dragged left or right for rhythmical accents, and of course Tap Divide as I need it - largely on quarter note, dotted quarter and dotted eight! Same as before - I would quite like the Tap Divide to be notched / detented - while that is less important than the Wafeform dial for that really!
One of my favourite classic Amplitude Tremolos for sure!
Demos
12 Degrees of Saturation 2023 Compact Edition
