THE ONES THAT GOT AWAY

SWAMP THANG TREMOLO PEDALS

I wrote about Swamp Thang pedals more than once. And as of this update (2021), I have actually bought another one of these pedals…#0007…the earliest one I have seen. Here are the stories I wrote about these pedals over the years…I have also added a few extra photos of the different models that have come out over the years. Swamp Thang pedals are no longer in production.

When I first started this blog the theme was, "Man, I wish I had that one back!" As I kept writing stories I came across some guitars that I didn't really want back all that much. There was a bass I wouldn't take back if you paid me. Well, depends on how much you paid me. Anyway, I've covered basses and guitars and a guest column about a reverb tank. But, I haven't gotten into an item that you can really rely on for your sound...pedals. Technically, I'm actually covering two pedals. They are both Swamp Thang tremolo pedals by Monster Effects and MAN, I WISH I HAD EITHER OF THEM BACK. I will be completely honest and say that both times I have owned Swamp Thang pedals I got a good deal and made a profit, but that was never the intention. The intention both times was to keep the damn pedal. I am a big fan of tremelo as an effect and I have tried a number of pedals and processors. None of them compare (in my less than humble opinion) to the Swamp Thang. A number of years ago I owned an early '60s blonde Fender Tremolux amp and 2 x 10 cab. I loved this amp very much, but I started running into issues. It was old and had ground problems in certain clubs I played in. Once I stepped up to the mic to sing the first word of the first song of the night and I got JOLTED backwards from the electrical shock I got when my lips touched the mic. I had a small burn on my lip for a week. So, I reluctantly sold the amp and went a little more modern...moved all the way up to the '70s with a nice old Music Man 410 Sixty-Five. Hey, can I get all of these back please? Anyway, the real point of all this is that the tremolo on that old Tremolux is impossible to beat and is "often imitated but never duplicated." However, the very best thing I've found to compare with the old blond Tremolux is the Swamp Thang. Love it. Need another one. Keeping my eye out daily on eBay. I don't know how they do it at Monster Effects, but they seem to get that brown saturation like a real Fender. I could go on and on, but I'll just say that this is one pedal I will definitely be replacing when I can afford another one. Over the years I have shrunk my electric rig down to "living room" size and I have narrowed my needs to four things. 1.) A Fender Telecaster (just got my eleventy millionth one today), 2) A Fender tube amp with reverb (currently a Blues Junior for size restrictions), 3) an Ibanez Tubescreamer ('nuff said), and 4) a Swamp Thang tremelo pedal. That's it. I can do without a chorus, a phaser, a flanger, anything made by Z Vex, and all that crap. I would have to consider a Crybaby wah if I added a fifth item, but basically I can get by with the four. If you have a Swamp Thang and want to part with it, particularly the early brown large box models, let me know. I'm gonna need one.

UPDATE: June 9, 2008 - I got another Swamp Thang. I battled long and hard on the eBay for it and shelled out more for this one than for either of the other two ($163). This one won't be getting away. It's one of the original "large box" versions, #81 to be exact. This one stays put. Don't even try. Go ahead, call me "sucker" to my face. I dare ya!

UPDATE 2: Dec. 23, 2008 - I got #147 back. I got an email from a guy who had read this story and he said, "Hey, I think I'm the guy that bought Swamp Thang #147 from you on eBay...do you want to buy it back?" He made me a great deal and I bought it back. Since I already had found one for myself (see above), I decided to get this one and give it as a Christmas gift to my good friend and band mate Oliver. It's now in his hands and I don't think it will ever leave. That one is out of circulation.

ANOTHER UPDATE: If you are a regular reader, you may have read my previous posting about Swamp Thang tremolo pedals. I was seriously bummed about the two that I had previously let go and wanted to find another one...they aren't easy to find. Tonight I got one back. I just won ownership of my third Swamp Thang pedal and I plan to keep the damn thing this time. If I don't, will someone come smack me upside the head?

UPDATE JUNE 2009: I just did something I SWORE I wouldn't do. I just listed my Swamp Thang pedal on eBay. Dammit. Jump on it quick if you want just about the best sounding tremolo pedal there is...short of buying an old blonde Fender Tremolux. I will be buying another one some day...I think that will be the running joke on this site...how many Swamp Thang pedals will Jaimie buy in one lifetime? Blech! -- UPDATE: Sold! But I'll get another some day. Man oh man. Can't believe it's gone.

UPDATE JANUARY 2021: Yes, this update comes many years later while transferring these stories over to my website. I have since the time of these stories bought and sold another couple of Swamp Thang pedals. I got a black one in 2018 and it didn’t work correctly. So I sent it back to John Spears who has since retired. He was going to fix it for me, but he then asked if he could just send me one of the newer models. I wasn’t super excited about that, but I didn’t want to be a jerk, so I said okay. I didn’t care for the newer one as much and sold it. And then this week I finally found one of the very earliest pedals. It’s in a box the size of the black ones, but it’s brown. It’s serial number 0007, making it one of the first ever made. Pretty excited to get it. If history holds true, I will eventually sell it, just like the others. Hopefully not for awhile.

THESE STORIES WERE ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN 2008 AND 2009 AND UPDATED IN 2021

Some additional images of the different versions of the Swamp Thang pedals over the years. The last one shown is the last model produced, with only one footswitch.