i haven’t any experience with the surf trem, but the Stereo Pulsar beats the Twin Reverb Tremolo (“Vibrato”) by a mile. or at least i think so.

if you adjust the symmetry properly, you can nail the twin tremolo. on most settings i actually found the pulsar to be preferable when it comes to ‘amplike tremolo,’ the triangle wave is smoother than anything on any amp ive ever played and it gives you the ability to get the sound thats in your head so long as you’re willing to work for it. my only complaint is how touchy it is; you’re never more than a nudge away from something wild. also: extreme settings yield a minor volume drop, although it’s way less drastic than the boss tremolo and it’s only present on really deep depth settings.

i ended up getting rid of it and getting a wiggler instead, which is the MOST amplike tremolo out there. the tremolo is a smoother triangle wave than the twin, which i like, and the ACEY vibrato is identical to the vox tremolo. you sacrifice some versatility but the wiggler does most of the ‘normal’ stuff the pulsar can do and it’s way easier to get the sound you’re after.

if all you’re after is normal tremolo tones, it’s worth checking both out – the pulsar is cheap, potentially crazy and it can do the fender thing to a tee; the wiggler offers basically every modulation effect you would hear on records released before 1974 and it’s way less touchy.

hope it helps!

if you turn the symmetry knob so that it fades out slightly quicker than it fades in, you get a really subtle choppiness that sounds (to my ears) identical to the fender twin. adjust depth & rate to taste (i found that the twin sounded best with shallower, faster settings) and you’ve got it

I don’t think any pedals can really nail the actual sounds of built-in tube trem. There’s a certain gain/tone alternation that each amp does that fits that amp and no other amp that’s truly wonderful. Sort of the same with tube spring reverb.

Although my main complaint against spring reverb pedals is that they don’t go crazy when you kick them.