Lastgasp Art Laboratories 46 Sooper Fuzz is a superbly richly textured take on the Univox Super-Fuzz

I have quite a number of Super Fuzzes in the collection by now - and this Lastgasp Art Laboratories variant is another wonderful take on that format - with some quite distinct circuit differences - but most importantly it has all the flavour - and those fantastic blooming and percolating waves of harmonic fuzz.

The circuit topology is somewhat different to the norm - being composed of a mix of C1815 Transistors and JRC4558DD opamp. I’m not particularly familiar with the C1815’s, but understand they’re sort of BC547 / BC549 equivalents - but with a higher maximum collector current - which makes them super high output. The combination of those components sounds superb in any case, and particularly for me on the MidScoop setting.

Controls - Level, Tone, Gain, Mode : 1 MidBoost / 2 MidScoop.

You have the familiar Super Fuzz control topology - with 3 knobs and MODE EQ Switch. And handily the Gain control is marked with a Redzone which signifies excessive feedback / squeal / noise when you enter that area. I basically don’t go further than 3 o’c on that dial - unless I want to make the pedal squeal all by itself.

The pedal sounds great on both MidBoost and MidScoop settings - you typically need to adjust the controls a little to optimise / tweak and re-EQ each Mode. Where I lean a little more into the MidScoop setting - where I prefer to have Level @ Max, Tone @ 3 o’c, and Gain @ around 3 o’c too.

I’ve always loved how the Super-Fuzz types ebb and flow and rise in cascading waves of harmonics - and this one is most definitely true to form - with a most exquisite fuzz texture - kind of constantly burbling and percolating away. A great sounding Super-Fuzz is one of the great joys for us proper fuzz fans.

Similarly to the Super Oscillo Fuzz - I acquired this one also from my good friend Andy Ebsen at Effekt Boutique - and there is at least another in stock there at the moment. My first two Lastgasp pedals fittingly both have the Japanese Red Sun graphic on them - I think I will do my favourite 9 LAL overview next, and then tackle the Octavella and Gomorrah fuzzes a little later - with further individual reviews. As mentioned in the previous article - Joe’s Pedals in the UK is now the UK Dealer for Lastgasp Art Laboratories - and I will be doing some activities with Joe too - once his first shipment lands within the next 8 weeks or so.

The 46 Sooper Fuzz is usually available from Effekt Boutique in Germany - where it goes for €229, and from Perfect Circuit in the USA - where it’s typically priced at $249 - looks like it’s currently in stock in both places!

This is a fantastic take on the Super-Fuzz format with extensive range - and super easy to dial in. I love everything about this particular take - including the look of the pedal!