Lastgasp Art Laboratories Flikrrr Flickering Tremolo is an intriguingly different take on Tremolo

You very rarely see a Tremolo pedal without a Rate / Speed function - yet here we have exactly one such variant.

As Tremolos go this is about as simple as it gets, with just 3 simple controls at your command :

Controls - Level, Depth, Shape : Sine > Square Wave.

I can’t help thinking that this pedal could do with one or two more controls. As it is, it’s a really cool effect - but really very one note - as all you can really do here is vary the intensity of the effect.

You can make it louder, more richly textured, and more articulate. In fact for me - I like the maximum impact of the Flicker - with All 3 dials Maxed out. Having the Shape fully clockwise makes the flickering harder, more cutting and more prominent - over on the Sine side it’s smoother and slightly more subtle. There’s a degree of rhythm to how it breaks up - but it’s pretty much always the same sort of pattern.

What this means is that this pedal has fairly limited use. Would be cool to see a deluxe version of this with an additional ’Pattern’ rotary dial, alongside some sort of timing / speed component - so that you can better align the pattern of the effect to your playing / melody.

I’m still glad to have this in the reference collection - it’s for sure quite a different sort of Tremolo. While I think this sort of format has a lot more potential than you’re currently getting.

This could never be your main Tremolo, but is cool for more incidental impact - I do wish there was a little more about this though - to give it overall more utility.

I acquired mine of course from Joe’s Pedals - like the previously reviewed Tru-Fi Ultra Tremolo. Both of those have somewhat limited scope within the Tremolo genre - and will be rather more bit-part / occasional rotation pedals - than a main, pedal-chain slot hogging all-rounder. Each of those is for sure intriguing, but for me only works really as part of a larger library of Tremolo Effects. I have a lot of Tremolos which are far more capable and are of the type to hold down a long-term or permanent pedalboard slot even.

My Flickrrr was £179 from Joe’s Pedals, you can also of course acquire it direct from Lastgasp Art Laboratories for $228, also at Effekt Boutique in Germany / EU (€219), and at Perfect Circuit in the USA.