Lastgasp Art Laboratories' Flagship Super Oscillo Fuzz is a fantastic Pandora's box of experimental circuit-bending

So this has been on the cards for a long while - I’ve had Lastgasp Art Laboratories on the list for a roundup for a really long time now. I had been intending to acquire a few of its pedals for a while - but they’ve never been particularly easily accessible from within the UK.

There are currently just 2 dealers worldwide who have most of the range in stock - Perfect Circuit in the USA, and my friend Andy Ebsen’s Effekt Boutique in Germany - where indeed I acquired my first two Lastgasp pedals from - this Super Oscillo Fuzz, and the 46 Sooper Fuzz - which I will be reviewing next.

There’s finally good news for us Brits too - as Joe’s Pedals in the UK will very soon be stocking Lastgasp Art Laboraties - with the the first shipment due to land within a couple of months or so.

Controls - Level, Adjust (Tone / Gain / Pitch / Feedback), 6 x Node Switches (Tone / Character / Oscillation / Feedback), CV Pedal Input on left side.

Back to the Super Oscillo Fuzz - which is in one way very simple to operate - just two knobs and 6 switches, while things can get fairly complex with the switch options / selections.

As mentioned in the title - this is a Circuit-Bending Fuzz - which means each of those switches connects into a different junction / node of the circuit which impacts the circuit’s throughput and output in interesting ways! I’ve indicated which individual switches produce my favourite tones, and which 2 in combination also. It soon gets complicated when mixing up more than 2 switches - as you very quickly start to get fairly significant feedback squeals.

I actually really like using 2 & 5 together - but that creates a lot of feedback squeal by default. You also need to be careful with the ’Adjust’ knob as if you go above circa 1 o’clock you can introduce a lot of feedback / noise into the circuit. There are certain settings which give you immediate feedback squeal - which can be fun - where you control its onset with palm-muting - and then allow the fuzz flavour to bloom and overtake. On my mini chart - top right of the visual - I’ve selected my Favourite Nodes - Individual and Pairs. Only one of those pair combinations produces no sound - 3 & 5. I typically like lots of harmonics and open and potent sear.

Of course the pedal sounds amazing with all switches off by default too - while for me - my favourite setting are 1, 2, 3, and 5 individually, and 1 & 2, 1 & 3, 1 & 4, 1 & 5, and 3 & 4 as pairs. Settings involving 2 & 5 can squeal a touch - and in the chart there are 21 options (singles and pairs) - only one of which yields no sound.

I tend to have the Level knob up high (often at Max) - and mostly keep the Ajust knob at or under 1 o’c. If feedback is your thing - then there are several interesting modes where you can kind of ride the feedback - and control it with your playing style / pick attack and palm-muting - while several of those settings will squeal / drone by default when you’re not playing. It can be fun to let the feedback swell up on occasion - probably an acquired taste though.

Each of my favourite settings deliver a controlled tonality - so no squeal and very negligible feedback residuals.

The pedal reminds me a touch of my friend Konstantin’s Analog Music Co Evil Pumpkin series of pedals - the original V1, and the more recent Ghazala edition - those are kind of the epitome of circuit-bending pedals - with twice the amount of circuit nodes, and additional controls versus this rather simpler Super Oscillo Fuzz.

The Super Oscillo Fuzz is for sure an experimental fuzz pedal - but it’s relatively easily tameable. And you can fairly quickly establish which of those settings works for your preferences.

Obviously an oscillating fuzz at its core - this has a lot of variation within that genre - with some subtler options as well as the more adventurous high octane ones.

I’m a massive fuzz fan - which you should all know by now - and this Fuzz was always earmarked for the reference collection - as something pretty different to anything else out there. It is Lastgasp Art Laboratories’ flagship pedal alongside its Misty Cave Analog Resonance Echo. While my focus will entirely be on the compact fuzz pedals within the range. The 46 Sooper Fuzz is next up for review - after which I will then be doing a ’Favourite 9’ rundown article. And then a little further down the road - I will be acquiring the Gomorrah and Octavella Fuzzes too - and reviewing those also of course.

I think I snagged one of the last available one in the wild - €269 from Effekt Boutique, it goes for $350 on Perfect Circuit - but is currently out of stock. Hopefully those will be back in stock soon - they’re well worth it! Possibly not for everyone - an acquired taste in some ways - but essential for fuzz fans!