When was the last time you took a step forward? With effect pedals, that is. It's no secret that the sentiment is quite popular among the effect pedal crowd that it's all been done. In some ways, there's some truth to that way of thinking – but far from an excuse to get cynical, it's probably best to see it as an opportunity. It's only natural, after all, that fifty some-odd years of guitar pedals might make things seem a little played out, a little in a box, a little solved, a little stuck in a bowl with a three-second memory.
Like a goldfish.
Like a goldfish.
Luckily for us, there's still names out there driven to grow legs and stroll up on dry land. Montreal, Quebec's Fish Circuits is one of today's best examples of this. A mix of retro and modern sensibilities to really shake your tailfins for, Fish Circuits slings some truly one-of-a-kind sounds in undeniably charming packages.
Like a Fish to Water
Fish Circuits History
Fish Circuits is a relatively newer kid in town. Debuting with their first pedal, the Model One, in 2021, Fish has since cultivated quite the following for their unique vision on classic effects. Fish has since gone on to strike up a sizable following with a tight-knit collection of effects – all with their own unmistakable aesthetic design and sonic philosophy. Designed and hand-built in Montreal, Quebec, Fish Circuits effect pedals carry a unique, unifying design ethos that balances authentic, classic effect sounds with experimental tendencies baked in.
Each Fish Circuits effect is an exciting spin on a classic effect archetype that shows you not only are there more stones to turn, but there's more fish in the sea. Let's talk about their lineup.
Something's Fishy
Fish Circuits Effect Pedals
The Fish Circuits catalog effect is a pretty small affair. Because of this, it is more of a quality over quantity situation – and who's gonna complain about that? Let's run down the fish in this school.
Fish Circuits Drives and Distortions
The first Fish Circuits circuit was the Model One. Today, it still reigns supreme as Fish's flagship drive effect. The Model One centers itself around a tangy, amp-style drive effect that delivers crushing tube-like saturation and breakup along with heaps of full-bodied boost. Fish's premier overdrive offers a streamlined, intuitive overdrive experience with all the amp-like authenticity to drive your whole rig forward. This amp oomph is matched with Fish's other dirt pedal, the Lunatique, a vintage-inspired gated fuzz. Fish staked their claim to blissfully simple, disastrously dirty fuzz glory with the Lunatique's bidirectional fuzz circuits mixing, balancing a fuller, more organic fuzz and a cantankerous, problem child fuzz. Either way you swing it, the Lunatique is a monstrously expressive fuzz to match the tube-style muscle of the Model One.
Fish Circuits Reverbs and Delays
Where the effect pedal nerds of the world are sure to dive in from the deep end are with Fish's reverb and delay effects. Really, where the real mojo of Fish Circuits comes to life, Fish's reverb and delays are truly something to write home about.
The Fish Circuits Astronomie establishes Fish's pension for alternative approaches to classic effects. Astronomie's foundational effect is a digital spring reverb. With all the lush tone and splashiness of your classic spring effects, the Astronomie bends from tradition with a digital brain that creates an automatic ducking and swelling effect. The Astronomie can be easily calibrated to duck and swell its reverb in relation to your playing dynamics, making for a spring reverb that truly feels alive.
Probably, for many, the showstopper of the Fish Circuits lineup, the Echo Limiteur is Fish's hybrid digital and analog delay. The Echo Limiteur starts with an authentic MN3005 analog delay chip for the dark, warm, and degrading analog delay experience so many find so delectable. Fish's design smarts builds up the analog delay experience with digital enhancements for expanding functionality. The thing that's sure to get delay fiends in the door and keep them is, of course, the Echo Limiteur's unique Limiter function that fires up inspiring playability with interesting self-oscillating tonalities. For limitless analog trails, responsive slapbacks, and off-the-wall resonations, the Echo Limiteur is surely something to try if analog delay is your delay of choice.
Just Keep Swimming
A name that seems to have it all figured out when it comes to modernizing old effects, teaching old dogs new tricks, as it were, there's plenty of reasons to love Fish Circuits. Large and in-charge but certainly worthy of that pedalboard real estate, Fish effect pedals reminds us that there's always a bigger fish – and a bigger fish to fry.
