The Bleak District Electric Antistatic is a compact fuzz pedal from the UK that pairs a gated fuzz circuit with a built-in micro looper. The fuzz is described by Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio as "A glitchy and gated fuzz with a built in micro looper," and the looper is aimed at creating glitchy, stuttering effects rather than recording full phrases1. If you are exploring the wider territory of fuzz pedals and looping pedals, the Antistatic sits where the two overlap.
The fuzz and the looper
The fuzz side is of the gated kind, which De Gregorio describes in full as "spitty": it chokes and sputters rather than sustaining smoothly. It is engaged with the left footswitch and has a single Gain knob1. A master volume controls the overall loudness of the pedal, and De Gregorio notes "it can be loud!"1.
The looper samples short snippets of your fuzzed-up tone, from 50 milliseconds to 3.5 seconds, and repeats them indefinitely. New snippets can replace parts of the loop as it runs, which is what makes it a tool for glitchy textures rather than a conventional looper for building arrangements1.
Controls
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Gain | The fuzz section's only knob, setting gain1 |
| Master volume | Controls overall loudness1 |
| Loop (large central knob) | Sets the loop time, 50ms to 3.5s1 |
| Range toggle | Sets the range of the loop knob between longer and shorter loops1 |
| Left footswitch | Engages the fuzz1 |
| Right footswitch | Turns the loop on in latch or momentary mode1 |
The looper can be engaged by the momentary footswitch or set to latch, so you can either hold a stutter in place or let it run hands-free1. Writing in Delicious Audio's roundup of unusual fuzz pedals, Griffin Jennings confirmed the same layout: "The Loop can be turned on in latch or momentary mode via the right footswitch, with a loop time between 50ms and 3.5s"2.
Power and connections
The Antistatic is true bypass, with top mounted jacks and a top mounted power socket. It runs on 9V center negative power of the Boss type, the standard supply used by most compact pedals1.
The pedal uses a 9V center negative, Boss-style power connection1. There is no mention of battery power in the published coverage.
What reviewers said
Delicious Audio's writeup is the main published coverage. De Gregorio's verdict on the pedal leans toward the fuzz itself: "to be honest I love the fuzz on it's own. But… Sometimes more is more. So there's more." He finds that the longer loop times let you build interesting patterns overall1.
Videos
Bleak District Electric
Pedal Experiments
Harsh Tones, Inc.
Questions
Is the Bleak District Electric Antistatic true bypass?
Yes. The Antistatic is true bypass, and it also has top mounted jacks and a top mounted power socket, which helps it fit on crowded pedalboards. Power is a 9V center negative supply of the Boss type, the same standard used by most compact pedals.
What power supply does the Antistatic need?
The Antistatic runs on a 9V center negative power supply of the Boss type, the common standard for compact pedals. A standard isolated pedal supply that provides 9V center negative will power it.
How long can the Antistatic loop be?
The loop time ranges from 50 milliseconds to 3.5 seconds. The large central knob sets the loop time, and the Range toggle switches the knob between longer and shorter loop ranges, so very short snippets and slightly longer fragments are both available.
Can the looper be used without the fuzz?
The fuzz and the looper are engaged separately. The left footswitch turns the gated fuzz on and off, while the right footswitch controls the loop. The looper samples your fuzzed up tone, so the two sections are designed to work together, but each has its own switch.
Does the looper work in latch and momentary modes?
Yes. The right footswitch turns the loop on in either latch or momentary mode, so you can hold the loop on briefly or let it run. The loop time, between 50ms and 3.5s, is set with the large central knob.
Sources (2)
- Bleak District Electric Antistatic Fuzz + Micro-Looper, Delicious Audio, 2023-01-30
- The Best Crazy, Weird, And Unusual Fuzz Pedals In 2024, Delicious Audio, 2024-10-24