The Fish Circuits Lunatique is a gated fuzz pedal built around classic fuzz tones with unpredictable octave and ring-modulated textures layered on top1. Delicious Audio's Adam Smith described it as "an aggressive gated fuzz pedal, that has octave-up and ring modulation qualities when cranked"2. It is an analog circuit1, and it is the second pedal Fish Circuits released, following the Model One Overdrive2.
Where it comes from
Premier Guitar's review places the Lunatique's roots in the mid-'60s fuzz tradition, naming the Jordan Boss Tone, Maestro FZ-1, and Mosrite Fuzzrite as pedals with a comparable attitude, and describing the Lunatique as recasting that template with "roots in mid-'60s tonalities and branches that spread much further"3. The designer is Mike Poisson, whom Premier Guitar called "the big fish, if you will, behind the Lunatique"3.
The four controls and how they interact
The pedal has four controls, and their interaction is central to how it works. The Chaos control blends two circuits1, while the Fuzz and Body controls shape the sound2. On the Chaos control, Premier Guitar found that positions left of noon bring little octave-up content, a heap of treble, and a fuzz that is less likely to gate3.
The reviewer's overall impression was that the controls reward experimentation:
"The four simple controls interact in ways that produce unexpected, unique results, and its voices vary wildly depending on the pickups and guitars you pair it with and where you set your guitar’s tone and volume controls."
That variability is worth knowing before you buy into the idea: the same settings can sound very different across guitars, so the pedal's character depends as much on what feeds it as on the knob positions.
Size and power
For pedalboard planning, Premier Guitar measured the enclosure as only about a 1/4" wider than a Boss pedal and about 30 percent longer3. It runs on 9V DC, center negative, and draws 5mA1, a light load that any standard isolated supply output handles.
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Questions
Who designs Fish Circuits pedals?
According to Premier Guitar, Mike Poisson is the designer behind Fish Circuits, described by the magazine as "the big fish" behind the Lunatique. The Lunatique is the second pedal the company released, following the Model One Overdrive, which Delicious Audio described as very well received.
Is the Fish Circuits Lunatique analog?
Yes. The Lunatique is an analog circuit, listed with an analog circuit type on its product page. It is a gated fuzz with octave-up and ring-modulated qualities rather than a digital multi-effects unit.
What power does the Fish Circuits Lunatique need?
The Lunatique runs on 9V DC with a center negative plug and draws 5mA of current. That low draw means a standard pedalboard power supply output can run it without difficulty.
Does the Fish Circuits Lunatique gate?
Yes. It is a gated fuzz, meaning the fuzz section cuts off sharply rather than sustaining smoothly. Premier Guitar called it a "gated, ring-modulating, octave fuzz," and noted that how readily it gates depends on the Chaos control position.
How big is the Fish Circuits Lunatique compared to a Boss pedal?
Premier Guitar's reviewer measured it as only about a 1/4" wider than a Boss pedal and about 30 percent longer, so it fits pedalboards laid out around standard compact enclosure spacing with only minor adjustment.
Sources (3)
- LUNATIQUE by Fish Circuits, RockBoard PedalPedia, 2026
- Fish Circuit Lunatique, Delicious Audio, 2024-11-15
- Fish Circuits Lunatique Effects Pedal Review, Premier Guitar, 2024-07-03
