A Conversation with Brandon Langlois
of Circle Electric

Fecund contributing music editor Steven James Meidenbauer spoke with Brandon Langlois of Circle Electric Co. in Los Angeles, California. The two discussed Langlois’ process and the inspiration behind his sound.

Tell us about your background as a musician and the role it played in getting you to produce pedals.

I’ve been kinda a music nerd my whole life. I started playing in bands in high school, mostly fuzz-forward psychedelic and garage rock type stuff. I was in a heavy psych rock band in the 20teens called Lunar Grave. Vintage fuzz tones were our thing, and I was always trying to find new textures and fuzz tones to expand our sound, but ultimately that vintage stuff is pretty expensive so I started building clones of those old pedals as an economic necessity really, and it kind of took off from there. 

Walk me through the process and length of designing a pedal? 

Most of my designs come from my own needs as a guitar player. All of my pedals are based on old effects from the 60s and 70s and I sort of tinker around with them to get them to sound and perform the way I want them to. So really the process is truly never done. I’m constantly learning new stuff and discovering new needs either from myself or fellow musicians. 

What’s your favorite decade of pedals?

Definitely the 1960s. That’s where it all started. Some of those first pedals to hit the market back then are still fundamental to music and pedal engineering today. I absolutely love the farty and spitty nature of those old 60s fuzz pedals; they’re responsible for molding those players to play the way they did. Without those early fuzz boxes we wouldn’t have “satisfaction” by The Rolling Stones or pretty much any of Jimi Hendrix or all the psychedelic rock. 

When did you start toying with the idea of deconstructing older pedals and bringing them to the modern era?

It all started with tone chasing and a lack of cash to buy the actual vintage pedals I’d need to recreate those sounds. 

What is one trend in sound that you’re not a fan of? 

The “amp in a box” type pedals. I think it’s making a lot of guitar players sound thin and brittle when they don’t have to. Just get an amp that you like, start with that, then add effects from there. You’re never going to make an amp you don’t like sound like one you do by adding pedals. 

When making a chain of pedals, what are some effects you like to combine? 

Fuzz and reverb, and fuzz and wah wah are classic pairs I can never have too much of. 

Favorite guitar’s tone sans pedals? 

I love a Telecaster. It’s a workhorse guitar that works in any genre. 

What musician would you love to see use your gear?

I’d have to say Reine Fiske; he’s definitely my favorite active and contemporary guitar player.