Xploration • Curation • Recommendation
Buzzing Bugs collaborates with Cardiff Band Los Campesinos! for signature Mortal Joy Lo-Fi style Overdrive, Filter and Tape Saturation / Modulation Pedal
Key Points
Buzzing Bugs teamed with Cardiff band Los Campesinos! to make the Mortal Joy, a lo‑fi overdrive/filter/tape saturation and dual‑LFO modulation pedal that reproduces the band's core sound on the album 'All Hell'.
It packs a 3‑knob Discrete Transistor Overdrive with Lo/Hi Gain Structure switch, a Fixed Band Filter with Cut Footswitch, and Tape Saturation plus Dual LFO Modulator (same LFO as the BB03 Lo‑Fi Chorus, in duplicate). Controls: Drive — Volume, Tone, Gain, Lo/Hi Gain Structure, Drive Footswitch; Filter — Fixed Band Filter, Cut Footswitch; Tape/LFO — Volume, Saturation, Sensitivity, Rate A, Depth A, Rate B, Depth B, Tape Footswitch.
Available for pre‑order from the Buzzing Bugs Webstore. As of 13 July 2026, the price was £240. Dan calls it "designed to make your guitar sound worse, in the best possible way!"
My good friend Dan at Buzzing Bugs has had a few really busy months of late in developing this fantastic lo-fi style pedal for his friends across the Bristol Channel. Los Campesinos! regard themselves as the UK’s first and only emo band, where this Mortal Joy pedal replicates the core of their signature sound found on latest album ’All Hell’.
The Mortal Joy is composed of a 3-knob Discrete Transistor Overdrive with extended range via Lo/Hi Gain Structure switch. Next is the Fixed Band Filter / Cut Footswitch which sort of emulates the sounds of a transistor radio and cigarette box amp. And then you can further mangle / ’enhance’ the output via Tape Saturation and Dual LFO Modulation - for exceptional lo-fi warbled tones.
There’s elements of drive, lo-fi filtering, compression, saturation and warped vibrato here which all combine in the most beautifully textured of fashions.
Controls - DRIVE } Volume, Tone, Gain, Lo/Hi Gain Structure, Drive Footswitch | FILTER } Fixed Band Filter Cut Footswitch | TAPE SATURATION & DUAL LFO MODULATOR } Volume, Saturation, Sensitivity, Rate A, Depth A, Rate B, Depth B, Tape Footswitch.
The LFO Modulation is the same here as on the excellent BB03 Lo-Fi Chorus but in duplicate.
This is the very essence of a signature sound all-in-one pedal, while there’s sufficient range onboard to shape it to your own preferences too. Obviously a must for fans of the Los Campesinos! sound, alongside those who really love that lo-fi sensibility, which seems to be increasingly popular these days.
As Dan aptly describes the Mortal Joy - "is designed to make your guitar sound worse, in the best possible way!"
The Mortal Joy is available for pre-order right now from the Buzzing Bugs Webstore, where it goes for £240. It has a really cool grainy surface effect within the paint job too - a very handsome pedal all-round!
Demos
