SynthFest France 2026: Glou-Glou Bien Jolie is a new, beautiful experimental analog guitar Synthesizer/FX pedal inspired by Rob Hordijk’s legendary Benjolin circuit.
Dutch synth designer Rob Hordijk passed away in 2022 at the age of 64. One of his most famous designs is the Benjolin circuit, which lives on to this day in many Eurorack clones and other further developments.
So far, synth enthusiasts have been able to explore his design. A French company now wants to change that. Ahead of SynthFest France 2026, Glou-Glou has introduced Bien Jolie, a new guitar Synthesizer pedal based on this famous experimental circuit.
Glou-Glou Bien Jolie
Bien Jolie (French for “very pretty”) is a new analog synth and FX pedal based on Rob Hordijk’s Benjolin circuit. At first glance, the Glou-Glou Bien Jolie appears to be a classic but stylish semi-modular Synthesizer. However, it is a synth and FX pedal.
It has a full analog signal path and is built around interacting analog VCOs, XOR logic, the Rungler shift register, and a resonant filter. All these form an analog synth that brings chaotic, unpredictable synthesis to the guitar world.
Bien Jolie’s circuit can be fed with two different core signals. Either the built-in oscillators or via an audio input.
Three analog VCOs are onboard, each with triangle and square outputs, frequency control, PWM option, and two modulation inputs. Frequency modulation between the oscillators is possible thanks to the modulation inputs.
A SuperTri option is also available. Connecting a CV/gate keyboard is not possible as they don’t respond to an accurate 1V/octave scale. They are designed to respond to guitar signals.
Clean, Fuzz, and Oscillator Operation Modes
The pedal has six distinct operation modes. In the Banjo and SuperTri modes, the oscillators generate the sound themself without feeding external signals into it. So, you can use it as a standalone drone and noise box.
Then, you have the audio input options. In this config, you can trigger the analog engine with a guitar or other instrument.
“Audio input” sends clean audio to the pedal, while Fuzz mode routes it through a fuzz distortion before it reaches the main section, giving you crunchier, dirtier results. There are also two octave modes (-1/-2). Each mode has an adjustable input gain.
The highlight feature of the Glou-Glou Bien Jolie pedal is the built-in Rungler shifter-register modulator with two patchable inputs. In simpler words, it can be described as a plain S&H and a shift-register-based pseudo-random generator that brings chaos and unpredictability into the sounds.
More shaping is available via the resonant low-pass filter with peak control, offering near self-oscillation and two modulation points.
Semi-Modular Fun
Like a traditional semi-modular Synthesizer, the pedal has a fixed internal signal path out of the box. The fun begins when you break this. Glou-Glou added a patch bay to the Bien Jolie pedal with ±5V normalization, allowing you to dive deep and create complex sounds.
All features have both inputs and outputs. Additionally, you have envelope follower outputs (envelope + env invert) extracted from the audio input, and three MIDI squares.
The latter are clockable square oscillators that can be synced to either the incoming MIDI clock or the internal tempo. The pedal also has a Relay-bypass that is usable with an external footswitch and a passive expression pedal input
Like the other Glou-Glou pedals, you can also turn the pedal into a desktop unit with the optional desk-sides for a vertical station.
Glou-Glou hasn’t shown us the back panel yet. But it appears to have audio input and output, MIDI, expression-pedal inputs, and a power-supply input.
According to the developers, Bien Jolie is both a Synthesizer and an effect. Classic synth sounds, as well as all kinds of beautiful, weird experimental tones, are possible thanks to the Rungler and the patch bay.
The ability to modulate parameters also opens the door to many colorful effects that are not directly visible on the interface. Fuzzy tones can be achieved via the fuzz mode. Ring modulation, vowel filter, envelope filter, tremolo, and much more.
Glou-Glou Bien Jolie First Impression
Rob Hordijk’s Benjolin is featured in a wide variety of Synthesizer products. It’s a welcome change to see it in a guitar product. It’s a lovely pedal that takes guitarists into new sonic territory.
It’s not just another delay, reverb, or fuzz pedal that you already have a ton of. From what you can hear in the demos, you can get very experimental with this pedal and create some truly unique sounds. Sounds that guitarists don’t have on their menu every day.
Glou-Glou Bien Jolie is now available for pre-order at a special introductory, limited-quantity price of 500€ instead of 590€ (15% OFF). This deal is valid until April 2026, and shipping starts in May 2026.
More information here: Glou-Glou
Glou Glou makes some amazing effect pedals, but considering this one doesn’t have a footswitch or to switch it in and out of a chain, I wouldn’t call it a pedal but a desktop fx. 😉