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Miniature Marvel
Unlike many units we associate with gain and overdrive, Fairfax isn’t really a distortion pedal. Instead, it’s a complete miniature amplifier in 100% analog form, based upon a little-known device from the 60’s that powered a number of classic rock anthems.
The sound and feel is extremely tube-like, with added harmonics and saturation coming from a clever circuit that emulates the critical behavior of a tube amp’s output transformer. It’s a drive pedal that feels completely natural to play, retains the natural sound of your guitar, and glues notes together in a truly organic way.
The Story
Fairfax was inspired by the original Garnet Amplifiers Herzog unit designed for Randy Bachman in 1965. Bachman wanted the sustain of a cello for his electric guitar, so he started running the speaker output of a small combo amplifier into the input of another larger amplifier while chasing that sound.
Unfortunately, that scenario has a tendency to blow up the combo amplifier (sometimes in dramatic fashion!), so Bachman enlisted Gar Gilles to design a device that would behave in a similar way but not actually catch fire. Gar’s design ended up being a small tube amp based around a 12ax7 and 6v6 tube, with a built-in speaker load so that it wouldn’t blow up. The result is the classic sustaining lead sound from songs like “American Woman” by The Guess Who.
More Than A Drive Pedal
Fairfax began as an engineering experiment, with the goal being to recreate all of the critical elements of the original circuit fully in the analog domain, but small enough to fit into a pedal enclosure. With JFETs in place of the tube stages and an ingenious custom circuit that emulates the characteristics of the output transformer (which is integral to the sound), Fairfax delivers the real-deal performance of the original unit, without the need for a 250V tube power supply.
There’s even a variable Sag circuit that behaves just like a real tube amp does, by dynamically varying the amount of available current to the preamp and power amp sections independently, based upon how much signal is being sent to the power amp and how hard the guitar is played. At low Sag values the behavior is mild and closer to a solid state rectifier, and at max values the JFETs can go crazy and unbias - which gates the input - leading to spitting and chortling sounds more commonly associated with gated fuzzes.
In order for Fairfax to behave like a real amplifier it needed a ton of operating voltage, so a transformer-based power supply converts the 9VDC input voltage to 40V internally. This
gives Fairfax the power that it needs for high headroom and amp-like feel, allowing for a wide range of tones.
At lower Gain settings Fairfax remains sweet, gently pushing the input to your amp with additional harmonic richness. At higher Gain levels the sound can become angular, compressed and much more aggressive depending on the guitar that’s driving it, and the large range of gain on tap allows Fairfax to be used in nearly any setup imaginable.
Works The Way You Need It To
Because it’s based upon a tube amp design, Fairfax plays well with all different types of amplifiers and amp modelers. The creamy sustain brings something new to both clean and naturally dirty amplifiers.
We’ve even included an internal jumper that determines the power up state, so if you plan on using Fairfax with a pedal loop switcher you can choose to have it turn on automatically when powered up. This saves you the step of turning the pedal on manually every time, which is a lifesaver on a dark stage or with a complex setup.
The Controls
The Level Control sets the output level for the pedal. Lower settings send less total output signal to your amplifier, no matter where the other two knobs are set.
The Drive Control determines the amount of preamp gain. Working in tandem with the Level control, you can determine precisely how you’d like to drive
Strymon Fairfax Features
Strymon Fairfax Class A Output Stage Drive Pedal Specifications
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