Strymon | FAIRFAX | 100% Analog Class A Output Stage Drive Pedal

Versatile, dynamic, and bursting with all-analog warmth, the Strymon Fairfax rounds out your tonal toolbox with harmonic-rich, tube-like boost and saturation. This all-analog powerhouse, loosely inspired by a valve-powered device from the 1960s, is effectively a full-scale amplifier in miniature form — only with JFETs in place of tube stages and a custom circuit that emulates the expressive sound and feel of an output transformer.

Complete with tried-and-true Drive and Level controls, the Fairfax’s massive range allows it to excel as a sonic sweetener that glues your sound together, a searing boost to slam the front end of your amp, and even as an aggressive and angular gain machine when pushed to its limits. Moreover, Fairfax’s sweet, cello-like sustain is engineered to play nice with all sorts of amplifiers and amp modellers, and it even features a Bright switch to tame excessive top end.

To seal the deal, Strymon decked the Fairfax out with a touch-responsive Sag circuit that takes your tone from firm and tight to raging, gated-fuzz-like chaos depending on where you set the dial. Pint-sized and ready to hit the road with its heavy-duty metal enclosure, the Fairfax proves that Strymon's industry-defining engineering extends far beyond the realm of modern digital modeling.

100% analog amplifier circuitry

Don’t be fooled by the Fairfax’s stompbox-sized exterior — this all-analog device is essentially a complete amplifier in pedal form, taking its inspiration from a beloved bit of tube-powered engineering from the 1960s. Featuring JFETs to substitute tubes and a state-of-the-art analog circuit to replicate the sound and feel of a full-sized output transformer, the Fairfax even features a transformer-based power supply to internally convert its 9VDV input voltage to 40V — a feature that imbues the Fairfax with soaring headroom and an expressive, amp-like response. Most important of all, the Fairfax sounds like a valve-powered amp, whether it’s used to juice the front end of your tube amp with a rich, harmonic boost or pushed into extreme and angular territory at the upper end of the dial.

Straightforward tone tweaking

The Fairfax’s control setup is designed first and foremost for intuitive tone shaping, sporting a straightforward duo of Drive and Level knobs to dial in your desired level of preamp gain and output. What’s more, the Fairfax’s Bright control sets your signal’s high-frequency contour, giving you the power to tame excessive high-end from your amp or instrument with the flip of a switch.

However, a control you certainly wouldn’t find on any old-school, all-tube amplifier is the Fairfax’s ultra-dynamic Sag knob. In technical terms, the Sag circuit dynamically varies the level of current sent to the preamp and power sections independently, based on the amount of signal being sent to the power amp and your playing dynamics. In practical terms, the Sag circuit authentically recreates the spongy, compressed sound of a tube amp pushed hard, with lower levels of Sag mimicking the firm sound of a solid-state rectifier and more extreme settings venturing into spitty and gated-fuzz-like madness.

The first in Strymon's all-analog Series A

Strymon goes 100% analog with the Strymon A Series — a fresh new lineup of pedals kicked off by the Fairfax, arriving courtesy of Strymon’s veteran team of analog engineers. Strymon Series A pedals boast traditional analog circuitry under the hood and make minimal use of USB, MIDI, or any other sort of modern digital enhancements.

• A full-scale amp replicated with 100% analog circuitry, inspired by a tube-powered device from the 1960s
• Versatile design and massive gain range covers everything from clean boost to harmonic-rich saturation to all-out angular madness
• Replaces tube stages with JFETs and features a custom circuit to emulate the characteristics of an output transformer to retain a rich, warm analog sound
• Intuitive Drive and Level controls to dial in your sound
• Bright switch rounds over excessive high end in your signal
• Dynamic Sag circuit replicates the behavior of an amp pushed to its limits, featuring the firm sound of a solid-state rectifier on lower settings and all-out sputtering insanity when cranked
• Input voltage is converted to 40V internally from the 9V power supply to better replicate the nature of a full-sized amp
• Ultra-compact, road-ready metal enclosure with convenient top-mounted knobs
• Internal jumper sets the pedal's power-up state, allowing you to choose whether the pedal is automatically engaged when powered up