Fairfield Circuitry Modèle B Overdrive Pedal

Manufacturer's description

Have you ever sat in a barber’s chair wishing your tone was as slick as your freshly shaved upper lip? With the Model B Barbershop Overdrive on your pedalboard, you could keep your Van Dyke and sound good doing it.

A stripped-down, minimalistic version of our popular Barbershop Overdrive, the Model B has no bypass switch; it’s always on. Handmade from JFETs matched to specs, this versatile pedal will treat your pickups with the respect they deserve. In return, they’ll thank you with some of them sweet tones.

CONTROLS

• SAG: The Sag control reduces the voltage to the amplifiers as you turn it counter clockwise, giving additional control over the character and feel of the saturation. The lower the Sag, the browner the sound. Full voltage is applied when the control is set fully clockwise. It is at this setting that the pedal has the potential to be its cleanest and loudest.
• DRIVE: Sets the interstage gain of the amplifiers. More gain means more distortion. The wide operating range allows you to go from an almost clean gain to a tasty rich overdrive.
• TONE: A plastic shorting jumper on a 3-pin header labeled HIGHS inside the enclosure allows to activate a low-pass filter. With the jumper placed at the YES position (rightmost 2 pins, if the audio jacks are positioned at the top of the pedal), there is no cut, like the classic Barbershop of days passed. At the CUT position (leftmost 2 pins), a subtle filter to tame ever so slightly the feeling of brightness accompanied with the Barbershop.
• VOLUME: Controls the output volume of the pedal while keeping the effect unchanged. This is where you have plenty of room to boost.

TECHNICALS

• input impedance 1 MΩ
• output impedance < 5 kΩ
• power supply 9 to 9.6 VDC
• current draw 5 mA

NOTES ON POWERING

The Model B Barbershop was designed to operate using your typical centre negative, regulated 9–9.6 VDC power supply. The pedal is protected against reversed polarity. The pedal will function with voltages up to 18 VDC but the character of pedal will drastically change. The higher the voltage, the less drive you will have. Always check your power supply for proper voltage and polarity before connecting. There is no battery connection inside the pedal.

WATCH THE VOLUME

It’s best to start with the Volume control at a minimal setting to avoid damage to your ears and equipment.

FIND THE SWEET SPOT

There are combinations of settings that will put your setup right on the edge of breaking up, allowing you to go from clean to saturated with only variations in playing dynamics.