FAQ

GENERAL

TECHNICAL

How do I know you have the pedal I'm looking for in stock?

We always make sure to have all pedals in stock for online orders unless otherwise noted on the product page.


Do you ship worldwide?

Yes, we ship worldwide from Monday to Friday and all orders are fulfilled within 3 business days.


Can you lower the value of my international order for customs purposes?

No, we cannot. This is illegal.


How long will it take for me to receive my pedal?

Transit times below are estimations and are not guaranteed. Different factors such as a pandemic, a holiday or a customs clearance may cause delays. Please note that delays are out of our control but we are always available to help you figure out what's going on with your package if needed.

Canada and USA: 3 to 9 business days
International: 6 to 10 business days


May I pick-up my order in person?

We are currently not able to offer in person pick-up.


Can I have a discount?

We are proud of the products we offer. Everyone working here is treated as equal, so is the value of each task and each dealer we work with. Therefore, devaluation of our products and systematic discounting are things we work against.

That being said, from time to time, we may have to liquidate our merchandise (t-shirts, stickers, etc) or our blemish units to make space for new products or units. In such events, we reserve the right to modify the price with respect to the affected products for a specified period of time or while quantities last.


Do you have blemish units?

We rarely have blemish units but when we do, we keep them aside. Once a year, they will be up for sale at a discounted price while quantities last.


What's a blemish unit?

Blemish units are pedals with small aesthetic defects. They are brand new and working perfectly. The defects are usually double punched letters or minor scratches on the case.

How do I adjust the Boost/Pad settings in the Shallow Water?

You will need a Phillips screwdriver to take off the back of the pedal. After that, all you need is your fingers!

The Boost and Pad jumpers are little black rectangles that each sit on a set of 3 pins, with each jumper covering 2 holes at a time. This means there are 2 possible positions for the jumper on each setting (ON or OFF) To remove a jumper, pull up (away from the circuit board). The jumper should come off the pins with ease. To change the setting, place the jumper back on the opposite 2 pins. The “ON” position for each setting is indicated by a number '1' next to the “ON" position.

For example: The boost setting, which is closest to the in/out jacks, has a '1' to the left of the 3 pins. If the jumper is on the 2 pins closest to this '1', it is on. If it's on the other 2 pins, it is off.

(Note: The “ON” position for the pad is on the right!)


I am getting some unwanted noise from the Shallow Water, is there anything I can do about this?

It depends on the type of noise. If you are hearing a bit of white noise when the LPG knob is above Noon, this is normal noise from the BBD.

If you are hearing any sort of pitched whine or squeal, it is likely a power supply issue. We highly recommend using an isolated power supply such as Voodoo Lab or Truetone, as it can be quite sensitive to power supply noise. The Truetone 1SPOT works well with our pedals.


Why doesn't my Shallow Water sound quite the same as the one I heard in a video?

The Shallow Water is very input sensitive. The volume, type of signal, playing, and dynamics can all have an effect on how the Shallow Water reacts. Also, it is generally unknown if the Boost or Pad jumpers in the interior have been adjusted when watching someone's review. Everyone's signal chain is different, therefore everyone's Shallow Water will sound slightly different!


I can hear Randy’s Revenge’s oscillator when I’m not playing, is this normal?

It is normal to hear bit of bleed from the oscillator in the Randy’s Revenge, especially when there is no signal running through it. In the SQ/LO mode, you may hear a bit of a ‘click’, and in the HI mode you may hear the actual pitch of the oscillator. Again, this is normal, but it should be reasonably quiet, especially compared to your instrument’s signal. If it seems louder than it should be, contact us at support@fairfieldcircuitry.com and we can assist you with a simple trim pot adjustment, or if need be, repair the pedal.


Can I adjust the trim pots in my Barbershop overdrive?

As it says on the Barbershop PCB, adjust nothing. The trim pots were put in the pedal to ease the calibration process, so we recommend not touching anything if you can help it. If you’d like a little more or less drive from the pedal, you have our permission to adjust the gain trim pot, as this is the easiest to set, and the amount of drive one desires is a very personal thing.


Can I run my Fairfield pedals at 18V for extra headroom?

The Barbershop Millennium Edition and Modèle B can be run at 18V for more headroom, though you will have less drive and sag on tap. This includes the V1 Barbershop (i.e. serial number under 1000).

The Meet Maude and Accountant can be safely run at 18V, however their character will be drastically altered, and we do not recommend this.

The Randy’s Revenge, Shallow Water, Unpleasant Surprise and Four Eyes will not function with anything other than 9V DC.

The Hors d'Oeuvre? Will have a bit more headroom at the input and output. Running it at 18V however may alter the behaviour or texture of the feedback – it'll generally feedback a bit more intensely than at 9V. This may or may not be wanted!

The Long Life converts internally to +/-12V, so using anything from 9 to 18V will be internally converted and have no noticeable effect on the sound.

The ~900 can be run at 18V. The Bias will behave differently than at 9V, and the pedal will be even louder - beware your ears.


What is the difference between the Barbershop V1 and the Millennium edition?

Starting with OD1000, the Barbershop Overdrive was changed to fit in a smaller enclosure, and the 3 position tone switch was added. The original Barbershop has a slightly higher Bass roll off (40Hz instead of 20Hz), and the Sag control may sound a little different. The circuit topology itself wasn’t changed, so the sonic differences between the V1 and the Millennium edition should be very minor.

Around OD2600, the PCB was changed to include internal trim pots, which greatly helped the calibration process. Again, no changed were made to the circuit, so there should not be any sonic difference between these two iterations.


What kind of expression pedal can I use with my Fairfield pedals?

Fairfield pedals can be used with any standard wiper-to-tip expression pedal. Ideal resistance values are 10k to 50k.


My expression pedal isn’t controlling the full range of the Frequency knob on my Long Life EQ, is this normal?

Yes this is normal. The EXP input on the Long Life is tuned to have a range similar to that of a standard Wah pedal. The frequency CV input on the other hand, can control the full range of the filter.


Why is my Unpleasant Surprise having a hard time opening the gate when the Onset knob is turned below 12 o'clock?

The Unpleasant Surprise is a tricky pedal because each one is different, and there's a careful balancing act to be made each time we calibrate them. We want the two ‘G’ settings to sound different enough from each other, however this can cause the gating threshold to be pretty high, and as a result, lower output guitars can have a hard time pushing through the gate at lower onset positions.

One remedy is to hit the Unpleasant Surprise with a stronger/louder signal. This can be done by placing something like a clean boost, compressor, or anything with a master volume really, before the Unpleasant.