Love for the Fairfield Barbershop?

[neville5000]

I picked one of these up today and haven't seen much about them here. I played it for about half an hour and thought that it is really useful. Now I'm not an overdrive junky by any means, but I've played a few. With the gain up, compared to a TS type, it didn't have the mid-range bump/hump and it sounded much more amp like and natural. Compared to the Zendrive, again, more natural. I liked the ZD, but I noticed once you got the gain past noon it wasn't very convincing IMO. This is super transparent, so much so in fact, that using it as a clean boost was almost indiscernible. I let my Sexdrive go to try this out and am not missing it. As nice as the Sexdrive was, it added a bit of top-end presence and a touch of low-end girth. I liked it, but my main amp doesn't need it. The Barbershop really lets it shine. As I adjusted the gain higher I was really impressed with how natural it sounded, it wasn't choked off and gated or overly compressed; it had a nice airiness to it. The best control though is the Sag knob. It lets you tailor the feel of the gain exactly how you want it to sound. For clean boosting I maxed it out and turned the Drive knob almost all the way down. For a nice crunchy rhythm I had it about noon and the Drive around 2 o'clock. For a very convincing AC/DC tone I had the Drive maxed and the Sag around 10 o'clock. This was all done with a Z Route 66 at gigging volumes, but not with the band. I'm stoked to try it with my 65 London in a live setting. Overdrive pedals don't generally do much for me, but this one sounds pretty dang good. I'll prolly use it as a clean boost, but if I ever have to turn down to the point of being neutered I know I'll have some decent tone on tap with this thing. I do wish it had a buffer. I know it's still honeymoon time, we'll see how I like it next month. I got on the Centaur list before Mr. Finnegan shut it down and will do a shootout when it comes. Who knows, maybe I'll save a few bucks and like this better. :)

[Pestophan]

I've just bought one of these and am expecting it to arrive in the morning. I plan to use it in the effects loop of an ARDX20 and give it a 100% wet effect. I'll have the ARDX20 running parallel with my DMM, so i'll get the clean delays of the DMM, and the wet overdriven delays of the ARDX20 w/ Barbershop. Should sound awesome! I've got an MI Audio Blues Pro set to fuzz and full gain, and my Labsystems overdrive channel to keep my standard overdrive needs content. Fairfield Circuitry make some damn quality gear.

[amp boy]

I've wanted one of these since they came out on the website.
I had a gut feeling about this one, and i was right. It's the perfect Overdrive/tone shaper/boost for me............and it's the 2nd od i have ever bought.....i like driven amps, but now get more of a sense of the "colour" that can be added by pedals.

So i got mine last week.
This is also the 2nd pedal that i have actually purchased new, and i also bought it directly from Mr. G Fairfield. I dig design, and this guy knows what he is doing....the website/logo/box/papers/picks/packaging............seriously......opening that box to see the care in packaging your product....wow.......this pedal will arrive alive.

robust badass case...check
cool scuff pad on the backplate.......I GOT PURPLE !!!!!!!!.........check
nice taper to the knobs....check
Layout and detail to circuit board and battery placement........check

Honestly,
I hope this guy is here to stay.....because this is a killer piece of work AND IS PRICED AFFORDABLY !!!!!!!!!! I have not played Paul C's Tim/Timmy's, but thank you to these guys that are making quality stuff.......and ascertainable........that word is rather to big for me.

I think i saw these being sold used here due to having 3 knobs, and another pedal that has 3 knobs.......and that lead them to believe in some things.
Well i dunno about that stuff, but i have a feeling their is no point in me thinking about the other one.
This does what i need it to do.

I'll add more to this at a later point.
Though for now i'll say the Barbershop does with more clarity for how i was using my Durham Crazy Horse.
Yes, there is quite a relation........remove the Drive and Fuzz from the CH.
I think of them as two brothers....same box size...jack locations......one talks smooth while the other gets rude.

I actually have always thought of a voltage control as a "tone" control.

Comparing the CH Volts and the 'Shops Sag.........the Barbershop has a much more refined and tapered control......i love it.

If anyone has a CH, and has been setting it like i have with the drive and fuzz set off ( though it is still in the circuit ) for rhythm chords etc......well GET A HAIRCUT YA DAMN HIPPIE,
GET TO THE BARBERSHOP !!!!!!

I think this will fit perfectly.....the CH for big note hits or leads, and the barber can be set and kept on for the whole.

Overall : kinda take the grit feel of a Crazy Horse (TEXAS !!!!)....and the transparent-ish drive quality of a Gainster.......make french toast with quality cinnamon, that's how the builder found the sparkle,
and you've got it.

[neville5000]

cool, anyone else? I want to hear how people are using it.

[jaxapi]

i'm a low gain player so i try a lot of overdrive/distortion/fuzz box ... for that sound
and the winner is the barbershop
i try screwdriver - blackstone - keeley rat - maxon - ds1 - bluesdriver - aramat (a very good one !) .... a lot of other one and i really love the clarity of the barbershop !!

[chart #3]

I'm using this for touch-sensitive low gain drive. Much more dynamic than pretty much anything else, which can be a bit confusing at first. It reacts much like an amp breaking up (but less compressed in the volume it puts out), although it has a color of its own (which I can never guarantee anyone will like, cause it's really special — almost... trashy).
I play in a clean amp with everything up front, and use this last in the chain, after the delay even, when I want to feel as if I was overdriving the amp (so not like a "drive channel"), but while staying at unity gain. I had been seeking something that might do that well (and also maintain the whole frequency range), and this turned out to be the shit. It doesn't nail the sound of a specific amp breaking up, but the feel of it. Well, not really the feel (cause that feel also has a lot to do with the crazy volume, which is physically impossible to simulate), rather the "behaviour". This is a unique pedal.
In fact it's maybe too dynamic for my use — I'm still trying to find a balance.

Never used is as a boost (I don't use any other drive and play at low volume; pretty much a "bedroom player" ATM) so I dunno about that.

[MadFrank]

Hi Guy's,

First post from a new member over here in Blighty. :wave

Been looking around here a lot, reading the post's looking for the 'One' O'd. And the Barbershop has really got my attention. Dont know why exactly, out of the many I've seen and heard, but it seems so, transparent, alive and big in the clip's (GearmanDude). Totally unlike a Tubescreamer and very useable. I'm selling my Keeley TS9 Flexi to get one (Never got 'it' at all), and had a couple of e-mails from Mr Fairfeild.. seems like a nice guy. Cant wait to see how it plays with my Cornell Romany Plus and my LovePedals. (Got on the list for a 'TIM' too - could be a great stack!)

Cheers! :)

[amp boy]

This pedal sounds and reacts so much better than "gearmandude"'s demo, which i thought sounded bad, i don't think he understood to blend the combinations to create different tones. It was actually a bad demo that i didn't feel got anything across.

One thing i really enjoy is the jangle grit rhythm i can play/enhance with the barbershop.