Guess what? We’re going to review another delay today, making it three in a row (like we’ve said before, we love some delay around here). This one is a truly unique delay, however, one that you’ve probably not seen the likes of before, although I’m sure you’ve heard about it in recent years. Fairfield Circuitry is in a constant state of innovation, with each new pedal they put out topping the previous, and sending a wave of awe and inspiration spiraling throughout the guitar pedal community. The Meet Maude Analog Delay is most definitely inspiring and innovative, so let’s dig in and see what she can do, shall we?
The Meet Maude is so full of options and sounds, there’s no way to really capture what it’s capable of in a simple review, or even in a video like the one below – you really need to sit down with it for 4 days or a week, and get to know it, inside and out, and decide how it will best suit your sound, and the kind of music you like to play. That said, let’s run over the controls and a little of the Meet Maude’s sonic presence. The main control knob, the big fella on the right, is Time, which adjusts the overall signal’s delay time, from 50ms up to 500ms. On the left, there are four smaller, but just as important, control knobs as well. Volume has plenty of output, should you need it; Feed controls the amount of feedback the Meet Maude puts out; Tone is a low/high frequency EQ control; and Mix blends your guitar’s Dry signal in with the delay’s Wet signal.
There are two toggle switches as well, which seriously add some mojo to this delay. The first adds in Random Modulation to the delay, if you want it to. a 3-position switch, you can set it to Light Modulation, Heavy Modulation, or none, ’cause sometimes you just want a clean signal, right? The second toggle controls the internal Compression, as the first stage of the delay path is a JFET feedback compressor, which helps to even out the incoming signal to prevent any unwanted distortion. This one can be set to Light or Heavy as well, depending on how much or how little of it your setup requires.
The Meet Maude is simply a beautiful piece of engineering, a complex but small pedal, with a boatload of options to help you coax the most out of it. I wish the delay time was just slightly longer, but I can definitely deal with what this pedal presents, and make the most out of it. The Random Modulation adds a whole new and interactive dimension to the delay signal, and playing with something that unpredictable is all at once exciting, nerve-wracking and intense. Not to mention that the delay is made up of all the analog you could want, with warm, slightly distorted repeats and the soothing tape echo sounds we all long to recreate. If you haven’t seen or heard any of Fairfield Circuitry‘s other tasty pedal offerings, do yourself a favor and get over to their website…after you watch the video here, of course.
Submitted by Mike B, Website
Demo Rock pedalboard by West Coast Pedalboard
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November 24, 2015
Good review of a really sweet and odd pedal! But you never mentioned a couple of the coolest things about it: that feedback and/or time can be controlled by cv using an expression pedal, and that the oscillation never gets out of control but is designed to be played with in an interactive way.
November 24, 2015
Good points, Bud! The Expression Pedal options is a great one, and There’s a ton of fun to be had using the self-oscillation quirkiness to your advantage. Thanks for pointing those out, cheers!