This is a wonderful pedal that I've used on my pedalboard for years, but have neglected to make a standalone demo of...until now! Hailing from Québec, Fairfield Circuitry have built a stellar reputation for creating some of the best wacky boxes of weird out there. The Meet Maude is a BBD-based analog delay, but with some extra features that you just don't get in most other delays on the market.
It can do the 'basics' very well - slapback, dotted 8th 'Edge-style', darker DM-2 type repeats that don't get in the way of your core tone...all of those are present and correct. But where this pedal really excels for me is its ambient, washy textures - helped by a brilliant modulation circuit that isn't 'perfect' in the way that the sine-wave modulation in something like a Memory Man is. No - this modulation is more glitchy and random, and is more reminiscent of a tape delay where the reels snag on the mechanism...giving a more unpredictable jerky effect.
Plus, you also get a compression switch that only affects the wet path of your signal - most of the time this is a fairly subtle smoothing effect, but especially when the pedal is going into washy ambient self-oscillation, it prevents the BBD from being overloaded so you don't get any crunchy, unpleasant clipping. (You listening, Thorpy Camoflange...?!?)
What do you think? Emotive and inspiring? Or not for you? Comment below!
Guitar is a Nathan Sheppard NSG-1 w/ Bare Knuckle Knuckleduster pickups. Amp is a Vajra JTM45 clone running into a Zilla Studio Pro 2x12 cabinet loaded with Scumback S75-PVC AlNiCo and Celestion AlNiCo Gold speakers. Recorded with Aston Spirit Condenser, '70s Sennheiser MD441 and sE RNR1 ribbon mics, with a Schoeps CMC6 room mic.
0:00 Intro
3:49 Basic Delay Sounds
7:44 Modulated Ambient Sounds
16:32 Outro
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