Not just a new gain pedal
December 11, 2025
With the Strymon Fairfax Preamp, the US manufacturer is introducing the first representative of the new purist “Series A” series. The pedal is less of a classic distortion device and more of a completely miniaturized amplifier that, in pedal form, delivers the character of a small, tube-like amp front end.
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Strymon Fairfax Preamp
229,00€ 
Der Strymon Fairfax Preamp
The Fairfax Preamp is the first pedal in the “Series A” newly launched by Strymon. This offers a platform for Strymon pedals with pure analogue technology without MIDI, USB or digital signal processing. So we can’t wait to see what else we can expect from this new series in the future.
In terms of sound, the Fairfax presents itself as an amp-like drive that impresses with its absolutely natural playing behavior and, according to Strymon, shines above all types of amplifiers as well as amp modelers. From a light push to creamy saturation to rich gain sounds, everything is possible. The design is based on the Garnet Amplifiers Herzog Tube Drive, which was designed for Randy Bachman in 1965.
On the top side, things are simple at first. The Fairfax Preamp has the most important parameters: Level, Drive and Sag. While Level and Drive determine the output volume and the level of saturation, the variable Sag control intervenes in the simulated behavior of the “power supply”. Low settings provide subtle compression, high settings result in wild, almost fuzz-like gating sounds. A bright switch also influences the treble and can help with dark-sounding guitars.
Inside you’ll find a fully analog tube preamp, a Class A power amp and a custom circuit that mimics the crucial saturation properties of an output transformer. A galvanically isolated power supply increases the operating voltage internally from 9V to a whopping 40V, giving the Fairfax preamp high dynamics and headroom. An internal jumper also allows you to choose whether the pedal should be activated automatically after switching on. On the connection side it remains just as simple as on the top side. The front-mounted ones include input and output sockets in mono, as well as the 9V DC connection.
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Price and availability
The Strymon Fairfax Preamp will be available from Thomann in about a week and costs 229 euros.
