Just when you thought you've seen it all, you see the Strymon Fairfax Class A Output Stage Drive. Strymon, masters of the digital realm that they are, step forward (or look backward) with their first entry in their "Series A" line of effects – a creative outlet for the brand's dynamite analog design team. The Fairfax Class A Output Stage Drive is a fully analog Strymon creation meant to give your best amplifiers loving pushes to and over the edge.

The Fairfax is a unique creation in the Strymon effects catalog. A truly lesser seen piece among the lot, the Fairfax utilizes a JFET-forward design to simulate the full circuit operation of a tube amplifier. Throwing it back to Randy Bachman's late-'60s experiments to enhance tube-born sustain for his guitar parts, the Fairfax follows in a similar example for a small-scaled device primed to emulate the vivacious sounds of tube amplifiers. The Fairfax features a simple and intuitive amp-like interface to cut to chase on new, tonal conclusions.

A different move for Strymon, the Fairfax is centered around a simplified design with three control dials and a two-way Bright switch. Two of these dials work in familiar, amp-like ways as the Fairfax summons authentic tube-like distortion through a conversation between its Level and Drive controls. Bump up Level and roll back Drive to keep things loud but clean – do the inverse for the inverse. The secret weapon of the Fairfax lays with its Sag control which emulates the power sag among tube pre- and power sections. Work the Sag control as you see fit to introduce some capacity for crunch, breakup, failure, and an overall spontaneity and natural feel usually only reserved for tube amps.

The Strymon Fairfax also breaks from the usual Strymon standard with no external digital bells and whistles. Really working to simplify things and keep your playing experience unencumbered, this simplicity elevates the Fairfax to the status of a true creative companion. The Fairfax features true bypass switching and operates with standard nine volt center negative power supplies working at at least 500mA.

For an exciting, new foray into all-analog, the Fairfax is something truly inspiring for Strymon fans and any tube-lover otherwise. Sometimes it's not all in the ones and zeroes. Sometimes the tone's in the fingers.

• Strymon all-analog JFET circuit effect design
• Three-way tone control design with Level, Drive, and Sag settings
• Two-way amp-like Bright control switch
• True bypass footswitch
• Standard nine-volt DC center negative power operation at 500mA