Loopy Demos

Shallow Water - Fairfield Circuitry

The Shallow Water by Fairfield Circuitry is a modulation pedal that get's a lot of hype around the internet. And I can totally see why after plugging it in.

Most people might think of it as a fancy chorus and vibrato pedal. But it's more than that. It's a vibe machine for lo-fi and nostalgic sounds. It creates very musical movement in your sound and adds a lot of character that other modulation pedals don't offer.

There is of course some technical reasons behind why that is so, most probably that this is a k-field modulator. I'm not expert enough to explain what that means. Feel free to check out the manual from Fairfield Circuitry's website to get the nitty gritty details.

From just twiddling with the knobs a lot, here's what makes the Shallow Water so special to my ears:

• Random modulation. Instead of predictable modulation with some kind of waveform, the modulation is randomized and thus feels more "interesting".
• The LPG knob (low pass filter and gate circuit). In short: If you play louder, the low pass filter opens up and the sound gets brighter (and a little noisier which gives it even more lo-fi vibes). If you play softer, the signal darkens and sounds more muffled. Turning up the LPG knob increases the sensitivity to your playing dynamics.
• The damp control. It controls the slope of the pitch modulation. This is different than just modulation intensity (controlled by the depth knob). Rather, this controls the softness/hardness of the modulation. That's why you can dial in sweet and lush chorus sounds with the Shallow Water as well as seasick vibrato swirls.

Also, I have to gush about the build quality and design a bit: No video demo quite captures how nice this pedals feels in your hands. The choice of knobs, how the aluminum enclosure is polished (from a distance, it just looks like raw aluminum, but it's much nicer up close), the foot switch that feels soft but still has a little click to it and the status LED that turns on with a slight ease effect instead of just being abruptly on.

I can wholeheartedly recommend the Shallow Water if you're into lo-fi and ambient sounds or you want your bandmates to turn their heads during practice and have them ask "What is that?!".

Signal Chain

• Epiphone SG Special (Lollar Firebird Pickups, neck pickup)
• Shallow Water
• Strymon Iridium (Chime)
• Focusrite Scarlett 2i2
• Garageband

Links

• Try a new one from Perfect Circuit*
• Get detailed specs on Fairfield Circuitry's website

Some of these are affiliate links and I earn a small comission if you buy stuff through those links. There is no additional cost for you. It helps me grow this website. Thank you!

Related Demos

Beam Splitter - Old Blood Noise Endeavors

The Unpleasant Surprise - Fairfield Circuitry

BB03 Lo-Fi Chorus - Buzzing Bugs Audio Devices

Meridian Time Modulator - Spaceman Effects

Tapescape - Bleak District Electric

Fundamental Chorus - Walrus Audio

Cutting Room Floor - Recovery Effects

Small Speaker Overdrive - Great Eastern FX

Keto - Ground FX

Rec Head V2 - Bleak District Electric

The Seesaw - Poison Noises

The Spill - Poison Noises

Swim Team - Mojo Hand FX

Callisto MKII - Catalinbread

Mood - Chase Bliss Audio

M1 - Walrus Audio

Kilobyte - Caroline Guitar Company

Midnight - NativeAudio

Polychrome - Walrus Audio

Julia V2 - Walrus Audio

Modulation Shootout

<div style="display: flex; justify-content: center;"><iframe src="/demos/fairfield-circuitry-shallow-water?embed=1&height=630" title="Shallow Water - Fairfield Circuitry | Loopy Demos" style="border-radius:16px" width="400" height="630" frameborder="0"></iframe></div>