VauxFlores Gold Standard:

Gold Standard:

Introducing the newest addition to the VauxFlores family of devices tailored for the adventurous, creative and brave sonic champions among us – the Gold Standard. Produced in collaboration with composer, violist, and visual artist Liz Meredith, the Gold Standard is a stripped-down, blown-out, gated “racing-fuzz” based off our very own Number 24, but adapted for those that crave high-octane spontaneity with just a pinch of soul. This particular number, housed in a decorative gold enclosure accenting artwork derived from an original graphic score prepared special to be played using this pedal (meaning for all you shoe gaze experimenters out there, you don’t even need to look up from your pedal to check your charts) is a true pleasure to behold, conjuring a symphony of resonant buzz saws backed by a choir of bees in SATB formation. Colorful language aside, it’s pretty killer – totally wooly, but responsive, gated yet able to really carry a note and harmonically rich while equally destructive. As a bonus, it feeds back when you pull your volume knob back and in certain situations the tone control acts as a fairly decent resonant filter. I can’t guarantee that this box is for everyone, but for those willing to take a plunge into a fairly versatile sound-palate with a familiar interface, what’s there to lose?

Ordering:

Price is $119, not including shipping and handling. All orders ship from Baltimore, Md. via Priority Mail. Please contact us prior to ordering for international orders or to make other shipping arrangements. At the moment, we build in small batches and handle all online ordering through Etsy. If you’re interested in picking up one of these boxes, we invite you to visit our shop – if it’s there, it’s available. If not, either give us a few days or drop us a line.

About Liz:

Liz Meredith is a string player, improviser, and composer originally from Baltimore, Maryland. Her music explores many creative facets, from composing instrumental works to making ambient music, song-oriented pieces, graphic scores, and solo improvisations. “Liz Meredith is a gorgeous plunge into a plaintive mood, a place where rising and falling electronic textures and drawn-out viola lines cast soothing shadow plays on the brain”. – Bret McCabe, Baltimore City Paper (2012). Her current creative projects include: The self-titled debut solo album Liz Meredith LP, a collaborative ambient music project with John Somers (brother of Alex Somers), which includes the recently released album The Disposition of Vibrant Forms Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (5 LP set), and her band X|i|O, a group focused on graphic notation, spontaneous composition and visual-acoustic kinetics. In addition to performing her own music, she has premiered new 21st century music by emerging composers. Liz holds degrees from Berklee College of Music (Bachelor’s Degree in String Performance & Film Music), and Mills College (Master’s Degree in Music Composition). She has studied viola performance with Hank Dutt of Kronos Quartet and music composition with Fred Frith. Liz is currently based in Baltimore, Maryland.

The Score:

Here’s the score that this pedal is based off of, btw. Get it. Got it? Good, now let it roll. Coincidentally, each Gold Standard comes with a hard-copy if the score as well. Interested in jamming this thing in a concert hall? Drop Liz a line for her official blessing.