2025 Brighton Guitar Show / FX Expo Highlights from the Brighton Racecourse

www.brightonguitarshow.co.uk

www.pedalpatch.co.uk

Phil was the very first person I saw when I stepped into the show entrance. I always buy a ticket online - and Phil always waves me through - albeit I didn't get a badge this time around!

I've bumped into Phil and his brother Ian so many times over the year - and weirdly my expectation is always that Phil will be on his stand - and I've lost count of the number of times I've called Ian - Phil - there is some similarity in look, but not really - it's not so much a mis-identification as a flawed expectation. The brothers Steere were two of the first I spoke to, and the first in the film roll pretty much.

I also lucked out at lunch - where I ended up sharing my table with Judy and Colin - who turned out to be Phil and Ian's parents! They've been at every show apparently - but this is the first time that has properly registered for me. I love seeing families working together and all supporitng each other - which was also the vibe on the Cave Pedals stand - with seemingly that whole family involved in the show too!

FEATURED DEVICES

• Large Solderless Patch Cable Kit - £79.99
• Pedalboard Cabling Accessories Kit - £6.50

Phil specialises in various pedalboard cable solutions - where his mainstays are soldeless patch cable kits, and pedalboard cabling accessories kits - along with a whole load of stuff from Ernie Ball and EBS.

Phil is evidently one of the very best show runners on the circuit - as can be seen by how well and smoothlyy his shows are run - the organisation is always exceptional.

My only quibble really is that the venue has a somewhat odd selection of drinks and chocolate bars - but there\s plenty to go around and plenty of choices really.

A perfect day out all-in-all - apart form the early travel shenanigans - which were soon forgotten. I did though have to take a different route home - but it went very smoothly - albeit a little slower than usual!

hellosailoreffects.com

It's been quite a span of a month for me and Hello Sailor Effects - I was down at HSE HQ just a few weeks ago where I picked up two pedals, and I repeated that performance at the show - as there were two pedals that instantly appealed to me.

I knew that Joe was bringing 3 of his Dr. Boogie Dual Rec pedals with him - and thought I would probably want one of those. And when I arrived at the stand there was one that was vey evidently made with me in mind - with attractive red knobs and a really unique dinosaur artwork - actually of a Styracosaurus from the Cretaceous / Campania period.

FEATURED DEVICES

• Dr. Boogie Styracosaurus Distortion (Mesa Dual Rectifier) - £260
• Brian May style Treble Booster NKT CV7001 Edition - £250
• Rebel-Rebel Vox-Bender NKT CV7001 Edition Fuzz - £300

I've long wanted an HSE pedal with the Leia Rebel-Rebel artwork - and there was on such at the show too - a really cool take of the Vox Tone Bender - with killer NKT CV7001 Ge Transistors onboard. So two pedals were very evidently made fro me - which is what I came away with, and why Hello Sailor Effects is the cover star for this Brighton Guitar Show!

These two further editions are my HSE Pedals #11 and #12 - which is pretty decent going - since I only acquired  my vey first Zenomorhp one less than 2 years ago in August of 2023!

I really love all 12 HSE pedals - they're all utterly unique and all made with me in mind. The only input I've had over those years is on the knobs for my Alice FreeRange - everything else Joe figured out on his own - and what a genius he is!

I'm very proud of my 12 Hello Sailor Effects Pedals - they are a perfect snapshot for he best of that brand - and really showcase Joe's engineering prowess and artistic flair. He deserve to be so much more popular than he already is - everyone needs to board the HSE Express!

HELLO SAILOR DIRTY DOZEN (2023-25)

1. HSE x rnmf Xenomorph Germanium 2-Transistor Fuzz with shapeable 'Un-Buffer' Transformer (2 x CV7351)
2. Alice FreeRange Kossoff Drive Plexi + RangeMaster
3. Abbey Road Anchor Edition Hybrid Classic Fuzz (OC140 + BC182L)
4. Anchor Drive Dual Gain Overdrive Viking Edition
5. ShipWreck Fuzzstortion UFO Believe Edition
6. Monout Otave Fuzz in Pink Salmon Pinup Edition
7. Voodoo Sailor customised and upgraded Joyo Voodoo Octave Fuzz
8. SeaWolf PT2399 Deep Blue Delay - Fish Skin Edition
9. Jordan Boss Tone / Randy California Spirit in the Sky Fuzz (2N1711)
10. Brian May style Treble Booster with Transformer (NKT CV7001)
11. Dr Boogie Styracosaurus Distortion (Dual Rectifier) 
12. Rebel-Rebel Vox-Bender NKT CV7001 Edition Fuzz 

www.boss.info/uk/

In many ways Nico was the star of the show - and he turns out to be something of a master carpenter - who built all those cases and recessed boards for the new vintage section of Boos effect - where people could compare the older Roland and Boss classics - SDE-300 Dual Digital Delay, Space Echo Re-201 Tape Delay, and CE-1 Chorus Ensemble - with the newer pedal variants of each.

That section was a total triumph - just beautifully devised, designed and executed - Nico deserves some serious props for that project - those devices were mostly his two - with Matt's CE-1 I think it was completing that set.

The main action though was at another part of the stand - the 200-Series board in particular - where there was a run on those pedals. And also the BP-1W Booster Preamp - where Boss quickly sold out of all those they brought to the stand. They sold lots of most things - including Katana : Go's!

I feel that Boos had the best T-shirt at the show - apart from Ben Crowe's Alexander McQueen one! That new blue and yellow design looks very attractive - and harks back to the Anniversary year for Boss's BD-2 - expect to see some special editions for that later in the year! Fredric Effects' Demon Fuzz T-shirt was also really cool!

Here follows a selection of the day's best-sellers! :

FEATURED DEVICES

• RV-200 Reverb - £219
• BP-1W Booster Preamp - £144.99
• SY-200 Synthesizer - £269

shop.nrgeffects.com

Neil was one of my first stop offs at the show. He's mostly been involved in side-projects this year - which are taking up most of his time - including his Pedal Build Workshop collaboration with Phil's Pedal Patch. Neil is such a great pedal tutor - everyone should try to attend one of those sessions - and he's looking to maybe taking that show on the road later in the year.

He's been involved in a few collaborations and custom projects too - which have kind of put back new pedal development. I'm still waiting on the new Gnawer Rat-style Distortion and Mauler Searing Feedback Fuzz - while both of those will not materialise now until next year.

In the meantime I dropped of my Fuzzer and Purrer - for Neil to buff them up in silverly satin fashion - a process he only evolved after I had already received my pedals. So I dropped off my two for that beauty treatment essentially - and I will probably look to pick them up during an onsite visits - which we will organise for later in the year!

FEATURED DEVICES

• Fuzzer Classic Silicon Fuzz (Face) - from £229
• Purrer Even Tempered Organic Overdrive with smart Plus Boost - from £269

bluefxdevices.com

I was delighted to get properly acquainted with my now good friends Archie and Phil - who hail from Greece, but are currently residents of Copenhagen. I had briefly connected with Archie earlier - for the Kickstarter release of the Fuzz Fields Pedal - which of course I did an article for.

I also met Archie and Phil's London-based friend Costas - whom they were staying with - I probably spent the longest time overall in conversation with those 3 gentlemen. My good friend Pedal Experiments Phil did a demo for that pedal - and in fact acquired one at the time - so I'm a little late to that myself.

I really should have picked up one at the show - but my bag was over-full already  with T-Shirts from Fredric Effect and Boss - and the 2 pedals from Hello Sailor Effects - I was in a quandary as to what to do then - my bag wasn't even closing properly with its current complement - so the addition of another pedal was one 'waffer-thin mint' too many.

I do regret not coming away with one - but then my Greek friends never gave my a formal offer - so obviously something for another time. I will definitely be getting one of these in at some stage - with the accompany mini CV Expressio Auto-Modulator - which is not an essential necessary - but the experiencee would be a lot less fun without it!

So I look forward to following up on this project fairly soon!

FEATURED DEVICES

• Fuzz Fields Triple Modulating Fuzz - €339 (£293)
• 'It' Expression Sonic Enhancer (Triangle Waveform Auto-Modulator) - €75 (£65)

www.fredric.co.uk/pedals

It's become a ritual now for me to stop in on Tim's stand at these shows! I don't believe I've encountered anyone more often than Tim - while I guess Paul Flattley is a close second - those two really do the rounds!

For Birghton - it was kind of a repeat of the Leeds Pedal Show experience - with the Demon Fuzz + T-Shirt being the main focus. I had run out of space at Leeds - so I was back to pick up my T-shirt for this round. I really like how Tim is focusing in on one pedal - I feel all brands should do that - to give customers a simplified access to that brand.

We're still waiting on the demos for the new editions of Demon Fuzz and Silicon Harmonic Percolator - in fact my friend Phil is about to do one for that pedal. I also recommended Let's Play All's Matt Webster to Tim - as one of the finest demoers in this land!                                                                         

FEATURED DEVICES

• Demon Fuzz (EHX One-knob Muff Fuzz) - £125 (£99 + T-Shirt at shows!)
• Silicon Harmonic Percolator Fuzz - £140

audiostorm.uk/product-category/effects-pedals/

Lydia is obviously hot on the heels of the very recent official Tone Lord MK2 launch. That is such a smart pedal - everyone should at least acquaint themselves with the smart abilities for how that pedal works. The Tone Era control is so smart - as are the 3 instant further-booster-buttons!

I think Lyda, Pedal Experiments Phil and Myself did a pretty solid effort there - and hopefully enough to properly establish that pedal as a preferred boosting option!

We must nor forget the still superb Grand Classic Distortion - which is another incredible execution - with that smart 4-way Tube Preamp Emulator onboard.

And we will fairly soon see the announcement for the latest Quad Screamer iteration - now called the 'Otherwolrd'. It should be worth your while checking out all 3 of those pedals. I have two to-date - and both are wholly superb!

FEATURED DEVICES

• Tone Lord MK2 Solo Boost and Tone Era Shaper - from £199
• Grand Classic Preamp Tube Emulating Distortion with extras - from £199

flattleyguitarpedals.com

It's always wonderful catching up with with Paul and Jan - I feel like an honorary member of that family!

The Twin-T Wah is still going great guns - but Paul is looking to further enhance that tool

He has 2 new pedals coming up - one hopefully in time for the September Guitar Summit, and the other to be ready in time of NAMM in January.

So I look forward to sharing those details then.

I've included the DG Fuzz and recent Vaklyrie Vintage style Chorus in the Featured Devices - as both of those are well worth you consideration.

It's not long since Flattley were added to the Andertons roster - and they keep adding quality new dealers - so planty going on there!

FEATURED DEVICES

• Twin-T Resonant Filter Wah (Smoother) - £299
• DG Classic Sillicon Fuzz - £269
• Valkyrie Classic Vintage Chorus - £259

www.timber-tones.com

I could not find Rob at Birmingham Show - as he was buried away in the corner of the acoustic section - which is an area I alas never venture into.

Over the years I've bought up every variant of Jazz III that Rob has made - including all the woods, shells / moter of pearl, bone, stone, metals, felt, rubber, and special editions - I have quite the number!

Rob always bring a tonne of interesting new regular sized introductions  - while he's been promising me for the last 3 shows that he will bring Jazz III versions of those new editions - which hasn't happened yet. I may need to go visit him on the south coast to ensure that happens!

We've talked before about my making an onsite visit - it's something that I do more regularly these days - and pics are always a significant focus for me - especially those Jazz III varieties

FEATURED DEVICES

• Jazz Guitar Pick Collection - £100

hamiltoneffects.com

This was my first time meeting James Hamilton and his friend / sidekick Pete.

It was the first of the new brands, bar Blue FX Devices - whom I encountered on the day. Of those brand new brands for me - Hamilton seems to be the most polished. Each of their 3 pedals have dual footswitches and slightly extended features and range. The HFX-8 is the most distinctive - even though it's another Screamer as such - but with some unique features - especially the tone-shaping.

You then have Twin Dual Bias and Gain Boost, and Classic Fuzz with external additional  Bias and Input Gain controls. I feel James is doing interesting things here - I'm not sure he's fully in his stride yet as it were - put this selection shows a lot of promise. And I really like that he's spent significant time evolving his brand. He's definitely off to a strong start!

FEATURED DEVICES

• HFX-8 Screamer Overdrive with 4-way Tone Shaper - £180
• Twin Boost Dual Bias and Gain Boost - £180
• Embers Fuzz with Underdrive - Bias and Input Gain - £180

www.intensivecareaudio.com

It's ever a joy to meet up with Patrick - where I've been over to his his Stoke Newington HQ a couple of times and taken him to lunch. Another session was due to have happened already, but for seemingly parts supply issues - the release / launch of the new Death Muff has been pushed back further and into August now!

I very much look forward to sharing the full experience of the Death Muff - when that's fully ready and stocked.

In the meantime - the super versatile Vena Cava pedal is still my favourite of Patrick's devices. I really should have picked up Patrick's Fideleater Lo-Fi Modulator by now - that's the only sigifincant one for me that I'm still missing - I will look to pick that up also around the time that the Death Muff finally goes live!

FEATURED DEVICES

• Vena Cava Filter / Distortion / Auto Filter / Ring Modulator - £221
• Death Muff Fuzz - £TBC (August Launch)

angeliceffects.bigcartel.com

I had a great chat with Greg and Daisy - but somehow forgot to take their picture within that encounter - I thought I had - but no alas!

We mostly talked about branding, brand impact and recall. And the advantages of having a visual logo. We already have a halo ident - but it ideally needs some 'glow' on it - otherwise it can be mistaken for a magic ring! rather than a Halo.

I obviously gravitate toward fuzzes - really having some 700+ of that category in the reference collection. Fuzzes are by far the largest category - that and gain pedals. So Angelic's fuzzes were the first that I clocked - a dying battery style starved fuzz, synthy ring mod fuzz, and a glitchy octave fuzz - all interesting, and really well priced.

I feel that the artworks could do with some refinement and further polish - both Angelic Effects and Cave Pedals have something of a raw DIY aesthetic - which is fine for a fledgling brand - but when you want to grow he business - some further refinement is typically required to take you to that next level.

I'm happy to work with Greg - to get him to what every level he would like to operate. As a circuit designer he shows a lot of promise. Naming convention is pretty solid too - just needs a little honing!

FEATURED DEVICES

• Contact One-Knob Dying Battery Fuzz - £59
• Conductor Synthy Ring Modulator Fuzz - £79
• Peppermint Glitchy Octave Fuzz - £79

funnylittleboxes.co.uk

Andy is so on a roll these days - and for me his Caught By The Fuzz is the best thing he's made to date - everyone should have one! I was delighted to see that he sold out of all the ones he brought with me - where the last one went to my good friend Joe of Hello Sailor Effects.

Andy left behind his flashing light - I said he should have one on each side of this stand - if he keeps selling those at the rate these deserve to fly out - he should very rapidly be able to afford to bring more of those flashing lights with him.

Further good news is that the Skeleton Key has just come into stock again too - so I'm featuring that here also.

Both of those are only £99 - and well worth having!

FEATURED DEVICES

• Caught By The Fuzz Everyday Dual OpAmp Fuzz - £99
• Skleton Key Queens of the Stone Age style OpAmp Drive - £99

www.mayburyguitars.co.uk

Always wonderful catching up with my good friend and Woking Guitar Showrunner Jason. In fact we spent most of the time talking about the forthcoming second Woking show on October 11th - which features a lot more pedal brands this time around - including a first UK appearance for Empty Head Effects - whose founder Nik - has family in Working. A lot of the brands from the inaugural event are back - and this time around the floor-space is doubled. So lots to look forward to.

Jason had so many good looking guitars on show. most of the ones on the right were from Json's own private collection - while on the left hand side we have several of my favourite Upscaler recycled materials guitars - with that cool chalky paint finish.

This time around we had the coolest Tutti-Frutti multicoloured stripes T-type Upscaler - that I love. If I didn't have the remit to buy quite so many pedals - I would have been very tempted to pick up that T-type!

FEATURED DEVICES

• Tutti-Frutti Fish Hook T-type Upscaler - £1,250
• Pale Blue Fish Hook S-type Upscaler - £950

www.crimsonguitars.com

I connected with Ben first at one of the Birmingham Guitar Show - many years ago now. I used to watch his Crimson Guitar videos religiously - while he's not quite to active on that creative luthiery these days. And in fact has shuttered his Vintage Tools Company.

While Crimson is not mostly associated from a retail perspective as the premier premium purveyor of professional Luthier Tools - and the current Tool selection is magnificent - beautifully laid out on display in custom tweed-covered display cases.

My visit to the stand happened to coincide with surely what was Ben's best customer of the day - he bought near enough every other tool that was on display - including near enough every file and rasp type.

And Ben was looking sharp! In one of his nattiest outfits to date - quite resplendent really, and sporting the kind of T-Shirt I normally go for. I have several similar Skull Motif T-shirts from now defunct Birmingham-Machester brand Elvis ♰ Jesus - which is what my first guess was here. While as my Fashion Sleuthing proved later - it was actually by Alexander McQueen - and long since sold out in my size!

FEATURED DEVICES

• Alexander McQueen Zipper Skull Tee - c.£207
• Guitar Neck Carving Tool Kit  (inc. Iwasaki File) - £179.99

I suggested that Ben should make custom little briefcases for different and fairly full sets of his tools. His display looked so slick. Ben is a wonderful human being who works really hard - he deserves to do well!

www.fidelity-guitars.co.uk

www.hamsteadsoundworks.com

Dynamic duo and best friends Matt and Brian are always fun to catch up with - and deliver very unique photos!

Here both are cradling their own 'Guitar Babies' - Matt with a cool recent edition of his Stellarosa Guitar in Seafoam Green, and with Brian holding his recent collaboration with Matt - where both almost equally contributed in upgrading and customising that Fender Musicmaster - which is a guitar I've always loved - and even better here with all those Matt and Brian enhancements onboard. Both guitars are very obviously gorgeous.

Brian's Hamstead Soundworks also still heavily focused on its triumphant Red Wing Stereo Modulator - which I've had for a good six months already - and still loving it!

FEATURED DEVICES

• Fidelity Stellarosa Guitar in Seafoam Green - from £2,040
• Customised Fender Musicmaster in Black - N/A (Brian + Matt Collab)
• Hamstead Soundworks Redwing Analogue Stereo Multi-Modulator - £429

zonaguitars.com

It seems like Guitar Shows are the current main flavour of conversation - and as one of the co-founders of the Alternative Guitar Shows - I've been hoping that Wayne would finally organise the Exeter chapter of that series of events. To bring together all the key Luthiers and Pedal Makers from the West Country in particular. Including my other Exeter friends Joe Light of Joe's Pedals, and John Tron Davidson from Heavy Repping Picks.

Wayne had a great selection of his guitars - including my favourite Asgard and Isca varieties.

I'm still waiting for Wayne to complete is own unique take on a Tremolo Bridge - will be interesting to see which ends up materialising first - that new Tremolo Bridge - or the Exeter chapter of the Alternative Guitar Shows! 

FEATURED DEVICES

• Asgard Guitar - from £1,600
• Isca Guitar - from $1,750

brightonion.co.uk

Yet again I've failed to grasp the name of Jame's colleague - he thus has to fall under the 'Sidekick' moniker alas.

This is the 15th Anniversary Year for Bright Onion Pedals - the first celebration of that being the new PROG-5 5-TS-Loop Programmable Looper - which is about as compact a unit as you can get for those specs. And it has some really smart footswitch functionality for instantly stepping up effects and combinations on-the-fly.

They also had a whole board of 'Arcade Killer' Momentary Kill Switches - where if they had had one like in my photo - black with white accents - I would have surely snapped one of those up! They looked really cool, and are not listed on the website.

I also spotted one of their long-since discontinued  'The Russian' Mini Muff in Green - where the blue colourway is my favourite.

Bright Onion need to fully celebrate their 15 Year Anniversary - and need a suitable logo ident to support further Anniversary editions this year!

FEATURED DEVICES

• PROG-5 5-Loop Programmable Looper (Mono / TS) - £199
• Arcade Killer Momentary Kill Switch - £25

www.chasebliss.eu

Doug's stand is always so busy - I rarely get a looking until very late in the show!

Obviously Chase Bliss are coasting high on the success of the recent Brothers AM - which was a triumph. Not exactly identical to the KOT, but near enougth for those who care, and different enought to make it well worth owning both!

I'm still working through an obligation I have with my friends and Dry Bell - where the CLEAN will be finally getting and innings this month!

Doug is yet another show runner - and the latest in his Witney Pedal Party series is set for November 16th - my last show of the year - and where several familiar faces will be back in circulation again!

FEATURED DEVICES

• CLEAN Creative Dual Stage Stereo VCA Compressor with Movement  - €469 (£405)
• Brothers AM KOT Dual Overdrive with Beano Treble Booster - €469 (£405)

www.greateasternfx.com

David was yet another who was really busy for most of the show - I only managed to pin him down in the final stages.

His plan has changed for the next in his Obsolete Devices series - it was due to be a unique and innovative  Preamp Boost, while we're how getting a really unique hard-clipper distortion - featuring NOS components of course.

In the meantime the Focus Fuzz Deluxe is still going strong, as are the 2 perennial favourites - Small Speaker Overdrive and Design-A-Drive - which latter one I always wanted to call 'Dial-A-Dive'!

FEATURED DEVICES

• Small Speaker Overdrive - £219
• Design-A-Drive - £229
• Focus Fuzz Deluxe Boost, Overdrive and Classic Fuzz - with Warm Upper Octave - £299