Xploration • Curation • Recommendation
Leeds Pedal Show Highlights from the Northern Monk Refectory
This was funnily something of af 2022 Stourbridge Pedal Expo Reunion of sorts - where Audiostorm, Bleak District Electric, Emmergy FX, Fredric Effects, and Goliath FX were all present at that inaugural Pedal Expo. There are marked similarities between the two venues and events - both are similar sort of Mill House style building set within a kind of packing district and both relatively near to a waterway / canal. And both had a really friendly vibe to them. It’s incredible how far we’ve come in those intervening 3 years!
There were alas 3 casualties / last minute cancellations for the show - Buzzing Bugs Audio Devices, Flattley Boutique Effects, and Glowfly Pedals could not make it in the end. All were sorely missed - where the most elusive of those is Glowfly’s Tom Richardson - where I had hoped to pick up his recent Reverse-Modded Flow Decoder, and brand new Pyroglyphs - which has already been covered / demoed by my good friends Pedal Experiments Phil, and Nick Rees. I will need to follow up that quest separately with Tom once this article is up!
My good friend Pedal Experiments / ’Slap Me Thrice’ Phil was present throughout - and we had our usual lunch appointment - albeit it took place a little later in the day - at the nearby Midnight Bell Gastropub - where alas the quality of burger patties was low! Drinks were fine, and the company was high quality as always, but the food was somewhat disappointingly mediocre!
I also finally managed to connect with SoundLad Liverpool’s Marc Dunn - and hopefully that’s just the start - it’s been on the cards for a while. Also, I managed to connect with Micheal jHudson of Hudson Electronics - whom I had corresponded with before - but supposedly this was the first pedal show Michael had attended - a rare treat for us therefore!
The following sequence of pedal brands is initially arranged by order of the pedals that I picked up at the show - and then sort of by order of encounter per the film roll - while it was a very fluid and busy show - and I’ve quite forgotten how many times I had to circle around - just to get a word in edgewise - it was a lot! I felt like a long-distance speed walker at one stage - considering how many circuits I had to complete in an attempt to get all the photographs done - where I didn’t even manage that task in its entirety!
There’s a particular dynamic in place at these shows as I don’t want to take up too much of a builder’s time - in case I get in the way of their making another sale. So it’s a delicate balance - and one that doesn’t always entirely succeed - I was aware that I had around 15-20 minutes for each stand within the 5 hour duration of the show - I knew it was going to be a challenge - as conversations often evolved into deeper details, tangents and side-bars. I managed to get around most of the stands - with J. Drawbridge Audio the only significant exception. I don’t typically go for those larger size enclosures - but there were some very pretty pedals on display - where I do hope to connect the next time around!
I met showrunner Ross KP for the first time - who prefers to keep a somewhat anonymous / low profile - and so I will leave it to him to reveal as much or little as he cares to share about his own background - and what motivated him to organise this show. He’s a very personable fellow face-to-face, while he prefers to remain largely anonymous. I was unable to unearth any significant details about him - and I would have kept those under cover if I had found anything anyway. Ross was a great Showrunner - and everything went very smoothly indeed! I of course picked up one of his cool tote bags at the show - a few of which still remain for sale!
The show was a great success as far as I’m concerned - and we seemed to have a steady flow of traffic throughout the day. Several pedals were sold - and a friendly vibe pervaded proceedings throughout.
There was a significant ’Boost’ Theme at the show - as Audiostorm and Hudson Electronics were sort of launching new boosts at the show - and Great Eastern FX Co. and Hamstead Soundworks are currently working on new boost pedals as their next releas - so that was the most significant pattern that I picked up at the show.
I acquired 8 new pedals at this show - which is something of a record for me. There will be reviews / features for all of those - probably across the next couple of weeks or so - there’s certain plenty to report on!
Note that Emmergy FX / Michael is the cover star - for the most colourful visual - which includes the best-looking pedal at the show - 1 of 4 limited Gold Editions of the recent Mirror Mirror Dual Delay.
And here follows the running order as described (by order of pedals acquired, and then order of encounter / film roll) :
Funny Little Boxes - Andy
Andy has very recently launched his 4th Signature Sound Pedal - as covered on this site - the beautiful sounding and amazing looking 'Caught By The Fuzz' - with that really cool artwork and including alternately flashing LED's in the same sort of pattern as on a typical UK Police Car.
From the outset I had intended to secure one of the 'Caught By The Fuzz' pedals - alongside Tom Richardson's Reverse-modded Flow Decoder, and brand new Pyroglyphs - where I was unable to secure the latter two - as Tom was one of the last minute cancellations. I was though delighted to pick up Andy's new one as intended - which was always the main intention and mission for the show!
I look forward to reporting back on this killer pedal concept!
Everything Andy touches is gold! while this one is off to a slightly slower start than the others - but I'm sure it will pick soon enough - it's a really fantastic execution every which way!
Fredric Effects - Tim
Tim was having a 'Demon Fuzz' day - where that was his major push for the show - including that snazzy new banner. I think the deal of the day was £99 for the Demon Fuzz + T-Shirt - and of course I obliged! I thought I would run out of space in my bag - and so Tim owes me a T-Shirt for the next time around. Tim was sporting his Poland Guitar Fest T-Shirt - which I imagine is quite the rarity in this land! I believe Tim was near enough the only UK brand exhibiting at that Polish show.
The Demon Fuzz is an expanded take on the one-knob EHX Muff Fuzz - essentially a highly simplified Big Muff - which spanned 1977-1983. I'm not sure if there is a demo of that new version yet - which has 2 extra push-button controls for clipping (Silicon / Germanium), and Doomy Mid Scoopt - a really cool fuzz for sure!
We also managed to rope in Pedal Experiments Phil for an at long last demo of the Silicon Harmonic Percolator - which has been on soft release for a while - but was missing a demo - so hopefully that will all be sorted soon, and I can finally publish that article - which has been waiting in the wings since March!
Great news on Tim''s luthiery workshop too - where he foundation and main flooring is now solidly in place! I'm due to make a visit to Fredric HQ once that workshop is up. Tim has a septette workshop he uses for his pedals!
Audiostorm - Lydia
Lydia is launching the brand new version of the Tone Lord Smart Boost / EQ towards the end of this month - where I will be doing the main write-up - and my good friend Pedal Experiments Phil - will be doing the launch demo. Lydia needs to work up some sample settings, and jointly we need to find the best way to most effectively showcase the Tone Lord's key advantages - it should be a fun project.
And it looks like the updated Quad Screamer Circuit / Pedal - now known as the' Otherwold' - will be following fairly hot on the Tone Lord's Heels. I've long wanted to add the Quad Screamer to the reference collection - while I was a little late to latch on to the original, and Lydia had already been working on this new version then - so it made sense for me to wait - exciting times ahead for sure. And we can't forget the triumph that is the Grand Classic Distortion - with its accompanying custom Moogy Module and Smart MXP-1 Bypassable Expression Pedal. Lydia is really on a roll these days, and has also introduced a custom manufacturing service as a sub-brand - entitled Silicon Wizardry - if I recall correctly. And so Audiostorm is nicely shaping up to a sort UK equivalent of Cuscak Music - which does so much of the R&D and OEM work for other leading bands!
Hiwatt Amplifiers - Arv, Tom, Richard
Alas I did not manage to get off a snap of the HiWatt stand - which was mostly manned by Arv and Tom earlier in the day - whom I spoke to, and then Richard took over for the last period. I already had the mid-size Filter Fuzz, but Tom persuaded me that the new compact version was sufficiently different for it to make sense to own that one too, and it also solved the somewhat moderate volume output issue I had with the larger size. The larger version is all THT, while this newer compact version is a SMT construction - I love those tiny chicken-head knobs! There's an even larger sort of vintage wedge version of this circuit too - with rarefied parts - while you know how I feel about unnecessarily over-sized enclosures!
The compact Filter Fuzz was being offered at a fantastic price - and it was an offer I could not say no to - review of course coming up soon! There seem to be something of a run on those pedals during the day. Which are exclusive to Andertons normally, but do pop up also when Hiwatt is exhibiting. There were a few more interesting pedals in the mix too - which I will look to better reference and document next time around!
Emmergy FX - Michael
Michael is one of the Stourbridge Pedal Expo originals - whom I had connected well with back then in 2022, but it's taken until now for things to finally get going between us. As I picked up a beautiful red-knob edition of his Slowdriver Shoegazer Fuzz - that's been on the cards for so long.
Back in 2022 we had a detailed conversation about the direction of his newer enclosures - which had an added vibrancy about them - as happens with every conversation I typically have - the conversation moved onto the topic of knob choices - and I see a lot of what was discussed then has made its way into production. Michael's current knob selections are superb - I really like the fairly unique rippled body ones that he discovered - and as are on my Slowdriver.
Michael also had the best looking pedal at the show - one of just 4 Gold Limited Edition Mirror Mirror Dual Delays - that looked amazing - while it's Mono nature means that it's alas not ideally suited to my somewhat stereo signal chain. I've been meaning for so long to get a collaboration going with Emmergy FX - and it's finally happening now! I came away with two pedals from the show - including the aforementioned Slowdriver, and one of Michael's new Forced Smile Expression Pads - which is genius in its passive nature! It's kind of like a mini Korg Chaos Pad - we now need to get Matt Bellamy to install one on one of his Manson Guitars!
There are several more Emergy FX Pedals that I have my eye on - and where some have acquired new names since I first saw them back in 2022 - they include the Blake Driver 2, the knobs-only Empty Skies, Blown A Wish Fuzz, and Rainbow Robot. I'm sure there will be quite a few more Emmergy FX Pedals to come - Micheal is on a roll these days! Also I don't feel the table-top crowd has fully switched onto Emmrgy FX yet - all those pedals with the expression touch pads - are perfect for the Ambient and Synth Crowd!
SoundLad Liverpool - Marc
I'm delighted to have finally connected with Marc of SoundLad fame - one of the most technically gifted pedal builders out there - optimally placed at the University of Liverpool as a super laboratory technician. His 'research department' has access to some of the finest facilities and sharpest technical brains in this land.
He's only been going since 2020 - but has carved out a significant reputation in that time. He has a similar philosophy to Andy at Funny Little Boxes - and indeed those two are both focused on affordable high quality £99 pedals - where Marc does a lot of work with Andy, and has been a key technical input on most of Andy's pedals as far as I recall - and including the new Caught By The fuzz. In some ways Funny Little Boxes is a 3-way collaboration between Andy, Marc, and Matt from 'Let's Play All'.
In any case Marc has come up with several beautiful creations of his own - including the much loved Hungry Beaver Fuzz (Big Muff), and Scran Britpop Overdrive (Marshall-esque!). He's also the creator of the superb Etch-a-Sketch style 'Sketchy' Waveform Generator Tremolo - which also does my favourite Harmonic Tremolo. I'm a little late to all of this these for a wide variety of reasons - but will be picking up the pace now - and giving Marc the support he deserves.
I came away with a Hungry Beaver and Scran - which will be getting review features real soon. And then I will be back for that super smart Sketchy Tremolo. I'm late to that as I had just completed a 2 month project with Bill Neal of Rounder Sounds - for his little bit similar Zebra Waveform and Tremolo Pattern Generator - and I didn't want to undermine the value of the work quite so soon. The launch of the Sketchy happened at the exact same time my definitive Zebra feature went live - while that's now firmly in the rear-view mirror- so the time is ripe for a definitive Sketchy feature - which will hopefully happen relatively soon after I've completed my features on the Hungry Beaver and Scran. And Marc still needs to convince me that the Clean Machine is right for my sensibilities!
For sure features coming up on the 3 superior pedals featured in my visual!
Chase Bliss - Doug
It's always a delight catching up with one of the most affable figures in this industry - UK Chase Bliss Ambassador Doug! How on the heels of a mastic success with the Mystery Box, and the recent Brothers AM Analog.Man / Mike Piera collaboration. The previous proper Chase Bliss release - the Clean Compressor+ seems like ages ago now. I happily swapped a second Outward for a Clean at the start of the year - where that's not due to go on the board until the second half of this year. I'm still spending a fair amount of time on the Chase Bliss pedal previous to that - which is of course the Onward Dynamic Sampler.
I've been told that there is at least one more pedal release this year, which I imagine is likely sometime in the Autumn - while it's not unknown for Chase Bliss to spring a surprise on us. In any case you should keep some money in reserve for that happy occasion - for whenever it actually happens!
Joel Korte, Tom Majeski, Scott Harper, and Eric Nyffeler can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned - they're still on something of an extended roll!
The big news from Leeds was that the next Witney Pedal Party is scheduled for November - 16th I think it was - I will of course be attending - as one of the original supporters of that show. Witney is always a worthwhile visit!
Blind Panic Devices - Matt
blindpanicdevices.bigcartel.com
I think I've met Matt a few times now, and this is definitely one of the brands that I want to be properly collaborating with. I've supported him on his B2 Fuzz-Delay release - which still remains a target for me. And now we have the brand new Reactor Fuzz to get stuck into. That is launching at 5 o'clock today! around the same time that this article is destined to go live. I will have a proper feature on that for tomorrow morning - I've been working on this article since I got back from Leeds - these things always take a while.
Matt was incredibly busy at the Leeds Show - and I didn't quite get enough time with him to rationalise what's been happening in these intervening months since I last saw him, and what the new release roster is looking like these days. There were a number of compact pedals planned last time around - and no mention of this new Reactor Fuzz - which is now the dominant push - and all those other WIP's / prototypes we discussed have been put firmly on the back-burner. There's a lot a going on for sure. And significantly it marks an end to those fuzzy furry pedals - as Matt is kind of sick getting those fibres stuck in all kinds of weird nooks and crannies - working with fuzzies is always a messy endeavour. I still think they're cool to have at these shows - and I will miss the menageries a little bit, but I guess those were always a little bit gimmicky.
Matt is one of the most creative pedal builders out there - and he's one of the original kitchen-sink types - meaning he puts so much into all of his devices. He occasionally needs to curb his excesses - just to make things easier for him. while he has such an active engineering imagination that he can't but help unleash all that engineering brilliance in one device. All his pedals are kind of secret weapons - with so many cool surprises onboard.
I look forward to getting stuck into these eventually - possible the Reactor is the right jumping off point - It's mostly up to Matt in any case - if he's willing an able to collarbone with me, In any case I look forward to sharing all the details on the Reactor Fuzz which should be live - by the time you read this!
Hamstead Soundwork - Brian
Brian Love is another one of those wonderfully affable souls that's always a delight to catch up with. Obviously still riding high on the Redwing TPS Collaboration - which has been a resounding success. The much anticipated Harmonic Tremolo (similar format to the Redwing) has been pushed back further - and is now not likely to release this year. It will be another fairly pricey device, while this time around Hamstead won't need to pay royalties to TPS - so possibly a few pennies less.
In fact it seems like several projects are currently on the back-burner, where now the priority task is updating and upgrading the much-loved Ascent Amplitude Controller / Boost. Brian touched on a number of smart innovations for that circuit - which details I look forward to sharing at the appropriate time.
I also learned / confirmed that the Odyssey is still the bestselling Hamstead Pedal - while my own personal favourite - the Mullard Germanium Edition Subspace - was somewhat limited by the rarity of that fantastic Mullard Diode!
I was initially due for an onsite visit at Harmstead HQ for an early 2024 launch of the Harmonic Tremolo - but that now doesn't look like it's happening until next year - so it's one of my most delayed events to date - and will be 2 years behind schedule when it finally goes live. I'm definitely attending Hamstead HQ for that launch - so I will be there - come hell or high water!
Hudson Electronics - Michael
It was a rare pleasure to meet Michael for the first time. I've corresponded with him a couple of times in the past - while this was the first possible face-to-face - as it was the first show that Michael has exhibited at. He just hasn't properly put himself out and about before this apparently.
Of course he's best known for his many iterations of the Broadcast Overdrve/Fuzz - in fact the number of available variants makes it a little option paralysis on the senses for some. During the show Michael kind of persuaded me that I would have more fun with the AP-II version of the Broadcast - versus my Dual Footswitch original - where I believe that particular pedal - with the grey enclosure and burgundy Marconi winged knobs is one of the most iconic pedal designs of all time - and instantly recognisable everywhere. Michael is also known for his Sidecar Modified Screamer, and rawer gainier 'Motorcycle' iteration of that which I feel is mostly sold by my friend Joe Light of Joe's Pedals fame - in fact there's a new batch of those due to go in soon. I want them to be more of the Green Sparkle - but we'll see what Joe and Michael decide on.
Michael had 2 new pedals at the show - a brand new single-knob boost (MA-61 Clean Preamp / Boost) - while I can't find that referenced anywhere yet - and by the time I got back home for the Leeds show - I had mostly forgotten what Michael told me about that one (Mostly an always-on Tone-Enhancer Boost I think he said!). He also had a new Silicon iteration of his Buzzard (Mosrite Fuzzrite) - where I personally slightly prefer the more compact format of his original Buzzard variety - but many will prefer this new iteration.
I'm fully versed now in all the differences between the various Broadcast pedals - and I'm determined for the Broadcast AP-II to be my next acquisition - and then the Motorcycle most likely. I though would prefer Marconi knobs on my AP-II - and they can either be Red and Grey to match the current colourway, or Red and the Lighter Blue even - which would be a very attractive combination! Even if I have to source those knobs myself!
ABL Pedals - Angus
The big news is that the Glasgow Pedal Social is on again - in August I believe, with final details to be released imminently - but several brands already signed up. I kind of messed up last year and missed out on the inaugural event. while I will be sure to get myself to Glasgow - which will definitely be an overnighter - as the train journey is a good 4 and a 1/2 hours + from London's Euston Station.
ABL's Szczur Rat style Distoriton and Toor Modern Muff with Mids are still front and centre - and as a huge fan of both those styles of circuit - these very much remain active targets for me. I just need to catch Angus at the right time for a collaboration - so presumable August in Glasgow.
Every time I meet Angus he seems to have 2 different prototypes on the go - he's evidently hedging his bets as to which of those he realeases first - with his dual stage overdrive being the likeliest candidate currently - I will of course tackle that as an when it happens.
The artwork and colour coding is beautifully balanced throughout - artwork by one Kalle Koskivirta. And Angus's ABL is very much the JAM Pedals of Scotland - favouring the fuller flavour approach. Both his gain pedals are distinct and sound very impressive - so he's got great ears as well as smart design sensibilities. This brand is small but perfectly formed, and is shaping up nicely. I look forward to collaborating in the summer time - or thereabouts!
I would have brought my token offering of bottle of Irn-Bru - but alas there was no pertinent shop along the exit from Leeds staton that I took - I will endeavour to keep up that tradition next time!
Great Eastern FX Co. - David
David arrived hot on the heels of his grand success with the Germanium Focus Fuzz Deluxe + Octave, and limited Obsolete Devices Series OC201 Preamp. Both of those sound exceptional - with the most gloriously richly textured harmonics. Both cover Boost, Overdrive and Fuzz voicings - while for me it's about those fuzzy textures which sound so good.
Alas the OC201 is sold out, but I included it in my visual because I like it so much, and because it signals that the next Obsolete Device is about to release. It's another very unique preamp style effect - boost on this occasion, and no - it's not anything related to the Echoplex. It cleverly utilities a warming / tone-enhancing preamp from a device rarely used for those purposes! I will reveal more details later - when said new pedal goes live!
David also had a handful of lightly 'relic'd' Small Speaker Overdrives with him - which looked kind of cool in that way - while most should know what I feel about relic'd pedals. I personally wasn't not sure they suited the quality feel of Great Eastern FX in general. I'm not adverse to more affordable pedals - I'm just not sure that aesthetic necessarily fits this brand! Food for thought in any case!
Intensive Care Audio - Patrick
I'm overdue a visit to Intensive Care HQ @ Stoke Newington. Patrick and I have the occasional lunch in that neighbourhood - typically when a new release is imminent. And yes it's almost that time again - where the doomy Death Muff is about to be released - somewhere near the end of this month!
This was originally teased at the London Synth and Pedal Show back in March, and said pedal is currently well into its production run. All of Patrick's pedals are smartly engineered with fuller flavorous. Stefan Fast recently cited the Life Support as one of his favroutei all-time overdrives. While my favourite Intensive Care pedal is still the super versatile Vena. Cava - which is a very unique Fillter / Distoriton / Muff / Modulator - everyone uses it slightly delivery - but it sounds exceptional whatever you decided to do with it. I really love the slightly more gainier more textured sounds - and I frequently use all those elements together.
In some ways the Death Muff is the most vanilla Intensive Care pedal to-date - while knowng it's a Patrick creation - prepare to be still pleasantly surprised by its immense output!
Goliath FX - Matt
Always a joy to catch up with Matt - who always has interesting one offs and prototypes that he brings along to this show. There was a very interesting multi-knob new Bass Overdrive - I can't recall if it had a name yet - while it was very much a WIP.
Matt also had a really stealthy cool all-black Doom Muff - powerful enough to blow the doors off. But it was very anonymous looking, and I felt it would be tricky to promote. While I was still very tempted - I do like proper beefy and full on Big Muffs - in fact I have several more extreme Metal Muff takes - which I assume is the appropriate category. The sort of device you would expect to see from Abominable Electronics.
Also on the stand was the new Wyrmtongue Bass Distortion - which is at its best in this white edition - which sports really cool slimline knobs - the same varieties that I have on a couple of Formula B pedals. That format of slimline knobs remains somewhat underused - but it's far more classy than those somewhat cheap looking mini knobs.
As always there are plenty of options for Bass, and just a few for Guitar. I was most tempted by the All-Black Muff - but didn't manage to make my mind up at the show. Matt certainly never stands still - he's one of the few that always has something new to show!
Boss - Mark, Tom
Always a delight to catch up with the Boss guys, only one of the core team was in attendance - Mark, but he was ably assisted by Tom on this occasion - who was 'borrowed' from the Roland / Boss department at the Leeds PMT Store. PMT have a unique association with Boss - where each store has Roland / Boss department, but where the Boss expert (Tom in this instance) is actually a Boss employee just working under the PMT Umbrella as such!
I didn't get the opportunity to test Tom's Boss IQ at the show - so busy was that stand for most of the day. He definitely seemed to conduct himself with confidence and authority. The most popular pedals on the day if I recall correctly were the most recent SDE-3 Dual Digital Delay, IR-2 Amp & Cabinet, and SL-2 Slicer.
It's somewhat unusual that Boss's last compact - the SDE-3 was out at the start of September last year - which seems very long ago now. Boss's release schedule has been somewhat sparse in the first half of the year, while I've been told it picks up in the second half. I typically get a debrief on what is coming up for the year - but this is the first year I've not had the debriefing. I understand there's some departmental structuring going on, and my main contact Matt will likely end up in a slightly different roll.
Of course this is the 30th Anniversary Year of the BD-2 Blues Driver. The showroom in Osaka got a one-off dark royal blue edition with seemingly gold knobs - while supposedly there will be never be more made in that colourway - which is a really shame. We will for sure see a BD-2 Limited 30th Anniversary Edition - but we don't exactly know in what format / colourway!
Bleak District Electric - Phil
The fact that Phil appears at the base of the list is testament to how busy his stand was during the day. The show was steadily busy - not necessarily in terms of congestion, but the fact that near enough all the stands had constant and steady traffic.
I arrived a touch early - but as soon as the 'doors' fully opened (around 30 minutes later) it was night impossible to get to talk to or photograph each exhibitor - as they were nearly permanently engaged by other visitors. As mentioned variously within this article - I had to circle around again and again to get my opportunity - and for some stands that opportunity was at the end of the day.
Phil had a new 'Summer' edition of his Tape Scape Delay out in time for the show otherwise his most recent pedal was the limited dual edition of the Sun? No))) - or Sun? Never))) as it was called. There was something about that maybe becoming a general release pedal, while the pedal that is definitely discontinued, and which I missed out on was the Slate Germanium Preamp - which I'm still kind of gutted about!
There's a few more of Phil's pedals that remain targets for me - including the Terra Overdrive - I had hoped to get the Terra and Slate at the same time - when Phil informed me that all the Slates were already spoken for!
That kind of threw me back / for a curve-ball a little - and yes I do miss out on the occasional release now and again - but largely it doesn't happen very often. I usually maintain fairly decent communications with most of the brands I feature - but things can go awry on occasion. I just didn't get much time to have a proper conversation with Phil at the show. I did make a number of new friends - and it's all a case of juggling priorities - and trying to get the best overall results.
It looked like Phil was busy for most of the show - so hopefully it was good for him - I will need to wait for the next show on the schedule to start up the conversation again - I thinks both of us will be at Angus's Glasgow Pedal Social in August! And I will make it a priority to hit Phil's stand first!
