Xploration • Curation • Recommendation
The 2025 London International Guitar Show Highlights from Kempton Park - the New Kings of Kempton
So - quite the anomaly of an event for me.
The day didn’t start off well - as at Waterloo - I was unable to see any trains for Kempton Park on the board. A National Rail staff member then informed me there were no direct trains to Kempton Park on the day - owing to works and diversions.
I was advised to catch a train to New Malden and then swap onto the Kempton Park train. Only upon arrival in New Malden the duty staffer there told me there were no trains to Kempton Park - but there might be a replacement bus services from Bust Stop B!
I then waited 20 odd minutes at Bus Stop B - with no evidence of their being a Replacenent Service to Kempton Park. In the end I had to Uber the final stretch in - which cost me £21 plus a £2 tip.
As Kempton Park is in the arse-end of nowhere - the return journey cost me £35 plus £2 - so the full journey cost me the original Return Train Ticket of £13 + £23 + £37 = £73 - and then £15 for the actual Kempton Park ticket - for a grand total of £88 - which is a highly inflated sum for attending such an event.
On the way back to New Malden - I realised that Hampton Court was closer to Kempton Park - and I should really have been advised to head there. I foundnd the entire travel experience somewhat draining - and left the show an hour early - as I had wholly run out of steam by then.
I did bump in to Joe Halliday, Glyn and Crazed Fandango (Martin Smith) plus Wife (whose name I alas can’t recall). Also Joe Branton was there with JD - in part as a co-sponsor for the show. While as a Show Sponsor - I would have expected to see that banding a few times - but am not sure I clocked that once.
There were a few no-shoes at the event - including Lava Music - who were due to demo their new amp - where I have one of those landing in November.
Thank you to Wub, and Rob for making the show mostly worthwhile. Wub’s Rainmaker was the one pedal I picked up from the show - so he gets first billing below - with review to follow.
I was glad to come away with some innovative grip Groove Tones Micro Jazz III type picks - from Rob at Timber Tones.
As I left with an hour to spare - I was unable to pick up any last-minute pedals. So the one pedal I was expecting to pick up at the show - the Flattley Outlaw Pedal - alas didn’t happen!
Note that I grabbed lunch from the middle café - which was far the best option. Toasted Ham and Cheese Panini - versus those foul grease factroy shacks. The shacks make decent fries - the burgers and hot dogs are trash, - and so are the cheap rubbishy condiments - albeit they do have Sarsons Vinegar. If you want something on your chips - go for Salt & Vinegar - as those condiments are so foul tasting that they ruin anything they come into contact with!
Ritual Devices - Wub
This was the one pedal that I came away with from the show - the excellent Rainmaker Analog Vibrato / Tremolo.
Which completes the killer quartet of Acid-Etched and Infilled Original Ritual Devices Core Flagship Pedals.
I will of course be doing an in-depth Review soon, and following up with a piece on the whole quartet.
Wub is making some changes to the etching process - and wanted me to have the full set of those original pedals - which are entirely made by hand.
I already have put out lowing reviews of the other 3 Flagships - and expect this one to follow suite!
Just a reminder too that Wub has a new Compact pedal out on the 29th!
All will be revealed really soon!
Timber Tones - Rob & Fiona
Rob gets the second slot here - alongside his lovely wife - whom I encountered for the very first time - while I alas do not recall he name - I'm sure Rob will chip in with that detail. Her name is Fiona!
This is the first time in a while that Rob had brought some new Jazz III variants to the show.
I bought 5 of these (4 are pictured above) - where these are a mix of Horn and Ebony. The indentations on both sides are unique - in that on the front you get that typical bowl-shaped recess for the thumb - and on the back you get a carved scoop to accommodate your index finger - in exactly the right orientation.
These feel superb between the fingers - and really do lock precisely into the correct position / orientation - which is a great innovation - and I will surely be buying more of these.
They are exactly the style of picks that I prefer - and have a really innovative grip to them - a great innovation. I got my 5 for £20 - which seems like excellent value. Hopefully we get even more materials with this particular smart grip!
These are known as Groove Tones Micros!
Funny Little Boxes - Andy
Handy is currently enjoying unprecedented success. All his pedals are selling well at the moment. A recent Limited Anniversary run of the Skeleton Key sold out in record time - 200 units almost instantly snapped up!
Interestingly the superb 'Caught By The Fuzz' is not doing quite as well online. But is killing it at these shows - once players have witnessed its prowess.
It's a superbly versatile Everdy Fuzz - via just those 2 knobs. It has a vast range with few limitations - one of the very best all-rounder everyday fuzzes released to date.
Even Joe Halliday (of HSE) made his own version of that circuit.
The 'Caught By The Fuzz' is my favourite Funny Little Boxes pedal to-date - long may it reign!
A total bargain at £99!
Flattley Guitar Pedals - Paul
I want to start here by wishing Jan a speedy recovery - she has been suffering from a somewhat exotic illness for the last few months - which is what is keeping her from attending these shows. We look forward to welcoming her back to action soon!
So Paul launched his new all-red Outlaw Pedal at the recent Mannheim Guitar Summit. Said Dual Channel Device delivers a Plexi side, alongside a Clean Tone Booster. It's Paul's most attractive pedal to date and really needs to be seen ''in the flesh' - as cameras are largely unable to catch the depth of that stunning holographic metal flake finish. Tone-on-Tone here is taken to new heights - with everything being in appealing shades of red - a most gorgeous looking pedal - with output to match!
It was the one pedal I was expecting to come away with in advance of the show - while Paul sold too many at Guitar Summit - and only had a few left - which he was hoping to sell at the show. Because of the travel situation - I left early - otherwise I feel I could have got one at the end!
Instead Paul will be mailing me one - once he has made more. A review will of course follow.
Paul also had a blank phototype at the show - which is due to be lacunched at NAMM - in another very fetching hue.
I should be getting ing that one well in advance. While the Outlaw will be landing a little late!
Fredric Effects - Tim
Tim is very much locked into his 'Demon Fuzz' Campaign - which gets you the Pedal + T-Shirt for just £99 at a show. Beyond those shows. the pedal alone fetches £140.
It's a strategy and formula that is currently working very well - and Tim typically sells a lot of those at each show.
I've described how the Demon Fuzz is a 4-in-1 Fuzz which is evolved from the early EHX One Knob Muff Fuzz.
It's a fantastic instant satisfaction everyday fuzz!
Tim is even considering just bringing the Demon Fuzz to the next Birmingham Guitar Show - will be interesting to see if he still holds to that at the Time!
Hamilton Effects - James
Fantastic meeting James again. I was very complementary about his first run of pedals at the Brighton Guitar Show.
And he had a new Twin Parallel - Dual Boost to promote at the show. That one is a more compact take on the Twin Boost pedal - but where the Twin Boosts are in Parallel versus the Series stacking of the original.
It's a really need Dual Boost, while it doesn't quite do the 3-in-1 thing yet - but certainly could sorta - with a second footswitch.
I also mentioned that I felt the 'H' insignia needed to be accompanieds by the 'Hamilton' moniker also - as most peoplele don't know this 'H' Hamilton Effects need to define it - before it can own it! And just go with the 'H'. It's a little prematre as far as I'm concerned - but could easily be tackled in the second phase.
These pedals have clean and elegant lines - and as I said at Brigton - this is one to watch. I'm looking forward to watch this brand evolve and grow!
Mad Professor - Jussa
I think this is the second time I've encountered Mar Professor this year - with the first occasion being the London Synth and Pedal Expo in Hackney Wick.
This time around Jussa was flying solo - and without his business partner Mikko.
He was obviously hot on the heels of the recent Handwired Editions Relaunch. Where the Royal Blue Overdrive is the current Bestseller!
I'm still waiting on a reissue of the Sky Blue - which was supposedly only ever a Handwired editionn - albeit not all those pedals were labelled as such!
The new edition of Simble Dumble Drive is also doing very well.
I have several Mad Professor pedals on my wishlist - which include also the Bluebird Overdrive and the Double Moon Analog Modulator. There's a few more pedals in addition - while the 3 mentioned are my key targets at the moment.
Jussa & Mikko wanted to be at the Birmingham Guitar Show - while there is a major Guitar Show in Finland ad the same time. I suggested they could divide and conquer! With Mikko attending the Finnish one, and Jussa able to get to Birmingham at the same time - we shall see!
Pedalborn - Ben & Dad
It's been a while since I caught up with Ben and his Dad. And they marvellously have a new pedal to promote - The Raven Overdrive - their take on the Timmy Circuit - which leans heavily into the Jan Ray thing.
Good to see that they have evolved to Compact enclosure editions now.
This pedal was birthed in response to so many players using the original Pedalborn Pedal - the Storm Caller - with an Overdrive in the Loop. For their demos they had taken to regularly including an overdrive pedal in the loop - as a leading example. And it made sense for them to make their own pedal that fitted such a purpose..
There was also a new version of the Pedalborrn Newspaper out on the stand too, and a Raven Statue or two to support the new releases.
It's not on their website quite yet - but I expect it to be imminently!
Maybury Guitars - Jason
Always great to catch up with Jason - especially as I was unable to pin him down at the recent Woking Boutique Guitar Show - he was just too busy and rushed off his feet the whole time.
So Kempton was a little more sedate - where the Maybury stand was particularly busy at the show - but while plenty got hooked in - I'm not sure anyone took away those fantastic guitars. Which I will surely get to once I've broken the back of my Pedal Wishlist! I particularly like those Upscaler Models with the slightly chalky paint finish!
Jason is holding - the Ex demo Cherry Red Fish Hook T + Hiscox hardcase - £1.650
His Surf Green Fish Hook S Upscaler + 10mm foam Gig bag - £950 - was particularly popular a the show and was played a whole a lot and consistently admired - but no final sale.
Other available models included the very attractive :
- Black and White Upscaler Fish Hook T-type guitar - £1.150
- Orange Varigated Stripes Fish Hook T-type Upscaler + Hiscox hard case - £1,250
Jason also revealed that he may have found a replacemens venue for the now defunct Fiery Bird - which whole councill episode reads of corruption. I had already proclaimed that there was not alternative suitable venue in Woking. And indeed the new likely venues is located in ...... nearby Guildford (The Home of Andertons!).
2025 Birmingham Guitar Show Highlights
