2023 London Synth and Pedal Expo Highlights
I’d like to start by saying that I’m truly proud to have been a Media Partner for this Inaugural Synth and Pedal Expo. It was a superb event - really well attended, and paves the way for an even bigger follow-up - likely taking place over two days next time.
This is the first time I’ve met Stompbox Exhibit Organiser and Delicious Audio Auteur Paolo De Gregorio face-to-face. We’ve had a long-term friendly correspondence and association and greeted each other as long-lost friends. Paolo has been on one amazing journey - taking him from Rome to London, then New York and finally onto Montreal - he’s clocked up some serious air miles!
As a Media Partner I had the privilege of turning up early - and arrived around 20 past 9 I think - or thereabouts. As I crossed the threshold - the very first person I literally bumped into was my good friend Bruce Davidson of Audio Distribution Group (ADG), I was then accosted by new firm friend - Safia Harrison of Rabbit Hole FX fame - who was on honorary bouncer duties then - and felt obliged to check my credentials. Just at that moment Paolo materialised and of course pleasantries were exchanged all-round. I got to watch most of the setup - and was fortunate to get in a few early conversations before the crowds arrived.
The above picture was taken by Patrick of Intensive Care Audio - just before the doors were officially opened at 11:30 am.
The event could have been a disaster as the main train line into the area - the East London Overground was down for the day - but that really did not seem to put anyone off - as we were at capacity very soon after opening.
Of course attendees were encouraged to bring their own guitars - while I was surprised to see just how many did this - with veritable and inevitable gangs of people converging on the venue with odd-shaped backpacks. All those guitars sticking out every which way weren’t too much fun with the crowd melee at its peak. While overall the day was a resounding success and I made several new friends along the way.
I’m already looking forward to the next one - the camaraderie in the Pedal Room was extraordinary - very much like a large extended family at times. It will surely be a grand reunion!
The following highlights, excerpts and ramblings are listed in the order I remember them occurring - or near enough!
Audio Distribution Group - Bruce Davidson, Tom Bodfish and Phil Kaiser
The first people I bumped into as such were Bruce and Tom of Audio Distribution Group - whom I've had a long and friendly association with. They were both instrumental in expediting my replacement Jackson Audio New Wave Chorus - which of course I love. Phil Kaiser was also in attendance - while I did not get the opportunity to speak to him - he features in the above picture.
It's always a delight meeting up with Bruce - as we have a certain banter - and he gives me the skinny on what's coming down the line - and we're in for some very exciting times. I was hugely impressed with a number of upcoming pedals I got previews on - it''s going to be another great year.
The Audio Distribution Group was the dominant stand at the event and the first you encountered - featuring full boards from all 17 ADG brands. I stopped by also to pick up an EQD White Light Overdrive which I had managed to reserve.
I asked Bruce which were the current bestsellers for each of those brands - while we got interrupted around half way through that process - these were the results I managed to grasp :
- Jackson Audio - Golden Boy Joey Landreth Signature Overdrive (BB)
- SolidGoldFX - Supa Funk Envelope Bi-Filter
- Tsakalis Audioworks - Room #40 MIAB Overdrive / Distortion
- Meris - Mercury 7 Sci-Fi Reverb
- Keeley Electronics - Of course the 4-Knob Compressor, and then Andy Timmons HALO Dual Echo
- KMA Machines - Cirrus Delay + Reverb
- EarthQuaker Devices - Plumes Small Signal Shredder
We will do part 2 of that exercise when we next meet up!
Rabbit Hole FX - Safia Harrison
As mentioned in the intro - Safia was the second person I ran into as such - and we sort of seem to be kindred spirits - like a long-lost sister - and we got along famously from the start. I've actually covered one of Safia's pedals before - in my 16 Favourite Octave Fuzzes - where the Rabbit Hole FX Chaosmic Fuzz was very much part of the proceedings.
The roster is slightly different nowadays and I've made a commitment to do a proper Rabbit Hole Range overview - where I will try to pick up the 2 fuzzes along the way.
I was encouraging Safia to add a Rabbit Hole FX ident to her pedals - to aid with brand recognition and recall - as all her pedals look so different. She is of course free to carry on as is - while I always say a more familiar look across all pedals better helps the pedals sell themselves - particularly when you've already acquired one from that family.
In any case I really look forward to doing the brand overview with Safia in the not too distant future!
Boss - Nico and Mark
This was a reunion of sorts as both Nico and Mark attended the inaugural In The Loop event at Hackney Wick's Studio 9294 last October.
I've known Matt Knight for years (alas he was at Larvik Guitar Festival for his past weekend) - while I got to meet pretty much the entirety of the Boss Europe crew at In The Loop - including Nico and Mark, They brought along 3 killer Boss boards with them on this occasion - including a magnificent all-Waza-Craft affair.
The only notably omission was the quite superb SL-2 Slicer which seems to be currently in short supply as there were none in stock at Boss for the event. Luckily Wunjo Guitars had one as part of their setup - just down the line!
The depth of knowledge these Boss Product Specialists have is extraordinary - such is the vast range of Boss products and some of their inherent complexity. I'm truly proud to stand by their side as a Boss Artist. And it's a delight to see Boss back on top innovation form - with some very exciting new releases to come over the next few months!
Rainger FX - David Rainger + Team : Prav, Baptiste, Martin, and Lukas
This was another grand reunion as I had encountered the whole crew at a pre-christmas visit to their Hangar Lane Workshop. They're such a friendly bunch that it was a delight to see them all again. It was impressive also to see David in his element once more.
I was given some insight into what is coming up next, and I got to witness the 2 new Euro Rack Prototypes in action - based on the Bleep Fuzz and Echo-X minis. These were just fairly raw prototypes - so it will be very exciting to see exactly how David decides to apply the signature quirky enclosure design touches to such a fixed form-factor. I'm sure we will see some cool innovations in the final products.
Rainger FX are genuinely different - and it's a delight that they have their place in the world.
I picked up a Flanger X as intended - Ive still to get the Snare Trap which I for sure will eventually, while I've also come to see some really strong usage scenarios for the Drone Rainger - so that's back on the cards too. I think it says everything about a brand - when all the crew are present at a show - and it seems like one happy extended family!
Also - if you haven't caught up with David's That Pedal Show episode - it's time you did! :
PRS Guitars - Jake
It was my first time meeting official UK PRS Product Specialist Jake - and we had quite the in-depth chat about Private Stock guitars in particular - what sort of options buyers were going for - which were the popular details and colorways. Seems like the Santana type headstock often finds favour with Private Stock customers - where they mostly want a pretty flame maple top in fairly traditional colourways.
Jake had 6 Private Stock brochures - only for serious buyers - so I think only one was given out at the show - I evidently was not worthy! Then again not likely a Private Stock customer for a while ...
If I had the means - I would go for a nearly all Rosewood guitar - neck, board, and body (in 513 or Modern Eagle configuration), with a glorious richly quilted 10 type maple top in Bahamian Blue - of course with Orca fret markers and a Manta Ray on the Santana type headstock - or something along those lines ...!
Jake had 5 recent SE editions with him - as pictured :
- McCarty 594 Single Cut
- Silver Sky
- Custom 24
- Kestrel Bass
- Signature DGT
I believe the 594, Silver Sky and DGT are selling particularly well - cementing PRS's position as 3rd largest Guitar Manufacturer after Fender and Gibson.
Of course I'm a big PRS advocate - with several of Paul's best on my wishlist - along with the pipe dream of someday commissioning a perfect Private Stock guitar!
Bleak District Electric - Phil Meredith
I first met Phil at last year's Birmingham Guitar Show and I've bumped into him numerous times since - pretty much at every guitar show I attend. And I've been delighted to observe the evolution of his pedals and brand.
We've had numerous conversations on branding - recognition and recall, brand markers, and the art of knob selection. And I'm delighted to decree that Phil has indeed hit black belt standards now - and all his current pedals have exactly the right knob choices - every one is how I would spec them myself!
While the important part is how they sound and function. And Phil was in particularly demoing his 3 flagship models - including the brand new and still to be officially released V2 edition of his Tapescape Delay.
Phil's two experimental pedals - the Antistatic and Rec Head are selling particularly well at the moment. Neither of those started out with optimal knob choices - but they're perfect now. Those two will soon be entering my reference collection, and I will be doing a proper brand overview feature with Phil within the next month or so.
There's lots of development work ongoing - and we can look forward to a new version of the Sun?No in fairly short order.
Cornerstone Music Gear - Emilio Massari
Emilio is another good friend - whom I encountered here for the first time face-to-face.
We discussed the importance of putting your own signature take on effects types, and not slavishly just copying every aspect of the original circuit - including all the production flaws from those days.
Emilio will always be about quality over quantity - he spends a lot of time getting his pedals just right - to fully match the signature tones he has in mind. I've of course covered each of his pedals on this blog, and featured him first in my Best of Italian Pedal Builders back in 2018.
Of course Emilio has another 'Monumental' pedal in the works - that should be out this summer - and is something much requested by his customers.
I've still to acquire Emilio's Aquarium Vibe - it's surely on the cards - just hasn't happened quite yet. Too much product juggling going on!
DryBell - Tom (Tom Cundall's Guitar Shed)
When I saw DryBell on the roster I thought I was finally going to meet my trio of Croatian friends - Zvonch, Martina and Kruno. While it was actually their UK agent Tom Cundall - who of course has the same 3 friends in common. We of course discussed how brilliant each of those pedals are in their respective categories.
I've collaborated with DryBell on each of their The Engine Preamp, Vibe Machine V-3 and Module 4 Compressor launches - and have also featured their Unit67 Boost/EQ/Compressor numerous times on this site.
For me they're one of the most innovative and quality conscious of European brands - and totally genius in creating the super compact Vibe-Machine Uni-Vibe alone - which is my favourite of that type - and also probably the most expansive in its features.
It was lovely to meet Tom on this occasion - while I would really like to meet my main DryBell contacts someday soon too - perhaps they can all attend next year's one!
Rotosound - Jack Dunwoody
I think Jack may have handed me my Rotosound goody back at the Birmingham Guitar Show - while this was the first time I actually had a proper dialogue with him - discussing the pertinent differences and benefits of particular Rotosound string sets - including their original Stainless Steel types.
As a mainly PRS guitar owner - I started off with PRS strings, before being encouraged to switch to D'Addario NYXL's - which I've been broadly satisfied with and never really felt the need to change further - while I'm always up for trying new things and new strings therefore.
I was not aware that Rotosound were the ones that pioneered Steel String technology back in the day - while I did know that Jimi Hendrix used Rotosound extensively. Jack encouraged me to go for either British Steel or Ultramag types for my preferences.
And while my preferred Skinny Top / Fat Bottom set (9-46) is only available in collated form as a Roto Orange set - you can though buy each string individually for the different types and make up your own set. I think I would actually like 9-52 if possible - but do realise that may be an outlier. Jack said he was in the process of trying to encourage his parent company to make more Skinny Top / Fat Bottom complete sets across the different string types.
Rotosound defniltey have the heritage and pedigree, and I'm convinced they're worth checking out - I'm still kind of stuck between deciding to go for British Steel or Ultramag - I want fast attack really - for maximum crunch! Any recommendations from the community!?
Intensive Care Audio - Dr Patrick
I've known about Intensive Care Audio for a while - it's a brand that I've intended to get around to - it just hasn't happened quite yet - but rest assure it's time is nigh! Little did I realise when I visited Rainger FX's Workshop just before Christmas - that Patrick (here styled as Dr Patrick q.v.) was still working for Rainger FX and was in attendance then - I really did not put 2 and 2 together at the time.
In any case I think it's fantastic that he's come through the school of Rainger FX and is another unique experimental pedal builder with entirely his own style and flavour of effects - obviously based around Medical symbols and paraphernalia.
I myself worked with a number of Medical systems brands back in my advertising years - and those devices - particularly patient bedside ones - tended to be largely lighter coloured - typically in pastel hues. So the stark black here is quite a departure.
Each of these pedals is pretty unique in its makeup and I really like the consistency of application here. While I did question how unique a Brand Marker the circle with a cross / plus was - as in finance, and various other scientific disciplines - including mathematics - the (+) symbol has different meanings. When creating an ident or brand marker - that graphic needs to be pretty unique to elicit proper recollection and memorability - and tie-in to a particular brand. If the icon is too generic and multi-purpose and used by other disciplines - then it's very difficult to lay claim to that. I really like all the existing styling - but question if there doesn't need to be some tiny additional element to the (+) that makes it fully unique.
In any case I've committed to doing a proper brand overview with Patrick as soon as we can agree on timings. And I will look to add at least the Death Drive and Vena Cava Filter to the reference collection at that time.
This is definitely a brand worth keeping tabs on.
I really loved the detail that Patrick turned up in surgical scrubs - with matching gloves and all - that's how you hammer home your brand symbolism - very clever on lots of different levels - more should follow his example and properly dress up for the occasion!
Origin Effects - John Dines
Origin Effects for me is something of an unfulfilled ambition. It all started very well back in 2018 when I believe I did the still benchmark reference article for the then brand new RevivalDrive pedal. Several people have told me over the years that they did not properly understand that pedal until they read my article.
At the same time I met Mr Origin himself - Simon Keats at a few guitar shows around about that time - and we seemed to hit it off very well - and I was duly invited along to Origin HQ for the next launch. Alas that date clashed with a key work event and I was unable to attend. Of course I submitted my apologies in advance for being unable to attend - yet after that there was no further follow-up - the comuniqués in effect just dried up.
In recent years Simon has been somewhat absent from these shows through illness or scheduling conflicts - and I have been unable to straighten out that relationship and to get the collaboration going again. It's notable that Origin Effects is the only major UK brand that I don't currently collaborate with - and I would like to change that. I've done a number of Origin Effects pedal articles over the years - and feel I've been a pretty strong advocate over that time.
So the intention has always been to try to resume the closer ties there were at one time - while at the Birmingham Show I ran out of time and Origin were one of around half a dozen on my list that I did not make it to in time - I was constantly on the go for the whole of that day - and I had to run for my waiting taxi at the end.
So I was hoping to smooth things over at this Expo - while my interactions with Product Manager John Dines seemed somewhat strained at the time - I'm not sure what the lead up to the friction was - possibly we were both a little exhausted by then.
Needless to say the conversation ended up somewhat unfruitful and I had to beat a somewhat hasty retreat.
I'm particularly impressed with Origin's new pair of Adaptive Circuitry pedals - which I think I've covered very well. I was initially determined to get the Halcyon - but then the M-EQ Driver came out and became my preferred choice - while I probably now think I will get both in for the reference collection eventually - if I ever find a path back into Origin Effects.
I extend the olive branch once more - and hope that we might move forward together some day!
Face MI - Niels Löffler
Historically Mario Van Helden has always been my main contact for Face MI - while since he's staying more in the office these days I've kind of missed that camaraderie. Up until this event - where I now have a new friend in the guise of Niels Löffler with whom I connected with almost immediately.
Face MI are the European distributors for Beetronics, Carl Martin, Crazy Tube Circuits, J Rockett, Radial, and Walrus Audio - and I've had frequent conversations with them over the years on each of those brands.
This time around we were mostly discussing the forthcoming killer pedal from J Rockett. The conversation then switched to Clipping Diodes and Niels showed me an internal Face MI memorandum - which borrowed the main image from my own article on Clipping Diodes. So many people use my visuals without crediting them back to GPX - in fact a leading guitar magazine once credited one of my visuals to some random web hack who had hijacked my image and placed his watermark on it. Even decent human being Phil McKnight has utilised a few of my images without ever crediting the source. Surely a quick Google Image Search would indicate the right provenance!
Myself and Niels are firm friends now in any case - even though he has yet to forward the memo with my visual in it!
I look forward to catching up some more at future events!
Chase Bliss UK - Doug Tolley
This was yet another highlight of the show for me - getting to meet Doug Tolley for the first time - the fantastic UK Ambassador for Chase Bliss - and good friends with Joel Korte since around 2015. This is supposedly a temporary posting - while I hope it becomes permanent - we British Chase Bliss fans certainly deserve local representation!
I kind of left it too late to make proper contact with Joel - as I was waiting for the right time and the right approach - but then overnight Chase Bliss blew up just as my plan was coming together - and I realised I had missed my chance to get in the door ahead of the relative chaos that followed. In the interim though I believe I'm on fairly friendly terms with 2 of Joel's superstar colleagues - Scott 'knobs_demos' Harper, and John Majeski (formerly of Cooper FX).
I can see why Joel and Doug get on so well - they both have that same air of open and honest friendliness about them which is almost immediately evident. I was delighted to find out that Doug enjoyed reading GPX - and I think we're about equally dedicated fans of Chase Bliss.
Thus far Doug's ambassadorial duties largely involve his attending UK events on Chase Bliss's behalf - while I hope the scope of his operations expands and he eventually gets to have a proper Chase Bliss UK HQ to work out of.
Interestingly - back when I ordered my Gen Loss II - I was taken to the European site for fulfilment - while for the MOOD 2 the URL resolves for Brits - to the core chasebliss.com domain - which is somewhat unusually inconsistent!
Doug wasn't sure when he was getting his MOOD 2 - while as the reigning ambassador - surely he should be at the head of that queue for that honour. One of the nicest guys in the business for sure - I look forward to catching up again at some future shows. It's unclear as of this moment which UK show/s Chase Bliss will turn up at next! It's definitely comforting that Chase Bliss have a proper presence in the UK now - following on from their takeover of their global distribution. Only the Japanese dealer still remains in play!
I'm very much looking forward to getting my hands on my own MOOD 2 - I think I was in the first wave of orders - so will be interesting to see when exactly that pedal lands here - Joel has said that it will be first-come-first-serve - pretty much regardless of where the order came from - previously Europe was a little second string previously - as pedals arrived with USA customers significantly ahead of the Europeans. I saw a great number of people with significantly higher serial numbers than mine get theirs a good few weeks before me. While it doesn't really matter in the end as long as the pedal turns up when promised!
I was further tickled by Doug's chosen 'pedalboard flight case' - or namely a circa 70's style hard suitcase procured second-hand from Ebay - it's almost as if Chase Bliss have their own Wes Anderson style props department!
Wunjo Guitars - Tom B
I had a fairy amusing chat with Wunjo's youngest employee as far as I recall. Tom has only worked at Wunjo since they moved to the South side of Denmark Street - at #5 they're now right next door to their main rivals Regent Sounds - which were also one of the Event partners for this show. And in fact were right next to each other at the show too!
Tom had no recollection that Wunjo used to sock Skreddy Pedals - I bought a few from the North Side shop - obviously longer ago than I remember.
Wunjo still has a Boss 40th Anniversary box set in its window - with a £749 price tag attached I think - and yes Tom confirmed it was still for sale - white it's not listed on their website as far as I recall. The 40th Anniversary set came out before I was a Boss Artist and had Matt Knight as a good friend - and I dithered too long back then - and they were all sold out before I made my mind up - at least as far as I was aware.
Truth is that the only pedal from that set that I really want is the OD-1 - while the OD-1 version I properly want is the original 14 leg quad opamp chip which was discontinued very early on - and which is not in that anniversary edition.
In fact one of my pet projects is to source the 14 leg opamp and then possibly ask Stephen Pettyjohn to custom fit that within his recent OD! format.
In any case there was something of a culture clash with Tom and myself - understandably we're from different generations and we seemingly have quite different influences and reference points.
Regent Sounds kingpin Crispin Weir was hovering around that area - while I struggled to find an opening gambit to strike up a conversation with him.
Funnily - I was once asked to step out of Regent Sounds by the acting store manager at time as I and one of the shop assistants were discussing the finer points of Gibson build quality. Regent Sounds is not a Gibson dealer - while unbeknown to us - another colleague was apparently trying to sell a second hand Gibson at the back of the store - and the customer was supposedly getting increasingly colder in his intentions while listening to myself and my in effect accomplice. In fact it was really the other way around - as I feel that the shop assistant broached that subject first - we were actually discussing build quality overall - Music Man and PRS in particular. I still proclaim my innocence and the injustice of it all! Just a fun episode really - no hard feelings!
As a final footnote here - there were 2 pedals left at the venue after the event - which were handed over to Paolo - who asked if I could take them back to Regent Sounds when we met up for lunch - so the mission is due to happen at the end of the week.
As a final Regent Sounds trivia point - I bought several of my earliest Chase Bliss Audio pedals from there. They used to be really strong on pedals - with a really potent selection - while I think the Covid period took a toll on that. Nowadays no central London store seems to have a particularly robust selection of pedals - perhaps that's just a sign of the times. Possibly it's my changing perspective too as my 1,000 strong reference collection makes nearly all stores seem relatively weak sauce in comparison! Regent Sounds still do have some interesting pedals in stock - the display is just not quite so impressive as it was!
Final Thoughts
There's still quite a lot to unpack from the show - I haven't heard the final attendance figures yet. I believe around 3,500 RSVP'd in advance - while Paolo was hoping to get in around half that amount on the day. It certainly seemed totally packed - pretty much right up to around 1 o'clock when the doormen started to regulate the flow more slowly - as you could not move at one stage. The nature of these free events is that there is around a 50% attrition rate in terms of who turns up - while for paid events the amount is only around 10% - i.e. just 1 in 10 don't show if paid!
The Rotosound screen was a pretty stunning backdrop - while it was also a massive cause of a bottleneck on the crowd flow - particularly between the two rooms. Next year there will probably be max width regulations in place.
Also - it was quite a rainy day - and when the queue snaked back on itself - coming up to 3 o'c - it would have been nice to have had some sort of awning to shelter under - and prevent you from getting wet.
There were no refreshments onsite - while the bathroom facilities were pretty decent. You had to walk around 10 minutes in any direction to find a restaurant / food outlet or grocery store - this included a Tescos and Amazon Fresh - while the nearest proper cafe was a little further away.
I recommended to Paolo that he should have a couple of vending machines just inside the venue door - so many people can get by on a coke and a snickers - and they had run out of Snickers at Amazon Fresh - oh the calamity! In any case a couple of vending machines inside the door - with soft drinks and water and some snacks would be brilliant - and those sort of things can be hired in theory.
It would also have been nice to have had a food van parked up alongside the venue - Yorkshire Burrito would surely make a killing.
I also encouraged Paolo to have some basic merch for the show - like say a sort of 'I was there Tour Shirt'. While understandably Paolo likes to travel light - he could really do with some kind of sidekick and travel companion for this gig - but he's a one-man force of nature really. Quite intense at the start of the day - and then sweetness and light when things are going well.
I think that for a show of this nature it's pretty essential to have a partner that can attend the stand while you go for a break. It's a really tough gig for those who go it alone - and I could see that things were stressful for Phil and Patrick at times - pretty much every other stand had colleagues to share the load.
I certainly think this event was a resounding success - where most of the exhibitors would have preferred it if it was a 2-day affair - it's a lot of work to set up and then break all that down again on the same day.
Communications into the area aren't brilliant - infrastructure-wise the roads are a maze, and the public transport relatively sparse. While the numbers of attendees kind of showed that the location wasn't an issue really - overall there was much to recommend it, and had the trains been working it would have been nigh perfect. It's generally a really cool venue for these sorts of shows.
Apart from the bottleneck created by the Rotosound screen I feel that the Pedal room was relatively well ventilated for traffic flow - while I found the layout of the Synth room way too congested. So possibly some modification can be made next time around.
Generally though I think Exhibitors and Customers alike proclaimed it a great show - I think there will be quite a lot of competition for places next time. There really aren't that many dedicated pedal shows in the UK - they usually play second fiddle to guitars and amps - while here - all brands can shine!
I had a wonderful time in any case and made lots ofd new friends - let me know if you attended - or exhibited for that matter - and how you rated the show overall - what you liked - and what you thought was missing.
I personally was not sure of the wisdom of the Live Room - the PA never seemed to be set quite right - and it largely just caused a distraction for those stands neighbouring that room - capacity was very limited - I'm not sure that exercise was particularly worthwhile - let me know if you have any opinions on that.
I have still to do a full postmortem with Paolo - will be interesting to hear his perspective!
One final postscript is how brands should best make use of this show. You're there to stand out - so you need to use some tradecraft to give your brand an edge. I really loved having the whole Rainger FX gang at the show - more exhibitors should do that - it lightens the load for everyone too. Also your people are your assets - while so many brand sites don't list or feature their personnel, It's hard work for me as I don't always remember the names correctly - in fact I apologise for whatever likely mistakes there are in this account - there's always a a few!
Also all brands should take pride in their stand and do an Instagram of their stand / setup before and after the show - to trigger attendance and brand recall. You have several tools to make social media work for you - while several aren't really making use of those.
If you're paying to attend a show - you better make the most use of it - promote your attendance and let prospects know what to expect in advance - they may be more likely to attend then.
I hope everyone who invested in this Expo made some form of return from it - I believe a fair few pedals were sold - while I'm not clear where exactly that trend line lies - again I would be interested in hearing from exhibitors as to what worked for them and what did not! I will be reaching out to a lot of you for your perspective on things - but probably along with more mundane brand and product matters.
Hope you're all home and safe and well recovered!
More than 12 hours of work have gone into this article! Do let me know where corrections need to be made - I think I've ironed out most of the typos ny now!
