2023 November Pedal-Chain Update - Episode XI - Delineated Duality
This whole year has occurred at such breakneck speed and volume - with so much happening all day and every day - that I have perpetually felt like I was always in the process of catching up and never quite had time to catch my breath as such. I’ve taken just one whole weekend off in the whole year - and am as close to burn-out as I’ve ever been. Every time I attended a Guitar or Pedal show I was up all night doing the write-up - average time for those articles was / is around 36 hours give or take - processing the images and then doing all the editorial and final research and verification on key facts and references. Weirdly every event I attend and report on sets me back a day or two in my workload - and I’m no longer convinced those write-ups are being properly valued or consumed. Seems like a lot of work for no reward or residual impact.
I did expect there to be some sort of slow-down this year (I hoped there would be one) but I’m not aware that we ever got one - it has felt very relentless and helter skelter at times - while I believe I’ve maintained really decent quality of output throughout. The sheer volume of pedal releases has gotten a little in the way of some of my larger features - and there are quite a number of those on the back burner at the moment. I thought November would surely slow down a touch - but no - still as fast and furious as ever - and inevitably I have a few spill-over pedals to carry through to next month - which I just didn’t manage to get to within the calendar schedule.
A number of pedals promised to me have still to materialise - some may never happen - as some of those date back to as early as April this year! - that’s kind of part of this industry that there’s a certain looseness in commitments and obligations - where I of course understand changing priorities and challenges. I personally make a really concerted effort to maintain full integrity at all times - and always deliver on what I say I’m going to do - and when I say I’m going to do it. While for many those standards seemingly don’t apply - or at least not to the same degree. And a lot of the time "they forgot about Dre!" Or me more specifically! Even builders I speak to and communicate with regularly - then forget to include me on the final release mail-outs - and I’m just taking press releases here - not sending actual pedals - while that really is the wild Wild Wild West of late. I need several hands and additional fingers to count all the pedals that were promised to me but then never materialised.
I do all my best work when I’m permitted to interact and interface live and direct with said pedals - and over an extended period - so I can wring out every ounce of tone, features and functionalities - and contextualise said pedal/s in terms of practical application and deployment.
That said I very occasionally can and do get things wrong - essentially grasp the wrong end of the stick as such - and deploy the wrong playing style / fretboard and pedalboard position or approach - somehow inadvertently avoiding what is needed to get the best out of that pedal. Those occurrences are super rare (as I liaise a lot directly with the builders - to get most of the answers I need) - but it does happen every few hundred pedals or so. And some builders are rather more sensitive about it than others - and won’t accept apologies or amends - even though said slightly inaccurate or misplaced review was never published or seen by any potential customer or prospect! I liaise a whole lot with builders - surely way more than most - particularly when I’m not 100% clear on something - but some aren’t quite as helpful as you might expect them to be. At times it’s like being a defence barrister with a hostile witness. The number of people in this industry that have ghosted me at one time or another for apparently little or no reason is quite extraordinary really.
I’ve always said that for demos you need to give the demoer the right context - but also the freedom to be wholly creative within that exercise. Some degree of briefing is essential - by way of origin story / scene setting / anecdote or narrative - what was actually being set out to achieve etc - or was it pure serendipity? There are so many different tangential rabbit holes you can end up accidentally and inadvertently falling down into - that it’s important to be offered some basic guidance (which is often not forthcoming) - such that the demoer / reviewer and other interested parties know what context and scenario they’re operating within.
Often these things are far more difficult than they need to be. I’ve gently criticised builders in the past for being too opaque or imprecise in their descriptions - and always refer to the key exercise of near-match benchmarking, It’s important for pedals - to know what space you’re operating within if you want to achieve salient and empirical results. I love getting a mini debrief / scene-setter - it’s something I do regularly with most of the brands I interact with - but for others it really is like getting blood out of a stone.
The industry as a whole is largely pretty positive - but there are still significant sections where it’s nigh impossible to get answers or feedback out of. I’ve lost count of the number of brands / builders that I’ve contacted to ask pertinent but fairly matter-of-fact questions - and I often feel like I’m being ghosted, It happens less and less nowadays - but there are still some doors that remain closed to me. People generally don’t take me for granted so much these days and it’s mostly a mutual respect sort of thing - but there are still a number of odd exceptions.
I totally get the nature of changing priorities and operational challenges and pressures - I just wish more would be more forthright and more communicative as to what was happening at the time - as I get left in limbo still far too often. Even with brands that I’ve helped build up for years - I’m still doing most of the chasing - and I still get left off the press release list far more often than seems right.
That said - there have been some notable highlights this month and some proper killer pedals at all levels of the market - budget, mainstream, boutique, experimental and wholly genuinely innovative ones.
You can’t summarise November without mentioning ALABS Audio’s new Adam Adventures Series, Boss’s RV-200 and IR-2, Flower Pedals Dahlia and Walrus Audio’s Meraki Stereo Dual Analog Delays, Hologram’s Chroma Console, JHS’s Notaklön, Palmer Custom FX’s Solarist Fuzz Face + Rangemaster, and Sinverteks’s new MGAT-1-GE variant to name but a handful!
I so love the Notaklön concept - brilliantly executed all-round - but I am ambivalent about owning one, and I will need to acquire the Flower Pedals Dahlia, and Hologram Chroma Console some time early next year - while the others are either in the collection already, or on their way in.
There should have been a few more pedals covered this month - not that I had any spare time - several nights I got little more than 3 or 4 hours sleep. At times in part due to my having to do some serious work for my other job - where we just had our main annual Keynote Event a couple of weeks back - and it takes me a good solid week - working around the clock to assemble / download / upload / work up and prep those materials and resources for pre, during and post-event follow-up activities.
In short I’ve very much kind of shattered already with still a month of the year to go - if you’ve noticed a few more typos than usual - then you know the likely reason for that.
I’ve still to make a penny from the site / GPX - and that will become a more pressing concern next year. Several people and brands have made positive noises / indications of involvement, yet no one has fully stepped up yet. There will be a few commercial initiatives starting next year - including my merch store - where we have picks and trucker caps thus far - the T-shirt quest had been a little more tricky - and I’ve already had to throw a few suppliers out of contention for lack of responsiveness. The world seems to have become a lot less professional and less service-minded in the last few years. I’m kind of all chased out for the year already. And it will be a policy very much for 2024 - that I’m not going to relentlessly chase everyone up time and time again any more. If people don’t sent me the relevant references in a reasonable and timely manner - then I simply won’t feature those brands’ products on the site any more.
I’m in an odd position now where I possibly know too many builders somehow - as not a day passes by any more without some significant activity occurring - new launches, updates and iterations - and I can struggle to keep up - especially when I’m not being kept udpdated in a timely fashion! As I said - I’m all chased out this year!
I’ve still got a substantial backlog and plenty to get on with - so I will get increasingly more selective in what I do from hereon in. If people want Guitar Pedal X onboard - then they need to work with me and be a proper part of the process. I’m way over-fatigued from getting last minute 11th hour briefings in - it’s just not respectful and not professional. And if you don’t treat me with equal respect then I’ve no interest in getting involved in helping to promote your brand. I have way too much on my plate as is!
November Acquisitions Update
19 pedals added to the reference collection - 'gangs of four'!
Incredibly even distribution of effects - 4 groups of 4 here and representatives from nearly every food group. Some firm favourites in the selection already - that will for sure be in regular rotation from hereon in.
- 4 Overdrives
- 4 Distortions
- 4 Fuzzes
- 2 Modulations
- 4 Time-Based Effects
- 1 Pitch / Utility
4 Overdrives
I guess the first one is rather a Drive and Fuzz, the 2 Boss's are of course long since legendary - with a modded Blues Driver my favourite ever overdrive - actually now being challenged by this HSE Compact Dual-Gain Anchor Drive - which has very similar dynamics and verve to the BD-2 - but is quite it's own thing too - so highly recommended!
- Beetronics Nectar Tone Sweetener Drive + Fuzz
- Boss BD-2 Blues Driver 50th Anniversary
- Boss SD-1 Super OverDrive 50th Anniversary
- Hello Sailor Effects Compact Dual-Gain Anchor Drive
4 Distortions
Another Boss legendary classic - and then 3 killer high gain Distortions which all sound superb. The only unusual thing here is the large enclosure size of the Cyst Mode - which took me something by surprise - I was expecting it to be closer to 1590BB size or thereabouts - but it is significantly larger than that. A little like what happened to me for the Fuzzrocious Electric Ocean!
- Boss DS-1 Distortion 50th Anniversary
- Fortin Natas High Gain Distortion
- Laowiz Cyst Mode Filter Drive
- PedalPalFX PAL800 Gold Overdrive V4
4 Fuzzes
4 killer fuzzes - you will have read the reviews for most of these already. I got off on totally the wrong foot for the Ol'Ephraim - wrong playing style and wrong position in the chain really - where it sounds far superior than my original review made it out to be. I rarely put a foot this wrong - but did accept and fess up to my mistakes - and of course re-wrote the whole thing to make amends - the original review was never published - but seems to have mortally offended said engineer - I can only hope he will forgive me in time - and I can then publish the more correct and properly representative second review! When you are as prolific as my there is bound to be a mis-step every once in a while - while those are usually very few and far between - but it does hurt to be involved in such an escapade. Sometimes in cannot be avoided - which is why I mostly double-check with the builders that I've at least grabbed onto the right end of the stick! As with any endeavour mistakes can occur - it's proper that you recognise your errors and look to make amends - like I have attempted to do - only time will tell if I've managed to resolve this one satisfactorily. All these Fuzzes sounds superb - and will remain in the long-term rotation.
- Bolt & Forge Ol'Ephraim Germanium Sustainer
- ThorpyFX Tacit Blue Germanium 2-Transistor Fuzz
- Palmer Custom FX The Solarist V2 'Swiss Army' Classic Fuzz + Rangemaster
- Pedal Partners x Life Is Unfair Audio Violet Oscillation Shoegaze Fuzz
2 Modulations
2 sides of the Modulation spectrum - one rather more classic and everyday - the other very much leftfield and an acquired taste - both equally potent for me. I already commented in my first ALABS review - that I would have liked to have seen a Dimensions Chorus and Harmonic Tremolo - but I really can't fault the quality of the included 9 algorithms. The Chase Bliss Lossy is too recently arrived for me to have had any proper time with - in fact it will be more part of the December and end-of-year write-ups - it just happened to land sufficiently in time to be part of the November roundup - while it's not been in the chain yet - all the allocatable slots are already taken for the month!
- ALABS Nova Drift Modulator
- Chase Bliss x Goodhertz Lossy Data Compressor Signal Degredation Effect
4 Time-Based Effects
2 pairs of killer Delays and Reverbs - all valid and worthy in their own right. The ALABS pair certainly hold their own ground - and the Cetus Reverb in particular - my favourite of the ALABS quartet! I'm fully familiar with the RV-200 and love every part of that - the Reverse Model C is very new to me though - having only arrived a matter of days before the Lossy - which remains wholly untested so far.
- ALABS Cetus Reverb
- ALABS Timeslip Delay
- Boss RV-200 Reverb
- Chase Bliss x Empress Effects Reverse Mode C Multidirectional Stereo Delay with Modulation
Pitch / Utility
The ALABS Orbital Pitch Shifter is a wonderfully nuanced device well beyond just the convention of interval shifting - with some superb additional ambient effects - particularly when using the Infinity '∞' Explore Mode.
November Infinite Wishlist Additions + Notable ones that didn't yet land
November
Plenty of good stuff out in November - with the Chroma Console very much at the head of that list - while I would except a good half-dozen of these for sure to make it into the reference collection in the next few months.
- Alexander Pedals Dynaflanger Model 213
- Bondi Effects Squish As VCA Compressor
- Boss IR-2 Amp & Cabinet simulator
- Catalinbread SuperCharged OD
- DOD Chthonic Dark Silicon Fuzz
- Dr Scientist Phreak Multi-Mode Ring Modulator
- EarthQuaker Devices Zoar Dynamic Audio Grinder
- Flower Pedals Dahlia Stereo Dual Analog Delay
- Hologram Electronics Chroma Console Multi-Effector
- JHS Pedals Notaklön
- KMA Machines Mandrake Octo-Shrieker
- Line 6 HX One Multi-FX
- PedalPalFX PAL987 PLEXI CARRERA
- Peterson StroboClip HDC Clip-on Tuner
- Reeves Electro Twin Sound Octave Fuzz
- ThorpyFX Have Blue Germanium Rangemaster
- ThorpyFX Pumpkin Cloud Fuzz
- Walrus Audio Meraki Stereo Dual Analog Delay
- Westerlund ONE Preamp
2023 Still Missing / Wanted
I will do a more extensive list at year end - this was a quick browse through the various Infinite Wishlist additions this year - and picking out those that were still high interest for me - only a fraction of these though will land eventually - as new pedals arise every day - and new targets get acquired - so some of the older targets - just fade away in overall significance! Strange space is increasingly proving to be a challenge for me - and there are still slightly more pedals entering the collection that I would ideally like. There may come a time when the herd will need to be thinned - but that should be still a couple or so years out! More so if I manage to sufficiently slow down!
- Alexander Pedals Luminous Phaseshifter
- Blakemore Effects Deus Ex Machina Fuzz
- Cleveland Music Co Midgeapocalypse Vintage Companion Fuzz
- Collision Devices TARS Analog Filter Fuzz
- Electro-Harmonix Satisfaction Plus Fuzz
- Endorphin.es x Andrew Huang Ghost Pedal Multi-FX
- Expandora Forbidden Fuzz
- Fender (Kevin) Shields Blender
- Horrothia Teeth V2 Discrete Low Gain Overdrive
- Meris Mercury X Stereo Reverb Workstation & Sound Designer
- October Audio F Division Sub Octave Drive Bass Synth Fuzz
- October Audio MNTNS Phase / Vibe / Gain
- OneControl BFE Silver Bee OD 4K
- Origin Effects DCX Boost Tone Shaper & Drive
- Origin Effects Halcyon Gold Classic Klone Overdrive
- Peterson StroboStomp Mini
- Red Witch Synthotron III Analog Monophonic Synthesizer
- Reeves Electro Daughterboard Darlington Flyer Fuzz
- REVV Amps Tilt Boost
- Subdecay Tremcoder MKII DLX Pattern Tremolo and 32 Step Sequence
- TC Electronic 2990 P Dynamic Digital Delay & Effects Processor
- Tru-Fi Dizzy Buzz Fuzz
- Vahlbruch Effects V2 Octavia Upper Octave Fuzz
- Victory V1 The Copper Preamp
- Victory V1 The Sheriff Preamp
- VS Audio Platinum Silver Jubilee style Preamp
- Walrus Audio 385 Dynamic Overdrive MKII
- Wonderful Audio Technology Fuzz Lands
9 Most Wanted (that I've not yet managed to land) in rough order of desire!
I was intending to do a list of 10 - there will undoubtedly be a longer list at year-end - while these are currently the highest of the high-rollers I'm most interested in acquiring. Hopefully some of these will be in place before Christmas - and I can then tackle the remained early next year! After some initial Blakemore Effects contact - the trail has gone a little cold of late - will look to pick up on that again next month.
- Hologram Electronics Chroma Console Multi-Effector
- Collision Devices TARS Analog Filter Fuzz
- Blakemore Effects Deus Ex Machina Fuzz
- Subdecay Tremcoder MKII DLX Pattern Tremolo and 32 Step Sequence
- Flower Pedals Dahlia Stereo Dual Analog Delay
- Endorphin.es x Andrew Huang Ghost Pedal Multi-FX
- Meris Mercury X Stereo Reverb Workstation & Sound Designer
- TC Electronic 2990 P Dynamic Digital Delay & Effects Processor
- Fender (Kevin) Shields Blender
November Pedal Chain Status
15 slots updated this month : #2, #5, #9, #12, #15a, #15b, #18, #21, #24, #25, #33, #34, #36, #38, #41.
Obviously a Top Secret still to be officially released pedal on slot #9, the 2 Palmer Custom FX Solarist pedals slots #15a, and 15 - and of course all the new ALABS Audio Pedals.
Actually very evenly distributed across all the main food groups - with significant action / entries in each of the rows!
Some proper long-impact / high-impact favourites that will be in regular rotation for sure.
Slot #02 : Octaver / Pitch-Shifter / Harmonizer / Modulator / Bitcrusher / Utility
The new ALABS Audio Adam Adventures Pedal Series have been a genuine revelation - even something seemingly as pedestrian as a pitch shifter is capable of some incredible fluttery nuances which elevate that pedal to something quite else. The Orbital Pitch Shifter could really do with a +2 Octaves settings in place of the Root - while the ∞ Explore Mode 5 second Gesture Control function really elevates this pedal to must-have status for this genre - this sounds nothing like any pitch-shifter you have hitherto experienced. How I have mine set up - mostly for +1 Octave takes you on a fluttery randomised journey up the octave - it can really sound very special indeed!
Slot #05 : Germanium / Sensitive Fuzz
Thorpy definitely knows how to turn out a great fuzz - all of his sound legendary- and his new Germanium Tacit Blue Fuzz Face is right up there with the quality of the Boneyard that I so love. A fantastic sounding classic Fuzz Face with lovely searing - slightly higher gain Transistors.
Slot #09 : Neutral / Light / Organic / Transparent / Klone Overdrive
This was going to be a fairly anonymous and cryptic teaser - but since my good friend Guillem over at Decibelics has already announced this launch - I feel happy that I can preview this a little here. It's a follow-up from the Reverend Expandora projects that I collaborated with Guillem on - and indeed I've added input and insight on this new dual variety too. It comes with additional external Bass Boost per channel, as well as 3-way clipping - Original Silicon Diodes, LEDs, and NOS Germanium Diodes. And yes it sounds superb - and is even more versatile than the already brilliant Reverend Expandora type. This pedal will launch on the 4th of December in a few different colourways - where my favourite for sure is this 'Redverend' edition!
Slot #12 : Mid Gain / Dumble / Expandora / Fuzzy-Drive / Mostortion / OCD / TrainWreck
Quite simply - the Hello Sailor Effects Compact Dual Gain Anchor Drive is one of my favourite overdrives of all time - in fact probably right up there with my al time favourite modded Blues Driver. It has the most superb full-fat voicing - with superb dynamics and indeed incredible versatile just courtesy of 2 knobs! This one sounds godly thunderous in all the best ways. About the best way you can spend £200. No demo out there yet fully does this justice!
Slot #15 (a) : Main Multi-Drive - Oversize
The Palmer Custom FX The Solarist V2 'Swiss Army' Classic Fuzz + Rangemaster is quiet simply the very best combination Fuzz Face + Rangemaster you cn currently buy - it's expansive extended range functionality has no equal - and it functions, looks and sounds wholly next level. Matthew has definitely laid down a major challenge to all - the benchmark for this sort of thing by a long distance!
Slot #15 (b) : Custom extended slot
The Pedal Partners x Life Is Unfair Audio Violet Oscillation Shoegaze Fuzz is one of the very best of that genre available anywhere - and all the better for being so compact and bijoux - sounds properly immense every which way - a total joy to deploy!
Slot #18 : Marshall in a Box / Plexi
PedalPalFX's PAL800 Gold Overdrive V4 is one of the very best JCM800 MIAB's out there - beautiful dynamics - smart extended range, and a 3-way voicing switch for 3 cool classic takes on that legendary format.
Slot #21 : High Gain Fuzz 1 / Fuzzstortion (Typically!)
Beetronics' Nectar Tone Sweetener Drive + Fuzz is my favourite Babee Series pedal yet - great Tweed-adjacent fuzzy-drive voicing that gets properly fuzzy funnily enough in 'Fuzz' mode - my Custom Shop version of this pedal - it utterly stunning too - as you can see above in this listing!
Slot #24 : Brown Sound / EVH / JCM800 / Liquid Distortion
One of the most instantly satisfying Metal style Pedals I have yet encountered - the Fortin Natas High Gain Distortion has a wonderful poise and tightness to it - sound exceptional every which way - just incredibly controlled and articulate at every possible setting - pricey but so highly recommended!
Slot #25 : Modern Metal 2 / High Gain Metal 1 / Punchy Metal / Sometimes Plexi too! (Typically!)
Every bit as great sounding as its fuller-fat more extended range V2 sibling - the Palmer Custom FX The Solarist Green Simpler 'Swiss Army' Classic Fuzz + Rangemaster will be the preferred option for many - $120 less expensive - with about 95% of the overall flavour still intact. The V2 edition has a bit more granularity in both output and deployment - both are brilliant - and the Green Edition will be every bit as popular - possibly even more so than its sibling. There's no official demo for this variant yet - it has the self same components and transistors in particular as the V2 - and for those modes of play - sounds every bit has good!
Slot #33 : Analog Tremolo / Harmonic Tremolo / Uni-Vibe (Typically!)
The formidable ALABS NovaDrift Modulator is probably the most 'vanilla' of that starting selection- while I guess it does contain a Ring Modulator option - no Dimension Chorus though, and no Harmonic Tremolo - which still makes the Wampler Terraform have the best overall mix of algorithms. Obviously the GFI Synesthesia is quite brilliant too - a little bit let down by its MISO nature though. And the NovaDrift has the ∞ Explore Mode 5 second Gesture Control function which adds wonderful nuanced and randomised movement to the modulations. It's still a special device - but perhaps not so special as the Orbital , TimeSlip or Cetus in Particular!
Slot #34 : Glitch / Multi-FX 1 / Other Modulation
The ALABS Timeslip Delay is a really smart Digital Delay workstation with ingenious mix of classic with some more unusual algorithms. Like the Cetus - I prefer the latter half more quirky variants - Warp, Granule, Sweeper and Swell in particular!
Slot #36 : Stereo Delay Workstation 1
I've only had the Chase Bliss x Empress Effects Reverse Mode C Multidirectional Stereo Delay with Modulation for a few days now - so really just scratching the surface - so far so good though - and the Lossy just recently arrived too - I certainly have my work cut out for the next few weeks. I thought it was going to get easier by the end of the month. I've not had any time off this year - worked every weekend - and typically both days - haven't been to the cinema for a good couple of months now either - which used to be a regular Saturday feature - incredibly busy year for me!
Slot #38 : Stereo Rotary / Multi-FX 3 / Modulation Workstation 2 / Harmonizer / Delay Workstation 2 / Reverb Workstation 2
My favourite by far of the recent ALABS Audio quarted - all are pretty brilliant - but the Cetus is properly stand out even within that group. I particularly like the 5 back end algorithms - Plate, Swell, Shimmer, Cloud and Wave. The gentle lapping of 'Waves' up on the shore just always sounds amazing and is therapeutic at the same time - let the Waves wash over you! So far Meris - via its Mercury made a kind of Bladerunner Reverb - while I would like to see an even more expansive 9-mode ALABS Sci-Fi Reverb next - call it OuterSpace!
Slot #41 : Stereo Reverb Workstation 1 / Studio Reverb
And finally the so long awaited Boss RV-200 Reverb Workstation - which has so been worth the wait even if just for the new ArpVerb algorithm. And similar actually to the ALABS Cetus - the Spring Mode isn't particularly drippy or amazing - while pretty much everything else is, I spend way too much time on ArpVerb and SlowVerb algorithms - most definitely a pedal equal to my long-term favourite DD-200 - so nice to have its sibling with us at last - it's taken way too long - but on balance it's so good that it's kind of been worth the wait!
Final Thoughts
I frequently seem to start these end of month posts somewhat downbeat - which is largely a reflection of the duress I'm under at the time. In fact I'm up late typing this once more - where I typically work solidly from 08:00 in the morning to at least 2, 3 or 4 o'c the following morning (18-20 hours in every 24 typically). I can get by on as little as 5 hours sleep overnight but often I'm only getting 3 or 4.
That said I always try to make the outro message upbeat - and I do have lots to be thankful for, plenty of people are still very generous in my direction and regularly send in pedals, and feed me with the relevant information I need to deliver the best results.
I'm all about helping promote this industry - and helping builders achieve better - make better pedals and sell more - so they can make a better living and take better care of their nearest and dearest.
I need to get pedals in fairly regularly - in order for me to do proper in-depth and salient reviews and features - while the industry seems geared against me a lot of the time. I stand for quality and innovation - and promote all brands that fit that mould - regardless of their geography, price-point or market position.
I still spend the vast majority of my disposable income towards feeding this blog - and supplying me with necessary pedals. And were it not for this blog I certainly would not need to own the vast numbers of pedals I do,
I'm still incredibly selective in what I focus on - which is particularly good for the followers and readership - but may make my relationship more precarious with certain brands - who generally expect more sort of blanket coverage.
Obviously America is still where most of the action lies - most of the significant pedal brands are based there - as is the largest active pedal consumer audience. So many of the UK builders that I'm friendly with sell up to 90% of their output to customers in the USA - which is incredibly unusual for any native industry.
And there is definitely an advantage in being US-based - in terms of taxes and import duties - and free shipping - very little of which applies to me - in fact most of those are challenges rather than operational advantages. In fact ever since Brexit - all of the international pedal trade has become infinitely more tricky and more costly.
I still to my best to unearth interesting pedals and brands - and share the best insights with you. While 2024 will definitely be a crunch year - as I have to start deriving income from this work - and if that fails to materialise - then I may very well be forced to draw a curtain on these proceedings. It's as much up to everyone I support and interact with to help keep this going - if such is the prevailing wish of course. I feel I still contribute a lot to this industry - while it just isn't feasible for me to carry on in this way indefinitely.
The market outside of the USA has been somewhat depressed / stagnant of late - particularly in mainland Europe. So admittedly there are tough operational challenges going on at the moment. While I'm inherently resourceful, and have some truly wonderful people on my side. If you genuinely like what I do - then you need to get involved to help this venture thrive an prosper or else witness it whither away.
I feel in 2024 things will genuinely start to pick up again - and hopefully we can all get to where we need to be. If there is no income to be had by this enterprise by next Easter or so - then I will surely have to pivot to other things. Man cannot survive on air and optimism alone....
I trust you are all well and not so nearly as worn down as me!
Apologies to those that have dropped comments and queries recently - I just haven't had the bandwidth of late to respond to most of those - hopefully I will get a little more time in December!
