Two Week Alert! : The London Synth & Pedal Expo returns on March22nd & 23rd at the same fantastic Studio 9294 venue in Hackney Wick
NOTE : FREE TO ATTEND HEADPHONES EVENT!
Great news! - the London Synth & Pedal Expo is back for another year on the 22nd & 23rd of March -hopefully just as good as last year’s fantastic sophomore event. And in a superb venue and location - just one stop up from Stratford!
Paolo generally encourage people to bring their own guitar with them - while I’ve been bopped so many times by those guitars - that I rather wish attendees left their axes at home. Space can get somewhat tight on occasions, and there are some narrow passage - so you’’re likely to be bumped by a guitar or two at peak times!
Last year's Pedal Room at peak flow pictured above!
Studio 9294 was previously the venue for BOSS’s ’In The Loop’ Looping Masterclass and Live Performance event - back in October of 2022.
It’s super easy for me to get to - just head east to Stratford on the Elizabeth or Central lines - and take one station up on the East London Overground (Windrush Line) to Hackney Wick. You come out of that station and do a series of right turns - kind of looping around to a really cool looking art-space / creative industrial park.
One of the great things about the venue is the No.90 Bar and Kitchen right next door - where I had one of the best burgers ever at the In The Loop event - and have since had a great burger each time - albeit the recipe seems to be changing! There’s generally plenty of space except for a few narrow passages at peak time, and pretty good breathing room really for most of the day. The inaugural Shoreditch venue was a little too bottlenecked at times - where this larger venue has a superior flow about it overall.
This is one of my favourite events of this kind - it really exudes good and friendly vibes! Paolo is a magnificent show-runner - and is well aided by Safia and Mike of Rabbit Hole FX fame! All lovely people!
There are around the same number of exhibitors this time around a lot of the same ones retiring - but a few different ones also - I feel it's going to be pretty grand once more - even though it does come fairly soon after the Birmingham UK Guitar Show (around a fortnight after). The London Synth & Pedal Expo is more focused in that sense - should be all thriller - and no filler!
There are no new brands for me here - I'm familiar with all really, while Anacounds, DSM Humboldt, Kodex, Mad Professor, and Wampler are appearing here for the first time I think! I very much look forward to catching up with all of my friends. This is my third show in a month - after the Birmingham and Woking shows - so hopefully the best has been kept til last!
I also recall Kernom telling me they would be there at the show - at least I think they did! While they're currently not appearing on the show roster for whatever reason! UPDATE! - Kernom will definitely be there - while Anasounds and Kodex are now unable to attend and are last minute cancellations. EQD is also no longer distributed by ADG - so they will no longer be part of that roster.
As before - I'm not going to focus too much on second- guessing what the various brands will be bringing to the party - I will just see what moves me on the day! As an official media partner for this show I will be there on both days - possibly only partial on the Sunday - as I need to write-up the event then - but I will certainly be there for the whole of the Saturday and a good part of the Sunday! Much the same as last year!
MEDIA PARTNERS
There are 6 MEDIA PARTNERS this year - of course including yours truly as usual! - a somewhat different selection to the last!
PEDAL EXHIBITORS
48 PEDAL BRANDS :
Anasounds | Beetronics | BOSS | Chase Bliss | Cioks | Cornerstone Gear | Crazy Tube Circuits | Death By Audio | Diamond Pedals | DigiTech | DOD | DSM Humboldt | Dreadbox FX | Dunlop | Eventide | EQD | Formula B | Fulltone USA | Great Eastern FX | Ibanez | Intensive Care Audio | Jackson Audio | Jam Pedals | Keeley Electronics | Kernom | Kodex | KMA Machines | Laney Amplification | Mad Professor | Maxon | Mooer | MXR | Meris | Neural DSP | Nobels | Old Blood Noise Endeavours | Origin Effects | Peterson Strobe Tuners | Pigtronix | Rabbit Hole FX | Rainger FX | REVV Amps | Solidgold FX | Source Audio | Tsakalis Audioworks | Universal Audio | Walrus Audio | Wampler Pedals | Warm Audio | Way Huge
SYNTH EXHIBITORS
39 SYNTH BRANDS :
Ableton | Alm Busy Circuits | Antonus | Apollo View | Arturia | Ashun Sound Machines | Bastl Instruments | Buchla | Clacktronics | Daniel Biro | Elektron | Emute Lab Instruments | Enjoy Lab | Erica Synths | Expressive E | Dreadbox | Future Sound Systems | GRP Synthesizer | GS Music | Haken Audio | Joranalogue | Knobula | LEAF Audio | Loci | Melbourne Instruments | Mellotron | Modcaf | Modor Music | Music Thing Modular | Neutral Labs | Pittsburgh Modular | PWM | RYK Modular | SOMA | Soundfreak | Synclavier | Synth Evolution | Teenage Engineering | Venus Instruments | Vpme.de Eurorack
VENUE, DIRECTIONS & TIMINGS
The event runs across 2 days :
Saturday 22nd March : 12:00 - 18:00 hrs
Sunday 23rd March : 11:00 - 17:00 hrs
The Studio 9294 venue can be found at :
Studio 9294, 92 - 94 Wallis Rd, Hackney Wick, London, E9 5LN
Studio 9294 is right around the corner from Hackney Wick station really - which is one stop up / in / along from Stratford Station on the East London Overground Line (now Windrush Line).
Stratford serves Central, Docklands Light Railway, Elizabeth, and Jubilee Lines!
The venue really is just 5 minutes walk from the Hackney Wick train station - and there are regular trains to Stratford - which is the nearest major Hub.
2023 London Synth and Pedal Expo Highlights
