As I mentioned in my recent Kempton Park London International Guitar Show report - this DIRT Distortion was originally supposed to be the immediate follow-up to the very similarly styled 1991 Pearl Jam sensation.

The DIRT is a 3-way collaboration between Andy Ilgunas of Funny Little Boxes, Matt Webster of Let’s Play All - who’s also done the next level demo and sounds samples below. And on this occasion SoundLad Liverpool’s Marc Dunn was also involved.

As is sometimes the case - the ...

As is usual for these events - I prepared a list of my likely targets to hit up during the day - which this time around happened to be my various already established friends and allies from the guitar show circuit. I did not spot any suitable new prospects on the show roster - nor when I actually did the rounds!

My list looked as follows :

• Audiostorm - Lydia-Sean
• Buzzing Bugs - Dan
• Flattley Guitar Pedals - Paul & Jan
• Funny Little Boxes - Andy
• Goliath FX - Matt
• Heavy Repping - John

Wow, The Guitar Show was certainly a rollercoaster of an event with the busiest crowd I’ve witnessed to-date. At times it was quite a struggle to make your way through the packed waves of attendees, which did though start to peter out just a little after 3 o’c. For me it was fast and furious from the start - and I found it a little awkward navigating around the hall - as the stand layout seemed to have all kinds of little nooks and crannies - which made some booths incredibly easy to overlook ...

A decent showing on the Distortion side too - with some particularly great High Gain Distortions. I was due to review the Licthlaerm Gehenna and Medusa also - but with Daniel Ringl’s workshop move - that didn’t quite get sorted this year - hopefully early in the new year - and then I can update the ’Full Metal Racket’ selection which exercise I normally do late Autumn!

There’s couple of really cool filter distortions here that I really like - the Intensive Care Audio Vena Cava Filter / ...

I’ve really taken to the Kempton Park Reacourse venue for this show - with its superb viewing platform of a Panorama restaurant at the top of the building - in fact there are a few places you can seek refreshments. The whole things had / has an easy family vibe to it - where several exhibitors brought part of their family with them for the day - some the whole shebang, while others had their Dad or Brother in tow - just a really nice easy breezy atmosphere - and so easy to get to for those of ...

This post was prompted by the new Funny Little Boxes Skeleton Key Distortion - a follow-up to their hugely successful and popular 1991 Pearl Jam style Dual Overdrive / Distortion. This marks the 3rd gain pedal to have been inspired in some way by Josh Homme’s signature sound - while in some ways this one goes even further than the previous two with its QOTSA tie-in. While to date I believe the only one that Josh has actually used in his rig - is some version of the Stone Deaf FX PDF Low Gain ...

Like most I believe - I had a wonderful time at the recent Brighton Guitar Show and Pedal Expo - where I spent 97% of my time in the Pedal Room, with just brief excursions out to the Hamstead Soundworks and Timber Tones stands in the main Guitars Room.

I pretty much managed to get to the vast majority of stands I intended to - but there are always some casualties as time is a finite commodity! And I was there actually from just after eight until gone 17:30 - one of the very last to leave - ...

So we’re just one day away from the Brighton Guitar Show and FX Expo - where Mr PedalPatch - Phil Steere takes up the reins alongside show partners and sponsors Zander Circuitry (Alex Millar), RotoSound (Jack Dunwoody), Strings & Things (Marc Snelling), and WaterBear College of Music (Adam Bushell and Bruce John Dickinson). All those brands are listed in the middle of the above visual! With further details below.

The show is in a handy location at the Brighton Racecourse - just a 10 ...

The Top visual (above) this time is my favourite stand from the show - the super elegant and lifestyle-oriented Kernom stand - with really smart use of furniture - but with a somewhat eyesore tangle of cables! - overall it looked really striking and elegant compared to everything else at the show!

So another show is over - where I attended all day Saturday. Entrance was the same as before @ £15, while travel was slightly more expensive. I had an open-return train ticket @ £61, plus 2 tube ...