From The Ground Up

A year goes by fast, until you stand in the same place again and realise how much has changed. Guitars and More 2026 felt like that for us. We could not help but think back to where it started. In 2025, we showed up for the first time with a tiny booth squeezed between the toilets, the exit, and a fire extinguisher. A small table, a plant, one chair, half a pedalboard, and one guitar. People did not know us, and we were still learning how to show up ourselves. And the truth is, almost no one stopped. Not a single person really tried the pedals.

We did not give them a reason to stop. We did not look like a place you walk into and plug in. And that was probably the most important lesson we could have learned. Because if no one tries, no one knows. This year, it felt different before we even arrived.

“How About Lenny And Adams?”

Simi was pregnant and not feeling well enough to attend, which changed everything. We had planned it together, and suddenly we had to rethink how the day would work because I was not sure I could handle it alone. Then she said it, “Why don’t you ask Lenny and Adams?” and it immediately made sense. If you know them, you already understand why. If you don’t, Lenny and Adams are the two driving forces behind the Biel/Bienne-based band M.O.T.H.E.R., a heavy and atmospheric project built on intention, not just volume. Shaping their sound in a very deliberate way, and you can hear the thought behind everything they do.

They have also been part of our story from very early on, believing in what we were doing from the start because it spoke to them, and we feel the same about them. Not out of sympathy, not because we know each other, but because we genuinely think they are incredible musicians. The kind of band that should be filling up stadiums. So when they said yes, it did not feel like help, it felt right. At the booth, they did what they do best. They played, listened, talked to people, and explained things in a way that felt natural and personal.

Nothing felt forced, and people stayed because it felt good to stay. At some point, I realised I could walk away, which almost never happens. Usually you are stuck behind the table all day, repeating yourself and barely seeing anything else, but this time I could actually move, walk around, and experience the fair as a visitor. That changed the whole day.

Catching Up With Your Coworkers

There’s this thing in the gear world, we’re all colleagues in a way, even if we only cross paths once or twice a year. Once you start moving, you start seeing the people behind the names.

Greuter Audio

If you are into Swiss-made effects, Greuter Audio is one of those names that carries weight. Sascha has been doing this for years, and you can tell he is not chasing trends. He listens, refines, and builds things that sound and feel right. His approach is deeply hands-on, selecting and matching components by ear, tuning everything until it responds exactly how he wants. Each enclosure is hand painted and decorated, and you feel that level of care the moment you plug in. Talking to him feels the same. Every situation we go through, he has already experienced years earlier, and the way he shares it is always clear and grounded. His advice makes sense immediately, often backed by a story that shows you exactly why.

This time, I finally tried the Natural Selection Overdrive, which I had been curious about for a while. It does not reshape your tone, it respects what is already there and gives you more of it, more body, more air, more grit, all reacting directly to how you play. Then he handed me something unexpected, a guitar a friend of his designed with his Star Bender built directly into it. A built-in fuzz sounds like a gimmick, but this absolutely was not. The bias control behaves differently from what you usually expect, and you hear that immediately. The sound opens up in a controlled but alive way, musical rather than chaotic. I have made and played many Tone Benders over the years, and this one stood out right away, not because it was extreme, but because it felt right.

Blackhole Amplification

All of this was running through a Blackhole Amplification Nightingale. Blackhole is the work of a Swiss amp builder with a very clear approach. His amps support everything else properly and let the sound come through. We met him last year when Simi and I had just decided to really start RhPf. We talked about demos and collaborations, but like many things, I postponed and postponed, we will get going this year. Standing there this year, playing through the Nightingale, it felt like coming back to something we should have done already. The amp stays open, warm, and responsive, and it lets everything in front of it breathe. That matters, because when an amp does that, everything becomes clearer. This year, I am getting one, not as a plan, just as a consequence.

Somewhere in between, I also ran into Alex from iMad AG, who represents ESP Guitars in Switzerland. He is constantly between artists, instruments, and stories, and you feel that the moment you talk to him. Every conversation ends the same way, you start by catching up, you try a few guitars, and at some point you are just laughing. There is always a story, always something that happened somewhere, and it reminds you that all of this is lived, not just built.

Ebbe Design – Velcro Should Not Be Allowed!

The day before the fair, we were setting up and fighting with velcro again. It is always the same, sticky, messy, and never quite right, so we joked that someone should finally fix it. The next day, we met Ben and Eric from Ebbe Design, two industrial design students from Switzerland who did exactly that. Their system uses a small plate under each pedal and a magnetic board that holds everything in place. I tried to shake it myself, and nothing moved. Then you turn the pedal slightly, and it comes off instantly. No glue, no residue, just something that works the way you always wished it would.

There are so many more people we could mention here, and that says everything. What’s happening in Switzerland right now, the care, the passion, the level of craft, we’re just really happy to be part of it.

The Best Feeling, Sounding, And Looking Guitars!

Back at our space, things had their own rhythm. This year, we stood there together with Alain and Andy from the Guitar Barn in Oberwil, and let’s be honest, it helps when the guitars sound and feel so good that people don’t want to put them down. Alain builds Wildhoney guitars, Andy builds Magneton, and together they create Barngain guitars from upcycled materials. Their work is beautiful, but more importantly, they are part of our daily life. We go there often, sometimes for a coffee, sometimes for a jam, sometimes just to talk. They are usually the first to try our prototypes, and they help us push things further until they feel right. So having their guitars next to our pedals felt like showing something that already exists.

The Guess Jar

At the same time, the jar had its own little life. Just a jar filled with guitar picks, guess the number, nothing more. We got the idea from School of Rock Basel and loved how simple and human it felt. People would guess, then come back convinced they were wrong. Others compared numbers, laughed, tried again. We teased them, they teased back, and it created this constant, playful energy around the booth. Kids getting into it, people who had no idea about guitars joining in, families coming along where maybe one person plays and the others are just there, and suddenly everyone is part of something. No one is bored, everyone has a go, and it just brings people together in the simplest way.

Touring Rig?

These days mean a lot to us, not just because we get to show our pedals, but because everything comes together in one place, the people, the ideas, the sounds, all of it. It is also where we get to show something we really believe in, that what is being made here in Switzerland is seriously good, built with care, intention, and personality, and you feel that the moment you plug in. And naturally, this is where things start, you talk, you try things, you connect dots, and this time was no different.

We had a few conversations that went a bit further than just catching up, and some ideas are already taking shape. Not going to say too much yet, but the next version of the Touring Board will grow from this, bringing more people together, more gear, and the same idea behind it, putting it in the hands of musicians so it actually gets played. We will share more soon.

Until then, thank you to everyone who came by, played, talked, guessed, and stayed. And to Lenny and Adams, you did not just help, you made the day what it was. Some days just stay with you. This was one of them.

More RhPf Plugged in announcements coming soon, stay tuned!