Flattley Guitar Pedals
South West England
The Flattley Guitar Pedals Story
Flattley Guitar Pedals is a family-run business established in 2016, founded by Paul Flattley. With over 30 years of experience in aviation avionics — including time as a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm technician — Paul brings aerospace-grade quality assurance to every pedal he builds. Each effect is hand-built, hand-wired, and hand-finished in England, using top-shelf components and the highest quality materials. Every PCB is designed and manufactured in Gloucestershire, and all product processes stay within a small radius to minimise their carbon footprint. The Platinum range features hand hydro-dipped custom graphics, while the Silver range uses UV-printed finishes — both with LED halo ring lights and laser-etched aluminium details. All Flattley products are RoHS, CE & WEEE compliant, packaged in sustainable recycled materials, and come with a 12-month guarantee plus lifetime technical support.
Artists Using Flattley Guitar Pedals
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How They're Built
Every Flattley pedal begins life as a concept schematic, tested and prototyped before a PCB is designed and populated with the highest quality components available. Paul Flattley brings over 30 years of aviation avionics experience to each build, having started his career as a technician in the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm, working on helicopters aboard HMS Ark Royal. That military-grade precision runs through every solder joint.
The finishing process is where Flattley really sets itself apart. In the Platinum range, each enclosure goes through a ten-step process: hand-abraded, etch-primed, triple-coated with base primer, then layered with metallic holographic chrome flake before receiving custom hydro-dipped graphics. Three coats of lacquer follow, each wet-sanded and polished with three compound grades. The result is a pedal that looks as good as it sounds. Aluminium control knobs are laser-etched, LED halo ring lights illuminate the footswitch, and a sublimated aluminium logo plaque finishes each unit.
Flattley keep their carbon footprint minimal by sourcing locally. PCB design and painting happen at facilities in Gloucestershire, and UV direct printing for the Silver range graphics is handled nearby. Everything stays within a small geographic radius.
What Sets Them Apart
Flattley pedals are analogue-only. Paul made that decision early and has never wavered. The sound is organic, warm, and takes on a life of its own at stage volume. The Centurion Transparent Overdrive has been the bestseller for seven years running, a Klone-style circuit refined through multiple artwork editions. The Revolution Dynamic Overdrive offers three clipping voices (silicon diodes, op-amp, and red LEDs), making it one of the most versatile mid-gain pedals we stock.
The Type I Wah is something special. External controls for range, inductor selection (Halo, Fasel, or both), gain, and Q bandwidth give you more tonal shaping than most wahs on the market. It arrived "rather fully formed" in Paul's words, with an illuminated base and etched knobs that have become a Flattley signature. Every pedal in the range carries original artwork by Paul's daughter Phoebe, making each one a genuine family collaboration.
