About Us
The man, the myth, the leg-end . Also, what’s going on with that tattoo?
From Founder
I was once asked “what is the meaning of life”. my reply – “#becausetone”. to that i was told, i must not have understood the question, to this i simply say – you must not understand life.
JOE HALLIDAY
Chief petty officer
Royal Navy
18 November 2002 – 13 Febuary 2025 (as it currently stands)
What led to the start of Hello Sailor Effects? How long have you been in business?
The name Hello Sailor Effects comes from my actual day job – I’ve been serving Queen (and now king) and Country in the Royal Navy for 22 years. I chose “Hello Sailor” over something cool and edgy like “Sailors Grave Effects” purely because of a very drunken tattoo I have on the front of my left shoulder (queue drunken sailor jokes). This tattoo has since become the Hello Sailor Effects logo.
I’ve been building effects pedals under the name Hello Sailor for around 16 years – in the past I’ve gone through periods of building, then life has happened, work has been crazy or some other excuse that made me stop. Now fast forward to the present day, i have been consistently building since 2017, after a 9 month operational deployment onboard the now decommissioned hms monmouth: I spent nine months away from home onboard a war ship without a lot to do in between keeping watches and work. I became addicted to watching That Pedal Show (as all of us gear nerds inevitably do). it just inspired me to give this pedal malarkey another go. This time round it’s kind of just taken off, and I’ve even managed to get a Kossoff Drive into the hands of the guy who owns Paul’s ’59 burst (thank you kris).
Hello Sailor Effects isn’t a huge company, I’m certainly not the next Brian Wampler (I’m absolutely one of his fanboys, though ha! seriously go read his book “How to Modify Effects Pedals,” it’s awesome). I’m just a guy who loves creating unique one of a kind effects pedals. Are they perfect? No, absolutely not, but if you want something a bit different or customizable then look no further. Also, you won’t have to sell a kidney to afford them. All of my pedals are built one at a time by myself.
Did you have formal schooling, or are you self-taught? Take us through that story:
I do have an Engineering Degree that I’ve achieved through the Navy as part of my job, which is kind of a miracle since i did not attend school in my formative years. I’m actually a mechanical engineer specializing in refrigeration, although i have had a draft instructing hydraulics in the Royal Naval Engineering School. My final role in service is in a HR capacity, currently i have around 40 sailors in my care which is interesting to say the least. As you can see, not a lot of that is useful for building effects pedals (well, not unless you want your germanium fuzz face refrigerated ha). I got interested in electronics when my first valve amp broke (Orange Tiny Terror). I armed myself with a multimeter and set about bringing it back to life, it was so much fun I thought “I’m going to build myself the ultimate boutique point to point amp.” To get there, I decided to start by building an effects pedal or two, which turned to three and so on…………..
Follow us on youtube & instagram @hellosailoreffectsofficial
A pair of Dual Rangemasters bare all in front of an early royal navy steam turbine dating from the 1800’s
Alice? who the f…….. Abbey Road Fuzz with Alice artwork
The view from the pointy end. Time at sea onboard HMS Kent