Xploration • Curation • Recommendation
Hello Sailor Effects unleashes its super vibrant take on the Brian May style Treble Booster
You may recall that I mentioned I spent a weekend at HSE HQ in Gosport (7th/8th of this month) - with Hello Sailor’s Joe Halliday and his father-in-law Glyn Nunn - who accompanies Joe to all the shows, and generally serves Joe’s ultimate sidekick!
So we spent the whole of the first day in the HSE Workshop, as well as part of Sunday Morning. Joe had already completed a Jordan Boss Tone / Randy California style Spirit in the Sky Fuzz for me (as per last week’s post) when I arrived - so I did not observe him make that one. While he made my Brian May style Treble Booster before my very eyes - while we somewhat emotively debated various global geopolitical concerns!
The day’s weather ran in tandem with the intensity of our debate as we witnessed thunderbolts and lighting - which made it sound like we were in a war zone at times - it sounded like the lighting was hitting very close to our location - with a sort of shuddering ordnance style bang - a little harrowing at times, and we suffered torrential rain too - which resulted in a couple of leaks in the workshop (that roof evidently needs to be reinforced! It was all-round a really exhilarating experience - and by the end of the day the weather had returned to a sunny and calm disposition - much like the debate!
This particular pedal has been a long time coming as Joe is overall best known for his Range Master / Treble Booster circuits and pedals - and could probably assemble one of these blindfolded - it was the only major HSE pedal that I had still to acquire and properly experience! Where it was somewhat mesmerising to observe the circuit steadily build up and emerge in full - it almost seemed magical at times as it all just flowed so effortlessly. And before long Joe had completed the whole circuit. The exercise then involved a little QA and refinement. And Joe has an excellent technique too for how he tests and trouble-shoots his circuits. Surely based to a significant t degree on the trouble shooting he learned in the navy - while that was in the field of mechanics - and for those pedals we’re talking electronics. While the degree of due diligence is surely the same!
Joe should really consider building a viewing gallery onto his workshop such that others may witness the wonder of a build- not that there is space for one - I guess his YouTube Channel will suffice for most - while I will always be endlessly fascinated by these kinds of pedal builds, which I’m fairly convinced that I would find incredibly fiddly myself. It’s amazing to witness how effortless this all is for Joe - he was obviously made for this type of work - it’s a mix of muscle memory, natural intuition, Royal Navy style trouble-shooting and deep and smart quality control. It’s like watching Fabergé himself create one of his magnificent jewelled eggs!
The debate got a little heated at times - not in a bad way - just the usual back-and-forth trading of opinions and rationale - and all the time Joe’s hands worked their magic - even when he wasn’t particularly looking directly at the circuit. It was akin to one of those stop-motion movies - where things animate and build up steadily over time. And before I was fully aware of it - the pedal was already fully complete - with all those tiny little cable-ties locked into position.
This Brian May style Treble Booster is a thing of wonder. It's very evident that we have wholly mojo and primo vintage components here - including those yellow and blue capacitors, and that amazing CV7001 Newmarket Mil Spec Germanium NKT275 equivalent. Note also - the Transformer on the left-side of the circuit - that is such a vital part of the magic of the pedals output, and it gives this pedal so much range.
I'm a huge fan of the Brian May sound, and have long intended on getting one of his style of Treble Boosters (Brian has one on his site that goes for £275) - so this is a very timely release for me. Joe bought the knobs direct from the Brian May site, and the essentially 'decal' on the facia is an Elizabeth period Sixpence - which of course Brian uses as his pick / plectrum of choice. I've actually also very recently acquired some Sixpences shaped into plectrums - by The Highland Plectrum Co - who make plectrums from a wide variety of coins! I may very well get a few more of those - as long as they're not too far away from my preferred Jazz III size / format.
In terms of how I tend to use this pedal - I tend to have it mostly at 2 very different settings (with variations) - depending on whether I'm just using the Treble Booster on its own, or in tandem with another gain pedal on the board. I mostly have the Level maxed out, where for solo purposes the Transformer dial is set 3 o'c, and when used in tandem, I tend to prefer it @ 9 o'c. I usually fine-tune it a touch - but generally for the fuller flavour I prefer it at 3 o'clock versus having the Transformer also fully maxed - while that can sound great too.
My above visual is highly apt too - in being as much of Brian May that I could feature considering this a tribute - the hair is actually an 80's rock wig prop - and I thought it would be fun to incorporate it in the manner that I have - it also kind of symbolises that the Treble Booster adds a significant amount of 'Hair' to your output.
This pedal really sounds superb - it feels so tangible and lively - and you can truly feel the quality of the transformer and transistor in the vibrancy of the output. I am absolutely delighted for this to be my very first HSE Treble Booster - I'm sure I will end up with a few varieties of those!
And this pedal combines superbly with my Tubesteader Roy - for the perfect Brain May style output. Both those pedals are amazing, and combine magnificently!
Only 3 of these exceptional pedals Have been made - beautifully and appropriately red-leather-bound, and one of those is mine - so just 2 are up for grabs from the Hello Sailor Effects Webstore - where they go for £250.
This is an incredibly execution - those official Brian May knobs, the red leather, and the Sixpence as a decal - surely the absolute perfect format for this pedal!
The Brian May flavour is one of the most important on my 'Spicerack' style board - I've championed that sound from my earliest guitar days - and I feel I've finally achieved perfection with the combination of of this HSE Treble Booster and Tubesteader Roy.
Here follows a brief photo-journal of my first day at HSE HQ. I met Joe and Glyn for brunch at the 'Inn By The Sea' which is in Lee-on-the-Solent - a really picturesque place on the South Coast - just down and west from Gosport. We had Sunday Roast there too on the following day!
We were back at the workshop around noon, where we stayed (through all kinds of weather) until well after 7 o'clock in the evening - which ended with a great dinner at the Great Wall Chinese Restaurant - in Gosport.
Here below and after the demo - is the very first picture I took with Joe and Glyn - once we had entered the workshop on that first Saturday - what a great way to spend the weekend. I stayed at my usual hotel chain overnight - this time at the Gosport branch of Premier Inn!
Demo
Short Photo Journal from HSE HQ
Glyn and Joe at the entrance to the workshop - next to the 'Wall of Honour' which features Joe's service medals!
Joe at the start of assembly - could really do with a better chair - considering how many hours he sits there assembling his pedals
Main circuit complete!
Finishing Touches
Pedal Staging Area / Rack
Exterior
Interior
