At age 65 my amps dial in exactly as I want them to now but sadly my playing still leaves a lot to be wished for. Faced with the fact that the equipment is a lot more capable than me what do I do ? Well listen to Dave Simpson play his intro jams is one thing for sure. I had the great privilege of listening to the greats play and it's good that Dave continues this tradition into my old age. One day I hope to see him live to complete a very auspicious list.
THANK YOU, Dave, for every single upload. You educate, inspire and entertain without fail. Your chops are undeniably among the best in the world, and you're not a dick about it. Thanks for everything you do, sir; we ALL greatly appreciate it.
dave, during this 2020 lockdowni have learnt so much from stumbling across your channel, im binge watching while practising with a new focus and passion, been stuck in a playing rut for years, i love your style and your so down to earth, a man of the people!! been watching your play like peter green and just the section on the scales etc has put a new life into my playing…. during this heartbreaking pandemic and lockdown can i thank you for all you haveand are doing….
I've felt a little embarrassed to admit I'm chasing early Rev Billy G tone - I feel better after watching this. I paint sign's for a living, have done for 40 yr's. Starting out I'd get Sign Craft Magazine from the States and try and catch the vibe from my favorite artist's. Took me some time to learn my craft but before I start a sign I can already see it laid out on the board these day's. I think it translates to dialing in your amp. Great video Dave. Thank you.
Starting from zero makes a huge amount of sense to me when it comes to tone controls. This way you can hear exactly the effect of turning up each individual dial, without any interference from the other frequencies.
Your point is well taken-step one is to know what sound we are looking for. Otherwise it’s similar to the saying “If you don’t know where you want to go you’ll never get there.” Also, that makes good sense to start with the tone controls at zero. I would think that’s especially true with passive rather than active tone controls. Thanks for posting this.
Thank you for embracing “the fear”! Your passion and experience shine through. You have created a really helpful resource for the guitar playing community. 🙏
It's crazy, I was 90% the way there already but couldn't dial it in perfectly. I could tell I was close, but then I finally started catching up on the older Dave Simpson videos and after hearing how you do your amp I immediately dialed down the amp to nothing and worked with the pedalboard and bingo! I wouldn't have thought to do that because I was getting so close the wrong way I thought I was on the right road. God only knows how many hours you've saved me... Thanks :)
Watched this video yesterday (I can't say I've ever seen a dial in your amp video use this 0 everything technique before) and here I am tonight in a hotel, noodling with my guitar and Amplitube and it works amazing with modeling. I really like the Rockerverb model, but it usually has lots of noise. Turned all the eq down to 0 and then dialed in as you directed until I got a tone I liked and it was nearly noise free. Amazing! Thanks Dave! Going to give this a try on my HRD when I get home in a few days :-)
After years of watching and following, I want to comment and say Thank You for all of the inspiring work you are creating. Your videos have influenced my playing and sound in a great way.
This video helped me today, as I an a new Marshall owner and didnt understand the knobs. As you stated in another video the knobs are all boost being 0-10. I am used to cut and boost with unity at center being an old synthesizer user lol. Now my Marshall is DIALED! thanks (DIALED DAVE)
Yo so...thanks so much! Your tips were EXACTLY what I needed to finally get the tone I was looking for out of my Boss Katana 100. I really liked the suggestion to start with EQ off and then dial things in. I was looking for a clean tone but when I had the EQ with everything at 12, I felt like it was confusing me as to what sound I wanted. By slowly introducing more low end and then sharpening everything with presence and treble, I was finally able to get my Humbuckers to give me a nice clean tone but with just the right of warmth to make them interesting.
Great guitar ,got sss sunburst, put alnico 5 loaded pickguard on it ,the standard picks up sounded nice ,but we re low output of about 4 ohms and lower volume , the alnico 5 are about 8.5 ohms ,it sounds great just like a old strat ,not a bad upgrade for£40
Dave. You will always have a place in my heart. Your the reason why I got a mg100 but had to sell it :( I remember when you had 50k subs. Now your almost on 100k!
Who are you sir, who is so wise in the ways of setting an amp up? :-) Actually, that was a really good talk on what to consider when setting up an amp to suit your tone. In the past I've been guilty of just setting the knobs at 12 and noodling about there, setting them to 0 and bringing them up until you fine the tone you want is genius, leaving the bass on 0 is even more genius. I'll be doing this in future, particularly when using pedals. Cheers m8.
Got a real Big Country vibe from that intro jam, and in my book that's a really good thing. New to the channel, came because I wanted to soak up some Katana MkII reviews before I pick one up, stayed for your killer intro jams. Really impressed. Take care!
I'm going to try the "start at 0 EQ" approach, I tend to have issues with harsh high frequencies aswell, but have not yet dared to start on 0 treble before for whatever reason. Very interesting tips overall, thx for the vid
Hey Dave I caught onto this a while back. Listening to you talking about your amp settings on other videos these last few months. I always used to just go 12 o clock and whack up the gain. Adjust the bass and treble to the guitar and be kind of frustrated. Was even worse with modeling amps. Hundreds of presets and functions, nothing sounds quite right. Followed your advice. Started with nothing on EQ add a little bass and mids. Use Presence first instead of treble, it just sounds much better. Just a little treble if needed, usually not even 1/4 of the way. And it just works. There's a sweetspot where you can get a good all round sound and then just slap on the pedals to move around your tone pallet. It really helped. I barely have to touch the controls to get the sounds I want even when they can be quite diverse. So thanks for that. Before it was always bright, glassy even and a little harsh. turn down the treble and compensate with presence made all the difference. Can get a fuller sound at lower volumes too.
Thanks! I spent hrs yesterday and looking for some info online I found this. You are a tone psychologist, thanks. Some times tubes have a mind of their own. You are a great artist, by the way, amazing playing.
Thanks Dave great advice, your right, every time I start things at 12:00 it sound bad to my ear never thought about starting at zero and having an idea of the sound you want especially being nervous going into a music shop and playing
You are clear as mudd buddy, just kidding, I set my amps up similar to how you do but mine are mostly tube. Or I guess my tube amps I set up differently than my solid state amps. But similar to what you do. Anyway, thanks for the tips and the intro was awesome as usual…
Great Video Dave! Was hoping you would cover this topic at some point! I bought the CR120H recently (love it BTW) and went back through your videos on how to get "other peoples" sounds and was amazed how many of those had parts of the EQ at ZERO! Thanks again for the explanation on your approach I am giving that approach a try. Thanks for all your amazing videos and willingness to share with all of us! Cheers! Bill
@@thedavesimpson ah. I meant to ask, do you always rely on your always on pedal, or have you come across any amps with good enougth clean/crunch channels to not bother?
I’ve always said that the only way to dial in an amp is use your ears and not your eyes. We have become accustomed to seeing what we thing the eq section should LOOK like instead of how the overall sound is. Whenever I see somebody ask “what are your amp settings?” I want to tell them someone else’s settings may not work for them. We all have a different tone naturally coming from our hands because we all pick attack differently. We all squeeze the notes differently. I use to get caught up in that “what are your amp settings” trap. Then I started using my ears and the eq section and gain setting looks completely different than what I was used to and my sound improved so much better.
Dave this is great!!!! As a self taught (mainly via youtube) guitarist, these kind of videos are invaluable. Good stuff. Thank you! Very helpful! I didn't know you ran the Jackhammer volume on 10 and the DS-2 on 10 as well. Makes sense why I've been getting that nasty volume jump
Awesome video Dave and great timing. Today I just got myself the new Marshall SV20 Head ( a mini version of the classic 100w Plexi ) and your tutorial helped dial in some really nice tones. PS if you get the chance to try the SV20 don't hold back. It's one of the best amps Marshall have ever put out ( in my humble opinion anyway ), Cheers.
I hope all is well in your world Dave. Stay strong you can do anything :) your skills on guitar is up there with my favourite guitarists! Keep doing what you're doing man \m/
know what you want! and don't try for perfection you'll end up with bad GAS. Great info in this vid Dave!!! its not about what others think (as most people just complain instead of helping)! its about what you want the amp to do :)
I have three tones that I look for in an amp. Flat Clean. Hair/edge. Dirt. I always eq the amp every time I turn it on. Rooms change. Ambient effects change. My mood changes. For me eq-ing is like tuning the guitar. Do it everyday. Do the same with pedals. This way you get so good at dialling in that it takes a second to do and you don’t spend time fiddling.
Thanks for the tips! You've touched on this subjects before and thanks to you I've shown some people how to get good tone from an MG and they're thankfull too. But setting the amp with my od pedal on is a new concept for me which I'll try as soon as I get home! Thanks for the tips and don't worry, because it was a great and very informative video all the way :)
@@thedavesimpson Ah, thank you! I owe you an apology - you are in fact an inspiration - and I'm sure that's so for hundreds, nay thousands, of others. I bought your cracking CD. I'd love to hear you play live. Thanks Dave!
Fear not, was not rubbish at all! Great video, great advice, and excellent playing! Really enjoyed the groove of that intro jam and the tasteful/melodic use of tapping!
Hi Dave, love the videos, you're such a talented guy! I've just Got a silver jubilee mini head which I play with a 1x12 celestion antique 30. I think I've got pretty close to good John tones but I can't seem to nail it. I saw you'd played a silver jubilee and was wondering what settings you'd recommend? Any help would be great. Thanks!!
Hi Dave! I love your videos. I’m having trouble with my boss katana and boss ds2 combination. I was having a huge jump in volume when turning the ds2 on until I started using “channel 2” on the katana, which generally fixed that (I assume this is the “dirty channel” you often discuss). Now I’m having trouble getting the sound to be more crunchy and less “under water”-like, if that makes sense.
I love Teles...More please.... As for amps i think it's important to learn what you can do straight through an amp, and what you can't do. I find that helps when i use pedals to get the best from them. Similarly i usually set the amp clean and fairly bright to allow the pedals to do their thing. All amps being different you do need to know how it'll handle your tone and pedals. Then there's Tube..or not. I like both to be honest but Tubes can be a pain in the arse and if it pops one and you ain't got a spare...With a solid state, digital or whatever you don't need to molly coddle them like you do a tube amp and like you say, once it's set it's set. I'm also not a big fan of amps with loads of built in effects, i want them on the floor where i can get at them, i only have two arms which is why Humans have feet....!. If my amp has reverb fine but even then i prefer that on the floor as well. Volume depends on what i'm playing but i like fairly loud or lower, not jet engine loud...EQ i'm the opposite, i start at 12 o clock and tweak from there, it's just the way i've always done it...but i'll try it all off and see what happens...No try..no gain...Basically i like my amps with the basic controls an amp should have, no gimmicks. Pedal wise i have bought a few in the past which just didn't fit with the others quite right, didn't quite blend in as i expected.
Hi Steve. As to Telecasters, Mr Fender built a simple and uncomplicated guitar built to a high standard so people could have a high quality instrument without it costing a second mortgage...Although in them days it might not have been far off yer mortgage...you could get a lot for a buck..or a poond.. And even today a standard Tele is a good price compared to many other guitars. On top of that if you have one and you've fiddled with the tone, volume and selector there's some nice tones to be had just from the guitar itself. How many pedals do you really need.? First one i plug a new guitar into once i've experimented with the guitar, is a compressor. I did read somewhere that a certain chap by the name of Hendrix,although famous for the upside down strat, actually used a Tele for a lot of his recordings. Whether that's right or not i don't know for sure. Also it seems he could play right handed just as well as he could left handed....If true that would mean he used the upside down strat as a gimmick...and boy did that work for him.. As to amps,back in the day it was a fender, marshall, vox and a few others available...all tube until electronic ones came out. Now there's that many makes and types,like guitars it's become a bit of a minefield. I once borrowed a marshall MG 15 with built in effects...hated the thing. For some reason the effects were never completely off,maybe it had a fault i don't know. I like the Orange crush amps myself, although i prefer the controls on the front not on the top..I have an old 50 watt marshall which sounds really nice..One amp i have been thinking about is the yamaha ones, can't think what they call them but from what i've found they look pretty good. I don't have like a room full of the things but what i have does what i want And many have gone in the past because i didn't like them. I have a small 10 watt practice amp i picked up in a second hand shop some years ago and no idea what the hell it is but it does have a lovely tone to it. Surprisingly it looks like quite a budget type thing as well...only paid £15 for it. I think these days there's just too much gear out there, it's crazy. Mostly built by companies because they know there's a never ending demand for more. I feel for beginners and lower level intermediate players maybe because what do you get..? How much do you spend.? What do you need.? How much is too much.? All down to the search for tone. Often it's to try to copy your fav guitarists tone but how many people develop their own.? Do they even know what tone they want.? I think Hendrix knew what tone he wanted the same as many did.Some found it through experimenting. I also read an article years ago that Carlos Santana knew exactly the tone he wanted,he'd tried this amp and that amp and couldn't get it. Then one day he saw a little 5 watt amp in a second hand shop (or whatever they call them in the US), nearly walked past it but then decided to buy it. Took it home,plugged in and...there it was. The story went he used that little amp miked up for some time after that. All the amps and cabs on stage were for show. Now of course he has his amps built for him. Whether true or not it's a nice story..
You talk about turning the treble low or sometimes off completely. If you have an amplifier with a treble bass and a contour nob instead of mid would you still turn the treble down considerably?
I got my first-ever electric guitar (Fender Strat American Pro HSS) and Katana 50 exactly two weeks ago, and discovered Dave's channel very soon thereafter. What a talent, and marvelous human being! But despite watching lots of videos and endless futzing with amp controls, I have no idea of what I am wanting, let alone what the gear is capable of. Just the five positions for the pickups is enough to drive me bonkers. I have dialed in many of Dave's settings for the Katana, but none are really satisfying. My main interests are classic rock and the blues, and I very much like David Gilmour's playing and his warm, expansive tone, so wonder if there might be suggested settings for this.
Try using the lead mode and this setting Gain around 10 o'clock Volume on full Bass at half Middle at 9 o'clock (If its to dark try putting it up to 12 o'clock) Treble off Reverb on half :)
Excellent! I reduced the reverb to 10 o'clock because it was overpowering chords, but it still works great for both chords and individual notes. Mostly I am using the 4th from the bottom pickup position, as the bottom one (humbucker) tends to overpower everything unless I dial back the amp settings. Thanks!
Yet another great video Dave - thank you! I think this one is aimed at more experienced musicians, what about when you are starting? e.g. 'Dad bought me a squier strat and a katana 50 for my birthday.' How would you recommend learning the sound of my gear and the effects that come in the amp? Start very clean and add things one at a time or just jump in with both feet first? I'm just starting (with a borrowed Ibanez Gio) so I haven't decided what I want and testing time is very limited - there is 1 small music shop here with very few guitars. Do I want HSS or HH - how badly would I miss 24 frets (I notice a couple of times you seem to be looking for those 'missing' frets). Is having 22 frets a bit like those childrens toy xylophones that you can't play much on them as they are missing notes you need at the top and/or bottom... Even Happy Birthday can be challenging :-) One day a guitar will speak to me (An Ibanez AZ HSS was very good to play and sounded fantastic - it was whispering sweet nothings in my ear but the money was missing... My favourite by miles so far) Sorry to be so long winded... All the best Dave, and again thanks for another useful video.
Hi Dave.... When will you be trying out the Orange Petal Baby power amp? If you like going through petals, this might just be the thing for you? Greetings from Georgetown Ontario Canada :)
Hi Dave, have you played the Vintage AFD Paradise? Just wondering if it would be worth fititng the Entwistle HV58 pickups into the vintage, would be approx £60. I prefer the vintage AFD models but they have Wilkinson WVHZ PUPS closer to Slash tone. Not sure if the wilkinsons are closer to the Entwistle you reviewed here, and wether to change or not? Thanks
i'm constantly changing my amp settings cause im struggling to find my tone and i'm start thinkin is my guitar fault or my amp isn't good... i suck at life
A big reason lots of people talk about why they get really expensive or just really specific gear is they're tired of fighting the tone. Of course with the right quality equipment you should just stopf ighting it anyway. Tom Morello has a relatively recent rig video where he talks about how in the early days he was always fucking around with his settings and he just said screw it and decided to use the ones he had at that moment on his marshall and he marked them and the knobs are still there. So once you get something serviceable there's every reason to believe any further struggle might be in your head.
Okay Dave, here is a real beginner question. How do I know what my guitar sounds like? If every amp is different how do I achieve a baseline sound for my guitar?
There is no real baseline, it's all in the comparison to other guitars. For instance humbuckers have higher output than single coil pickups and therefore will overdrive an amp at identical settings earlier. The single coils on the other hand sound brighter, so you'll have to take that into account when dialing in an amp: a Strat will probably sound harsh when the amp is perfectly set for a Les Paul for example. This also has to do with the potentiometers (potmeters/pots) in the guitar (volume, tone dials): a guitar with single coil pickups will generally have 250k pots in it, which take off quite a bit more off the top end (treble, the high frequencies) than the 500k pots usually found in a guitar with humbuckers. This difference is there because of the aforementioned higher frequencies single coil pickups produce, which the humbuckers don't. And then there's the differences in pickups among themselves: every pickup sounds different: darker (low treble rolloff point), brighter (high treble rolloff point), hotter (higher ouput), smoother (lower output), etc. The only way to get to know your guitar is to play it and find out what sounds you like and dislike. Start with your amp only and practice a lot. Once you've grown accustomed to those sounds and the possibilities and limitations of them you can think about trying some pedals to expand your options and tonal range. It's not a must, it's an option.
@GMoorefan115 Cheers. Ended up getting both and have no complaints with either. CV50s feels better in my hands but the wilkinson hardware, especially the trem, are nicer than the squier imo.
@@thedavesimpson interesting because I've had: 2 DSLs, MGs, CODE100 etc and in all cases I had a gate in the loop and in front for my high gain tones because I can't stand the unwanted noise.
Anecdote:- I saw Roy Gallagher in 79 at Manchester Free Trade Hall and the PA went down and he sat cross legged on the edge of the stage and played Bullfrog Blues on the Mandolin until the PA came back, after he went off stage a mate I went with was talking to a guy he went to school with who had a giant poster of Roy that was the in the shape of a football after what was a mosh pit casualty it was Johnny Marr, Mad night any one else there that night?
Dave, you look like you've been stranded on a desert island for a couple of months. Now all I can hear is the theme to the Robinson Crusoe tv show going round in my head.😐
Hi Dave, hope you’re keeping well mate. Just a quick question....do you tend to have your volume knob turned to full on your guitar most of the time? I’m just dialling in my amp now and wondered should I be doing it with my guitar volume cranked fully up. Thanks again for the vids you steaming great twat!!! (Bottom quote x)
At age 65 my amps dial in exactly as I want them to now but sadly my playing still leaves a lot to be wished for. Faced with the fact that the equipment is a lot more capable than me what do I do ? Well listen to Dave Simpson play his intro jams is one thing for sure. I had the great privilege of listening to the greats play and it's good that Dave continues this tradition into my old age. One day I hope to see him live to complete a very auspicious list.
Keep on strumming John, that's what you need to do :)
There’s a saying that goes “you don’t stop playing because you grow old, you grow old because you stop playing!”
John same deal with me , same age as well !!!! Dave is awesome !
How you manage to evoke so much emotion through every single intro jam is beyond me...amazing stuff.
Thank you very much. : )
he's just too good!
Just a man in a simple room no Glitz,, no glamour,,
just killing it!!!!!
He is honest like Rock"n"Roll!
Totally agree
THANK YOU, Dave, for every single upload. You educate, inspire and entertain without fail. Your chops are undeniably among the best in the world, and you're not a dick about it. Thanks for everything you do, sir; we ALL greatly appreciate it.
dave, during this 2020 lockdowni have learnt so much from stumbling across your channel, im binge watching while practising with a new focus and passion,
been stuck in a playing rut for years, i love your style and your so down to earth, a man of the people!!
been watching your play like peter green and just the section on the scales etc has put a new life into my playing….
during this heartbreaking pandemic and lockdown can i thank you for all you haveand are doing….
I've felt a little embarrassed to admit I'm chasing early Rev Billy G tone - I feel better after watching this. I paint sign's for a living, have done for 40 yr's. Starting out I'd get Sign Craft Magazine from the States and try and catch the vibe from my favorite artist's. Took me some time to learn my craft but before I start a sign I can already see it laid out on the board these day's. I think it translates to dialing in your amp. Great video Dave. Thank you.
Are there better opening jams on youtube? How does this man not have 100k subscribed?
Good question.
Thank you very much. : )
Starting from zero makes a huge amount of sense to me when it comes to tone controls. This way you can hear exactly the effect of turning up each individual dial, without any interference from the other frequencies.
Your point is well taken-step one is to know what sound we are looking for. Otherwise it’s similar to the saying “If you don’t know where you want to go you’ll never get there.” Also, that makes good sense to start with the tone controls at zero. I would think that’s especially true with passive rather than active tone controls. Thanks for posting this.
Dave, I keep coming back to this video and finding new insights. Thanks for posting it.
Thank you for embracing “the fear”! Your passion and experience shine through. You have created a really helpful resource for the guitar playing community. 🙏
It's crazy, I was 90% the way there already but couldn't dial it in perfectly. I could tell I was close, but then I finally started catching up on the older Dave Simpson videos and after hearing how you do your amp I immediately dialed down the amp to nothing and worked with the pedalboard and bingo! I wouldn't have thought to do that because I was getting so close the wrong way I thought I was on the right road. God only knows how many hours you've saved me...
Thanks :)
I'm so happy to hear this. :)
Watched this video yesterday (I can't say I've ever seen a dial in your amp video use this 0 everything technique before) and here I am tonight in a hotel, noodling with my guitar and Amplitube and it works amazing with modeling. I really like the Rockerverb model, but it usually has lots of noise. Turned all the eq down to 0 and then dialed in as you directed until I got a tone I liked and it was nearly noise free. Amazing! Thanks Dave! Going to give this a try on my HRD when I get home in a few days :-)
Thank you for this Dave. I always appreciate your knowledge and, more importantly, your enthusiasm sharing them. Again, thank you. 🙏
After years of watching and following, I want to comment and say Thank You for all of the inspiring work you are creating. Your videos have influenced my playing and sound in a great way.
Thank you very much indeed. I am so happy to hear that. : )
Thanks again Dave, speaking for myself, sound quality is great, I can't hear any mowers, weed eaters, or pressure washers.
:)
This video helped me today, as I an a new Marshall owner and didnt understand the knobs. As you stated in another video the knobs are all boost being 0-10. I am used to cut and boost with unity at center being an old synthesizer user lol. Now my Marshall is DIALED! thanks (DIALED DAVE)
Yo so...thanks so much! Your tips were EXACTLY what I needed to finally get the tone I was looking for out of my Boss Katana 100. I really liked the suggestion to start with EQ off and then dial things in. I was looking for a clean tone but when I had the EQ with everything at 12, I felt like it was confusing me as to what sound I wanted. By slowly introducing more low end and then sharpening everything with presence and treble, I was finally able to get my Humbuckers to give me a nice clean tone but with just the right of warmth to make them interesting.
Hey Dave have just purchased the Squier Bullet strat after seeing your video about it, I'm impressed with it, amazing guitar for £110🎸🎸🍰
Great guitar ,got sss sunburst, put alnico 5 loaded pickguard on it ,the standard picks up sounded nice ,but we re low output of about 4 ohms and lower volume , the alnico 5 are about 8.5 ohms ,it sounds great just like a old strat ,not a bad upgrade for£40
Dave. You will always have a place in my heart. Your the reason why I got a mg100 but had to sell it :( I remember when you had 50k subs. Now your almost on 100k!
Who are you sir, who is so wise in the ways of setting an amp up? :-) Actually, that was a really good talk on what to consider when setting up an amp to suit your tone. In the past I've been guilty of just setting the knobs at 12 and noodling about there, setting them to 0 and bringing them up until you fine the tone you want is genius, leaving the bass on 0 is even more genius. I'll be doing this in future, particularly when using pedals. Cheers m8.
Got a real Big Country vibe from that intro jam, and in my book that's a really good thing.
New to the channel, came because I wanted to soak up some Katana MkII reviews before I pick one up, stayed for your killer intro jams. Really impressed. Take care!
This is such a great intro jam, and that's saying something because you have a lot of great ones. You have fantastic melody in your playing.
Thanks for posting this, I got a lot out of it. I’ve paid for lessons that were not as helpful as your videos!
I'm going to try the "start at 0 EQ" approach, I tend to have issues with harsh high frequencies aswell, but have not yet dared to start on 0 treble before for whatever reason. Very interesting tips overall, thx for the vid
Great tips. Know what you want before you start.
It would be an amazing inspiration to meet you Dave. Keep coming back for my daily doseage of Dave :D You are a godsend.
26:00 that just reminded me of " Crest Of A Wave" by Rory .. the chord and the dialing in of the amp .. you seriously are a Rory fanatic ..
:)
Hey Dave I caught onto this a while back. Listening to you talking about your amp settings on other videos these last few months. I always used to just go 12 o clock and whack up the gain. Adjust the bass and treble to the guitar and be kind of frustrated. Was even worse with modeling amps. Hundreds of presets and functions, nothing sounds quite right.
Followed your advice. Started with nothing on EQ add a little bass and mids. Use Presence first instead of treble, it just sounds much better. Just a little treble if needed, usually not even 1/4 of the way. And it just works. There's a sweetspot where you can get a good all round sound and then just slap on the pedals to move around your tone pallet. It really helped. I barely have to touch the controls to get the sounds I want even when they can be quite diverse.
So thanks for that. Before it was always bright, glassy even and a little harsh. turn down the treble and compensate with presence made all the difference. Can get a fuller sound at lower volumes too.
Thank you very much and happy it helped. : )
Thanks! I spent hrs yesterday and looking for some info online I found this. You are a tone psychologist, thanks. Some times tubes have a mind of their own. You are a great artist, by the way, amazing playing.
You are an amazing guy who I follow along I love your jam sessions and music. And your someone to look up to so thank you . X
Thank you very much indeed. That means the world to me. : )
Thanks Dave great advice, your right, every time I start things at 12:00 it sound bad to my ear never thought about starting at zero and having an idea of the sound you want especially being nervous going into a music shop and playing
Thank you very much. : )
What a intro Dave you're the best dude I never give more than 5 guitars
🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸👍👍🇺🇸
Great video Dave. More guitarists, especially younger players, could use more advice like this.
Thank you very much. : )
You are clear as mudd buddy, just kidding, I set my amps up similar to how you do but mine are mostly tube. Or I guess my tube amps I set up differently than my solid state amps. But similar to what you do. Anyway, thanks for the tips and the intro was awesome as usual…
Great Video Dave! Was hoping you would cover this topic at some point! I bought the CR120H recently (love it BTW) and went back through your videos on how to get "other peoples" sounds and was amazed how many of those had parts of the EQ at ZERO! Thanks again for the explanation on your approach I am giving that approach a try. Thanks for all your amazing videos and willingness to share with all of us! Cheers! Bill
Thank you very much. : )
Loving that really tasteful tapping intro!
Thank you very much. : )
@@thedavesimpson ah. I meant to ask, do you always rely on your always on pedal, or have you come across any amps with good enougth clean/crunch channels to not bother?
I’ve always said that the only way to dial in an amp is use your ears and not your eyes. We have become accustomed to seeing what we thing the eq section should LOOK like instead of how the overall sound is. Whenever I see somebody ask “what are your amp settings?” I want to tell them someone else’s settings may not work for them. We all have a different tone naturally coming from our hands because we all pick attack differently. We all squeeze the notes differently. I use to get caught up in that “what are your amp settings” trap. Then I started using my ears and the eq section and gain setting looks completely different than what I was used to and my sound improved so much better.
Dave this is great!!!! As a self taught (mainly via youtube) guitarist, these kind of videos are invaluable. Good stuff. Thank you! Very helpful! I didn't know you ran the Jackhammer volume on 10 and the DS-2 on 10 as well. Makes sense why I've been getting that nasty volume jump
Thank you very much. : )
Awesome video Dave and great timing. Today I just got myself the new Marshall SV20 Head ( a mini version of the classic 100w Plexi ) and your tutorial helped dial in some really nice tones. PS if you get the chance to try the SV20 don't hold back. It's one of the best amps Marshall have ever put out ( in my humble opinion anyway ), Cheers.
Thank you very much and i would love to try one of those. : )
Fabulous playing there Dave
I hope all is well in your world Dave. Stay strong you can do anything :) your skills on guitar is up there with my favourite guitarists! Keep doing what you're doing man \m/
Thank you very much. : )
Sure have a lot of Marshall for a guy who cares more about pedal than amp lol. Appreciate your videos always fun.
Good video Dave essential stuff and key concepts very helpful. Love your attitude and spirit.
know what you want! and don't try for perfection you'll end up with bad GAS. Great info in this vid Dave!!!
its not about what others think (as most people just complain instead of helping)! its about what you want the amp to do :)
Thank you very much. : )
Absolutely loved that intro Dave amazing
Thank you very much. : )
Absolutely loved hearing the Tele. Wonderful!
Great advice. This helps me a lot as I prefer a clean amp with high headroom so this works great.
What an intro Dave! Thanks for everything dude you are a really cool human being, love from Spain
Thank you very much. : )
I have three tones that I look for in an amp. Flat Clean. Hair/edge. Dirt. I always eq the amp every time I turn it on. Rooms change. Ambient effects change. My mood changes. For me eq-ing is like tuning the guitar. Do it everyday. Do the same with pedals. This way you get so good at dialling in that it takes a second to do and you don’t spend time fiddling.
Dave at the beginning - how I daydream I sound
Dave at the end - how I really sound :D
Thanks for the tips! You've touched on this subjects before and thanks to you I've shown some people how to get good tone from an MG and they're thankfull too. But setting the amp with my od pedal on is a new concept for me which I'll try as soon as I get home! Thanks for the tips and don't worry, because it was a great and very informative video all the way :)
Thank you very much. : )
How to Dial in your Amp? All EQs at noon, just a little bit of reverb. Sorted!
Hahahaha. : )
I never get tired of watching your videos 👍🏻
Thank you very much. : )
I am very happy to hear that. : )
...just been noodling on my guitar and then Dave pops up and shows just how it should be done...sigh...puts guitar away...
Please don't put your guitar away. I'm sure your an awesome player. : )
@@thedavesimpson Ah, thank you! I owe you an apology - you are in fact an inspiration - and I'm sure that's so for hundreds, nay thousands, of others. I bought your cracking CD. I'd love to hear you play live. Thanks Dave!
@@321bytor I have to find the CD, is it on the net, bandcamp or something? Thanks
@@basslinger Hello - I got it direct from the man himself. I don't know if it's available digitally. He might have some copies left...Cheers
Fear not, was not rubbish at all! Great video, great advice, and excellent playing! Really enjoyed the groove of that intro jam and the tasteful/melodic use of tapping!
Thank you very much. : )
Very informative Dave, I usually know what I want but I always struggle to translate what's in my head.
Yep same
Thank you very much. : )
Instead of starting with the tone stack zeroed and boosting, what about starting dimed and cutting?
You sir can really play well. Glad i stumbled upon your channel and subscribed!!
Thank you very much. :)
Hi Dave, love the videos, you're such a talented guy! I've just Got a silver jubilee mini head which I play with a 1x12 celestion antique 30. I think I've got pretty close to good John tones but I can't seem to nail it. I saw you'd played a silver jubilee and was wondering what settings you'd recommend? Any help would be great. Thanks!!
Thank you very much and I think i explain the settings i used in the jubilee video. I forget what they were now i'm afraid. Sorry. : )
The core settings you gave in your Katana 50 video, my Line 6 Podhd 300 and my Revelation Quad do me just fine. But an interesting video nonetheless 😉
Thank you very much. : )
Dude I love your stuff man !!!!! I had an MG 100 combo and sold it lol I should buy another now I got all shit stuff sold all my good shit
Great vid, great advice, great playing. Cheers Dave.
Thank you very much. : )
Hi Dave! I love your videos. I’m having trouble with my boss katana and boss ds2 combination. I was having a huge jump in volume when turning the ds2 on until I started using “channel 2” on the katana, which generally fixed that (I assume this is the “dirty channel” you often discuss). Now I’m having trouble getting the sound to be more crunchy and less “under water”-like, if that makes sense.
I’m going for the Frusciante tone of course
I love Teles...More please....
As for amps i think it's important to learn what you can do straight through an amp, and what you can't do. I find that helps when i use pedals to get the best from them. Similarly i usually set the amp clean and fairly bright to allow the pedals to do their thing. All amps being different you do need to know how it'll handle your tone and pedals. Then there's Tube..or not. I like both to be honest but Tubes can be a pain in the arse and if it pops one and you ain't got a spare...With a solid state, digital or whatever you don't need to molly coddle them like you do a tube amp and like you say, once it's set it's set.
I'm also not a big fan of amps with loads of built in effects, i want them on the floor where i can get at them, i only have two arms which is why Humans have feet....!. If my amp has reverb fine but even then i prefer that on the floor as well. Volume depends on what i'm playing but i like fairly loud or lower, not jet engine loud...EQ i'm the opposite, i start at 12 o clock and tweak from there, it's just the way i've always done it...but i'll try it all off and see what happens...No try..no gain...Basically i like my amps with the basic controls an amp should have, no gimmicks. Pedal wise i have bought a few in the past which just didn't fit with the others quite right, didn't quite blend in as i expected.
This could have been written for me. It describes myself exactly.
Hi Steve. As to Telecasters, Mr Fender built a simple and uncomplicated guitar built to a high standard so people could have a high quality instrument without it costing a second mortgage...Although in them days it might not have been far off yer mortgage...you could get a lot for a buck..or a poond..
And even today a standard Tele is a good price compared to many other guitars. On top of that if you have one and you've fiddled with the tone, volume and selector there's some nice tones to be had just from the guitar itself. How many pedals do you really need.? First one i plug a new guitar into once i've experimented with the guitar, is a compressor.
I did read somewhere that a certain chap by the name of Hendrix,although famous for the upside down strat, actually used a Tele for a lot of his recordings. Whether that's right or not i don't know for sure. Also it seems he could play right handed just as well as he could left handed....If true that would mean he used the upside down strat as a gimmick...and boy did that work for him..
As to amps,back in the day it was a fender, marshall, vox and a few others available...all tube until electronic ones came out. Now there's that many makes and types,like guitars it's become a bit of a minefield. I once borrowed a marshall MG 15 with built in effects...hated the thing. For some reason the effects were never completely off,maybe it had a fault i don't know. I like the Orange crush amps myself, although i prefer the controls on the front not on the top..I have an old 50 watt marshall which sounds really nice..One amp i have been thinking about is the yamaha ones, can't think what they call them but from what i've found they look pretty good. I don't have like a room full of the things but what i have does what i want And many have gone in the past because i didn't like them. I have a small 10 watt practice amp i picked up in a second hand shop some years ago and no idea what the hell it is but it does have a lovely tone to it. Surprisingly it looks like quite a budget type thing as well...only paid £15 for it.
I think these days there's just too much gear out there, it's crazy. Mostly built by companies because they know there's a never ending demand for more. I feel for beginners and lower level intermediate players maybe because what do you get..? How much do you spend.? What do you need.? How much is too much.?
All down to the search for tone. Often it's to try to copy your fav guitarists tone but how many people develop their own.? Do they even know what tone they want.?
I think Hendrix knew what tone he wanted the same as many did.Some found it through experimenting. I also read an article years ago that Carlos Santana knew exactly the tone he wanted,he'd tried this amp and that amp and couldn't get it. Then one day he saw a little 5 watt amp in a second hand shop (or whatever they call them in the US), nearly walked past it but then decided to buy it. Took it home,plugged in and...there it was. The story went he used that little amp miked up for some time after that. All the amps and cabs on stage were for show. Now of course he has his amps built for him. Whether true or not it's a nice story..
Sounds really good I agree need to know what you want from a amp ! I also like the darker tones
Thank you very much. : )
You talk about turning the treble low or sometimes off completely. If you have an amplifier with a treble bass and a contour nob instead of mid would you still turn the treble down considerably?
awesome and very very helpful video dave thank you and hope to see more like this... like pedals.. pickups.. guitars...etc
Thank you very much. : )
@@thedavesimpson please check your email. Subject: "Re:I WANT A TSHRIT DAVE!"
Been trying to get the right tone out of my MG 100. This helps a lot just need your talent.
very happy to hear that. : )
I got my first-ever electric guitar (Fender Strat American Pro HSS) and Katana 50 exactly two weeks ago, and discovered Dave's channel very soon thereafter. What a talent, and marvelous human being!
But despite watching lots of videos and endless futzing with amp controls, I have no idea of what I am wanting, let alone what the gear is capable of. Just the five positions for the pickups is enough to drive me bonkers.
I have dialed in many of Dave's settings for the Katana, but none are really satisfying. My main interests are classic rock and the blues, and I very much like David Gilmour's playing and his warm, expansive tone, so wonder if there might be suggested settings for this.
Try using the lead mode and this setting
Gain around 10 o'clock
Volume on full
Bass at half
Middle at 9 o'clock (If its to dark try putting it up to 12 o'clock)
Treble off
Reverb on half
:)
Excellent! I reduced the reverb to 10 o'clock because it was overpowering chords, but it still works great for both chords and individual notes. Mostly I am using the 4th from the bottom pickup position, as the bottom one (humbucker) tends to overpower everything unless I dial back the amp settings.
Thanks!
I tend to dial in the amp fairly quickly. If I need to do any fine-tuning, I go to the pedals for that.
Yet another great video Dave - thank you! I think this one is aimed at more experienced musicians, what about when you are starting?
e.g. 'Dad bought me a squier strat and a katana 50 for my birthday.' How would you recommend learning the sound of my gear and the effects that come in the amp?
Start very clean and add things one at a time or just jump in with both feet first?
I'm just starting (with a borrowed Ibanez Gio) so I haven't decided what I want and testing time is very limited - there is 1 small music shop here with very few guitars. Do I want HSS or HH - how badly would I miss 24 frets (I notice a couple of times you seem to be looking for those 'missing' frets). Is having 22 frets a bit like those childrens toy xylophones that you can't play much on them as they are missing notes you need at the top and/or bottom... Even Happy Birthday can be challenging :-) One day a guitar will speak to me (An Ibanez AZ HSS was very good to play and sounded fantastic - it was whispering sweet nothings in my ear but the money was missing... My favourite by miles so far)
Sorry to be so long winded...
All the best Dave, and again thanks for another useful video.
Thank you very much indeed and i will see what i can do. : )
sound surfing without a net .Love the feel.
Thank you very much. : )
Dave...ur awesome!! Keep rocking and teaching us!
Thank you very much. :)
Great intro....great info ...cool
another awesome intro jam, i love your videos
Thank you very much. :)
Hey David. Any suggestions on how I should set me vox ac30 handwired head to get some nice fruciante tones ?
Hi Dave.... When will you be trying out the Orange Petal Baby power amp? If you like going through petals, this might just be the thing for you?
Greetings from Georgetown Ontario Canada :)
ok, I am an idiot.. you have already tested it :)
9:25 that clean tone damn.
I'll need to try and get that tone in the katana 50 for sure haha
Video is great Dave.Thank you so much.helped me immensely!
Thank you and so happy to hear that. : )
Sounds great, of course 😀
Hi Dave, have you played the Vintage AFD Paradise? Just wondering if it would be worth fititng the Entwistle HV58 pickups into the vintage, would be approx £60. I prefer the vintage AFD models but they have Wilkinson WVHZ PUPS closer to Slash tone. Not sure if the wilkinsons are closer to the Entwistle you reviewed here, and wether to change or not? Thanks
I haven't tried that guitar no so i can't comment i'm afraid. Sorry.
@@thedavesimpson thanks. I'll see how i go for now. Might be worth experimenting at some stage though Cheers 👍👍
amazing intro, great video, thanks Dave!
Thank you very much. : )
check out the peavey mace,160 watt amp,supposedly amazing clean power
Also used by some really good players on tour. All of the original Lynyrd Skynyrd supposedly used them on the road because they were indestructible.
i'm constantly changing my amp settings cause im struggling to find my tone and i'm start thinkin is my guitar fault or my amp isn't good... i suck at life
A big reason lots of people talk about why they get really expensive or just really specific gear is they're tired of fighting the tone. Of course with the right quality equipment you should just stopf ighting it anyway. Tom Morello has a relatively recent rig video where he talks about how in the early days he was always fucking around with his settings and he just said screw it and decided to use the ones he had at that moment on his marshall and he marked them and the knobs are still there.
So once you get something serviceable there's every reason to believe any further struggle might be in your head.
Okay Dave, here is a real beginner question. How do I know what my guitar sounds like? If every amp is different how do I achieve a baseline sound for my guitar?
There is no real baseline, it's all in the comparison to other guitars. For instance humbuckers have higher output than single coil pickups and therefore will overdrive an amp at identical settings earlier. The single coils on the other hand sound brighter, so you'll have to take that into account when dialing in an amp: a Strat will probably sound harsh when the amp is perfectly set for a Les Paul for example.
This also has to do with the potentiometers (potmeters/pots) in the guitar (volume, tone dials): a guitar with single coil pickups will generally have 250k pots in it, which take off quite a bit more off the top end (treble, the high frequencies) than the 500k pots usually found in a guitar with humbuckers. This difference is there because of the aforementioned higher frequencies single coil pickups produce, which the humbuckers don't.
And then there's the differences in pickups among themselves: every pickup sounds different: darker (low treble rolloff point), brighter (high treble rolloff point), hotter (higher ouput), smoother (lower output), etc.
The only way to get to know your guitar is to play it and find out what sounds you like and dislike. Start with your amp only and practice a lot. Once you've grown accustomed to those sounds and the possibilities and limitations of them you can think about trying some pedals to expand your options and tonal range. It's not a must, it's an option.
@@TimMer1981 what an answer! Thank you so much for taking the time my friend. Have a joyous day.
@@johnmargiotti1262 fr I got schooled about pickups and sounds in just seconds, thanks man!
@@johnmargiotti1262 No problem, happy to help. :)
@@diegomahoudeau934 No problem, happy to help. :)
Ever tried the dan electro backtalk delay pedal? It’s cool
I haven't no. Maybe one day. :)
Hi Dave. What guitar is better between the Vintage V6 Icon and the Squier Classic Vibe 50s Strat?
Classic vibe without a doubt. : )
@GMoorefan115 Cheers. Ended up getting both and have no complaints with either. CV50s feels better in my hands but the wilkinson hardware, especially the trem, are nicer than the squier imo.
Hi wondering if you use a noise gate in front of your amps or in the effects loop?
I don't no. :)
@@thedavesimpson interesting because I've had: 2 DSLs, MGs, CODE100 etc and in all cases I had a gate in the loop and in front for my high gain tones because I can't stand the unwanted noise.
@@RobNY5150 what’s your guitar? Is it the same you have been using?
Anecdote:- I saw Roy Gallagher in 79 at Manchester Free Trade Hall and the PA went down and he sat cross legged on the edge of the stage and played Bullfrog Blues on the Mandolin until the PA came back, after he went off stage a mate I went with was talking to a guy he went to school with who had a giant poster of Roy that was the in the shape of a football after what was a mosh pit casualty it was Johnny Marr, Mad night any one else there that night?
Dave, you look like you've been stranded on a desert island for a couple of months. Now all I can hear is the theme to the Robinson Crusoe tv show going round in my head.😐
Haha. WILSON. :)
Hi Dave, hope you’re keeping well mate. Just a quick question....do you tend to have your volume knob turned to full on your guitar most of the time? I’m just dialling in my amp now and wondered should I be doing it with my guitar volume cranked fully up. Thanks again for the vids you steaming great twat!!! (Bottom quote x)
I do pretty much all the time have volume on ten.
Especially when dialing in my sound. :)
Dave Simpson thanks brother 👍
1:45 - This section has a slight The Darkness "Love is Only a Feeling" vibe ;)
great tune !
Over 5 chords... awesome man. 😐👍
Why doesn't youtube have a love button
Nice playing but better heart! Thanks for sharing brother!
Yeah, I really enjoy watching his videos not only for the guitar talk and great music, but because Dave seems like a genuinely good guy.
Thank you very much. : )
48:23 I think that was dedicated to the noise outside lol
Hi Dave , want a new combo for home use , best in your opinion ? Regards John
Boss Katana. :)
Interesting 🤔 great video!!!