Best amp in the world is the old fender dual showman. Obviously a 100 watt valve amp. Ther harmonics of every note have no parallel. You can suck at playing guitar and you play a note on that amp and it just perfectly musical.
I was born in the 1950's , had the very best of times in the 1960's and 70's (despite being poor) , nearly died in the 1990's and have watched so many important people to me pass away or move away. What has kept me going through it all - even now with progressive heart disease and diabetes as unwanted companions - is a love of music, nature and those who care for me and I them. There are thousands of us who care about you Dave even though we don't figure in your personal life. Take heart from this - you are blessed with a reach that most never achieve.
You are a nice , wise and certainly brave person John north. Your comments are always full of tenderness and your love for music is the same like mine. Take care. God bless you Mr North
@@thedavesimpson - Music is generally a solitary business. But being alone doesn't mean you have to be lonely or any emotive stuff like that. Most musicians actually prefer playing and practicing alone. I generally stare out the window when playing, not necessarily looking or thinking about anything. I'm a terrible guitarist. But I'm a pretty good keyboard player. But even that doesn't make up for not being able to play guitar very well. Haha!
Such a lovely comment John, that restores my hope in humanity - may you have many years ahead of you. Dave is a lovely lad, very talented and his love of music simply shines through without ego.
I couldn't have said it better..great job John...a lot of us care about you..never met you, but you can get a vibe what someone is all about through videos and you are quality. I have had and struggle with depression and it is draining but please have heart that there are those of us that care and keep playing because we need your music.
Another interesting one Dave thanks. I love your description of the Katana. “ how can something so small and so light be so loud “ it reminds me of my Wife 😁😁😁❤️
It's actually insane how amazing Dave is at what he does. There are so many bands that would be blessed to have such a soulful guitar player. Not even exaggerating, Dave might be on of the greatest players alive.
The music you're playing at the start of this Dave is stunning, my kinda Jam... hit me in the soft places :) love your work, your honesty and humility. More of you on this forsaken planet wouldn't go astray. Keep up the amazing work, and thanks for your time and effort in everything you do.
Wow this is special indeed, I'm only 7 minutes into this and I'm hypnotised by your sound and your playing from your heart. Thanks so much for posting this. I shall be watching until you finish. Wonderful indeed, best wishes from Northern Ireland. 🌌💕🌠
Dude, Dave, You are an enormous source of info and makes us believe in the human race once again. You may feel down but you always lift up others.. CHEERS!
Been playing live myself since 1976 and ended up using nothing but katana's myself now! Bought one of the first MKI 50s in the UK and sold all my valve combos as a result.!! I now own two 100s and a artist too...never going back to valves. I use the crunch channel with the effects. Turn the master up full and run the channel volume for level. Sounds fatter and thicker. To mod the lineout use Tonestudio to mod the effects and lineout. The valve is history...
It's so refreshing to see a man admit he is struggling and sharing the experience and the struggle. We all go through it mate, but so many men won't talk about it. Keep up the good work, lip up mate you'll get through it. The katana artist 100w is a revelation. That's my gigging amp and I could quite happily not use a valve amp again. Such a great amp. I really want to try out if they make a mk2 Also dude have you ever thought of doing a podcast something called The Pub Gig or the toilet circuit. You could talk about gear, on stage moments, stories or travel and your general experience of being a gigging musician on the circuit. I think a lot of younger musicians could do with your experience and knowledge.
How does the Katana Artist 100 really fare as a gigging amp? How do you deal with having just one gain and volume control for the different amp models? How do you control levels if switching from clean to crunch or lead on the fly?
Getting back to the amps, I will never be parted from my Pignose 7-100. I've learnt so much from this little fella, one volume and rest is done with the volume and tone on a strat. Heaven.
I had the precursor to the MG; the Valvestate 8100 head. Man, that thing sounded awesome. But I traded it in for a Fender Hot Rod because I “needed” a valve amp. And I bought into everyone’s line that tube amps are better. I miss the roar of that valve state amp. The Katana 50 has been so great for me the last 10 months. It’s the first gigging amp that I’ve had since getting rid of all my valve amps. And I don’t miss those valve amps. I have everything I need with the Katana.
Thank you for your honesty about your feelings. It's a big support for all the people who are struggling to get themselves together. I really hope you've found some stability by now. Thanks for your reviews and playing. It really inspires me and makes me want to play more and experiment more with the stuff I have instead of buying new things. You seem a wonderful person.
Dave, mate, you have no reason to apologise at all, those of us that have followed you for a while, know of your struggles and we are all here for you, just as you are for us. You are an amazing bloke and I know that is often hard to accept for people who struggle with mental illness etc. So, once again thankyou, Thankyou for being you and keeping it raw and honest.
Dave, you are one hell of a great guy and a brilliant guitarist, thankyou for your informative demo's, I have the greatest respect for you, thankyou very much. 😁👍
Dave you're a legend mate. Love your honesty, and can empathise with you about where you are right now. Keep on rocking mate, and hope you are feeling better soon.
The intro of this video reminds me of one of my favorite live intros.. Dream Theater Score - The Spirit Carries On. Very amazing artistry. Thank you! I love to play in a window lit room, staring out at the world and playing emotionally. Wish I had more time to do it..
That intro jam - just beautiful. The feeling and tone is awesome, especially the violining section. You make that guitar sing. Sorry you’re still struggling, try to keep positive - you’ve got so much to give
Hello from Mississippi- Great mention of Peavey! I stumbled on to a 77 Peavey standard and found they scream! So I got a 78 standard for a backup. I never expected a solid state amp of any make to do what these do. Mid-range is never lost in a Peavey product haha!
Amazing intro jam you're right about the boss katana I've gigged with it I have the boss katana 100 head and it's amazing it does everything from crystal clear to full on metal
Dave man, I am sorry to see that you’re struggling at the moment. You are a natural and gifted communicator and your RU-vid channel touches thousands of other musicians every time you release a new video. These people you talk to in your videos are all Creatives. And many, many of them (including myself) live with depression/insomnia and often other related issues too. You have no need to apologise to any of us. I feel I can safely say this for everyone who subscribes to your channel.
@Carlos Gonzalez My setting on the lead channel is High Gain, loose damping, bass on 6 mids and treb maxed, gain at about 6. That with my Harley Benton LP clone with GM Hot Rod pickups (SD JB/Jazz clones) is a downright magical combination. I would put that guitar/amp tone against anything.
Loved my Bandit red stripe, and right now my 80s Marshall 5210 is amp is my favorite. I'm pondering selling my Mesa combo for another solid state amp, tbh
@@randalclarke5487 Do what I have been recently doing. Try out a floor processor with the new generation of amp modelling, like the Mooer GE250, running into the return of your FX loop. You can make your solid state amp sound exactly like your Mesa combo, along with just about any amp you can think of. It does require a bit of tweaking, but trust me man this is the future.
Sorry to hear you were going through a slump man, I know it sucks... Hopefully you're feeling a bit back to normal my now. Just wanted to say I love your videos though. Your intros are fantastic, I really enjoy listening to them. You're a fantastic musician. And of course I could sit and listen to you talk about amps all day, thank you for sharing you love of music and gear with us all!
If you're having trouble getting to sleep, try reading something like Lord of the Rings when you got to bed. The book is like a very descriptive beautiful walk on the countryside, with wizards and creatures running around. Certain Zeppelin songs... sound just like that book, if that makes sense... After about 10 pages, it makes me want to sleep. But I always want to read more the next night. Worth a try
On days its hard to keep you thinking straight writing what you want to say on paper could help. Like writing the key points that you want to touch on.
Never apologise for problems you didn't create or ask for: I know how trying amnesia (sleeping sh*t for weeks or even months/years) is, my deepest respect for how well you're still handling yourself.
Dave Simpson is an artist! Guys, if you love Dave as much as I do, please consider going one step further than leaving a positive comment. Ask him how you can donate some money via paypal. He doesn't ask for anything, but please do ask how you can give something. His subscriber base is growing, he deserves way more than he has but it's growing. We all know youtube is penalising via copyright which limits him. We all mostly come here for intro jams because they're so fuckin' good. I'm sorry I feel like I'm pan handling, and I'm doing so on Dave's behalf, rightly or wrongly, because he won't ask for anything. Maybe I shouldn't, maybe I'm doing something Dave doesn't want... IDK. Rattling a tin isn't cool, and sometimes rattling one on someone else's behalf without their permission isn't cool... I just think, that, when you have this much appreciation for what someone does, you have to reward it properly with more than words. If you feel like you can drop Dave a nugget or two, please do.
@@400_billion_suns yeah, but I don't wanna patreon. I appreciate you linking it since Dave doesn't link it himself that I've seen... I just don't do patreon because it implies repeat monthly payments lol, ppl can give as a one off and give what they want. I'm just trying to encourage ppl to give. so many of us take from this channel, watch but don't reward, and won't give anything in return... and that's kinda sad considering the genuine talent. People will pay a TV license to watch shite on TV but won't spare a few quid once in a while to say thankyou to a great musician they say they admire. thanks for linking his patreon. I do hope he gets another subscription to that because of your linkage.
@@400_billion_suns tbh, Dave is the only youtuber I've ever supported directly. I have adblock on everything, don't care much for ppl's youtube income or ads. Dave Simpson is another matter.
@@areyouavinalaff I'm a poor retired old guy 😁 I can't afford patreon monthly payments, but I'd like to give Dave a one off donation, and maybe occasionally 😊 Is there another way ? BTW Dave. I love your playing and what you have to say. I'm someone who experiences depression and know that place well, having Nursed in Mental Health for many years to help others. I know how hard life can be. I've been playing (and have built a few guitars) guitar for about 52 years now. Mainly blues. My passion. I'm no good of course, but i love it. 😊 Thanks for you video's. I appreciate your artistic talents (musicians often suffer from depression). Keep up the good work. Love from Grant in New Zealand 👍
Had a MG100hdfx years ago with a 4x12. Sold it after it developed a fault and kept cutting out (that on reflection could have been an easy fix). Pissed over everything I’ve owned ever since. And as other folk have commented, no need for apologies dude. Am right there with you.
Orange rules all! Also, for those suggesting that Dave use the tone studio in the Katana, he has stated on more than one occasion that he can't use it due to his computer being out of date.
I've had my MG full stack since '05 . Mainly used in 1/2 stack configuration, or one cab each side of the room. After watching you're videos about the MG's, I've gotten a better appreciation of them. I'm using close to the way you set them up, and really enjoy the sounds more. Thanks for the videos. Keep on keepin' on Brother!
20:24 that’s how I felt when I a/b’d my podhx with my rack and stack set up I was blown away that with a Di into the pa could save my back and still have “My sound” 🤘🏽
I know that high frequency you're talking about on the Katana 50. I couldn't get past it , so I bought the Orange pro 60 and all is right in the universe. But of course I paid $475 for the Orange and the Boss Katana only cost $219
Just like how our arms and legs get hurt and need bandaging sometimes our minds go through the same. Never be ashamed to ask for professional help. You’ll look back and think I should’ve done this sooner.
I'm a insomniac sometimes for days it really dose mess with staying on task. Hopefully yours is temporary. Your music is just amazing its so good it makes me feel better. Hang in there and thank you for sharing.
See if you can get hold of a H||H. I still have an old H||H IC100S I picked up in the late 70's. Was gigging with that in Cardiff and Phil Campbell from Motorhead came up to me and asked me how I got 'THAT' sound. Was chuffed with that.
Hi. No need to apologize, just say how you feel and we accept that, as we accept you. This was a good run through of the amps, and it wasn't short : ) I hope you will get hold of that sleep again, I struggle with the same problem... walks in the woods help me a lot. C ya on Wednesday.
I've gone back to square one to try and crack the CODE! I selected a silver Jubilee lead with a 100w classic power amp. Idk if those settings really make a difference once you change the rest of the settings though. I went back to a clean tone with a neutral EQ and turned up the gain until it just started to break up, about 3.0. Then I set the EQ for a typical rocky tone, 5.3, 6.4, 7.6. Finally I had a go with the presence and resonance and got 5.6 and 7.1. I don't have a nice amp to compare it with so I cant be sure, but it sounds good! I'll try some of the pedals and see what else I can do. Have a good weekend!
Dave is also very intelligent and knowledgeable. This is good advice suitable for first amp buyers or those wanting to expand into performance or recording.
I got my MG102CFX today, turned it on and instantly got a great clean sound. Which is what I like so that I can dirty it up to suit myself. Reverb and echo are the business. Flanging, chorus are things I never use, but are there if I want them.
Dave, I got my mKII 100 and I am pleased to tell you that it is more organic, and more dynamic than ever before. The speaker has more thump, and being able to run 5 effects at once is amazing! The upgrades have made it an even more incredible value. I really am looking forward to see if you are as blown away as I still am. Absolutely incredible. Thinking of selling my Helix. Serious.
I suffer from S.A.D and depression, Dave. Truly sorry to see you struggle mate. Remember it does, always, ease up. But I know the struggle when depression rears it's head. I stopped my RU-vid channel because I was struggling. Please don't think of stopping with yours, your a bright light of talent my firend.
I know this struggle, but for fear of sounding insincere or condescending, when we live our lives too much in our heads and pay lip-service to the needs of the rest of our physical body an out-of-balance mental state will prevail. Too remedy this we must focus on our breath and movement. I find that the simple practise of yoga brings the body and mind into balance by nurturing awareness of our physical nature and emptying our mind and thoughts. like music, its a life time study, which is subtle and kind. All comes with the practise does it not.
Dave you can put an electrolytic capacitor across the positive and negative speaker terminals and that will cut frequencies. The higher the value the more high end it will cut so start with a 10uF and go from there. Same as capacitors work on the tone controls in your guitar. Or just change the speaker.
You are so correct on your comparison of Tube and solid state....There is alot to be said about a consistantly good sound that you can dial in almost immediately...You are sssoooooo correct. 100,000 subscribers using a solid state Orange, katana, and MG, go figure, lol. Thats a testament to your intresting videos and playing
You can edit the katanas line out to have a live feel in the tone studio! ✌️😊 I know you said you can’t get tone studio to work. (I couldn’t at first it took lots of research but I finally got it to work) and discovered you can change the line out in the settings.
Love your videos and your music is so soothing and cool. Keep on rocking brother. Ps. I have my hd100fx that I got for $58 at a pawn shop running into a 1960 straight cab. I like it better than my JCM 900...also love my orange 35RT
So true about amps being ludicrously expensive. For something with less complexity than a phone or laptop it's crazy how they cost so much more. I honestly think it's just because the hobbie is so saturated. Demand and supply.
Well done very insightful ,have been looking at the boss k for a while keep your chin up Dave lovin the vids...try a single malt before bed time works for me
Great talk on solid state amps. And you are so right about tube amps. I have a Fender BassBreaker and it is inconsistent ....sometimes it seems darker or has a drop in volume, and I've just had one of the tubes changed....but I can play it for a couple of hour's and I always feel the tone changes at some point. I'd love to get an MG head, but playing through a cab, would you say I could play at bedroom levels? Loved the vid, and really hope you get some quality sleep mate :)
