WAH, TELE, & STRING TALK with JD SIMO - Ask Zac 152  

i heard that JD's wee wee looks like a stack of dimes.....excellent episode lads....well done. my respect for JD's wah playing is well documented....he is unquestionably the best wah wah pilot i have ever personally witnessed.

Man I love watching JD talk about this stuff. That 30 mins absolutely flew by.

I could listen to JD Simos talking and playing for hours and hours.

JD has been one of my favorites for years. JD is the real deal, a bluesman with deep roots! His friend at "The Riff" is an incredible player too, deserves more views and subs. Thanks Z.........!

I love this channel ! I’m a old guitarist and gear nerd, been playing since 1965. I was born in Memphis in 1955, so all these names that you guys are throwing out, I’ve met them, heard them play live so many times. And I love hanging out talking about gear, watching this video is just like me and my buddy Dave in the practice room. Dave and I took my Thomas organ wah apart and did all this back in the 90’s when all of a sudden “true bypass” was a thing. He even drilled a small hole in the base and hooked up an led light to indicate off/on

You killin me with the Memphis Wah work and then the Booker T:William Bell, ugh. the best. Sent this to Boo..

Great interview I knew the blues rock side of JD Simo but didn't know that he was so in love with RnB players he sounds killer in this style

JD, I dearly love the stuff you've been jamming down at Carter's... Great AND so inspiring...

You know alot of the late `60's Wah's used a 200K pot. The travel is a result of Vox using old Volume pedal housings back in `67. The circuit is a result of my friend Del Casher and Brad Plunkett working on the MRB (mid-range boost) circuit in a Vox/Thomas amp. I have two old Boomerang Wah's. from `71/`72. I prefer them to my old Vox's I got into Wah's in 1968 when I was shipped off to boarding school. One of my dorm mates had one he told me just to give it back to him at the end of the year, which I did!

JD is a 100% genuine dude. The way he appears on camera is the way he is. There is no show or act with him. JD was on tour back in early 2014 playing small clubs I took my cousins to see him I had been a fan for a while and was blown away he was playing in our little middle of nowhere town. Anyway after his gig me and my cousins went up to him and started up a conversation with him and even though my cousins were drunk off their ass he still hung out with us and talked guitars with me. He had his 335 of course but was also touring with an original burst that was on loan to him I believe it’s nickname is “candy”. He let me hold and play both guitars which completely blew my mind and still to this day I tell people about it and it’s something I’ll never forget that’s for sure. We helped JD and drummer and bass player load their gear up in a small sprinter van and off they went around 4am I believe to Nashville to play a pretty big concert if I remember correctly opening for some big headlining act. I know it wasn’t nothing special to him but I felt like I won the lottery I got to hang out with a real rock star for the evening, I got to hold an original burst, an original 60s 335 and check out the other gear he was using and he was more than happy to answer all my stupid questions. I’ll be a fan for life!

The middle position is where it's at, I live in the middle position on most guitars!

This was SO my jam! Loved the shout outs to Mabon “Teenie” Hodges and Charles “Skip” Pitts among the others. Boomerang is my favorite.

Man I so freakin love Wahs! And being a huge JD fan, this one is a treat! more inductors: red fasel, round tdk, white fasel... maybe more. I found they make a difference within a given board but overall, you get more tonal difference by changing the value of some component. For example that 33k resistor that participate into the sweep caracteristic. And of course, you can set the pot travel to suite your taste (to limit or max out the highs)... Enjoy!

I stand teased and informed!

Zac and Jd nerding out for 30 minutes? Best thing since sliced bread

Zac, my teenage son and I got to meet JD after his MINDBLOWING set here at the Englert in Iowa City. What a great guy! What fun! In my dreams I can groove like JD does, but without frightening the dog like I do in real life. Today I caught the kid listening to JD's record for the third time. Thx for the "intro".

I got into J.D.'s playing about 10 years ago, then about 3 days after I discovered him he played in the town I live in ( Taos , NM ) , but I did'nt know about the show and I MISSED IT !!!....GRRRRR !

Awesome episode! Glad you were initiated into the Wah-Wah society. Cheers Zac!

This was really fun. The first time I heard Wah was in '71 when Dad brought home Grover Washington Jr's Inner City Blues. Eric Gale did all of Grover's Kudu records and that became the definitive Wah sound for me long before my friends introduced me to Rock, Funk, Soul, and (gasp) Disco. All vastly different Wah colors.

great to learn about all this but most of all, friendship, what a wonderfull thing it is... love to see you guys together, and JD its looking good!

Thanks Zac ❤ I’m so glad I’m a Patreon supporter because I can see these videos before the public see them and buys up the cheap ones

Another great one A lot of the 60s/70s Wahs were made in Italy. Not sure if the production overlap with US, but I imagine they could sound a lot different

It might have been Fulltone that started making new wah housings that had a lot more travel.

Great information! I started using wah about 1972, with a Cry Baby. Throughout the ‘70s I had about everything available in wah pedals-Cry Babys, Voxes, Boomerangs, De Armond Volume/Wahs-the best-sounding one I had was a British Coloursound Volume and Wah, but the pot went bad pretty quickly and I couldn’t get a replacement. When I went on the road in ‘76 I used a Morley Wah/Volume, the big chrome one, but then I had to worry about replacement bulbs, which were impossible to find. I really enjoyed using wah, but maintaining one ranged from pain-in-the-arse to totally impossible, so I quit using them. I don’t even own a wah pedal anymore, but that may change! I knew about adjusting the rack-and-pinion gear to control the pedal travel on a Cry Baby, but I never knew about the internal screw to set the high end. Plus, to save room on the pedalboard, I need volume and wah in the same pedal.

Excellent episode Zac! I'm happy with my Jam Whacko, but I love these field trips with JD. By the way, he has his slide recipe just right lately. So good! Cheers

Different sweep capacitor moves the range you can’t make it by adjusting the pod you can just make sweep smaller

Ayy right on! Just the guy to ask, that's why I mentioned him in the comments of the last video :)

That was a really great little chat guys. Thanks for sharing what feels like some real deal insider information!

Good video…I have a Jen wah with a red Fasel inductor…

Modifying your wah can get you great tones. Thank you for Mr. Simo for great instructional video, and history lesson on the the great players who used them

After watching your 2 wah videos I decided to go on the hunt for a Thomas Cry Baby. Found one with the stack of dimes inductor for a great price and it just got delivered today. Sounds great and pretty happy to have some more vintage gear!

Oh my gosh… The boss Issac Hayes cuts! Thank you JD, so good!

Thanks very much for the Tele wiring recommendation/instructions. Just got the pickup heights set right & it sounds awesome 👍

Ah JD finally someone talking about WAH on the internet who actually knows how to use one!

Please do go on JD!!

Scott at BMF Effects told me the base circuit of his wah pedal is the Boomerang. I love it.

And HOW! (disconnecting the tone, except for the bridge pickup) My 3-pick up Tele was transformed by Zac's suggestion a while back. MUCH appreciated, man. Letting them be themselves really peeled some brownness off and revealed a poppin'-fresh spank in both the neck (Dimarzio Twang King) and center (1980's Don Lace) pick ups I've had installed. 30 years banging on it and the original bridge pick up is still hanging in there, bright and punchy as when I bought it, despite many beer spills over the years.

i been playin through a two notes cab m+...its amazning

That fuzz box has that "Over Under Sidways Down" by the Yardbirds sound

Ok, I'm a long time viewer and not sure why I hadn't subscribed, but just did. Anyway, this was literally the best video I've seen in quite some time. JD and I are like kindred spirits, and so thankful you shared this insight. Learned a bunch and love what you do Zac!

This was great stuff, Zac, I really enjoyed it! I'm gonna go out on a limb and say most of my favorite food is in greasy joints along Nolensville road. So, maybe the tacos are there too. : )

Wonderful history as well as tech. Teenie Hodges got his propers here.

I could watch JD talk and play ALL day long

Love these zac p/ simo shows ….. soooo much info gems . Happy viewing

Glad I got my order of Stringjoy Broadways before this segment aired! Lots of good info here.

That was way to short, I love you guys hanging out and jd always brings so much to the table! 👍

That was EXCELLENT.. especially since I’ve been thinking about getting a Wah.. Thanks Zac.. and friend..!👍🏼👍🏼

Can I please get more contact info about the KOBOY FUZZ? I think I need one.

Bought one of these after the last interview where JD spilled the beans :)

This is exactly what I was talking about when I commented on the last video.

JD is the Wah master. GReat job.

Loved this! Thank you

Yet another gear nerd gem of an episode. JD was recently up in my neck of the woods in Illinois and I am kicking myself for not going to see him. Of the modern guitar players he may be the one that is the most “old school.” I would love to meet him sometime and pick his brain a little about guitars, etc. Seems like such a nice guy with no pretenses whatsoever. I see why you two are best friends. And 🌮 advice may be the most important news on this video even though the place was not disclosed. 😁

Thanks for making this.

love jd. total monster on so many levels. chicago guy like me!

Super super cool video!

I almost like the Chasetone pot in some wahs better than the old ones.

You guys are just a blast!

Love this channel, and love my schematic t-shirt and both my brothers love theirs that I bought them for Christmas. Cheers Zac

So much to learn here!

Hey Zac, can you post the wiring for Teles that you mentioned where you move the Neck pickup Tone control to the bridge? Great advice from JD about setting the bridge pickup and then adjusting the neck pickup to make the most of the “in-between” pickup selection!

Memphis! Yeah!!!

Are there recordings where we can hear more of JD’s jazz playing? I knew he was great but, seeing him playing this quirky stuff makes me understand he’s on another level 👌🏻

wondering what that bridge pickup is.. Does anyone know? JD is the best, thank you for this!

Zac oughta know about tacos from growing up in Kingsville, Tx

That was a fun video. Thanks

Thanks!

Awesome episode!

One other thing I’ve been interested in the differences in neck humbucker placement on a Tele. Is there a standard you know of? With Gibsons it seems I prefer them closer to the neck. JD’s neck pickup looked more like where and SG neck pickup would be. Thoughts? Examples of different player choices?

I picked up a used wah pedal a while back. Ended up being an early or mid 80s? Crybaby with the 1/8" headphone power jack. Came with the original box in great, condition. All for $45. Edit: I swear this thing has the silver trash can he was talking about. I never noticed it was silver until just now. Nice!

Superfly!!!

Nice Dano!

Loved it!

Awesome video!

I love how there’s no videos with JD and gear that are under 30 minutes 😂

Hold on Zac has a wah!!! 😂

Hey Zac I have a Robbie Robertson question regarding his telecaster, I have a deluxe reverb and a 2019 tele and still have the stock pickups, I can’t decide on which pickups I should buy to sound like Robertson especially on the rock of ages live album, but I also wanna find my own sound as well, which pick ups would you recommend

Wonderful episode. Does anyone know the name of that fuzz pedal?

Great episode. Hey, which MG’s tune has Booker playing that awesome intro?

I believe the Boomerang is the Shaft Wah.

I've had my Sepulveda crybaby since i think 1977. sounds just like this video.

What does everyone think about the new Fender Treadlight Wah Pedal?

Just picked up another Cry Baby last week but it was six dollars I had to get it! I am thinking of have a board with only Wah pedals! I put a new input jack in mine and adjust the reostat but I am getting a bit o "Wooshh" when the pedal is on the move?

BRB while I run out to get a TO cry baby before the prices 🚀🚀🚀

'I absolutely almost practically NEVER don't always except occasionally but not really... er/uh well (?)...' (...and but it only hurts when I laugh, ha ha ha ...ow (!)

Middle position!! And pure nickel strings…..

This is why I went Patreon. Just sayin'.

What’s that knob JD has on the Freeze pedal??

Hey Zac, can you remind the old guy the name of the song Booker T plays the guitar on? Thanks!

Giving away my secrets!!!! JD always using his ears and not his eyes with gear.

Where’s the best tacos? 😊

Pure nickel, 10 through 46?

San Antonio tacos?

...just when I thunked I had my GAS under control (?) Well I've not owned a Cry Baby in 30 odd years.... sooo...

20:50 Who the heck is this man ? What crap is that sound? Is that the way you're supposed to play to travel the world playing music? I do not get it ! (French humour)