Truetone Lounge | Rewind with J.D Simo

[@TREVORJB101]

Had the opportunity to meet J.D. early in 2023 while on tour with Tab Benoit. What a great talent and wonderful to talk to.

[@admarhermans1]

Boy, what a great Strat tone! 🖖

[@artysanmobile]

Beautiful playing, JD! You’re playing my guitar’s sister, making it sound fantastic. Also nice to hear someone mention Magic Sam.

[@nicknormando4220]

West side soul is such a great album. Magic Sam was great, gone too soon.

[@matthewknight1688]

JD is one of the most underrated guitarist of our time! He is truly one of the few electric gods of our generation!

[@TruetoneFX]

He is!! Zac

[@mikedfurman]

Yeah, JD is great! I hope that he becomes easily as prominent as JB! I do really enjoy JB, but I dig JD's playing and eloquence a bit more. But I do love hearing JB talk about blues and gear history too - great ambassador as well!

[@sugarlife485]

@@mikedfurman jb????

[@recordheatstudios4601]

Yup!

[@jonunderscore]

@@sugarlife485 Joe Bonamassa

[@paulnerval7632]

What a great player!

[@michaelsteven1090]

Zac is a great listener..what a virtue.

[@TruetoneFX]

Thank you! Zac

[@frankiecalabro2617]

It’s always such a pure pleasure to see JD play, whether rock or blues, and what really impresses me is his kindness and respect for people . He’s loved by many, and it’s easy to see why!

[@dallastoto3189]

Met him at a show in Connecticut when he opened for the ALLMAN BETTS band. The Dude is a gentleman. Really nice guy.

[@jonunderscore]

Best guitar and history lesson I've had in a while.

[@joshporter08]

The blues playlist that created from this interview is top notch. You guys are dropping knowledge. Thanks for sharing your wisdom

[@TruetoneFX]

Our pleasure!

[@richardrattos8511]

Inspiring all types of people around the WORLD ! Thank you for sharing it .

[@theo5580]

I love, LOVE JDs playing ... and Zac is an incredible interviewer - asks a question and listens!!

[@kidrengo]

Here's a player who seems to be fully committed to delivering quality roots music to his listeners.And with so much post pandemic depression dominating the current Zeitgeist these days, more power to him.

[@Roozo411]

Big soul, he’s right in line with his heroes keeping real music alive. Can listen to this dude play, and talk about the blues all damn day. So far... that’s exactly what I been doin today!

[@TruetoneFX]

JD is a true ambassador for the blues. The true, old blues. Zac

[@BMWBikes-i7n]

One of the best true Musician right now and the best Musictalk worldwide, with a very sympathetic Interviewer!!!

[@guaranaibiza6310]

nice words He seems a very nice wise and humble man Love his playing too

[@dannyjonze]

Always love what jd says about blues, those specific names especially jimmie Vaughan 100%. I first saw thunderbirds in 1980 in London and that album changed everything for me.srv was 5 years later for me. He totally sums it up for me here. Can't wait for the record.

[@TruetoneFX]

Huge Jimmie fan right here. Zac

[@nicholasdorney8167]

Absolutely loved this. What a wealth of knowledge about the lineage of blues; that alone would make this a great listen, but coupling that with the in-depth discussion about approach, technique, and utilizing different gear for different sounds - with examples - makes this essential imo. I particularly loved the portion near the end where JD talked more about the philosophy in his approach re: "technical" vs "emotional" playing. That, coupled with the talk of building a vibrato and touch, the importance of building a solid foundation to develop personal style - any guitarist could walk away with something from this. Major credit to Zac - phenomenal interview technique - asked the question, sat back, actively listened, and guided the conversation/further q's off of JD's answers in a way that was natural and really interesting. I only wish I had this interview to listen to when I first picked up a guitar 20+ years ago.

[@PastaPatate]

I’d love to see Blake mills on one of these if he’s ever in Nashville.

[@TruetoneFX]

I would too! Zac

[@coopercox9728]

JD is just terrific in this interview! Great stuff thanks.

[@TruetoneFX]

Thank you for watching. Zac

[@kentuckyfriedpickin4569]

So very proud of JD, love watching his musical evolution. Keep doing what you feel JD, great interview! Greg Martin

[@TruetoneFX]

Thanks Greg!! Zac

[@paulhicks3595]

Wonderful, instructive, inspiring.

[@TruetoneFX]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@barbarasmith3579]

Nice interview with J.D. Simo! I,ve seen him quite a few times on youtube playing at Robert's Western World with the Don Kelley Band!!! What a lesson in guitar playing Zach...Merle Haggard songs never sounded so lively! Thanks for the post! Jerry S.

[@TruetoneFX]

Thanks!

[@hearpalhere]

I recently came across JD Simo via Daniel Donato and I couldn't be happier. He's crazy good... the man really knows so many different styles but seems to really have his own unique voice. Always fun interviews Zac, this one was no exception! Thank you!

[@VlrGuitarWorld]

so underrated...he's one of the best today

[@TruetoneFX]

Agreed!! Zac

[@herringbone72]

Another great one Zac. Really digging that Strat tone. JD is the real deal.

[@TruetoneFX]

Thank you! I dig the tone too. Zac

[@BMWBikes-i7n]

Great sound, faaaantastic played and a wonderfull Guitarist who is talking important things!!!

[@TruetoneFX]

Thank you, Marc. Zac

[@ThomasDeLello]

This guy gets the best tone of anybody. And that's because he knows the secret. It's in the strength of the player's fingers and doesn't matter how many silly stomp boxes they sell you.

[@digitalsketchguy]

It's not in the strength. It's in the feel.

[@hansonmick]

Your trutone series is so great, Saw SIMO (335) at mercy with a marshall stack & his bass player had all the pedals. What a night. saw guthrie play with shawn kemp 3 nights later in Johnson city. Incredible music and community.

[@doctordox6278]

YES!!! Thanks, this was exactly what I needed today

[@TruetoneFX]

Cool! Zac

[@jdbutler73]

Really enjoying the truetone lounge interviews. Keep em coming Zac

[@nickl2883]

Thanks Zac . Definitely my favorite series. JD is a class act. I've got to meet him a few times , every time he's been supper cool.

[@lukefarwell5008]

You gotta do another one of these with him

[@nacienlos70]

His Strat sounds in fact like an out of phase 335. Love It when a Strat or any known model surprises you with a new voice.

[@TruetoneFX]

It's a great tone!

[@BenA718]

Awesome! JD is rock’s Savior!

[@cedarbay3994]

What a delight ❤

[@frankierockson]

What a treat! Thank you so much!!

[@TruetoneFX]

You are so welcome! Zac

[@tim-sheradye2705]

Pure Grease is that intro. Dang. Love this!

[@TruetoneFX]

GREAZZYYY........

[@guitareveryone]

Great to hear another interview with JD. Thanks Zac!

[@TruetoneFX]

Thank you, Darren. Zac

[@rdmkeytohwy]

I really need to check J.D. out live. I have seen tons of videos and he is a great guitar player. He also has spent hours studying the real blues guys from the past and is an encyclopedia of blues music. This is a great interview!

[@TruetoneFX]

Thank you. Zac

[@dubshockmedia1110]

He's just so good! Great interview Zac.

[@TruetoneFX]

Thank you! Zac

[@waylonvids]

So great!

[@edgeofeternity101]

Nice interview, very informative and a good lesson all in one.

[@tommc49]

I really enjoyed this interview as I have been listening to all the music he mentioned for years. I was especially interested in the way he linked the guitar sounds to the players. So much great music has been made with a guitar (usually an inexpensive one) straight to an amp (usually an inexpensive one) without all the pedals and gadgets. The first 60 seconds are pure gold. Thanks for posting. Definitely looking forward to the album.

[@TruetoneFX]

He has worked hard to hone his playing, tone, and to know the real masters. Zac

[@elvagabundovatti]

Wonderful. Thank you both.

[@TruetoneFX]

You are welcome. Zac

[@rickmoore7501]

beautiful interview,thanks for letting him talk.

[@TruetoneFX]

Absolutely. Zac

[@TheDoobiesnatcher]

what a great interview

[@TruetoneFX]

Thank you. Zac

[@AriePapernick]

Anyone else pause the vid on the close up of the DR? Volume on 10. Love this guy. JD is always full on when he plays. Even on an interview. Lol

[@TruetoneFX]

It was loud, but sweet!! Zac

[@highcourtcounty6389]

Truetone I guess you are glad he didn’t dime a Marshall stack in your studio like he did for premiere guitar. That’s gotta be loud!!

[@sarikkumar8419]

Truetone That DR sounds incredible. What speaker is in it?

[@TruetoneFX]

Celestion Vintage 30. Zac

[@sarikkumar8419]

Incredible - Thanks for the reply. Love this series!

[@bruceanderson8720]

GREAT! GREAT! GREAT SHOW!!!! Thank you for the most interesting music interviews on KZbin.

[@TruetoneFX]

You are welcome. Zac

[@jimhyde58]

Great interview! I'm a big J.D. Simo fan.

[@TruetoneFX]

I am too. Zac

[@777Yoni]

As always, thanks so much.

[@TruetoneFX]

You are welcome. Zac

[@kosarsakic1982]

Thanks so much for this! Love JD's playing!

[@TruetoneFX]

You are welcome. We love his playing too! Zac

[@nielsvanweert2789]

Great man! JD is the man!! 🤘🤘🤘

[@TruetoneFX]

He is. Zac

[@BillDutton]

So good. As always.

[@TruetoneFX]

Thank you, Bill. Zac

[@aschneider70]

The best right hand in guitar nowadays! What others do with fingers or hybrid picking JD do with his pick. Amazing touch and dynamics!

[@TruetoneFX]

Yes! I remember seeing him chicken pick with Don Kelley all using a pick. No fingers..... Zac

[@dogchicken]

Good to hear him playing some blues again, we played a few Blues in the Schools programs together with Chico Chism, it was probably late 90's. It was fun, great to see he has done well.

[@TruetoneFX]

Was this in Chicago or Arizona?

[@dogchicken]

It was in Arizona

[@TruetoneFX]

Cool! Or should I have said hot, as it is August in Arizona? Zac

[@mwrable]

Great interview as always! 👍🎸

[@TruetoneFX]

Thank you! Zac

[@chrismonk8446]

I really like J.D. I think we may be close in age but I feel like we probably grew up listening to the same records. I'm from east Texas...I love all types of music. Tradional blues from the 40' s-60's then the 60's British rock era. I love the history of the mudic. I think I'd love a chat about music history and guitars..

[@TruetoneFX]

He is fun to chat with on music history. Great guy. Thanks for watching. Zac

[@JavierTijuana]

Pretty cool interview. He nails down everyone of his influences if he wants to but has his own voice totally.

[@iwillnevergetone5]

that intro was amazing. JD is ma hero

[@TruetoneFX]

Thanks for watching! Zac

[@CornwallguitarlessonsCoUk]

What a humble dude

[@TonyMartinez]

this guy is amazing

[@massimofamularo1976]

great guitarist...one of the best around today

[@TruetoneFX]

Agreed. Zac

[@massimofamularo1976]

i like him because is one of the few, with a modern approach to the instruments,but with a vintage feeling and tone at the same time. a rare quality to find

[@shanetankey3340]

Man, Zac you do great interviews, with great musicians.Very relaxed,easy banter. Thanks for this.👍 - really glad JD champions Jimmie and the very underrated Anson Funderburgh . Anson actually put me on to the same BB King record( My Kind of Blues) JD is talking about, when Anson came to Australia in the early 2000's.

[@salx777]

can we have a in depth rig rundown 2020 with the new guitars and pedals :) Love JD Simo

[@MontyCantsin5]

Excellent interview. J.D. covered a lot of blues history and I loved his playing in the style of Lightnin' Hopkins. Looks like that Strat has a two piece ash body, is that right?

[@TruetoneFX]

I believe it is 2 pieces. Zac

[@martynsparkes7118]

Is it ok if I watch this every day..

[@InstruMentalCase]

The comment about vocalizations during playing was interesting. I remember seeing an article years back by Dweezil Zappa where he made the same observation about a recording session that he engineered involving all these top level guitar players and nearly all of them made those kind of noises as they played.

[@TruetoneFX]

Interesting. Zac

[@TheJP3]

I’m glad Anson got mentioned. Talk about one of the best blues players out there…

[@biketopia]

the 50's and early 1960's are a buffet of guitar sounds, which a lot of guitar players ignore... because it's complicated and so technical.

[@TheDullBoy]

Great episode! what slide is that? thanks!

[@tomduckworth8335]

I have truly come to appreciate JD lately. I sadly dismissed him as another SRV wannabe because that was the first thing I was exposed to with him. I’m in my late 60s and struggled with the shadow of SRV over the blues scene especially in the 90s. I wanted to play slide more and try and do a reinterpretation of roots blues but there was real pushback on the club scene and from Blues societies it all became about guitar pyrotechnics and the blues was getting lost in that. I love the early 50s strats they are lighter in tone than later strats. Love the POP and tone of ash bodies.

[@scottallen9556]

Such a blues lick master clinic anytime you can watch JD Simo play.

[@TruetoneFX]

Agreed! Zac

[@patboudotlamot]

passion maximum !

[@bernardhossmoto]

Good luck!

[@CurtisMcLeodMusic]

So when is this new blues album coming out?! I can’t wait. Please let me know. I just searched on google and I can’t find anything about it

[@TruetoneFX]

I will ask him

[@ebeep]

Can't wait to get this record!!! Anyone know title or release date?

[@TruetoneFX]

I will ask him. Zac

[@ebeep]

@@TruetoneFX, any word yet? ;)

[@stratcat9432]

Hi Zac, Do you know what the title of the Traditional Blues album JD released using that Strat? I can't figure out which one it is. Thank you sir, for all of your Truetone Lounge interviews. All are phenomenal!

[@TruetoneFX]

It was not released

[@stratcat9432]

@TruetoneFX Wow! That stinks. I wonder why he never put it out? I'll bet it is damn good too! 😔 Thank you for the reply Zach. ❤️

[@stevesuv]

I heard that Jimmy has gone to a wound third, and tuning to e flat. I heard he said that gives him a big head start for that old 50s tone. I kind of agree that all strats sound better in eflat.Just to cover Beatle songs that flat wound g string is a great head start.

[@scottyeager539]

Actually, to my knowledge he is using a set of flats and swapping out the wound G for a plain G so he can bend it. I believe that is gone over in his PG Rig Rundown.

[@ebeep]

Anyone know if JD has released this Strat-based '50s blues LP yet? I'm still anxious to hear it!

[@TruetoneFX]

It morphed into the release "Of at 11." Not the pure Strat album he had talked about originally. Zac

[@justinbradfield6499]

Ok so now we're goin from vintage burst les pauls to hollow body 335's to becoming Jimmy Vaughn on a Strat oooookkkkkk Kool!!!

[@modscientist9793]

The fab Tbirds first album is raw and killer

[@avatar90404]

Actually, the first 4 T-Birds records are killer...The ones with Keith Ferguson on bass

[@TruetoneFX]

No argument here. Zac

[@smithbroblues]

Zac, do you know or could you ask JD where the best place to see Anson play live is? Is he still in the Dallas area?

[@canaanlawrence7351]

I also hum nonsense and make noises anytime I play drums or guitar in particular. I never knew that I did it until someone pointed it out a few years ago. Interesting!

[@TruetoneFX]

It is very interesting. Zac

[@captainzeb1969]

Totally out of left field here but the late Jimmy Smith who played the Hammond B-3 always hummed and muttered to himself while performing. It became part of his schtick, as the saying goes.

[@jamespollock11]

Buddy Guy had 2 45rpm (possibly on 78 as well) releases on Artistic, a Cobra label in 1958. The Folk Festivals in Britain were in the early 1960s. What about Luther Allison, Louis Myers, Lonnie Mack (RIPs) or Duke Robillard, Jimmy Thackerey, Tom Principato, or Eric Clapton?

[@simpsimpson5175]

Its a shame JD does not do much of his country stuff.. chicken pickin.. I thought his most exciting playing was with Don kelly - His blues stuff is spot on but its a bit like he is an Impressionist of guitarsts - faithfully nailing each style [ he does this brilliantly ] but I found his country playing very unique as he flatpicked what are essentially hybrid picking lines..- he had a great feel for country playing as well - and was a exciting player..

[@TruetoneFX]

I thought his country playing was quite unique and exciting too. I hope in the future he will work some of that back into his shows. Zac

[@MrIkesimba]

God damn he's got some big hands.

[@ebeep]

That is the most drenched onboard reverb I've ever heard! What's the story with that particular Deluxe Reverb, Zac?

[@TruetoneFX]

1965 Deluxe Reverb with a Vintage 30 on 10 with verb on 5.

[@modestoney1577]

29:10 i don´t think you want a high output pickup for Hendrix kind of tone. SRV yes, not Hendrix

[@SebastianFalvoMusic]

Where can I find this new record?!

[@TruetoneFX]

It is not out yet. I believe they will be releasing it soon. The title is "Off at 11." Zac

[@08561686592]

BADASS BLUES PLAYER

[@terryallard1918]

Another American badass! 🇺🇸👍🍺

[@johnr8820]

What's his new album called? When's it coming out?

[@TruetoneFX]

The album is being mixed now. Waiting on a release date and title. Zac

[@teleandtwin65]

Killer!

[@fuzzbear7837]

What amp is he using?

[@TruetoneFX]

Deluxe Reverb with a V30 speaker on 10

[@tomusic8887]

What record are they talking about? His first record?

[@vincentjacquet1697]

What amp is using here ?

[@TruetoneFX]

1965 Deluxe Reverb with a Vintage 30 speaker on 10. Zac

[@rickmoore7501]

what was the name of this blues record there talking about.

[@TruetoneFX]

It morphed into his latest release Off At 11. Zac

[@nickl2883]

Zac, have you ever considered having Patrick Sweeney on the show ?