The MKX is making serious waves. Hot on the heels of Greg Howe

joining the MKX family, Scottish rockers Anchor Lane, Christian Mendoza, Jensen Bullen and Dagan Wilkin are among the growing roster of artists making the MKX their amp of choice. Plus some awesome new MKX videos from Jamie Robinson, Jamie Morrissey and Jackson Brooksby.

The PowerValve 200 is equally as exciting in the artist world – The Scratch (pictured below) have taken it out on a full UK tour and are now proving its touring credentials across the States. Add James Monteith from Cage Fight & Tesseract, Mason Clifford from Mouth Culture, Steve Rothery and Rick Graham to the ever-growing list of PowerValve 200 users.

A lot of people will be familiar with Dagan Wilkin’s excellent gear demos, and recently he’s branched out independantly both on his own YouTube channel and also on Anderton’s TV. We recently caught up with Dagan to talk playing, inspirations and all things Victory!

Q: You’ve built a really loyal following online – what do you think it is about your approach to gear demos that resonates so much with people?

A: I think maybe the fact that I don’t take things too seriously and have a pretty relaxed approach. That and I’m still really aware that that guitar playing is supposed to be fun! Whether you’re just staring out or even if you’re a seasoned pro, the whole point of this guitar game is to have fun and enjoy trying out and hearing new things, and seeing where it goes from there! Whether you’re just playing guitar in your bedroom, or are wanting to start a band and take over the world!

Q: You spent a long time as a presenter and demonstrator at PMTVUK – what did that chapter teach you about guitars, gear, and people?

A: I think my main takeaway is that everyone who picks up a guitar wants to sound like the players they admire, whether they’re conscious of it or not, myself included – but it’s pretty impossible, even with all the right gear, licks and riffs, guitars, pedals and amps, you can get 90% of the way there, you just don’t have the hands! BUT with that, the amalgamation of influences and taking bits from all the players you’ve learned from gives you your own very unique voice!

That and when working there and interviewing famous guitarists, even the coolest, suavest guitar players on the planet are still massive guitar nerds at heart!

Q: Do you think being from the North East has shaped your musical tastes or personality as a player at all?

A: Yeah totally! AC/DC was a huge thing for me growing up. Everyone in my family seemed to have a great Brian Johnson story from back in the day, so it was like a religion! Also the Geordie pride thing is too real. Even though they’re not my jam, I’ll never have a bad word said about Jimmy Nail or Ant & Dec! Haha

Q: Who were your biggest musical inspirations growing up, the artists that made you think “I want to do that”?

A: First off it was Angus Young, by far! Hence my die hard admiration of the Gibson SG to this day! Seeing videos of the Sex Pistols also opened my eyes massively, Steve Jones’ attitude when stood proud with that Les Paul Custom was just awesome! Brian May played a big part too, then I discovered 80’s playing a few years in and that changed everything! Watching clips of Eddie just melted my brain! Him & Mick Mars play a huge part of my sound.

Q: Was there a particular moment, gig, or record that really lit the fire for you as a guitarist?

A: Yeah definitely. Sticking with the AC/DC theme, my dad had an old ‘Monsters Of Rock’ video tape that he used to play, and seeing Angus walk out on the catwalk and start ‘Thunderstruck’ with the horns of the Gibson SG in the silhouette, I remember seeing that and thinking it’s the coolest thing I’d ever seen and “That’s way I want to do with my life!”

Q: You did your first Victory lunchbox shootout not too long ago – what was your first impression when you plugged in, and did anything surprise you?

A: I’d heard great things about Victory for years but never really had the chance to play any of them in-depth until that day, so nothing really surprised me because I knew I’d dig them. On the day it was probably just the joy of when plugging into the Sheriff and realising that it does the ‘thing’, which is hard to describe, but it’s that punch in the chest when you play a big E chord, which is so hard to come by in smaller wattage ‘British voiced’ amps. So I was quite surprised and stoked that the little Lunchbox Sheriff delivered that feel!

Q: You’ve been using the MKX a lot recently, what is it you like most about it?

A: It’s gotta be the tone, the versatility and the portability! Which is kinda what the amp is all about so bravo on it ticking all those boxes, haha! That and it sounds just as good at low volume as it does when it’s cranked!

Q: What settings do you tend to have The MKX on?

A: I’m forever a 1pm guy! I set all the EQ just over half way and tweak from there, on pretty much every amp I use! I change the resonance and presence of the power amp to fit whatever room I’m playing in, but the regular EQ is always set to 1pm!

Q: Is there a Victory amp or model you haven’t tried yet but have your eye on?

A: I think I’ve tried them all now! The one that is sticking in my mind is The Copper. I’ve never had that style of amp before but always loved the tone of them! And with the extra tweakability of The Copper, it seems like the ultimate version of it. So that’s definitely on my radar!

Q: Lastly, what’s the one piece of gear – amp or otherwise, you’d never part with?

A: My Gibson SG Custom! It’s my dream guitar and I still get goosebumps playing it after owning it for 8 years now! That’s the guitar I used to cut pictures out in magazines as a kid and stick on my wall thinking “one day!”. So to actually have one is insane and it never leaves my side!

Check out Dagan’s YouTube channel