Hello from The Victory Team!

We’re really proud to see how well The Deputy 100 has been received since its launch last month. If you haven’t had chance, check it out! Below you’ll find the latest videos both on the Deputy 100 and other new content on YouTube and our socials.

Christian Mendoza is out on the road with Roger Taylor, running the MK Clean and Copper Deluxe – check out this clip of Christian sounding wicked!

We’ve also had some awesome PowerValve 200 content coming in from the road, including Lewis from Overpower, plus rig rundowns from Jamie Hall of TigerCub and Rikki Glover.

And finally, check out Jaron Regan’s seriously tidy new case, housing his PowerValve 200 and Duchess 2×12 cab for the Bruno Mars The Romantic Tour below…

Q: For anyone who might not know you yet, how would you describe yourself as a guitarist and musician?

A: I’d say I’m a guy who spends a lot of my free time playing guitar, trying to figure out how to get the guitar sounds I heard on the records I loved growing up. I really enjoy the recording and mixing side of things too. A few years ago I started recording some jams and covers and putting them online, people seemed to enjoy the videos so I just sort of carried on from there

Q:What first got you into playing guitar, and what was it about the instrument that hooked you?

A:I remember getting an acoustic guitar one Christmas, but I never really got into it. Then, when I was around 13 or 14 I remember getting the Red Hot Chili Peppers live at Slane Castle DVD and seeing John Frusciante on stage with that beat up old Strat. I thought it was so cool. I’ve probably watched that concert 100 times. After that I begged my parents for an electric guitar and they got me a squier affinity strat ,which I still have.

Around that time I also remember getting Jets album Get Born on cd, and it came with a dvd of them playing live and I watched that on repeat too, with the singer playing this epic looking gibson 335(I think!). There was something about seeing those bands playing live and hearing those epic guitar sounds that made me want to pick one up and figure out how to do it myself.

Q:Are there any players, records or bands that have had a big influence on the way you play?

A:Definitely. It would be impossible to list them all, but the biggest ones for me would be SRV & Double Trouble’s Texas Flood, Jimmy Page and Led Zeppelin 1, Jimi Hendrix’s Are you experienced and Slash on Guns N’ Roses Appetite for Destruction. Those are not the only styles or genres that influenced me but those are the records and players that probably had the biggest influence on me as a guitarist.

Q: How important is your amp sound to your overall playing style? Do you tend to build your sound around the amp, or around your guitar and pedals?

A: I think the amp is the most important part of the signal chain. You can have the best pedals and some fancy custom shop guitar, but you run that through a bad amp and everything sounds bad.I’d say I build my sound around the the amp. 90% of the time I set my amp up on the edge of break up, where its nice on responsive, pick lightly and its clean , dig in and it breaks up, and then ill use a drive, fuzz or some sort of boost to push the front end of the amp to get heavier tones.

Q:What Victory amp(s) are you currently using?

A:Currently I go back and forth between the MKX and the Deputy 100.I’ll usually use the Deputy 100 when I want that classic vintage British sound, which is most of the time! Then I’ll switch to the clean channel on the MKX when I need a really crystal-clean tone, or when I want to get into higher-gain sounds straight from the amp without using pedals.That said, you can easily get great high-gain tones from the Deputy by pushing it with a pedal, and the crunch channel on the MKX sounds epic too, so there’s definitely a bit of crossover between the two.

Q: How would you describe the tone you get from your Victory rig?

A: I’d describe the tone I get as a versatile, loud and vintage sounding blues/rock tone. I tend to dial in pretty much the same tone for most styles I play and either clean it up by rolling down the guitar volume or push it a bit harder with a pedal.

Q: Do you have a favourite Victory amp or setup for playing, and why?

A: At the moment, it’s probably just plugging straight into the Deputy 100. It does everything I want from an amp tone wise, there’s loads of headroom, and I absolutely love the reverb.

Q: How much do you experiment with your rig? Are you someone who’s constantly tweaking your sound, or do you prefer to find something that works and stick with it?

A:If I plug into something, whether it’s a pedal or an amp, and it sounds good, I most likely won’t tweak it much at all unless I need to boost or cut some bass, mids or treble to get the guitar sitting better in a particular mix.I might experiment a bit more with modulation effects and where they sit in the chain, or things like running a Uni-Vibe before or after fuzz, but that’s about it really.The less options there are for me the better.

Q: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given about playing guitar or finding your own sound?

A: The best piece of advice I’d say is to record yourself playing and listen back. You might think you can play something perfectly and then when you listen back, the timing, phrasing or pitch of the bends are off or even just generally sloppiness of playing. That’s probably been the biggest improvement I’ve noticed in my own playing. In terms of finding your sound, I think you really need to hear your guitar in the context of a mix with other instruments. A tone can sound great when you’re playing on your own, but put it into a mix and suddenly it can sound really muddy or just not sit right at all..

Also, learn how to play songs you love and learn all of the song, not just the main riff or solo.

Q: Finally, if you could only take one guitar, one pedal and one Victory amp to a desert island, what would you choose?

A: A rosewood board SSS strat, some sort of fuzz face and the Deputy 100.