Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Signal Chain: MXR CAE wah > Boss TU-3 > Switcher Loop 1: Dunlop Uni-Vibe > Switcher Loop 2: MXR CAE wah
circuit mounted inside board > Switcher Loop 3: Chicago Iron Tycobrahe Octavia (modern) > Switcher Loop 4: MXR
Blue Box Fuzz > Switcher Loop 5: Analog Man King of Tone (newest version) > Switcher Loop 6: Ibanez Hand-Wired
TS808 Tube Screamer > Switcher Loop 7: Analog Man Bi-Chorus > Switcher Loop 8: BK Butler Tube Driver (new
model with Bias knob) > JAM Pedals Delay Llama. Photo by Michael Helweg
Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s
board—recently rebuilt by
custom builder Helweg Custom
Pedalboards—is packed with all
the bluesy goodness any Stevieand
Jimi-inspired player could ask
for. But the heart of his tone lies
in the combination of a recentissue
Analog Man King of Tone
and stock Ibanez TS-808HW
Tube Screamer. “It’s basically
the sound of the amps and this
King of Tone pedal and the Tube
Screamer,” explains Shepherd.
“Everything else is just for one or
two songs here or there.”
Photo by Chris KiesThe King of Tone—which
he called “one of the greatest
overdrive pedals ever built”—
has its low (red) and high (yellow)
gain sides set similarly,
but the real magic happens
when you combine the two.
“It’s over-the-top awesome,” he
enthused. Shepherd adds in the
TS-808HW for even thicker
tones. “When you use the two
together, it’s got everything to
it,” he told us. “It’s got the fat
low end, and the nice, sparkly,
high ends, and it’s got a really
nice midrange capability. I don’t
really know of a better combination
to be honest with you.”
Beyond this combination,
which he says comprises 90 percent
of his tone, Shepherd uses
the Dunlop Uni-Vibe for the
rhythm tone on “Blue On Black”
and Hendrix songs, Electro-
Harmonix POG 2 (with the
King of Tone) for “Your Blues,”
and the Analog Man Bi-Chorus
(one side set slow for Leslie tones,
the other slightly faster) for the
band’s slow version of “Voodoo
Chile Blues.” Shepherd, who has
an original Tycobrahe Octavia for
studio use, uses the Chicago Iron
Octavia reissue for Hendrix songs
as well, and calls it, “as accurate
of a reissue as anything I’ve ever
seen.” He gets his favorite tones
by rolling off the tone slightly,
stacking on a Tube Screamer, and
hitting his Strat’s neck pickup.
Shepherd’s board actually
contains two of his preferred
Dunlop CAE Cry Baby wahs—
one on the board, and one circuit
set to a specific pot setting
and mounted under the board
for the song “Show Me the Way
Back Home.” Shepherd prefers
the CAE wah for its sweep and
vocal qualities, and tends to stay
on the yellow setting without
the built-in overdrive.
The board is rounded out
with a recent issue BK Butler
Tube Driver, a JAM Pedals Delay
Llama+ modified with an on/off
instead of hold switch and tap
tempo, and a Boss TU-3, which
he also uses as a mute switch
when switching guitars.
Michael Helweg wired
Shepherd’s board with two
Voodoo Lab switchers and a
Voodoo Lab Commander set
with loop presets for controlling
his pedal combinations.
Watch the Rig Rundown: