March 2012 \ Features \ Rig Rundown \ Rig Rundown: Kenny Wayne Shepherd

Rig Rundown: Kenny Wayne Shepherd

Rebecca Dirks

Kenny Wayne Shepherd talks Strats and demos of all of his effects.
Premier Guitar March 2012

We caught up with blues rocker Kenny Wayne Shepherd to check out his rig in Des Moines, Iowa. Watch our extensive video interview, including demos of all of his effects:

Guitars
Shepherd is known for using Strats, and brings a number of them on the road. He relies heavily on his Fender signature models, but employs different variations on the Strat for different songs. Shepherd uses Ernie Ball strings and varies between .10s to .12s, depending upon how much he's been playing.


Left to Right: stock Fender Kenny Wayne Shepherd Signature Strat, Fender Kenny Wayne Shepherd Signature Strat prototype, Fender Kenny Wayne Shepherd Signature Strat with GraphTech Ghost pickup system (used for the "Blue on Black"), Fender Jimi Hendrix Monterrey Pop Limited Edition.


Left to Right: Martin Kenny Wayne Shepherd Signature Acoustic prototype, Fender Stevie Ray Vaughan Signature Strat with GraphTech saddles and a custom neck (used heavily on his first album), National Resophonic Dobro Electric (used for "Aberdeen"), Guy Guitars Strat-style with lipstick pickups, built-in Roger Mayer overdrive boost, and Drop D lever.

Amp
When we caught up with Shepherd, he was experimenting with different amp setups and trying to use lower wattage amps to lower the stage volume. That night, he was using a 1964 Fender Blackface Vibroverb Reissue, a new Fender Super-Sonic Twin set on the Bassman setting, and a Fender Deluxe Reissue that's been rebuilt by Alexander Dumble called the Tweedledee Deluxe. He runs all three amps and brings the Deluxe into the mix as "icing on the cake."

Effects
Shepherd was using an in-between pedalboard while a custom board was being built when we caught up with him. The signal chain was a Dunlop Uni-Vibe, Electro-Harmonix POG 2, MXR CAE wah, Chicago Iron Tycobrahe Octavia (modern), Analog Man King of Tone (newest version), Ibanez Hand-Wired TS808 Tube Screamer, Analog Man Bi-Chorus, JAM Pedals Delay Llama, and Boss TU-3. His main tone comes from the combination of the King of Tone and Tube Screamer. His new board adds an additional MXR CAE Wah circuit mounted in the board and a BK Butler Tube Driver. The board is powered by Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus and his new board uses a Voodoo Lab Ground Control System.


     

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Comments

 (19 comments) display by
UsernameComment
Brian
on 05/20/2013 		I am a 17 year old blues guitarist (checkout my bands page btw: www.reverbnation.com/fraternalmusic) and Kenny is a huge inspiration. He's turned me into a strat user and i even started aging my squier! I also use the King of Tone because of Kenny. I met him outside of a show and he was nothing but courteous and friendly to my friend and I. He is a great person.
Jimmy
on 03/15/2012 		Go Kenny Go! Once I show this video to our lead guitar player he is gonna want that blue Martin.Blue on Black is a great song and it is the only song I sing in our band. Thanx Kenny.
Nico
on 03/13/2012 		Excellent rig rundown ! Detailed, precise, at length and ease. Thxs for another excellent rundown (I have always appreciated very much the Neils Cline and the LaLonde also!). Best
Acoustician
on 03/11/2012 		Outstanding interview -- one of the best rig rundowns I've seen. You can tell that KWS is as intelligent and articulate as he is talented. The guy's encyclopedic. And Rebecca managed the interview with skill and poise. Nice job.
eshelley
on 03/09/2012 		I can't imagine a better music equipment interview video... "Here's what I use to do this, and this is how I use it/modify it, ..." Great questions, and great detail in the answers...

I had no audio dropout issues...

Thanks, Premier Guitar!
Bill
on 02/27/2012 		Great interview. No audio dropouts but the lighting is terrible.
jeff
on 02/26/2012 		Anyone else have the audio drop out constantly? Tried different browsers (IE and Firefox) and no luck. Seems like a great interview...
Art
on 02/25/2012 		Excellent video! I'm am impressed to see KWS take so much time just to share what he uses, extra detail about some of the gear with us, the viewer/fan. Being a married and family man, I am also impressed to see KWS acknowledge his wife, and wearing a wedding band. My family took in the JH Experience Tour last year and finally got to see KWS at the Avila Beach, CA Thank you PG for this upload.
Alex
on 02/25/2012 		Thoroughly impressed by KWS's detailed knowledge of his gear and willingness to explain the whats and whys. He went up a few notches in my book.
Also credit to Rebecca for always asking relevant questions, digging for deeper details.
DSz
on 02/24/2012 		Outstanding interview! I'm not a Southern Rock fan, but Kenny's great attitude compels me to check out his music.



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