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Failure multi-instrumentalist, highly-regarded rock producer, and digital-gear beta tester Ken Andrews joins PG’s Perry Bean to update his live gear cache that now boasts an aluminum signature guitar and an Axe-Fx III-based encyclopedia of tones and textures.
When we caught up with the band in 2015, Ken Andrews and stringed tag-team partner Greg Andrews were using Les Paul-style instruments. In a 2014 interview with PG, Andrews spoke about its qualities that made it perfect for recording The Heart Is A Monster: “It’s all over the record, and it has a certain slicing quality that other guitars don’t really have.” The only other guitar Ken preferred to use on that recording was actually 1967 Fender Jazzmaster.
Fast forward to 2019 and Ken Andrews has combined those two instruments (with heavy input from Electrical Guitar Company’s Kevin Burkett) to create this Jazzmaster-inspired, aluminum signature for EGC. Some spec highlights include a 25.1" scale, full black anodizing of neck and body with aluminum binding on the neck, EGC’s “Spencer” neck was tweaked, making it thinner while retaining the width of the original, the inclusion of a Ghost piezo system so Ken can blend acoustic tones in with his electrical signal, and two proprietary humbuckers—a high-output set that uses alnico-5 magnets with massive magnet substructures, and are rated 14K and 11K.
In preparation for this tour in support of 2018’s In the Future Your Body Will Be The Furthest Thing From Your Mind, Ken spent over two months migrating tones/signal chain information from the Axe-Fx II and then building all new “scenes” for each song. (Ken estimates that for the 16 songs on their setlist, that each song has six to eight guitar or bass “scenes” in them resulting in over 100 different patch changes each night.) He did not divulge too much information on specifics, but a lot of his guitar tones are built off a Fractal variation of the Friedman BE-100 Brown Eye.
Onstage, Ken Andrews harness all the digital firepower with an RJM Mastermind GT/16.
While Ken Andrews relies on the Axe-Fx III for everything, his bandmate Greg Andrews sprinkles in some stompboxes by way of the Alexander Pedals Space Race and F.13 Flanger along with a DigiTech FreqOut and Electro-Harmonix Superego. The pedals are brought to life with a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus.
Perry Bean cut his teeth touring and playing in punk rock and hardcore bands, before he got his start in film. He worked his way up from lowly production assistant to become a producer, art director, and most recently, a music video director nominated for ACM, CMT, and CMA awards. Being Premier Guitar's Chief Videographer was a perfect fit for him, combining his two favorite things—guitars and cameras. Perry doesn't have free time, but his massive dog Beef pays his rent by being Perry's intern.
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