Ken Andrews

"Andrews’ #1 guitar is a well-worn 1976 Les Paul Standard with a Seymour Duncan Custom pickup in the neck and Duncan ’59 in the bridge," states this Premier Guitar rig rundown.

In this photo, Ken Andrews can be seen with a sunburst Fender Telecaster.

This Premier Guitar Rig Rundown states, "When Andrews covers the bottom end, he uses a 2013 Fender Precision Bass with a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound pickup."

"Your live rigs have changed quite a bit since the late ’90s. Ken, you used to rely on a Marshall JMP-1 preamp and VHT 2150 stereo power amp into a Marshall 4x12, while Greg was using an Ampeg SVT II head with a matching 2,000-watt 8x10 loaded with David Eden speakers. Now you’ve both become big proponents of Fractal Audio Axe-Fx II modeling units running to the monitors and house systems," reads this article.

Ken Andrews can be seen alternating between his Jazzmaster (Tuned to Eb/D#) and his Electrical Guitar Company model (Tuned down to drop C#/Db) throughout Failure's 'The Heart Is A Monster' Tour. This performance shows his use of the Jazzmaster, as well.

In the interview with guitar.com, Andrews comfirms that this is a 1967 Fender Jazzmaster, his only "real vintage guitar".

According to Sound On Sound, Andrews used SSL-G Channel plugin to record drums for Paramore.

Ken Andrews uses this as it "sounds good with bass & guitar" for his alternating between the two instruments, along with finding it easier to take on tour rather than taking multiple amplifiers to get the Failure sound, according to this Premier Guitar rig rundown.

Guitar.com, 2015

Sure. We can tap all the guitar and bass sounds a lot more accurately because of amp modelling. The idea of putting the old rigs back together was not appealing to me at all, and I actually got Fractal’s Axe-Fx a year and a half ago when we were starting to entertain the idea of playing live. Everyone said ‘You’ve got to try the latest modelling technology see how far it’s come’, and Axe-Fx blew me away. To be able to cover all the sounds from the old albums and the new stuff in one box, and more accurately than a full analogue rig would be able to do, has been a huge facilitating feature of this whole reboot. We use Apple MainStage for keyboard sounds; I trigger a few samples off my pedal board, Kelli triggers some samples from his drum pad, but it’s all MIDI controllers running into MainStage on one laptop on my side of the stage. Another reason the Axe-Fx has worked so well for us as they do both guitar and bass pretty well. Greg and I switch live quite a bit.

In the 1990s, Ken Andrews incorporated the Rocktron Intellifex LTD into his rack setup, likely utilizing it for most of his live and studio effects, except for phaser effects. A user-uploaded photo supports this usage.

This Premier Guitar Rig Rundown states, "Andrews’ second guitar is a shimmery LP-style axe made by Electrical Guitar Company, which arrived the day before this show. It features proprietary EGC humbuckers and a Travis Bean-influenced aluminum neck."

Guitar.com, 2015

As well as my Les Paul, I have another humbucker-type thing, but it’s not a Gibson – it’s an Electrical Guitar Company aluminium guitar. I don’t play it for more than three or four songs cos it’s heavy, but the tuning is so stable. I really love the feel of the neck; it’s one size the whole way, it doesn’t have to be tapered for strength.

Premier Guitar lists this effect among Ken Andrew's gear.

"I have four Chandler LTD1s, which are 1073 clones..." - Ken Andrews.

Ken Andrews mentions using the AKG C414 XL II for vocals and acoustic guitar in his setup, as detailed in a user-uploaded photo on Imgur.

In this Sound on Sound interview, Ken states of his recording microphones, "I have an AKG C414 TLII for vocals and acoustic guitar, a couple of Royer R121s and some Shure SM57 and 58s for guitars, and that's it."

In this Sound on Sound interview, Ken states of his recording microphones, "I have an AKG C414 TLII for vocals and acoustic guitar, a couple of Royer R121s and some Shure SM57 and 58s for guitars, and that's it."

Ken Andrews of Failure uses a custom Electrical Guitar Company Series Five guitar. This was confirmed through photos shared by Failure on Facebook. The guitar features notable modifications, including a relocated jack and additional knobs, with one replacing the traditional pickup selector switch.

According to Sound on Sound article, Andrews used Waves L2 in order to record drums for Paramore.

I have the NLS [plug-in] on a Spike Stent SSL setting, the Waves SSL G master bus compressor, and the Waves H-EQ. It is my favourite EQ, but it's a bit of a processor hog, so I tend not to use it on individual tracks too much.

"Andrews also utilizes two Boss FS-6 control pedals and a Boss FV-500L volume pedal," states this Premier Guitar rig rundown.

"Andrews uses the Fractal MFC-101 Midi Foot Controller in preset mode to change patches and scenes," reads this Premier Guitar rig rundown.

According to this article, Ken Andrews used to use a VHT 2150 Stereo Power Amp.

"Andrews utilizes a Line 6 Relay G90 wireless system, while Edwards goes straight in with a long ¼" inch cable." - Premier Guitar

"The monitor board sends signal from the Fractal units into funky old Sunn Model 15 PA Speakers from the late ’70s, which allows the guitars to feed back when necessary while providing a cool stage aesthetic. Reportedly, the Sunns don’t sound great, but they look cool." - Premier Guitar.

"I used computers for the first time when recording ON. I worked on Logic for a while, but switched to Pro Tools in 2003. I have done a number of projects where I've gone to tape first, or mixed down to tape, but since I started using DAWs, I've worked on only a handful of albums without the involvement of a computer. I now work closely with Avid, beta-testing stuff for them, making videos for their teaser ads, and writing music that they can use for demo purposes. The sonic quality of digital is really good now, and there's no going back for me." - Ken Andrews.

"I have five Genelec 1031A monitors, which have been my favourite monitors for 15 years now, plus a large sub-woofer." Ken Andrews

Ken Andrews used this with his band ON until 2003. He states, in this article, "I used computers for the first time when recording ON. I worked on Logic for a while, but switched to Pro Tools in 2003."

According to Sound On Sound article, Andrews used this plugin for Paramore record(s).

I also have a Waves L2 and the seven-band Digirack EQ on some of the percussion tracks.

Sound on Sound article, 2013.

I added relatively few effects on the guitars and the keyboards. Some of the guitars have the Waves C4 and CLA-3A, and I sent three guitar tracks to the Altiverb plate reverb and two to the Altiverb bathroom space.

Sound on Sound article, 2013.

I have the NLS [plug-in] on a Spike Stent SSL setting, the Waves SSL G master bus compressor, and the Waves H-EQ. It is my favourite EQ, but it's a bit of a processor hog, so I tend not to use it on individual tracks too much.

I also use the Dorrough 380-D, which is just a stereo meter, and on the right side of my display I'll always have the NLS, the SSL G-Master and the Dorrough, because they show you all the things you generally would see if you were mixing on a desk. You really want to be constantly aware of how hard you are hitting the bus compressors when you are mixing.