Ken Andrews

After that, there's one of my favourite things on the mix bus, the PSP Vintage Warmer 2, which is mostly a saturator, though it also functions as a level maximiser. It sounds awesome. I used very little of it, less than 1dB gain reduction, but it really shapes the sound in a great way for rock.

Premier Guitar's Rig Rundown series featured Andrews, and this image shows his Mastermind GT/16.

In this Rig Rundown with Premier Guitar, Ken shows that his signature guitar with Electrical Guitar Company is his primary guitar for performing with Failure

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

"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 Lawrence.

I had the Waves C4 multi-band compressor on the bass track. That plug-in is a big part of my workflow. It's incredible, I love it. You can tame a track that has a few unruly moments with this plug-in and you're not hearing it work, because it's multi-band.

Sound on Sound article, 2013.

After that there's a tiny bit of overall control from the Waves CLA2A [compressor], with probably just 1dB of gain reduction.

Sound on Sound article, 2013.

The 'C' is the Sound Toys Crystallizer, and they were really into that one, because of its modulation effects.

Sound on Sound article, 2013.

There's also a Digirack Echo doing a quarter-note echo, and I also sent the glockenspiel to my EchoBoy quarter-note delay, and the two together make it a stereo quarter-note echo.

Sound on Sound interview, 2013.

According to Sound on Sound article, Andrews used the AutoPan for keyboards and guitars.

The last insert plug-in is the Waves De-esser. That was pretty much my vocal sound for this album. The sends are going to the Altiverb plate reverb, and the EchoBoy slap and long delays, and the amounts are tailored to each section of the song.

Sound on Sound article, 2013.

After that, there's the Cranesong Phoenix. I love that plug-in. It has five different versions, and unless I really specifically want to darken or brighten something, I usually pull up the Iridescent, because it is the most neutral in terms of EQ. It just adds more saturation.

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.

Sound on Sound interview, 2013.

Premier Guitar's Rig Rundown feature on Andrews includes this photo of his pedalboard, which is powered by a Pedal Power Plus 2 unit.

At 17:30 in the video, he is demonstrating the FG-X plugin.

At 3:25 in the video, he is demonstrating the FET Compressor plugin.

At 2:52 in the video, he is demonstrating the Virtual Mix Rack plugin.

At 14:23 in the video, he is demonstrating the Virtual Tape Machines plugin.

At 07:02 in the video, he is demonstrating the Superior Drummer plugin.

At 01:40 in the video, he is demonstrating the Mellotron plugin.

Ken Andrews is seen playing a 1958 Gibson Explorer in the user-uploaded photo, suggesting he uses this iconic solid body electric guitar.

In this photo taken at Club Lingerie in Los Angeles, California on November 4th, 1991, Ken can be seen playing a black Partscaster gifted to him by his younger brother. He mentions that his brother gave him the guitar in the 2004 Golden Documentary. This guitar was likely used for the majority of the band's first studio album, Comfort, released in September 1992, as well as their second album, Magnified, released in March 1994.

Credit to Reddit user MackinawCity2000 for locating this photo and several others from that show.

In this live video (and plenty of others) Ken and Greg can be seen using this Wal bass that's been spray-painted silver. This bass was reportedly used on studio recordings as well, including at least Fantastic Planet and Magnified. Reportedly it was also loaned to Justin Chancellor for use on Ænima (TOOL's second record), which motivated him to buy a Wal of his own.

Seen briefly lit up in the rack drawer at 1:18:35

As seen here on Ken Andrew’s pedalboard from his Fantastic Planet setup sometime in 1996-1997. Could have been used during the recording for Fantastic Planet and possibly Magnified.

Ken Andrews uses the Boss DD-3 Digital Delay, as seen on the floor during the recording of "Comfort." Alongside the DD-3, there is also a Crybaby wah, BF-2 MIJ, CS-2 Compressor, DMC Ground Control V1, and a footswitch, as evidenced by an image on Imgur.

Ken Andrews uses the Boss BF-2 Flanger, as evidenced by the black knob BF-2 seen on the floor in the image provided by Imgur.

Ken Andrews explicitly mentioned at the 15:03 timestamp that the Boss CS-2 Compression Sustainer was a key component for the “Failure Clean Guitar Sound” and was also used as a vocal effect on the track "Blank," as detailed in his YouTube video "Episode 6 - Creative Recording Techniques."

At 4:06, Ken Andrews mentions the use of a Gen 1 Mutron Phaser all over Fantastic Planet. During their performance at the Whisky in December 1996, you can even spot the phaser right next to his Mutron Octave Divider.

In the 2019 Rig Rundown by Premier Guitar, Ken Andrews provides a detailed explanation of how he utilizes the Fractal Audio Axe-FX III Preamp/FX Processor to craft all of his guitar and bass tones.