@@KenAndrewsMusic Ken, I'm not sure you will ever see this message, but I wanted to ask a question and right here is the only way I know how... Regarding the Wild Type Droid tour, I noticed right away you were playing a new Squire Bass VI, actually the same exact model I now have. My question is... did you have any modifications added to that guitar, like pickups or something custom? I do enjoy mine, but it seems it can sound much better with just a little more love. Would appreciate your comments on this, thanks.
Failure was one of my favorites in highschool... now I'm late to the party, just discovering all this failure stuff... such a nice treat for an otherwise crummy year
I don't have your gear, set-ups or chops, but I almost always come away from your videos with at least one good idea and just feeling good about making music with what I have. Thanks. :-)
FP is one of the thickest sounding albums I've heard to this day. A.M Amnesia is my favorite track from the last two albums. Bout time I trade the pedalboard in for a fractal. Thanks for making these videos!
100% true. i was very late to the Failure party and swore FP was from the modern era when i first heard. it sounds ridiculously huge and current. however they got those sonics is beyond me
I've seen Failure 4 times between 2014-2019 (every single time the tour came through Seattle), and I've been blown away by the quality of the sound every single time. Having heard your incredible guitar tones live so many times, I've been seeking out ways to have a more creative and streamlined approach to guitar sounds. Axe-Fx III is out of my price range, but lately I've been leaning toward getting a pedal switcher with MIDI capability. Boss ES-8, with the Boss 500 series, along with other pedals on my board, in the effects loop of my Fryette Pittbull 100CL. Flexibility, programmability, preset saving, and great sounds. Thank you for the inspiration, Ken.
What a time to be alive to have this kind of video from you, haha. The intro also reminds me that I need to see you guys live... keeping my fingers crossed that one day you'll tour Europe once again!
Dude, you're a hero. I've always really admired Fantastic Planet and tried to emulate that standard of quality to some degree but it's hard to figure this stuff out just groping in the dark with a beat-up guitar setup, Pro Tools, and a bunch of cheap VSTs starting from scratch. It's not specific to this particular episode, but this channel has really helped me to feel more confident with my work at home and has pointed me in the right direction to start doing some home recordings I'm actually proud of. Thanks so much!
I really appreciate you uploading this. I've been a Failure fan and a fan of yours in general since 2013. I saw the video for "Stuck On You" in 2006 or 2007 on VH1 classic late at night and wrote down your bands name and the name of the song because I loved it. Forgot about it for a long time though until in 2013 I found that list on a CD. I put on Fantastic Planet and felt like I'd found something I'd been searching for and since then I've been obsessed with your guitar tones and chords and trying to understand how you go about setting your tones and rigs. I'm a aspiring musician myself using a Helix LT and lately have had more of a Space Rock approach to songwriting but I'm a Metalhead too and I've been doing so with my Metal tones and it doesn't quite do what I need it to do so seeing this video really helps. Also obsessed with Billy Howerdel too. Both of you are huge inspirations. Thank you for what you've done and continue to do!
This is amazing content as usual Ken! Could you please do one for how you approach bass as well? The bass tone on Heliotropic and Frogs are two of my absolute all time favorite bass sounds recorded.
Ken, thanks for the tips. The Counterfeit Sky trick, I couldn't get my head arround that one... Failure's music turned on my interest for pitch effects
hi ken, years trying to mimic your sound on undone with several pedals, routes and stuff, and now see it so close and clear, its just amazing. I remember myself searching the closet flanger sound that you use on this track, even looking for pedals out of my country cause here in Chile i couldn't find an MIJ BF-2 for moths, so once i stay in japan for a couple of weeks, i looking for it, but i didn't found it!! so crazy. anyway, thank you! n i hope see you soon livee.
Thanks for the explanation on counterfeit sky, that explains why i couldn't come close with the replicating those sounds, i was using delay reverb and a whammy pedal switching between bypass and 1 octave up. love these videos ken we all appreciate all the time you put into making them!!! cant wait for the next one!
I Watch all of your rig rundowns and started to listen to your music because of it. I actually upgraded to the axe fx 3 after seeing your videos. I love these axe fx preset breakdowns. PLEASE do more of them! I would be interested in buying your presets if you ever sold them as well. Been a fractal user for years but these ideas helped me develop new layout ideas via scenes/channels. Keep it up!
Ken - I've been wanting to share this funny/odd coincidence that occurred last year. I was getting to know my new boss here in California and we began to share artists we are fans of. Your name came up and we were both thinking how cool it was that we were introduced to your music via the ON album. We both sing a line or two from Soluble Words. Not a few hours later I received a text from my oldest son in another city. He had recently gotten a record player and decided to stop by a record store on a whim. The text was a picture of a promo single/album he found deep in the crates of the store of Soluble Words followed by a message along the lines of, "Hey, don't you like this band?". What are the odds? Haha.
Ken, another amazing video where you have graciously opened us up to your world of brilliant art. Am I the only one who felt the quasi-tribute to Chocolate Rain with some of the subtitles during the Saturday Savior performance?
Wow, just found this channel. Been following everything you do Ken since the old days and you never fail to impress - Failure, Year of the Rabbit, On, producing - your talent is very inspiring and these videos are great. Was just looking at pulling the trigger on buying the new FM3 by Fractal to give my creativity a bit of a boost and had to get your opinion. Mahalo Nui Loa from Kauai!
Hahaha I died with the CVS 2.0x reader glasses. I love Saturday savior. What a joy to listen and to see you play. Thanks a million for the music 💜it's been the best part of 2021 for me.
These Videos are really fun. I can so relate to this... This is me sitting in my Home Studio with a bias head behind me tinkering. This content means a Lot to me as a supporter and hobbyist recordist and Most likely does so for the entire fanbase and Recording Community. Thanks Ken
I can't believe how much time goes into all the tones, but it makes sense. Because every time I hear a Failure guitar sound, something happens to me that no other band can even come close to. As always, can't wait for the next installment!!!!!
Awesome to see the level of detail and care put into these builds. They sound outstanding. I do agree having the ability to drop more amps into a single scene would be great. As well as with the fact that the sheer number of cab presets could definitely use some refinement. It is nice to have the Legacy cabs there, and do well for most of my applications. Though the Factory banks are a lot of free 3rd party IR's, so it is nice they were included. Options paralysis is an easy road to go down with the Axe-Fx III. Of course the other side of that is nearly limitless possibilities, as you suggested. I think the typical user really obsesses about nailing a real-world analog amp tone, and that has it's place. Yet the beauty of the tech, as the builder suggests, is really the NEW sounds and routing possibilities that come from such a piece of gear. You are proving that here.
Thank you! I’ve been thinking about going the digital route myself, with either a Fractal or a Kemper. The Fractal seems much more flexible though. Best video yet!
Always loved the low droning sound of fantastic planet.always thought it was bass with synth bass overdub.but, the guitar sound really does add more umph than i thought👍
I know M50x is major monitor headphones but you’re the reason why I bought it. I used to use ATH-AD500X with moderate satisfaction but I've been enjoying my new headphones perfectly for a month! Thank you for performing Saturday Savior and explain its guitar tones deeply. Made my day!!
Hi Ken, I'm not sure if you're a member of the Fractal Audio Forum, but adding an extra Amp Block has been an idea that has been much requested. However, adding just a third, let alone a fourth Amp Block would mean the oversampling of these blocks has to be cut in half. This has a significant impact on the sound. Adding more power to a unit that's already €2700,- would make it so expensive that hardly anyone will buy it. If you're dead set on running rigs like that, you could consider running two Axe-FX IIIs simultaneously and controlling both units with a single MIDI controller. Then you can run a four amp setup for a single guitar. Thank you for making this video, by the way. Some of the ideas you've explained here had been stuck in my head for a while, but I had never come to trying them out. I'll definitely try some more crazy setups in the future. I have one request for a future video: Please make a similar video about the bass tones, since they're such an important part of the signature sound of Failure. Perhaps you can shine some light in how you deal with having two bass players and how this influences the patches you make? Thanks! :)
4 amps would probably require a full CPU upgrade yes, but it’s not like these chips don’t exist. Using two fractals together is a massive bag of hurt and defeats the purpose of keeping everything small and flyable for my band.
I love Failure!!! This info is awesome! I would love to get some insight about Year Of The Rabbit. I still listen to that record almost daily. Thanks!!
Omg, you just sold me on an AxeFX. Being able to stereo multi-amp rig in one application is amazing. Always wanted a piezo in a third amp, layered in to a stereo L/R multi-amp For my dirty and clean channels. Could do all that with just the AxeFX. Always loved Ken Andrew guitar tones and style of recording layered guitars. I overproduce all of my guitars so badly lol.
Today on the train to once again, I saw a regular commuter who's Ken's doppelganger, and who always brings his cat in a carrier. This evening a new video. Coincidence? A sign? But seriously, this was really interesting: as a Fractal user (albeit AX8) it's good to see how others use these boxes of magic.
Hey Ken this is Jason kells nephew in Sweden! I’m totally digging this series! I’m excited about the new gong I’m curious how it will contribute to the sound! Billies the man with the kale chips and kind vibes. We linked up out her in Stockholm when perfect circle came over with Greg a few years ago. Hearing how it was all done is a dream come true!! I hope you keep them coming. I realize the tour will make it tricky!
I just found out about your channel Ken. I love this because I realize now I've been playing this song wrong for so long. I always played it in standard tuning using Ab6sus4, but I see thst the guitar is playing just 1 and 6, no 4. Also, it looks like you are in drop C#. Thanks for the tutorial and the Axe FX. walkthrough.
Have you ever heard the band Basement? They have a song called "Covet" that gives me the same vibes as your song in the beginning. Obviously Failure wrote this so many years prior but I love the vibe! I was never into this sound until I heard Basement years ago and now hearing this song makes me want to start digging into Failure's discography for the first time! You really nailed it, hearing the 1996 version and now this recording is mind-blowing to see how relevant that song still is today. I wouldn't have guessed it was an older song!
If it's not possible to satisfy Ken's creative urges with a firmware update for number 3, than they'll have to include him in their development for the AXE FX 4 Which is curious. I haven't played the AXE FX II OR 3, but literally everyone is blown away and doesn't even have a single criticism to level. Enter Andrews, a modern day tone genius and visual painter of audible sound... he comes with A MESSAGE, "I have ideas!!!" That message should be listened to, because it has the capacity to take an already absolutely great product to ever more ungodly levels.
would love to see more of the work done on magnified and comfort since those were done on tape and are probably harder or maybe easier to remaster i dont know please tell us maybe threw a episode. cant wait to see you again in chicago thank you so much
No kidding... I looked at my rig this morning and said I really need a Fractal. This popped up on my feed. I was going to go with the cheaper, older model. I guess I'm upgrading. Thanks Ken. I'll blame you when my Mrs. looks at the bank account.
