9/3/2010 - Skipping across the globe with TimeFactor, ModFactor, and PitchFactor
With a heavy touring schedule, professional guitarist, Jon Ketchum depends on his Eventide stompboxes every night. We caught up with him right before his upcoming gig on the Jerry Lewis Telethon Labor Day Telethon with Mitchel Musso.
1. Hi Jon, can you please tell me a little about yourself and what has led you to this point in your career?
I'm a professional guitarist for hire based out of Los Angeles. I moved out to Los Angeles from Detroit, Michigan in 2007 to attend Musicians Institute. After 11 weeks, I left school to tour with Sony/BMG artist Mandi Perkins. In May 2009 I released my debut solo EP, "Five One Six", on iTunes. I was hired last summer to be Alana Grace's lead guitarist and have since performed with her on the whole Vans Warped Tour 2009, went to Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan for the USO Hope & Freedom Tour 09, played Coachella 2010, and opened for Jeff Beck, Heart, and Good Charlotte. This year I also began touring with Disney artist Mitchel Musso.
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2. How did you hear about Eventide?
Well I've grown up always reading about the rigs of my favorite guitar players and I knew that Eddie Van Halen, The Edge, and Richie Sambora all used the Eventide Harmonizer. I was looking for a new delay pedal early last year and then read about the Timefactor in a guitar magazine. I went to a store in LA to try one out and was blown away. I bought it after playing with it for 5 minutes and have been using it for every gig and session since.
3. I see you are using all three Eventide stompboxes, TimeFactor, ModFactor, and PitchFactor. Can you tell us what you like about each of these pedals and how you use them together?
All three pedals have amazing sounds and are so easy to use. I now can walk into any gig or session with every sound I could ever possibly need. I love the fact that you can dial in the exact bpm you want for each preset, the amount of banks each one has, and how you can backup all your presets to your computer.
The Timefactor is the best sounding delay I've heard. The Vintage delay and Band delay are what I use the most live. I try to find any chance I can to use the Crystals effect on the Pitchfactor. It's definitely my favorite effect I have. I absolutely love the Modfactor's Rotary and Q-wah, and the flexibility of the Tremolo and Chorus.
I love using the Pitchfactor's Crystals or Harmodulator with the Timefactor's Vintage Delay. It's really great for swells and ambient noises. I use the the Modfactor's Chorus or Q-wah with the Timefactor's Vintage delay on almost all of my clean sounds and using the Phaser or Flanger with the Vintage Delay or Tape Echo is great for lead parts or adding color to the main riff of a song.
4. Can you tell us what is next for you?
For the summer I'll be performing with both Mitchel Musso and Alana Grace. With Alana, we'll be opening up for KISS for a few shows and then Lifehouse. I'm also investing a lot of time into writing and producing with other artists in LA and working on a new solo album that will hopefully be released by the end of the year.
5. Is there anything more you'd like to add?
I'd like to say thanks to you and everyone at Eventide for the support and the amazing products. I can't wait to see what you guys come out with next.