Lauren Andino of Tremours
Phase Out
Out of your entire gear collection (past or present) can you name a couple items that stand out to you and why?
My amp—a 2x12 Custom Hiwatt studio/stage model. It takes effects pedals really well, always sounds massive but dreamy, and I’ve recorded everything Tremours has ever tracked with it.
The other is my MIJ Fender Jazzmaster. It’s so versatile. It’s my main guitar for Tremours, and I’ve toured with it playing with L.A. Witch and with LSD and the Search for God. These projects are so different sonically, and still, the Jazzmaster is my go-to guitar for them all.
Windfall
What unexpected piece of music gear has inspired you the most?
Definitely my ’70s Roland Space Echo RE-150. When it works, it’s amazing. I use it with a footswitch (before my reverb) to create massive delay swells with an abrupt, minimal trail cut-off. Super fun…
Pine Away
What piece of music gear do you wish you still had, and/or perhaps something you regret not buying when you had the opportunity?
I wish I still had some of my Moog MF pedals—specifically the now-discontinued MF-104 analog delay.
Wild Card
Please, will you share your guitar journey with us? Start from your first guitar up until your most recent-and which ones were keepers?!
My dad actually bought me my first guitar. I was 11 years old, and I really wanted to play drums. Then my mom reminded him that bands usually rehearsed at the drummer’s house…
So one day, I came home from school and he was there waiting with a guitar for me. It was an ’80s Fender Squier Stratocaster he bought at a pawn shop, and it came with a little Peavey practice amp that had built-in overdrive.
After a few years of playing that in my bedroom, I joined a band with some classmates and eventually acquired a Fender Telecaster.
I moved to Brooklyn with the Telecaster when I was 19, and ended up trading it for a ’90s MIJ Fender Jagstang. The Jagstang would never stay in tune, so I moved on to a ’90s MIJ Fender Mustang, which was much better, but it sort of sounded like an angry teenager—so I saved up and got an ’80s MIJ Fender Jaguar. It was one of the first Jaguars Fender made in Japan… I love that guitar, and I still play it.
Since then, I’ve had several Fender Jazzmasters, a 12-string Rickenbacker, a Gibson ES-335, and a few Jaguars.
My main guitar is a red MIJ Fender Jazzmaster with matching headstock.
Final Thoughts
Any shout outs, plugs, or random tidbits of advice?
This really isn’t meant to be advice for anyone, because everyone has something different that works for them musically… but for me, the best part of playing guitar is trying to convey real feeling and emotion using just a few notes and the right tone/effects. And the music that inspires me really does this. Most anyone can play one or two notes, but keeping it interesting for a whole song and allowing people to connect in that moment with what you’re playing is the hard part. And if someone can take me on a sonic journey just droning on one note, it’s more impressive than all the busy guitar shredding stuff.
Current setup:
Fender Jazzmaster or Jaguar
Westcoast Pedalboard
Custom Hiwatt 2x12 amp
Pedals on my board right now:
Seeker Truth Fuzz
Strange Elektronics step sequencer tremolo
Fender Shields Blender
Vintage Ibanez multi-effects unit (analog delay, stereo chorus, and compression)
Eventide Time Factor
Eventide Space
’80s Rat
Strange Elektronics fuzz
Korg tuner
Ray Raydecker patch cables
