
Soren Andersen is a busy man, besides endless clinic work with Yamaha Guitars and Line 6, he’s most well known from his regular gig with “Voice Of Rock” Glenn Hughes. These days he holds down an enviable reputation as the go to sideman for the Classic Rock icon seeking reinvention. As recent releases with former White Lion frontman Mike Tramp and Sorens own Electric Guitars project confirm. We sat down with the amiable Dane to find out what it takes to be a successful hard rock guitar foil in the post record buying era.
1: In the beginning…
“The first instrument I touched was the family piano. Mom and Dad both played music, so the house was full of instruments. I picked up my Dads Höfner guitar when I was 6 and I got my own nylon string acoustic when i was 8 years old. But the big step was 1985 where I joined a band and bought a no name electric guitar, two pedals and a small 1×12 combo amp: 100€ total!”
2: On lost instruments : A Little Perspective Is A Good Thing…
“I lost 8 guitars in a big fire! Rickenbacker 12 string, a guitar sitar, Guild jumbo acoustics, my Dads Höfner, a Kramer Baretta, lot’s of amps and shit… But you know what: It’s only dead wood. No one died that night and I had a great insurance, so that was just a crazy experience. Never had anything stolen YET!”
3: It’s Not Just About The Playing: Social skills are everything…
“It’s 25% social skills, 25% professionalism, 25% playing and 25% know-how of how the music business works.. Period!”
4: There’s a Soren Andersen signature Yamaha Revstar on the way…
“We are working on a model, yes! I must say: With a little bit of mods, the RevStars are incredible guitars! Change pickups, tuners, electronics and hardware and you have a top pro guitar, I love them!”

5: As a Guitarist who uses pedals into a clean amp, what pedals can you not live without…
“My main sound comes from a LunaStone Signature pedal. Really cool True Overdrive circuit. Check it out! It’s called Three Stage Rocket and it’s a killer classic rock tone. Other than that, I can’t live without my Boss CS2. It’s the best pre booster on the planet. I think I have 4 of them…”

6: And the worst gig I ever played was...
” It was a hotel gig in Copenhagen, stand-in for an old friend. They paid me very well, but is was a disaster! The singer lost his voice, people left the room, I broke 3 strings, PA feed back none stop, shit shit shit shit.. LOL!”
7: When it comes to Influences, stick to the classics…
“There are five main influences: Gary Moore for overall tone, skills, power and song writing, Van Halen because he blew my mind when I was a kid, Angus Young for being the main riff king of them all, Richie Blackmore because he was the main reason of why I started play guitar, and finally Jimi Hendrix for saving my life. I was TOTALLY into Floyd Rose/Ibanez world in my teens but Band Of Gypsies saved me. LOL… He’s the king of them all!”
8: When it comes to airlines and hotels, the people make the experience…
“Ha… I’m easy when it comes to stuff like that, Very thankful for a nice clean room, a bed, a shower with hot water etc… I do like roof-top pools though! Airline is random really… Ryan Air can be as good as Thai Air, depends on the staff, the trip etc… I’m ok with a lot of airlines.”
9: When you were playing Yamaha SG’s. (Soren played the Yamaha SG1802/20/a series and an earlier classic black Yamaha SG1000). Did you modify the guitars in any way, (fret wire or machine heads for example) or are they all stock?
“All stock.“

10: As a successful musician and also producer. Which project has given you the most personal satisfaction so far?
“Well, Glenn Hughes changed my life totally! I learned a lot from Mike Tramp about the business, but touring with Marco Mendoza, Tommy Aldridge, Joy Lynn Turner, Eric Martin, The Dead Daisies, DAD, The Answer.. You get a lot of happiness and joy working with AAA musicians. I’m very thanfull when it comes to that.”
