He established Picker’s Paradise, his own independent chain of music stores in Austin, TX, in the 1970s, and became an importer for several well-known international brands of guitar amplifiers.

In the early 1990s he moved to Los Angeles, he was part of the team that helped revitalize the Pro Audio department of Guitar Center Hollywood. He also designed and troubleshot studios and was a lead salesman for West LA Music, advising gear purchases for several major music acts.

His passion for gear led him to his first “design” gig, in which he helped to create a pair of desktop computer speakers for HP. Eventually, he realized that the microphones of the early ‘00s were either too expensive or just not good enough for professional work, leading him to establish Avant Electronics and the AVANTONE brand of microphones and monitors. Of his many design accomplishments with that brand, a few were particularly notable.

He made several important modifications to existing designs and created the Avantone CV-12, a design used by Taylor Swift on her first several albums. It eventually birthed the BV-1, used by Robert Plant, Buddy Miller, and many others. The BV-1 and CV-12 were the spiritual predecessors to the Vanguard V13. (As he quipped when we chose the moniker – “13 is 1 better than 12”!)

He also realized that the world was missing the old Auratone 5Cs as a “real-world” B-speaker, and spent countless hours and resources in finding the exact right speaker materials to replicate his favorite pair (he had several!). The Avantone MixCube has sold tens of thousands of units and is still serving brutally honest mono mixes around the world, from bedroom studios to world-famous recording facilities. He was and is immensely proud of his accomplishments with the Avantone brand.

After several profound life changes, he found himself in the small town of Weiser, Idaho. He re-established Picker’s Paradise after a thirty-year hiatus, helping create a vibrant music scene in Weiser. Pickers Paradise 2.0 donated ukuleles to local schools for their arts programs and ran a weekly summer concert series on Main Street, where Ken ran the live sound using equipment from his store.

Ken called me from Idaho in 2013 and knew he had more ideas for gear he wanted to get into the hands of musicians. After some hemming and hawing about the company moniker (he was upset that he no longer had control over the brand Avantone, which bore his surname), we settled on “Vanguard Audio Labs” and set about designing a new series of microphones that would continue to do what Ken had always done – help musicians make music. “Vanguard” was and is a play on Ken’s last name – “Avant” means “before” in French, and avant-garde is the bleeding edge. Ken always wanted to push the envelope in everything he did. He wanted to be original, excellent and memorable in both his music and his gear design.

In later years, Ken moved back to his home state of Texas and began to record his own music again after many years of waiting. His album Whispers and Stories was released on March 16, 2024, and you can find it here:

I’m personally forever grateful for Ken’s mentorship, guidance, and friendship through 16 years of knowing him. He took a chance on a young, enthusiastic college kid and let me intern at Avantone (blowing up a couple mics along the way). He took me from hobbyist gear modifier to someone serious about designing outstanding tools for musicians.

Ken is survived by his two daughters, Melanie & Brandi, several grandchildren, his brother Bob, and his loving partner of many years.

We will miss Ken’s sage advice, industry wisdom, and keen ear…but most of all, we will miss his friendship. Vanguard would not exist without him. Onward through the fog, my friend.