My Alex Lifeson Guitar Rig

[rushfanNlv]

I am a huge Alex fan. I can remember watching ESL with my brother and rewinding the tape to learn the licks of the greatest guitarist ever.

 

I have spent the last few years buying up the same equipment that Alex used on the MP/Signals and GUP albums. I've really loved the tones of those albums. The clean, clear highs and pumped up mids along with the light distortion and the chorus pedal are all characteristics of his tone.

 

It all starts with a pair of Marshall 4140 Combo amps.

 

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d3/rushfannlv/wallofamps.jpg

 

Check out the videos made in Le Studio for the MP album, especially Limelight. You'll see the same two amps behind Alex.

 

I also use several of the same effects Alex used as described here: MXR Distortion, MXR Micro Amp and Roland Chorus pedal. These are all vintage pedals that I bought on Ebay. All date back to 1978. I also use the same Wah and Volume pedals that he uses. Again all vintage and purchased on Ebay. I use a more modern analog delay pedal made by Maxon. Next on the list is a EHX Flanger (as heard in the opening to Spirit of the Radio).

 

Here is my pedalboard.http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d3/rushfannlv/pedalboardnew.jpg

 

I hope to have some clips posted soon.

 

Anyway, just wanted to share my obsession.

Edited July 13, 2006 by rushfanNlv

[subdivision40]

Wow! Very cool. I'm impressed. What kind of axe are you slingin'?

[rushfanNlv]

QUOTE (subdivision40 @ Jul 13 2006, 03:04 PM)

Wow! Very cool. I'm impressed. What kind of axe are you slingin'?

Thanks very much!

 

I'm using a Modified Yamaha Se-150 strat copy with EMG H-S-S pick ups and a Floyd Rose type Ibanez Edge tremolo system.

 

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d3/rushfannlv/yam1.jpg

 

I've had this guitar since the late 80's. It came with a single crappy humbucker and a Fender style bridge. Alex was using EMG's at the time so I followed suit.

 

I also have an Epiphone Les Paul Custom with Gibson 57's replacing the original pick ups.

 

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d3/rushfannlv/LP.jpg

 

Next on the list is a copy of the White strat he plays on ESL with a Gibson humbucker in the bridge and the two standard single coils.

 

What about you?

Edited July 13, 2006 by rushfanNlv

[KublaKhan]

Holy Crap. Your pedal board and amps are HUGE! and that Les Paul rules.

 

 

Good job! All you need now is the cheesy "Flock of Seagulls" haircut from GUP and your Alex

[cavesoficeman]

Nice pedal and amp collection.

 

Time for a Fender and Gibson axe upgrade?

 

(I love the flock of seagulls harcut recommendation, ha!)

[rushfanNlv]

I had that hair cut at one time in my life. I'd rather have the Don Johnson suit to tell you the truth.

 

Yeah I plan on the Fender upgrade soon. I'm going to get a strat and customize it much like Alex's strats. The Yamaha is an excellent guitar as well.

[Soni]

I'm impressed

[SiriusRushFan]

Great collection there dude. Post some clips when you can, we'll be waiting.

[rushfanNlv]

QUOTE (SiriusRushFan @ Jul 13 2006, 07:53 PM)

Great collection there dude. Post some clips when you can, we'll be waiting.

I will post clips ASAP. I just need one more mic and I'm set. Alex used a stereo rig starting with Hemishpheres (the Roland Chorus Pedal - the heart of his tone of that era - is a stereo pedal) so he always had two amps running. I have the two amps but not two mics to record with. I just worked out Red Sector A (learning it for the first time thanks to the Replay 3X DVD) and then finished my jam session with The R30 Medley. I love playing Rush music.

 

 

 

[Drumnut]

Hey bro,

 

I see you received my e-mail, keep up the good work!!! Rig looks great!!!

 

 

 

[alphseeker]

yeah all that stuff is impressive, BUT CAN YOU PLAY???

 

Just kidding - I'm sure your great -- Certainly are dedicated -

 

Want to cap off your ALEX gear obsession, get a

T.C. Electronic TC 1210 Spatial Expander + Stereo Chorus Flanger

 

Oh yeah almost forgot - With all the money you have left over buy a

PRS Singlecut CE24 guitar with piezo pickups

Edited July 14, 2006 by alphseeker

[Gemari77]

WoW!!!! That's too cool... Keep us updated!!

[rushfanNlv]

QUOTE (alphseeker @ Jul 14 2006, 08:15 AM)

yeah all that stuff is impressive, BUT CAN YOU PLAY??? Just kidding - I'm sure your great -- Certainly are dedicated - Want to cap off your ALEX gear obsession, get a T.C. Electronic TC 1210 Spatial Expander + Stereo Chorus Flanger Oh yeah almost forgot - With all the money you have left over buy a PRS Singlecut CE24 guitar with piezo pickups

 

That's new rush gear....I'm going for the vintage tone.

 

Funny you hit the nail right on the head. That is my dream guitar. I want one soo bad. I also want the Alex Lifeson Signature H&K Tri Amp but at $3000.00+....don't think I can get the wife to go for that.

 

Hey guys, sorry if I posted this in the wrong forum. I should have known to look for a more appropriate section like "Making Modern Music". I am a moderator over at another message board called Guitargeek so I should have known better.

 

Mods, please move this if you feel it's necessary.

 

Working on some clips tonight with the one mic just to get something up to prove I can play. If you want proof though, just ask Drumnut...he's my brother.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 14, 2006 by rushfanNlv

[alphseeker]

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j199/bauhaus92/line6.jpg

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j199/bauhaus92/guitar.jpg

 

This be my rig -

The Schecter has Seymour duncans - 1 59' and 1 JB

It also has a piezo.

 

The line 6 is the Flextone III plus - only 1 75 watt 12 inch celestion

 

i also have a TC electronics chorus + (not PIctured)( and the Boss tu2 tuner -

[YYZ Working Man]

nice bathroom

[cavesoficeman]

That's no "bathroom", that's the office!

[rushfanNlv]

<----was waiting for that.

[Drumnut]

QUOTE (rushfanNlv @ Jul 14 2006, 07:22 AM)

Working on some clips tonight with the one mic just to get something up to prove I can play.   If you want proof though, just ask Drumnut...he's my brother.

It's not if you can play, it's what can't you play!!!

 

Glad to see you start posting around these parts.

 

Did my Bro mention he's a moderator @ Guitargeek.com

 

 

[_pete_]

QUOTE (rushfanNlv @ Jul 13 2006, 03:17 PM)

Next on the list is a copy of the White strat he plays on ESL with a Gibson humbucker in the bridge and the two standard single coils.

Like this?

 

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h247/pete2112/My%20Guitars/Hentor1.jpg

 

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h247/pete2112/Hentor3.jpg

 

You can hear this guitar in the Digital Men link in my sig.

Go to the "Songs" page and click on the rough mix of Red Barchetta.

Edited July 15, 2006 by _pete_

[subdivision40]

QUOTE (_pete_ @ Jul 14 2006, 10:53 PM)

QUOTE (rushfanNlv @ Jul 13 2006, 03:17 PM) Next on the list is a copy of the White strat he plays on ESL with a Gibson humbucker in the bridge and the two standard single coils. Like this?   http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h247/pete2112/My%20Guitars/Hentor1.jpg   http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h247/pete2112/Hentor3.jpg   You can hear this guitar in the Digital Men link in my sig. Go to the "Songs" page and click on the rough mix of Red Barchetta. That's a beauty.

[rushfanNlv]

QUOTE (_pete_ @ Jul 14 2006, 10:53 PM)

QUOTE (rushfanNlv @ Jul 13 2006, 03:17 PM) Next on the list is a copy of the White strat he plays on ESL with a Gibson humbucker in the bridge and the two standard single coils. Like this?   http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h247/pete2112/My%20Guitars/Hentor1.jpg   http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h247/pete2112/Hentor3.jpg   You can hear this guitar in the Digital Men link in my sig. Go to the "Songs" page and click on the rough mix of Red Barchetta. That is one hell of a guitar. You and I have talked about this one before. I think we met on Guitargeek or Thegearpage....can't remeber.   The only difference between that one and the one I want to build is the humbucker. On ESL, Alex was still using a Gibson humbucker in the bridge where as you have installed a Bill Lawrence humbucker ala GUP. The difference in tone is clear when listening to the ESL and GUP DVD's that just came out. The Gibson is darker to my ears. Both are great sounding but I prefer the Gibson tone.

[mortkort]

That white strat copy was nice!

 

I have a OLP MM1 blacktransparent guitar and a Morgan SG, I have a Fender 212FMR amp and a Digitech RP200A effect pedal. I realy want the sound that Alex has, can anybody tell me some good multi effect pedals?

[rushfanNlv]

QUOTE (mortkort @ Jul 15 2006, 05:46 PM)

That white strat copy was nice! I have a OLP MM1 blacktransparent guitar and a Morgan SG, I have a Fender 212FMR amp and a Digitech RP200A effect pedal. I realy want the sound that Alex has, can anybody tell me some good multi effect pedals?

Well, IMO, it's always better to use individual stompboxes rather than a multi FX pedal of any kind unless you are going to get into the big boy stuff like the TC Electronics G-Major which Alex has been using on the last few albums and tours. I just like the individuality of each pedal over everything in a one stop shop pedal. What happens if the multi you buy has really awesome chorus but shitty distortion and reverb? You're stuck with an effect or two that you are just not happy with. With pedals, I can get what I want without compromise.

 

And you'll have to be more specific when you ask about "that Alex tone" because just like Rush went through different periods of style, Alex went through the same number of rigs. I like to think of the first period as the 3M period: Marshall, Meastro and Morley. The Marshall JMP's he was using at the time were the heart of his tone along with the Maestro Phaser and the Morley Echo. He used these as the core of his rig all the way up through 2112. After that he moved on to Hiwatt amps and the famous Roland CE-1 chorus pedal that would soon become his trademark sound. This carried all the way up to Permanent Waves which saw the the EXH flanger make a strong appearance.

 

Now we come to what many consider the quintessential Alex tone. These years saw Alex return to Marshall but in the combo form. The Hiwatts would hang on for one album but by Signals, they would be retired. The Marshall amps being used were very clean amps that posses little distortion on their own. Alex used pedals for dirt in these years. An MXR Micro amp and an MXR Distortion+ pedal to be more specific. The signature Roland Chorus pedal would be the main driving force in his tone. Over the years different delay, octave and phase pedals come and go but the CE-1 remains.

 

The next period is a dark period. Lets just say GK amps, strats with single coils and alot of hiding in the mix and jumping out to the front only for solos.

 

Then we come to the 90's and Presto. Alex returns to the Marshall amps and is now using high end effects processors (expensive multis) for all or most of his effects. He is also back to humbucker equipped guitars .I remember reading that Alex just loved the sound of the guitar running through the amps with no effects. The albums first track shows this raw sound in the opening measures although the effects soon pop in. This Marshall amp and rack effect based rig would carry us all the way up to VT when Alex started using Hughes and Kettner amps with the TC electronics G-Major effects processors as the key to his tone.

 

So, to make a long answer short, what period of sound are you looking for?

Edited July 16, 2006 by rushfanNlv

[momosdanceparty]

QUOTE (rushfanNlv @ Jul 16 2006, 12:38 PM)

Well, IMO, it's always better to use individual stompboxes rather than a multi FX pedal of any kind unless you are going to get into the big boy stuff like the TC Electronics G-Major which Alex has been using on the last few albums and tours.

 

Alex never chained stomp boxes together in his rig. Vintage effects pedals such as the Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress are notoriously noisy, for example, and any guitar tone is shot to hell if the unit is simply chained between the instrument and amp. By the Hemispheres/Permanent Waves era, Alex was using an active buffer/splitter switching system similar to the Bradshaw rigs that many pro guitarists began using in the 80s. This enabled him to use many effects pedals without sacrificing tone or gain, until he eventually ditched the stomp boxes for rack gear.

 

Also keep in mind that, at Terry Brown's insistence, Alex's guitar sound was always recorded dry with the effects added later on every album up until Grace Under Pressure. Nearly every guitar sound on Hemispheres through Signals is doubled (played twice, panned in stereo, and effected) for thickness.

 

I don't agree that the Power Windows/Hold Your Fire era is a "dark period" in regard to Alex's guitar sounds. Try duplicating the guitar tone on Time Stand Still; it's much more difficult to do than any sound from Moving Pictures.

 

 

--------------------------

www.NotRUSH.com

[mortkort]

Wow, you know much about Alex's gear!

 

I knew I should say that, well, I like the sound he has on Exit Stage... Left very much. The sound he had in the 70s, he had a nice sound then, I think his sound have always been nice, but I think the early 80s sound is really nice.