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Alex poo-poo's his Signature!


Tonyvenn01
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Take a look at this recent interview with Lifeson in Vintage Guitar....

 

http://cygnus-x1.net/links/rush/vintage-guitar-09.2011.php

 

When talking about gear from years past, check this out:

 

"......I started using a Howard Roberts Fusion as my main guitar for a few years, then a Signature, which was a Canadian-built copy guitar that was awful to play - very uncomfortable - but had a particular sound I liked...."

 

Hilarious!

 

I was fortunate enough over the years to own a few Signatures, including a "Great White", which I'm pretty sure I sold to another Forum member here (damn my failing memory)

 

The rarity of them made them quite "chase-able"...but once you play one...meh, no big deal...just another 80's "super strat". It was the Evans pick-ups that made the difference.

 

I've been lucky enough to upgrade to PRS and Gibson, including a Royal Crimson AL Sig model....beautiful guitars all!!!

 

Anyway....great interview...he talks about a lot of other things too....take a look...

 

 

 

 

 

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Hey Tony, you still have any of your Signatures?

 

I think we corresponded a long time ago about them, but I'm not the forum member who bought yours...

 

I kept mine, though I never owned a Great White (the closest I have is a Great White Oracle!!!) but I am always amazed at some of the prices these fetch on Ebay these days. I've seen one go for $2500 and almost had a heart attack!

 

As you said, they were fine guitars, but nothing to write home about... I'm not surprised Alex moved on after he passed his phase. smile.gif

 

 

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QUOTE (tonyvenn @ Aug 13 2011, 06:45 AM)
I've been lucky enough to upgrade to PRS and Gibson, including a Royal Crimson AL Sig model....

Yea, Alex too apparently...

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I retired my Oracle in 92 and just pulled it out of the closet 2 weeks ago. I'm putting it back on the front lines biggrin.gif

Really, it was a great guitar but those Evans pickups were horrid.

Edited by LerxstLuthier
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Hi Tony

 

I didn't buy your guitar, but I know who did, and I've played it! Did yours have the panther patch? I'm pretty sure he doesn't post on this forum, but maybe now and then every so often.

 

That friend of mine owns at least one of every model Signature ever built, including the Excalibre bass. My Aurora came from England (Birmingham, where the ASOH video was filmed I believe. Cool huh?)

 

This isn't the only interview I've read where Alex sort of talks shit about the Signatures. I've read other interviews where he sort of complains about the locking tremolo. He's also said that he disliked the Floyd Rose's on those guitars because they sort of protruded out (not set down in a cavity like say an Ibanez)... He didn't like the feel of the raised metal bridge, and it wasn't what he was used to playing. I think the raised bridge interfered with his style back then.

 

So then he went on to PRS... Which of course those guitars do not have locking tremolos and a protruding bridge. He liked them much more at the time because those properties made them more similar to the guitars that he used to play before Signature.

 

All in all, I believe Alex had a falling out with the owner of Signature right before he went over to PRS. I don't know what happened, but I've read posts on different forums and such that indicate all didn't end well.

 

Alex did not use Evans pickups in his Aurora model Signatures. The pickups he used were the active single coils made by Fernandes, but they had the Signature logo on it. Actually, he still plays one of those pickups in his PRS. (His first PRS made custom for him, which Paul R. Smith customized and installed 2 of those pickups for him. That is his bolt on CE model that's tobacco color). The active single coils were probably ripped out of his old Great White Aurora, but I'm not sure. The pickup he has in his tobacco PRS that he still plays on stage still has the Signature logo on it!

 

I'm not sure if Alex ever recorded with Evans pickups, but I doubt it. I would have to agree with LerxtLuthier about his comment concerning the Evans pickups. I really don't care for the sound of those. To me, they're quiet, lack balls, and just sound plain. They are probably good for getting some of those clear clean sounds from the 80's, say Andy Summers.

 

I would have to say though, the overall quality of Signature guitars are excellent. The woods they used to build the guitars are high quality and sound fabulous. They did pay attention to detail when building. All the metal hardware is genuine Schaller from Germany. The bolt on Signatures actually sound a lot better than the neck-thru's

 

Yeah like I said, I've read Alex kind of bash the Signatures after he split with them, but never any direct jabs. It's just strange he would talk that way after he was 1 of the 2 that designed those before they started production. I know that the owner of Signature was a close friend of his at the time. The Signatures were designed in Alex's basement studio in his house.

 

It's an exciting day for me! I just got my brand new Royal Crimson Alex Lifeson Les Paul from FedEx just two hours ago! I haven't even played it yet. It's like I'm almost scared to. Well I guess I'd better go tune it up and give her a go.

 

Oh, and one thing I noticed about my new Les Paul... It has a Floyd Rose locking tremolo. The metal bridge protrudes up out of the body... Just like on my Signatures! I wonder if that's uncomfortable to play?

 

Money talks and money makes people talk, they will say things as there are probably contracts etc, just like how an actor will always promote their latest film no matter how good or bad.

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Here's an interview where he praises Signature guitars:

 

Like I said, money talks and makes people talk.

 

Guitar World Apr. 1988 I believe:

 

AL: I've gone to new guitars made by the Signature guitar company, a Canadian firm. They are a Strat style guitar with single coil active electronics. Ebony neck and a Floyd Rose. They have more distinction than the Bill Lawrence Strats that I had. They were very meaty and thick. This is leaner, with less of that chunkiness on it. I used one on this last record for about 90% of the recording and when used with the Gallien Krueger setup on a clean channel it sounds very clean and has a wiry transparency to it. It's a very steely sort of sound, almost acoustic at times. I like the combination of having that with a very dirty sound. It was very good for that too. I've had a 250ML for a long time as a tuning room amp and I used it on a couple of our albums for different things. In the studio I found I was leaning primarily to a couple of old Marshalls with twin 12s and the GK. When we started to prepare for the tour I ran through everything and found the GKs sounded the best for this setup for this tour. These are the 2000 model, just preamps into a Briston 3B. They also have a 2100 coming out shortly which is a stereo amplifier built right into it. I'm using the GK cabinet. It's a tight two 12 cabinet with Celestion speakers.

 

JS: Will they be production guitars?

 

AL: They are planning on it. They are constantly changing things around and

improving the guitar. They don't release the guitars until they feel absolutely confident that they are the best they can be. The guitar is very

well made. There's a fairly consistent quality to the sound. They are not

radically different from one body to the next. They are lighter than the old

Strats. A heavy weight and a medium weight sound difference is not as great as it would be on a Strat or a Les Paul. The finish on the back of the neck is very light. I like to feel the wood. On my guitars in the past I had no

finish and for cleaning it I'd use 400 or 600 sandpaper up and down a couple of times. I had this one kicking around during rehearsals. I thought it sounded neat but I wasn't crazy about it. When we went into the studio and got serious about the amp setup and designating different characteristics to different amps, I found the Signature sounded beautiful.

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Hi Guys,

This is my first post on this fine forum, glad to be aboard.

I have a Signature Odyssey that I've owned for about 17 years. I absolutely love this guitar. Mine is equipped with Seymour Duncan pups from the factory as Evans was closing down pup mfg by the time mine left assembly. The bridge pup is a parralel axis type. It offers so many sound combinations its crazy. Awesome guitar! I have to disagree with Alex, I find this guitar extremely comfortable to play, but he is the boss.

 

To clear the air on bad feelings with his partner, Russ Heinl. I've spoken to Russ over email a few times. He is a really nice guy who told me their relationship was friendly during the great and not so great times of the Signature Guitar Company. It was a time he remembers fondly and had a lot of fun making the guitars. The reason the company failed was due to the average guitar buyer purchasing flashy, oddly shaped guitars such as what BC Rich was producing. Remember, the later 80's were drowning with hair band or wannabees who favored these over traditional design. The other problem was the price point. The Sigs sold for quite a bit more than an American made strat, or Les Paul for that matter because the Sigs were made to order. Russ felt he had other avenues he wanted to pursue anyway, so Alex & Russ decided together to bid farewell to the company after its short life. Alex even brought Russ his own framed copy of the Hold Your Fire album and some RUSH wine from his own private stock. Russ now takes beautiful photographs, please Google his name to check out his work. He has told me if I mail him a picture of my guitar he will sign the photo and mail back with some other Siggy goodies. I'm a bit nervous sending him a picture as he is a pro!

 

Some day I am hopeful to have Alex autograph my Odyssey! Now that would be sweet!

 

Adam

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QUOTE (CRANKMY5150 @ Jan 8 2012, 04:00 PM)
Hi Guys,
This is my first post on this fine forum, glad to be aboard.
I have a Signature Odyssey that I've owned for about 17 years. I absolutely love this guitar. Mine is equipped with Seymour Duncan pups from the factory as Evans was closing down pup mfg by the time mine left assembly. The bridge pup is a parralel axis type. It offers so many sound combinations its crazy. Awesome guitar! I have to disagree with Alex, I find this guitar extremely comfortable to play, but he is the boss.

To clear the air on bad feelings with his partner, Russ Heinl. I've spoken to Russ over email a few times. He is a really nice guy who told me their relationship was friendly during the great and not so great times of the Signature Guitar Company. It was a time he remembers fondly and had a lot of fun making the guitars. The reason the company failed was due to the average guitar buyer purchasing flashy, oddly shaped guitars such as what BC Rich was producing. Remember, the later 80's were drowning with hair band or wannabees who favored these over traditional design. The other problem was the price point. The Sigs sold for quite a bit more than an American made strat, or Les Paul for that matter because the Sigs were made to order. Russ felt he had other avenues he wanted to pursue anyway, so Alex & Russ decided together to bid farewell to the company after its short life. Alex even brought Russ his own framed copy of the Hold Your Fire album and some RUSH wine from his own private stock. Russ now takes beautiful photographs, please Google his name to check out his work. He has told me if I mail him a picture of my guitar he will sign the photo and mail back with some other Siggy goodies. I'm a bit nervous sending him a picture as he is a pro!

Some day I am hopeful to have Alex autograph my Odyssey! Now that would be sweet!

Adam

1022.gif Welcome! 1022.gif

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QUOTE (CRANKMY5150 @ Jan 8 2012, 04:00 PM)
Hi Guys,
This is my first post on this fine forum, glad to be aboard.

trink39.gif Welcome aboard (from someone who plays a McCarty model PRS and a Classic Gibson LP.)

 

 

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bekloppt.gif Welcome to TRF trink39.gif

 

I'd love to see a picture of your Odyssey. I have an Epi LP that I got last summer. She worked in a punk band for awhile (and she'd been played hard and put away wet, sayin'?). But my Hubby and his friends fixed her up real nice for me. She's a breeze to play, too.

 

Good luck on getting Alex to sign yours. That would be fantastic!

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So they sound bad AND play bad? Yikes.

 

I almost scored a very used one for dirt cheap, but I couldn't get past the licensed Floyd. Not a fan of the Floyd copies in general..they sound too thin. IMO. I'd be happier with an ibanez 540 in that space I think.

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QUOTE (jdouglas @ Jan 12 2012, 11:43 PM)
So they sound bad AND play bad?  Yikes.

I almost scored a very used one for dirt cheap, but I couldn't get past the licensed Floyd.  Not a fan of the Floyd copies in general..they sound too thin. IMO.  I'd be happier with an ibanez 540 in that space I think.

The oracles were very different from the others. I had the aurora but I really didn't like that one, bolt on neck, basswood body...sounded like meh!

But the oracle with the neck through construction , flame maple cap was a different beast entirely!

 

I bet that when Alex referred to the sig guitars being uncomfortable to play he was talking about the clumsy individual on-off switches for the pickups. They were a PITA that's for sure.

When I ordered my Oracle I had them not drill holes for the switches (or install any electronics or pickups for that matter) The evans pickups sounded awfull!

When I had Alex's Hentor in my shop I remember thinking that the Bill Lawrence pickup in it was just awesome sounding so that's what I put in my oracle. I also cut a slot to install a five way switch.

Here she is today:

http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/oo56/FreddyGabs/P1030016.jpg

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QUOTE (SignatureAurora75 @ Jan 29 2012, 06:12 AM)
That's pretty nice! Looks like you've kept it in great shape. Did they engrave anything for you in the pearl?

Thanks! But no, there is no engraving because I just grabbed it off the line before it was finished. It had no hardware, I installed everything.

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Curious comments from Alex.... The Signature guitars were built around him, he used them on 2 albums and for the better part of 3 tours, and used them all the way up to the company closing....yet they were uncomfortable to play? I don't get it. confused13.gif

 

As far as 'upgrading': I guess Alex 'upgraded' from Gibson and Fender to Signature back in the late 80's. tongue.gif

 

Signatures are awesome guitars...and I think its really cool that you can't just walk into any Guitar Center and see a dozen hanging on the wall. (cough PRS/Gibson cough) cool.gif

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How does one post pictures in this forum? I have some pics of my Odyssey I would be pleased to share. I tried the usual Photobucket links and no dice. Is there a minimum post count needed?

 

Thanks,

Adam

the forum was upgraded last week and there is an issue with some of the features including posting pics. As I understand it, it's going to take some time to get it corrected due to leftover issues from the Superstorm.

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@LerxstLuthier - wanted to quote on your post with the pic of your guitar, but realized it would compromise the pic - only the link would remain. Instead I'll put it here and say: Good Lord! What a beauty! :wub:
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