Alex's Guitar

[WCFIELDS]

QUOTE (SignatureAurora75 @ Sep 17 2009, 04:49 PM)

QUOTE (bigmoney2112 @ Sep 17 2009, 03:24 PM) those guitars are crap MF please! Idiot, if you make a statement like that you need to back it up. Tell us why you think they're crap. You ever played one? Why does everyone have to prove to you why they don't like his guitars/tone (or backup their opinions)......do you own the f'n company or something? If people say they don't like it, they don't like it, move on........and for the record I dislike the tone during that era also, and I'm not saying it's solely the guitar either, but part of it obviously is

[KlanKaos]

QUOTE (WCFIELDS @ Sep 17 2009, 08:31 PM)

QUOTE (SignatureAurora75 @ Sep 17 2009, 04:49 PM) QUOTE (bigmoney2112 @ Sep 17 2009, 03:24 PM) those guitars are crap MF please! Idiot, if you make a statement like that you need to back it up. Tell us why you think they're crap. You ever played one? Why does everyone have to prove to you why they don't like his guitars/tone (or backup their opinions)......do you own the f'n company or something? If people say they don't like it, they don't like it, move on........and for the record I dislike the tone during that era also, and I'm not saying it's solely the guitar either, but part of it obviously is Because he wants to know exactly what they don't like about it? Nothing wrong with asking questions. If you have an opinion, you should be prepared to back it up against people who have differing ones.

[WCFIELDS]

QUOTE (KlanKaos @ Sep 17 2009, 08:06 PM)

QUOTE (WCFIELDS @ Sep 17 2009, 08:31 PM) QUOTE (SignatureAurora75 @ Sep 17 2009, 04:49 PM) QUOTE (bigmoney2112 @ Sep 17 2009, 03:24 PM) those guitars are crap MF please! Idiot, if you make a statement like that you need to back it up. Tell us why you think they're crap. You ever played one? Why does everyone have to prove to you why they don't like his guitars/tone (or backup their opinions)......do you own the f'n company or something? If people say they don't like it, they don't like it, move on........and for the record I dislike the tone during that era also, and I'm not saying it's solely the guitar either, but part of it obviously is Because he wants to know exactly what they don't like about it? Nothing wrong with asking questions. If you have an opinion, you should be prepared to back it up against people who have differing ones. Calling him a MF and an idiot becuse he has a different opinion......?

Edited September 18, 2009 by WCFIELDS

[SignatureAurora75]

WC you are correct, I was out of line. That really was innapropriate. I really need to think more before I type because I can see how that can be uncalled for.

 

I will work on conveying my thoughts in a more appropriate manner. Sometimes I just write as I am concentrating on my feelings rather than actually thinking about what it is exactly as I'm saying.

 

I can assure you my feelings were not hostile and those words were spoken in a less sincere, more joking manner. It's sort of like what I do in person with a smile on my face while having a friendly argument with someone.

 

I really do recognize people have different opinions and the best way to get along with another person and a group as a whole is to respect others' opinions.

 

I apologize

[KlanKaos]

I took it as a joke >.<

 

I thought you were taking offense to the idea that someone was asking for more information, WC. =P

[WCFIELDS]

QUOTE (SignatureAurora75 @ Sep 17 2009, 08:41 PM)

WC you are correct, I was out of line. That really was innapropriate. I really need to think more before I type because I can see how that can be uncalled for. I will work on conveying my thoughts in a more appropriate manner. Sometimes I just write as I am concentrating on my feelings rather than actually thinking about what it is exactly as I'm saying. I can assure you my feelings were not hostile and those words were spoken in a less sincere, more joking manner. It's sort of like what I do in person with a smile on my face while having a friendly argument with someone. I really do recognize people have different opinions and the best way to get along with another person and a group as a whole is to respect others' opinions. I apologize

hey dude, no problem......just no need to take personal offence to what others say around here.......that's all. believe me, I know it's hard to hold back at times too......

[SignatureAurora75]

It's sort of like my whole post of my rant. I used a lot of swears and probably came off hostile, but the whole thing was actually fun for me to write. There was no intent to hurt anyones feelings.

 

Some people get their feelings hurt quite eisily and others just have thick skin. The same goes true for people you deal with in person. It's just best to address everyone in a respectful tone and manner because you really have no idea how far their sense of humor goes and where it exactly ends for them.

 

The same thing happened to me in another post just today where someone accused me of being defensive. I thought that was rather odd because I hadn't even used any swears.

 

I believe people fight on the internet more, way more than they actually do in person. What's going on here is a perfect example why. When you can't actually see a person you can't read their body language and get a full understanding of what they actually mean.

 

For me, when that bozo (.... ahem excuse me - kind Rush Forum patron) said that Signature Guitars were crap, I actually believed he typed it from feeling and didn't think about what he actually said. I really believe he meant it in a joking manner. However, if it was said with an intent to actually convey his message in a hostile manner, I still would regard it with a joke. Either way to me it's not a serious statement.

 

OK, back to the topic at hand now

[SignatureAurora75]

And by the way WC thanks for that great info in the other room about the recording mixers!

[WCFIELDS]

QUOTE (SignatureAurora75 @ Sep 17 2009, 09:22 PM)

And by the way WC thanks for that great info in the other room about the recording mixers!

Of course man......glad you found it helpful......!

[DigitalMan85]

Hola fellow Rush fans, this is my first post on the forum after much lurking (mostly SignatureAurora75's posts ) I've been on TheGearPage.net for over a year now as AnalogKid85, but wouldn't you know, that name was taken here. So DigitalMan85 it is

 

KlanKaos, I have some good news and some bad news for you. I'll start with the bad...

 

I pulled up this post doing a Google search looking for pictures and manuals of the GK2000CPL...the one I just bought on eBay. Yep. The $120 one. When I saw the date on the posts my heart just sank, I was hoping at first that these posts were form a year ago or something and you'd already gotten your preamp but they weren't. I've been looking to get this preamp for about a year, doing eBay searches at least two or three times a week, and it finally showed up again and I went for it this time. The good news...

 

Two things: (1) you don't need this exact preamp to get that sound, and (2) if you get the Craigslist Reader program, you'll find 2000CPL's A LOT more often. As far as I know -- and I would await confirmation from SingatureAurora75 on this one -- there are a few other GK preamps/amps that sound just like this one. The ones I have in mind are:

 

2100SEL

100MPL (the MIDI controllable one used on the Roll the Bones tour)

250RL

250ML (the little "toaster" amp version of the 250RL)

 

Of all these, the 2100SEL is the closest. I'm pretty sure it's just a 2000CPL with a solid-state stereo poweramp added to it, so it's one rackspace bigger. It should get you the exact same sound. I was going to get that one but I wanted to pair it up with a tube poweramp in the end like Alex did on the HYF and Presto tours (I emailed Jimmy Johnson, Alex's tech from that era, and he told me EVERYTHING about that setup - let me know if you want a copy). The 100MPL is the one that replaced the 2000CPL for the Roll the Bones tour, and it sounds pretty much the same to my ears, in fact, I think the only difference I hear between those two tours is Alex's use of humbucker pickups and maybe some different EQ for RTB. The 250RL sounds the same to my ears too, and it also comes with a poweramp. I was actually reading an old interview with Alex today and he said that he used the 250RL in the studio. The only difference is, the 250 has a master EQ instead of separate EQ for both channels, so if you want to give your cleans that 10k "boost" (I'm pretty sure that's what's going on for those super-chimey cleans) AND have your normal distortion sound, you could try some things with EQ pedals, probably in the effects loop. There's many ways around that. Lastly, the 250ML should get the same sounds too, except it won't really fit into a rack setup, if that's what you're after. The 250ML is an interesting beast, because you can run a 4x12 cab with it and I've heard it sounds amazing that way. Of course you could just use the preamp section too like a 2000CPL and use your own stuff for the poweramp section as well.

 

There are some other GK amps out there -- the ML/E stereo combo amp (one on eBay right now, btw!) springs to mind, but I can't attest to the sound being the same. I've never heard one, but I think I heard before that it was voiced slightly differently than the others. SignatureAurora75, please help me out on this one! I think I might like to get one one day myself if it does sound the same...

 

As far as finding this stuff, don't worry if you can't find it on eBay. If you can't find it there, try Craigslist Reader. It's a free program that lets you search all the Craigslists in the US at once, and I think it even covers some other countries too. Anyway, it's been amazing for finding gear, and I've found lots of old GK gear on there -- 2000CPL's, TONS of 250RL's and ML's, ML/E, 2100SEL, you name it (never found a 100MPL on there, but those are probably about as rare as Dumble amps, and I haven't been using the program that long). Of course it's a little riskier than eBay, but most of the posters I find on there trying to sell this rare kind of stuff don't restrict it to local sales. I live in Orlando, Florida, and I think it would be very difficult for me to sell one of these amps around here. Most musicians don't know that GK ever made guitar amps, and old solid state amps in general are not exactly in vogue right now, tube amps and amp modeling are all the rage. Check Craigslist Reader and see if any of these pop up. If none of them do -- and that's HIGHLY unlikely -- try again in a few days, it's pretty much guaranteed you'll find some. I would maybe try the 100MPL first since it's the most versatile of the bunch, even though it probably won't be there. After that, the 2000CPL (of course) and the 2100SEL.

 

For anybody interested in Alex Lifeson's late 80s/early 90s tones, you MUST read this post...

 

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=429737

 

It was my first post on TheGearPage.net over a year ago, and I got some great advice and clips from the old National Midnight Star (Rush newsletter) detailing all of Alex's gear. It talks about the GK amps quite a bit, but also goes into the pickups, the poweramp and the rack effects (which there are a ton of!). Apparently a really important part of that A Show of Hands sound was two TC 1210 Spatial Expanders, one running a chorus setting and the other running a flange setting at the same time. I'm pretty sure they were on all the time, because that tour really sounds different from the Presto and Roll the Bones boots I've heard.

 

After I get the preamp (and assuming it works when I get it, fingers crossed!) and I get it set up with my gear I'll try and record some stuff here and post it. I'll be using a Washburn guitar with coil-tapped humbuckers so it won't really sound like the clean tones, but I've gotten close before with other amps. Eventually I'm going to get some EMG H and S pickups for them to get closer to that amazing clean sound he had on Hold Your Fire and Presto. In my book, NOTHING beats that sound for cleans. I think I really like it because it almost sounds acoustic, and not like a typical electric guitar at all. It can even sound sort of Oriental if you play it right too, remember "Tai Shan"? Or "Territories" from the ASOH video?

 

Best of luck finding one of those preamps. You should find one in no time, and you'll probably find a comparable deal. I see 250ML's go for under $200 all the time on there. I've seen 2000CPL's go for $200 before, WITH a footswitch (which I'm not getting with mine, unfortunately). You'll probably find something right away.

 

SignatureAurora75, do you have any clips of you playing your gear? I would love to hear how close you get with your setup, you sound like you've got it down pat with the equipment but I'd still love to hear how close you got. I have a lot of questions to ask you about those guitars too, would you mind if I posted a bunch all at once? lol...you seem to know more about this than anybody one else with an internet connection who isn't Alex Lifeson. Hell you might know more than him about it!

 

Glad to finally be on this forum, and I hope that we will all get some good info from these posts. There's one thing for sure that I've learned over the past few years -- getting the Alex Lifeson sound is NOT just "add chorus and delay and play F#7#11"...it's way more complicated than that. But thank God it is, because if it wasn't, it wouldn't sound this good

Edited September 18, 2009 by DigitalMan85

[DigitalMan85]

Here's some GK amps for sale I found:

 

http://miami.craigslist.org/pbc/msg/1367431175.html

 

http://nashville.craigslist.org/msg/1359303312.html

 

http://richmond.craigslist.org/msg/1363887689.html

 

http://cnj.craigslist.org/msg/1377230494.html

 

250ML with custom-wired speaker cabinet here:

http://houston.craigslist.org/msg/1371703039.html

 

There are some more but they were going for some ridiculous prices. All I did was search for Gallien Krueger nationwide in the "music instr" section. You have to do a lot of sifting through bass amps that way, but it's the best way to "catch" everything, cause sometimes people misspell the names of the amps or throw in a space (like "2000 CPL" instead of "2000CPL") that completely throws off the search engine.

 

Get that Craigslist Reader!

[SignatureAurora75]

Hey DigitalMan that was an excellent outstanding beautiful post. You just made my day. Very very informative stuff, I just eat that up, for me it seems like good people that share my same interest are hard to come by.

 

Thank you for the info about Craigslist reader, that will definitely be a valuable tool. Strangely enough, I never checked into the 2100SEL. If I would have known about that being pretty much the same thing then I would have just recommended it to him in the first place. Plus, perhaps I would have been looking for one.

 

I don't have any clips of my sounds, but I'm working toward that. Here's how I have my setup, and by the way you may laugh and some may find this unusual: My 2000 CPL is sitting on its side right next to my computer monitor right now as I type, resting on an old copy VHS tape of Rush live from the Counterparts tour. I had to put that tape there to level it because I'm sure you know about the rack mounts that protrude. All I've got plugged into the back is the power cable. Now, I mostly play in front of my computer anyhow since I jam along with Rush via WMP or practice using Guitar Pro 5.

 

The 2000cpl has a headphones output right next to the power button. I have a cord from there going into the input jack for my computer speakers (Bose, hey they sound great!)

 

Once I get my 250ML back I plan on taking out the 2000cpl and hooking it up along with the 250ML, then I have a couple of Marshall cabs and I will be able to play LOUD. I tried to hook my 2000CPL right up to my Marshall amp and what a waste of time that was. It seemed that the marshall took away a lot of that magical sound of the GK2000cpl.

 

Now, your choice and mention of pickups was right on. Those EMG S series (Although I havent heard the H) should get that "acoustic", Tai Shan, Territories clean sound). After my big rant yesterday, someone had mentioned "I feel your pain, but it really does all start with the pickups." So, I came home and played each of my 5 different guitars in 10 minutes through my 2000CPL. While they all did have a similar tone, it was clearly quite evident that that some pickups REALLY sounded like Alex's tone, particularly the Evans and the stock pickups on the the Signature Aurora.

 

The pickups on the Aurora are actives that were made by Fernandes. I would bet they are the same thing as the EMG S. Alex's Aurora actually had passive Evans pickups connected to an on-board pre-amp, which I've been working on cloning with no luck.

 

That's great you got an email from Jimmy Johnson! I actually emailed him once a few months back but never got a response. I wanted to ask him questions about gear too and particularly the moment when Great White was dropped and the neck broke.

 

Please do record some of your work and post it up as soon as you can.

[KlanKaos]

Aww... However crushed I am, thanks for all the info! It's great to know I won't have too many problems finding something similar. I knew I should've bought it last night >.< Damn. Either way, I'll be sure to get Craigslist Reader, and hopefully I can find something similar within a couple weeks. I think I might actually look for the 100MPL - the MIDI could be nice =P Either way, I guess the hunt is on again... I'm kinda glad you got it, because after all, I've only been looking for a few days, and you've been hunting for a year =P I hope you have fun with it, and if you decide to sell it, throw a PM my way on TRF and I might take it off your hands =)

[SignatureAurora75]

QUOTE (DigitalMan85 @ Sep 17 2009, 11:48 PM)

(I emailed Jimmy Johnson, Alex's tech from that era, and he told me EVERYTHING about that setup - let me know if you want a copy).

Please, god yes send me a copy. The keys to the kingdom!

[KlanKaos]

Yeah, me too. I meant to say that. That'd be AWESOME.

[mrbarlint]

Signature guitars for the win! I love my Odyssey modded with an original floyd rose trem. + GK 250ML + Marshall 4x12 = FUN!!!

 

Would like a copy of that email Digitalman85.

 

[Terrapin]

QUOTE (SignatureAurora75 @ Sep 18 2009, 05:07 PM)

Hey DigitalMan that was an excellent outstanding beautiful post. You just made my day. Very very informative stuff, I just eat that up, for me it seems like good people that share my same interest are hard to come by. Thank you for the info about Craigslist reader, that will definitely be a valuable tool. Strangely enough, I never checked into the 2100SEL. If I would have known about that being pretty much the same thing then I would have just recommended it to him in the first place. Plus, perhaps I would have been looking for one. I don't have any clips of my sounds, but I'm working toward that. Here's how I have my setup, and by the way you may laugh and some may find this unusual: My 2000 CPL is sitting on its side right next to my computer monitor right now as I type, resting on an old copy VHS tape of Rush live from the Counterparts tour. I had to put that tape there to level it because I'm sure you know about the rack mounts that protrude. All I've got plugged into the back is the power cable. Now, I mostly play in front of my computer anyhow since I jam along with Rush via WMP or practice using Guitar Pro 5. The 2000cpl has a headphones output right next to the power button. I have a cord from there going into the input jack for my computer speakers (Bose, hey they sound great!) Once I get my 250ML back I plan on taking out the 2000cpl and hooking it up along with the 250ML, then I have a couple of Marshall cabs and I will be able to play LOUD. I tried to hook my 2000CPL right up to my Marshall amp and what a waste of time that was. It seemed that the marshall took away a lot of that magical sound of the GK2000cpl. Now, your choice and mention of pickups was right on. Those EMG S series (Although I havent heard the H) should get that "acoustic", Tai Shan, Territories clean sound). After my big rant yesterday, someone had mentioned "I feel your pain, but it really does all start with the pickups." So, I came home and played each of my 5 different guitars in 10 minutes through my 2000CPL. While they all did have a similar tone, it was clearly quite evident that that some pickups REALLY sounded like Alex's tone, particularly the Evans and the stock pickups on the the Signature Aurora. The pickups on the Aurora are actives that were made by Fernandes. I would bet they are the same thing as the EMG S. Alex's Aurora actually had passive Evans pickups connected to an on-board pre-amp, which I've been working on cloning with no luck. That's great you got an email from Jimmy Johnson! I actually emailed him once a few months back but never got a response. I wanted to ask him questions about gear too and particularly the moment when Great White was dropped and the neck broke. Please do record some of your work and post it up as soon as you can.

I'm very curious as to what you're actually getting at.

 

Normally, I wouldn't be that bothered, but your obsession with this issue is quite intriguing.

 

If you were really interested in Signature Guitars you would be spending your time on ebay/Signature tribute site / etc...

 

Why are you asking Rush fans about a specific guitar from the 1980's that Alex Lifeson no longer uses?

 

Are you a guitar player in a long list of Rush tribute bands searching for the Show of Hands "sound"? Or a bedroom guitarist searching for same.

 

I ask because generally, the 80's Lifeson sound has always been considered a bit "Naff " as Alex has clearly stated in many interviews that by all accounts, you are not aware of.

 

It is quite well known that Alex ditched the GK's for Marshalls back in the early 90's

 

So, what are you after exactly and for what reason?

 

Again, it means nothing to me but your obsession (angry posts with barf inducing apologies) is quite interesting.

 

 

Whats up?

 

[SignatureAurora75]

QUOTE (Terrapin @ Sep 18 2009, 07:16 PM)

I'm very curious as to what you're actually getting at. If you were really interested in Signature Guitars you would be spending your time on ebay/Signature tribute site / etc... Why are you asking Rush fans about a specific guitar from the 1980's that Alex Lifeson no longer uses? Are you a guitar player in a long list of Rush tribute bands searching for the Show of Hands "sound"? Or a bedroom guitarist searching for same. I ask because generally, the 80's Lifeson sound has always been considered a bit "Naff " as Alex has clearly stated in many interviews that by all accounts, you are not aware of. It is quite well known that Alex ditched the GK's for Marshalls back in the early 90's So, what are you after exactly and for what reason? Again, it means nothing to me but your obsession (angry posts with barf inducing apologies) is quite interesting. Whats up? Normally, I wouldn't be that bothered, but your obsession with this issue is quite intriguing.

I'm very curious as to what you're actually getting at.

If you were really interested in Signature Guitars you would be spending your time on ebay/Signature tribute site / etc...

 

Umm, don't you think I've been all over that Signature tribute site? Don't you think I've been all over Ebay as well?

 

Normally, I wouldn't be that bothered, but your obsession with this issue is quite intriguing.

 

You being bothered by my posts it quite intriguing. Oh, interesting, and meszerizing as well.

 

Why are you asking Rush fans about a specific guitar from the 1980's that Alex Lifeson no longer uses?

 

Isn't this the place where Rush fans come and talk about Rush? Alex, Geddy, or Neil maybe? Is it wrong to talk about their equipment? OH GOD I BETTER NOT MENTION MINI MOOG!

 

Are you a guitar player in a long list of Rush tribute bands searching for the Show of Hands "sound"? Or a bedroom guitarist searching for same.

 

I'm actually an "Office" guitarist.

 

I ask because generally, the 80's Lifeson sound has always been considered a bit "Naff " as Alex has clearly stated in many interviews that by all accounts, you are not aware of.

 

It is quite well known that Alex ditched the GK's for Marshalls back in the early 90's

 

Wrong. I am aware how he feels about his sound now about his sound then. Why do you assume I'm not aware? What do you think he would say about his sound if you had asked him back then? I am totally aware he ditched his GK's. Not only did he use Marshall's, but he used other amps too! Are you AWARE of that?

 

So, what are you after exactly and for what reason?

 

I wouldn't say I'm after anything. I've got my Signature guitars, I've got my Gallien Kruegers. Life is good. Is it wrong to talk with others about same interests I share? As I've said, it's clear that a lot of people and maybe even Alex now aren't into that guitar sound. However, I've met many different people and continue to meet people that like playing guitar and like that sound.

 

Again, it means nothing to me but your obsession (angry posts with barf inducing apologies) is quite interesting.

 

Well, since you vomited all over yourself, here - I'll vomit all over you too. Wow, bleech. Your interest in me makes me sick!

 

Whats up?

 

Your nose.

 

 

 

 

 

[SignatureAurora75]

QUOTE (mrbarlint @ Sep 18 2009, 05:55 PM)

Signature guitars for the win! I love my Odyssey modded with an original floyd rose trem. + GK 250ML + Marshall 4x12 = FUN!!! Would like a copy of that email Digitalman85.

I've seen your guitar before and I LIKE IT!!!!!!

[DigitalMan85]

Hey guys, glad to hear so much enthusiasm for this stuff, and all these years I thought I was the only one! lol...I gotta tell you, back when I first saw ASOH, something just "clicked," kind of like when I first heard "Eruption" or first saw Metallica, something clicked and I immediately latched onto the sound. Especially those nice, multi-layered clean sounds! Ever since then, I've noticed that I've latched onto similar sounds from other artists too, Mike Landau, John Petrucci (on "Images and Words") springs to mind, and Allan Holdsworth, especially on the "Sixteen Men of Tain" album. There's some amazing clean tones on that album, especially on "The Sixteen Men of Tain" and "0274." Awesome, shimmering tones, with even more chorus than Alex used, as Allan uses 8-voice chorus whereas Alex usually uses a 2-voice chorus (the TC 1210).

 

You're definitely right about the pickups generating a different tone out of that amp. Last night I was listening to a Presto boot (The Hartford '90) and a Roll the Bones boot (Run From the Fans), listening to the same songs back to back (Freewill, Superconductor, Distant Early Warning, etc.) and I noticed for the first time how different it sounded when he changed from single coils to humbuckers between those tours, it's like night and day! It's especially noticeable on the clean sounds. The opening to "Time Stand Still" sounds very different: on the Presto tour, it sounds almost exactly like the HYF sound, but on the RTB tour, it sounds way more "meatier" and "twangier," almost like it sounded on the Counterparts tour with the Marshalls, almost like a country Telecaster sound. All the "wiry" "acoustic" sound was gone on the RTB tour (I wish he would have kept it in his rig somehow! Though "Mystic Rhythms" on R30 sounded kinda close...) Likewise, the distortion sounds quite different too, it's more "boomier" and has a bigger bottom end, and sounds a little bit more "squashed" and maybe compressed on the RTB tour, and not as tight as the Presto tour. You can really tell the difference when you put on both versions of "Superconductor" one after the other. I like both of the sounds but I'm still partial to the Presto sounds, they sound very unique, and, like you said on another post, not like Les Paul, not like Stratocaster, but "other." To that I might add, not like Marshall and not like Fender, but "other" there as well in the amp department. I like that

 

One thing I forgot to mention yesterday was that there's a video on YouTube of a guy messing around with a GK 250RL playing Red Barchetta:

 

 

Maybe you could tell us if that really sounds like the 2000CPL. Sounds close to me! Of course the pickups are an issue too, odds are, the guy is using humbuckers.

 

I wish there was some more info about that onboard preamp with the Evans pickups. I am curious to know why Big Al wanted to change things up in the first place. Can you hear the difference yourself? Does one sound more "wiry" than the other? Or are you just trying to get everything right down to the last detail, like that guy that built an exact replica of the Hentor Sportscaster? If there really is a big difference, I might try to hunt down some Evans pickups and try this. Btw, in case you were wondering, the EMG H is exactly the same as the EMG S, but just in a humbucker casing. I'm still not sure if it will work out exactly right with my guitar, cause I've noticed that all of Alex's guitars from this era have an angled bridge pickup. Not sure if the angle really affects the tone that much, but I'd be willing to get an S and angle it if it really does matter.

 

One thing I've been wondering for years -- what do all those mini-toggles do? Do they just activate each pickup individually? Or do they perform more "exotic" functions, like an EXG/SPC Expander, or phase inversion or anything? Or do they control that onboard preamp?

 

Another thing I was wondering, when you plug your Singature guitar into the 2000CPL, do you have to actually boost the 10k on the EQ to get the clean tone happening, or is it already there? My Boss GE-7 gets me about *halfway* there with it's 6.4k boost (15db up!) so I was guessing that the 10k would really be needed to get that happening. Then again, I'm not using active single coils at all...

 

Since a few of you requested it, I'll just post Jimmy Johnson's email right here:

 

QUOTE

Hi Ryan, Thanks for all the kind words but at the end of the day, it's the guitarist himself who is responsible for the sound you hear. Steve Vai could play through Eddie Van Halen's rig all day and it would never sound the way it does when Ed plays through it. That said, here goes. When I recorded Alex for that album, all his clean stuff was fed through a Roland JC120. For my buck, it's the best amp for him when we want to achieve a shimmering top end. We were using his Signature guitars for that also. These were an active single coil setup and that in conjunction with the Roland and you've got what you hear on record. It was during that period I discovered the TC Electronics stuff. We acquired two TC2290 stereo delays and two TC1210 Spatial Expanders, which served as our chorus'. When we toured we used GK preamps. The model # escapes me but they were not the programmable midi ones. Those came later. I also had an SPX90, A Roland DEP5, and a Roland DimensionD. This was the first tour I began usin a Custom Audio Electronics effects switching system. The GK cabinets were loaded with Celestion 75 watt speakers, good for a nice clean sound as compared to the popular low wattage models. The whole thing was driven by a massive Mesa Boogie Strategy400 amp. This amp had tons of power and a million tubes, which made it impossible to overdrive, again good for clean passages. I had such good results with that amp for this effect I started using one for James Hatfield when I was in the studio and on the road with Metallica. I hope this sheds some light on your quest for that sound. Remember, it's all in the fingers. I've been doing this a long time and have NEVER found two guys sounds to be exact, no matter how similar their setups.. Happy Holidays, Jimmy

 

Jimmy also sent me a picture of the rig:

 

http://cid-a0e1778109afbf59.skydrive.live....20HYF%20Rig.jpg

 

I added some labels to it to make it a little less confusing:

 

http://cid-a0e1778109afbf59.skydrive.live....uitar%20rig.jpg

 

Now for the routing...good luck, I'm still trying to figure that out! If anybody's interested, check out that post from TheGearPage that I referenced earlier, it has a brief description of how it's all routed, but my gut feeling is that part of it's wrong, or it's missing something. I do think, however, that it's dead right about having chorus and flanging on at the same time -- listen to the intro to Time Stand Still from A Show of Hands, and if you listen closely you can hear the flanging. Very subtle effect, and it worked even better for the distortions on that album IMO. The amazing thing about this rig though, for all its complexity, it's nowhere near as confusing as the Power Windows rig. I wish I had the link but if you really want to see it it's in the National Midnight Star archives. It's ridiculous!

 

Good luck getting a hold of Jimmy Johnson, I tried emailing him again with some more questions after that and he never got back with me. I guess he's either buried in emails (he's a very busy guy) or he's just sick of answering questions from Rush freaks like me lol...whatever's going on in those rigs though, I'm pretty sure I can figure out the rest, or just get really really close with the info I have. One of these days I'm going to really build a rack rig that can do all this, but with more modern stuff like a G-Force, a Lexicon, and (if I can afford it) a TC1210 (can't really replace that one!). I also want to get another 2000CPL in the future so I can run clean and distortion at the same time, like in "Turn the Page"

Edited September 19, 2009 by DigitalMan85

[DigitalMan85]

QUOTE (Terrapin @ Sep 18 2009, 09:16 PM)

I'm very curious as to what you're actually getting at. Normally, I wouldn't be that bothered, but your obsession with this issue is quite intriguing. If you were really interested in Signature Guitars you would be spending your time on ebay/Signature tribute site / etc... Why are you asking Rush fans about a specific guitar from the 1980's that Alex Lifeson no longer uses? Are you a guitar player in a long list of Rush tribute bands searching for the Show of Hands "sound"? Or a bedroom guitarist searching for same. I ask because generally, the 80's Lifeson sound has always been considered a bit "Naff " as Alex has clearly stated in many interviews that by all accounts, you are not aware of. It is quite well known that Alex ditched the GK's for Marshalls back in the early 90's So, what are you after exactly and for what reason? Again, it means nothing to me but your obsession (angry posts with barf inducing apologies) is quite interesting. Whats up?

Since I have the same "obsession," I'd like to chime in...

 

I always felt like Alex Lifeson's tones from back then were a kind of "unfinished business" that started with the technology boom in the 80s and ended with the "grunge revolution." My first exposure to Rush was the A Show of Hands video and I really came to love those tones, how tight they were, and how tasteful and musical the effects were too. For a few months, that's all I listened to. Then for Christmas, my parents got me the Different Stages album, and all of a sudden, all these tight guitars are replaced by these loose, thin-sounding Marshalls. I did come to love the album but it was a weird adjustment at first, almost like hearing two different guitarists! Something just wasn't right with that tone IMO...it was good on the Counterparts album, but not so good on the live album. Same goes for Test For Echo, something just wasn't jiving right on the live albums for me. And all those great clean sounds were gone! Ok well maybe not gone, just radically different, the clean sounds on Natural Science and the 2112 suite were pretty nice, but not that good old HYF/Presto sound that I came to love.

 

I understand, of course, that artists have to keep growing, they get bored with their sounds, and they like to change things up, but sometimes, they seem to do something great and then undo the "good" things. Like David Gilmour, for instance. For my money, the guitar tone on PULSE is my favorite tone he has ever put out, anywhere, anytime. It mostly comes from his EMG SAs, and it's very powerful and thick, almost like a humbucker. He used this setup for a long time, but sometime after 2000, he ditched it and went back to his old black strat with passive pickups, something I was not thrilled about and I'm still not thrilled about. The solo on Comfortably Numb for Live 8 is just not the same for me without those SAs. I read an interview with Gilmour and he said he wanted to get back to the old sound because the SAs sounded "too much like a humbucker" -- the exact reason I liked them. To each his own.

 

In a way, I kind of wish that Alex would have kept some of those sounds he used from the 80s and incorporate it into his more modern setup. Imagine how much better "Mission" would have sounded on Snakes & Arrows Live if he had just used a clean sound where he was supposed to! lol...Those clean arpeggios in the middle of the song are now just drowned in overdrive, and to me it just sounds awful. I love the fact that they brought back "Ghost of a Chance" too, but that huge, reverby clean during the chorus is just not there like it used to be either. Sometimes it's like, Alex, you've got three G-Forces in your rack! Use 'em! lol...

 

IMO Alex did most of his innovative guitar stuff back in the 80s, both with the playing and the gear. Some of the stuff he was doing with the gear was so good that it practically defines what certain styles SHOULD sound like for me. For instance, for percussive, rhythmic palm muted stuff, that repetitive riff from "Territories" on the ASOH video takes the cake for me. For a huge cascade of chorus, nothing beats that little bridge on the live version of "Prime Mover," or those punchy chord "stabs" from "Manhattan Project" on the same video. And for a really lush, clean arpeggiated sound, it doesn't get better than "Open Secrets" for me. And for solos, I think "Marathon" and "Mission" are some of the best sounds I've ever heard.

 

Alex Lifeson hasn't had sounds like those in at least 17 years, but what difference does it make? Does it matter that everybody's (well mostly everybody's) favorite Van Halen guitar tones center around 1978 and not 2008? There's nothing bizarre about somebody liking the tone from Van Halen I the best, so I don't think there's anything bizarre about somebody liking Alex Lifeson's 80s tones the best either. And SignatureAurora is right too when he says that people still like these tones who are hearing them for the first time, I've seen that firsthand many times. There's a place for those tones just like there was for the tones from Moving Pictures, or 2112.

 

Maybe there's certain memories tied in with those tones that we like too? Listening to ASOH really takes me back to some good times. Music is about emotion and memories, so who knows? Maybe Alex plays the Gibsons now partly for that same reason.

Edited September 19, 2009 by DigitalMan85

[SignatureAurora75]

I second everything you've just said. My ASOH cd has been listened to sooo many times, meanwhile my Different Stages hasn't really seen that much play. To me, that sound he went back to just seemed like a step backward. The 80's tone of his, especially the clean and wiry tones just seemed so original. Nobody else was really into doing that stuff it seemed.

 

Nice video of that 250RL. That thing sounded great, huh?I would have to say that is the sound there of that good old GK stuff. Similar to the 2000CPL indeed, but with the CPL you've got your compression, chorus, and reverb to add on. Once I kick that chorus switch on it's like instantaneous ASOH.

 

OK now to answer your questions about the Signatures. I have two Signatures - 1 Aurora (SSS single coil active fernandes) and 1 Oracle (HSH Evans with splitable humbuckers). Now, for this bozo wondering why I'm here asking questions, this is why:

It totally does and doesn't make sense about some of those clean tones he was getting. OK bear with me here, as you might have to read this 2 or 3 times to make sense...

First, the Evans pickups are totally clean and quiet. They really have a clean tone to them, and I'm talking straight through (like bypassed all the effects and stuff). Now, I wouldn't say they sound overly "wiry", just clean. That's on the Oracle with the coil tapped to single coil mode.

Now, The Aurora on the other hand is very "wiry", and I think I told you that I believe the Fernandes actives on it to be the same exact pickup as an EMG S. You had mentioned EMG S and how "wiry" they sounded, so this is why the Aurora is wiry.

 

When I plug my Aurora into the GK2000 CPL, It does sound like ASOH. However, when I plug in my Oracle (Evans, tapped single coil mode, of course), It REALLY sounds like ASOH. BIG TIME

 

It shouldn't make sense, right? But that's the way it is. It's like Evans pickups were just made to work with GK

 

Now, these "wirey" tones we were talking about, (remember this upcoming part I'm talking about so we don't get album songs confused. I'm strictly talking about ASOH only). Listen to the end of "Manhattan Project" on that album, and a solo from La Villa Strangiato. Those are REALLY REALLY REALLY clean tones, wonderful I might add... However, those I believe are run by something else besides the GK. Something that Jimmy Johnson probably mentioned in your letter.

 

To answer your questions about the toggle switches on the Signatures: Those are exactly what you thought they were. Pickup on, pickup off - for all 3 pickups. Which is a beautiful thing because it gives you options for all kinds of tones. You're not limited in a way as you are on say a 5 way switch. Why don't some other guitar companies do that? Another wonderful thing about Signatures: They have a little holder mounted on the back of the headstocks for the hex keys for the locking nuts. This way the hex keys are always with the guitar. Why in the hell don't any other guitar companies do that? The Oracle has push-pull pots for coil tapping.

 

I'm hesitant to take those Fernandes out of my Aurora and put Evans in. I like that wireyness a lot of the time. However, if I had the specs to Alex's pre-amp he had on his Aurora then I probably would change it. Just so it can be like a copy because I always thought that guitar was so damn cool. I even have a Boy Scout panther patch on my Aurora just like he had on his.

 

I hope you enjoy your new 2000CPL. Most of the time I have that 10.khz knob on my 2000 all the way up on mine so I can get that "wireyness". Signatures are not necessarily really "wirey" even when that knob is down. I turn that knob down though if I start to get a headache from those high frequencies.

 

Thanks for that letter too.

Edited September 19, 2009 by SignatureAurora75

[DigitalMan85]

Wow, great post. That clears up a lot of things. If I could just recap, the Evans pickups really sound closer overall to the sound, but the preamp has to be dialed in/set up just right in order to get the "wiry" sound?

 

You're right about there being extra stuff piled on to those sounds from "Manhattan Project" and "La Villa Strangiato," in fact there's a LOT of extra stuff going on. There's a few songs on ASOH -- Prime Mover, Manhattan Project, Lock and Key (on the Laserdisc), La Villa Strangiato -- that use what I'll just call the "Mega Chorus" sound. This would use almost every piece of the rack gear going at once for a huge wall of chorus. Alex had parts of his rig wired in parallel and part wired in series, and I believe he had the Roland Dimension D running into the two TC 1210s (chorus and flange), along with the Roland DEP-5 for reverb and the TC2290s for delay. Alex was probably the only guitarist back then that had that much chorus in his rig, and definitely the only one that was using that much chorus together at the same time! Each 1210 has two voices in its chorus, the Dimension D had 2 as well, and if my memory serves me right the SPX90 could be configured for a lot more.

 

One thing I should mention, I think the 250RL does have chorus and reverb on it, but the only way to adjust them is to fiddle with the trim pots inside.

 

Thanks for the post and I'll be sure to give an update when I get the preamp!

 

 

[SignatureAurora75]

For KlanKaos don't fret! Unbelievably another 2000cpl just went up for sale on Ebay.

[DigitalMan85]

I saw a 100MPL on there too going for $400 Buy-It-Now:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/gk-gallien-kruger-100m...id=p3286.c0.m14

 

However, I would double check with the seller, he didn't even bother to put up a picture of an actual 100MPL lol...I think it's some old Roland delay.

 

If you really want the 2000CPL you better go for it now though, you're lucky it happen to come up for $120 again, and that doesn't happen very often! Usually it's more like $200-250. Grab it while you still can!