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All of Alex's Guitars used on R40 Tour (spoilers)


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I did the same thing for Geddy and the basses he used... time to show Alex some love too! ;)

 

Besides, there was a few requests to do this, so...

 

Here are all the guitars used by Alex this tour (in New Orleans on 2015-05-22 as seen through my camera eye):

 

 

Set 1:

 

01 – The Anarchist:

 

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s282/rushbass/RUSH%20R40%20New%20Orleans/Guitars%20Used%20-%20Rush%202015%20New%20Orleans/01%20-%20The%20Anarchist%20.jpg

 

 

02 – The Wreckers:

 

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s282/rushbass/RUSH%20R40%20New%20Orleans/Guitars%20Used%20-%20Rush%202015%20New%20Orleans/02%20-%20The%20Wreckers.jpg

 

 

03 – Headlong Flight:

 

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s282/rushbass/RUSH%20R40%20New%20Orleans/Guitars%20Used%20-%20Rush%202015%20New%20Orleans/03%20-%20Headlong%20Flight.jpg

 

 

04 – Far Cry:

 

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s282/rushbass/RUSH%20R40%20New%20Orleans/Guitars%20Used%20-%20Rush%202015%20New%20Orleans/04%20-%20Far%20Cry.jpg

 

 

05 – The Main Monkey Business:

 

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s282/rushbass/RUSH%20R40%20New%20Orleans/Guitars%20Used%20-%20Rush%202015%20New%20Orleans/05%20-%20The%20Main%20Monkey%20Business.jpg

 

 

06 – How It Is:

 

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s282/rushbass/RUSH%20R40%20New%20Orleans/Guitars%20Used%20-%20Rush%202015%20New%20Orleans/06%20-%20How%20It%20Is.jpg

 

 

07 – Animate:

 

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s282/rushbass/RUSH%20R40%20New%20Orleans/Guitars%20Used%20-%20Rush%202015%20New%20Orleans/07%20-%20Animate.jpg

 

 

08 – Roll The Bones:

 

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s282/rushbass/RUSH%20R40%20New%20Orleans/Guitars%20Used%20-%20Rush%202015%20New%20Orleans/08%20-%20Roll%20The%20Bones.jpg

 

 

09 – Between The Wheels:

 

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s282/rushbass/RUSH%20R40%20New%20Orleans/Guitars%20Used%20-%20Rush%202015%20New%20Orleans/09%20-%20Between%20The%20Wheels.jpg

 

 

10 – Subdivisions:

 

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s282/rushbass/RUSH%20R40%20New%20Orleans/Guitars%20Used%20-%20Rush%202015%20New%20Orleans/10%20-%20Subdivisions.jpg

 

 

Set 2:

 

11 – Tom Saywer:

 

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s282/rushbass/RUSH%20R40%20New%20Orleans/Guitars%20Used%20-%20Rush%202015%20New%20Orleans/11%20-%20Tom%20Sawyer.jpg

 

 

12 – The Camera Eye:

 

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s282/rushbass/RUSH%20R40%20New%20Orleans/Guitars%20Used%20-%20Rush%202015%20New%20Orleans/12%20-%20The%20Camera%20Eye.jpg

 

 

12 – The Spirit Of Radio:

 

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s282/rushbass/RUSH%20R40%20New%20Orleans/Guitars%20Used%20-%20Rush%202015%20New%20Orleans/13%20-%20The%20Spirit%20Of%20Radio.jpg

 

 

13 – Jacob’s Ladder:

 

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s282/rushbass/RUSH%20R40%20New%20Orleans/Guitars%20Used%20-%20Rush%202015%20New%20Orleans/14%20-%20Jacobs%20Ladder.jpg

 

 

14 – Hemispheres:

 

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s282/rushbass/RUSH%20R40%20New%20Orleans/Guitars%20Used%20-%20Rush%202015%20New%20Orleans/15%20-%20Hemispheres.jpg

 

 

15 – Cygnus X-1:

 

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s282/rushbass/RUSH%20R40%20New%20Orleans/Guitars%20Used%20-%20Rush%202015%20New%20Orleans/16%20-%20Cygnus%20X-1.jpg

 

 

16 – Closer To The Heart:

 

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s282/rushbass/RUSH%20R40%20New%20Orleans/Guitars%20Used%20-%20Rush%202015%20New%20Orleans/17%20-%20Closer%20To%20The%20Heart.jpg

 

 

17 – Xanadu:

 

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s282/rushbass/RUSH%20R40%20New%20Orleans/Guitars%20Used%20-%20Rush%202015%20New%20Orleans/18%20-%20Xanadu.jpg

 

 

Bonus Xanadu pic!

 

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s282/rushbass/RUSH%20R40%20New%20Orleans/Guitars%20Used%20-%20Rush%202015%20New%20Orleans/18%20-%20Xanadu%20-%20both.jpg

 

 

18 – 2112:

 

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s282/rushbass/RUSH%20R40%20New%20Orleans/Guitars%20Used%20-%20Rush%202015%20New%20Orleans/19%20-%202112.jpg

 

 

Encore:

 

19 – Lake Side Park & Anthem:

 

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s282/rushbass/RUSH%20R40%20New%20Orleans/Guitars%20Used%20-%20Rush%202015%20New%20Orleans/20%20-%20Lake%20Side%20Park%20amp%20Anthem1.jpg

 

 

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s282/rushbass/RUSH%20R40%20New%20Orleans/Guitars%20Used%20-%20Rush%202015%20New%20Orleans/20%20-%20Lake%20Side%20Park%20amp%20Anthem2.jpg

 

 

20 – What You’re Doing & Working Man

 

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s282/rushbass/RUSH%20R40%20New%20Orleans/Guitars%20Used%20-%20Rush%202015%20New%20Orleans/21%20-%20What%20Youre%20Doing%20and%20Working%20Man1.jpg

 

 

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s282/rushbass/RUSH%20R40%20New%20Orleans/Guitars%20Used%20-%20Rush%202015%20New%20Orleans/21%20-%20What%20Youre%20Doing%20and%20Working%20Man2.jpg

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BTW, most of Alex's Gibsons have words engraved on the truss rod covers....

 

for instance:

 

"Heavy" and "Bastard" on the Double Neck

"Cheri"

"Blackie"

"Honey"

"Princess"

 

One Les Paul even had "Dirk: engraved on the trc! LOL!

 

I wish I could make out all of them, but alas, some of my pics are too blurry upon zooming in to try and read all these tidbits.

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He's also using a custom Strat for One little victory which sounded good for that song. Using the Tele was ok on Lakeside, but just not ballsy enough for Anthem IMO.
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Sorry if this is a dumb question (and I'm sure it is) but for the really early stuff, are those the original guitars he used back during those times? I assume so, but I thought maybe not, just because these guys might be afraid of bringing the old gear that is priceless to them on the road. You hear about bands getting ripped off frequently enough where I could understand the concern. Edited by Xanadu
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Sorry if this is a dumb question (and I'm sure it is) but for the really early stuff, are those the original guitars he used back during those times? I assume so, but I thought maybe not just because these guys might be afraid of bringing the old gear that is priceless to them on the road. You hear about bands getting ripped off frequently enough where I could understand the concern.

 

That's certainly a valid question.

 

The Les Pauls are likely new and part of his line with Gibson. The white ES355 he's had since the mid 70s but I'm not sure if it's the original. He had a tobacco ES355 waaaaay back in the day, but I'm not sure if that's the original. I think the double neck is new and modeled like his one from the 70s. The other guitars are new...I don't remember him ever playing a Telecaster in the 70s.

 

Vintage instruments definately have a 'cool' retro factor. But I think they're probably more finicky for serious road use 30-40 years later.

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BTW, most of Alex's Gibsons have words engraved on the truss rod covers....

 

One Les Paul even had "Dirk: engraved on the trc! LOL!

 

That's the gold top one, and that is actually Geddy's guitar from his collection that Alex is "borrowing" for this tour.

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Sorry if this is a dumb question (and I'm sure it is) but for the really early stuff, are those the original guitars he used back during those times? I assume so, but I thought maybe not just because these guys might be afraid of bringing the old gear that is priceless to them on the road. You hear about bands getting ripped off frequently enough where I could understand the concern.

 

That's certainly a valid question.

 

The Les Pauls are likely new and part of his line with Gibson. The white ES355 he's had since the mid 70s but I'm not sure if it's the original. He had a tobacco ES355 waaaaay back in the day, but I'm not sure if that's the original. I think the double neck is new and modeled like his one from the 70s. The other guitars are new...I don't remember him ever playing a Telecaster in the 70s.

 

Vintage instruments definately have a 'cool' retro factor. But I think they're probably more finicky for serious road use 30-40 years later.

 

He said the original 355 rarely makes it out of the house these days. I would imagine the one he's playing during this tour was a backup guitar or one of his sig. models. If he even still has the original tobacco 335 I would imagine it stays home as well. I agree all the rest of them would be newly acquired though the Telecaster is a vintage guitar. Several of the Les Paul's may be as well. I thought maybe the Hentor would make an appearance on this tour but so far nada.

Edited by EagleMoon
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Sorry if this is a dumb question (and I'm sure it is) but for the really early stuff, are those the original guitars he used back during those times? I assume so, but I thought maybe not just because these guys might be afraid of bringing the old gear that is priceless to them on the road. You hear about bands getting ripped off frequently enough where I could understand the concern.

 

That's certainly a valid question.

 

The Les Pauls are likely new and part of his line with Gibson. The white ES355 he's had since the mid 70s but I'm not sure if it's the original. He had a tobacco ES355 waaaaay back in the day, but I'm not sure if that's the original. I think the double neck is new and modeled like his one from the 70s. The other guitars are new...I don't remember him ever playing a Telecaster in the 70s.

 

Vintage instruments definately have a 'cool' retro factor. But I think they're probably more finicky for serious road use 30-40 years later.

 

He said the original 355 rarely makes it out of the house these days. I would imagine the one he's playing during this tour was a backup guitar or one of his sig. models. If he even still has the original tobacco 335 I would imagine it stays home as well. I agree all the rest of them would be newly acquired though the Telecaster is a vintage guitar. Several of the Les Paul's may be as well. I thought maybe the Hentor would make an appearance on this tour but so far nada.

 

Sure the Tele is vintage? Geds bass has the same paisley pattern on it and it seems like they might have coordinated the paint jobs. I dislike the Teles in general and I wish he would have done the whole encore with the es355. The Tele is just too thin sounding.

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Sorry if this is a dumb question (and I'm sure it is) but for the really early stuff, are those the original guitars he used back during those times? I assume so, but I thought maybe not just because these guys might be afraid of bringing the old gear that is priceless to them on the road. You hear about bands getting ripped off frequently enough where I could understand the concern.

 

That's certainly a valid question.

 

The Les Pauls are likely new and part of his line with Gibson. The white ES355 he's had since the mid 70s but I'm not sure if it's the original. He had a tobacco ES355 waaaaay back in the day, but I'm not sure if that's the original. I think the double neck is new and modeled like his one from the 70s. The other guitars are new...I don't remember him ever playing a Telecaster in the 70s.

 

Vintage instruments definately have a 'cool' retro factor. But I think they're probably more finicky for serious road use 30-40 years later.

 

He said the original 355 rarely makes it out of the house these days. I would imagine the one he's playing during this tour was a backup guitar or one of his sig. models. If he even still has the original tobacco 335 I would imagine it stays home as well. I agree all the rest of them would be newly acquired though the Telecaster is a vintage guitar. Several of the Les Paul's may be as well. I thought maybe the Hentor would make an appearance on this tour but so far nada.

 

Sure the Tele is vintage? Geds bass has the same paisley pattern on it and it seems like they might have coordinated the paint jobs. I dislike the Teles in general and I wish he would have done the whole encore with the es355. The Tele is just too thin sounding.

 

Yes it's vintage. They only produced the paisley print guitars and basses for a limited time.I agree that the Tele sounded too thin.

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Interesting that he's using a PRS Alex Lifeson model for CttH in these pictures. In Austin and Houston, he used a twelve string of some sort. Of course, in Austin, it didn't work, so that may be why he switched.
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"On the lead guitar Mr. Alex Lifeson"

 

RB, looking forward to seeing that later on the scope!

 

Thanks for the great pics, were you close or front row?

 

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BTW, most of Alex's Gibsons have words engraved on the truss rod covers....

 

One Les Paul even had "Dirk: engraved on the trc! LOL!

 

That's the gold top one, and that is actually Geddy's guitar from his collection that Alex is "borrowing" for this tour.

 

Hilarious! Thanks for the trivia fact!

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"On the lead guitar Mr. Alex Lifeson"

 

RB, looking forward to seeing that later on the scope!

 

Thanks for the great pics, were you close or front row?

 

I was 8th row, but had a good zoom lens! ;-)

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"On the lead guitar Mr. Alex Lifeson"

 

RB, looking forward to seeing that later on the scope!

 

Am I that predictable? ;) LOL! :cheers:

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"On the lead guitar Mr. Alex Lifeson"

 

RB, looking forward to seeing that later on the scope!

 

Am I that predictable? ;) LOL! :cheers:

 

Lots of fun seeing your lyrics! What shows will you be missing? You reminded me I have a family vaca late in the tour. I hope the hotel WiFi is as good as it was last year!

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. . . I wish he would have done the whole encore with the es355.

 

The 'burst one is a 335. The white one is a 355.

 

But, me too. I would gladly loan him my 335 for the entire encore. :D Even though it's an Epiphone and has the stop bar instead of the trapeze tailpiece, it is an ES-335 Pro. So, with the coil splitting, he can get that bright, thin sound, if he wants. He'll probably call me. Lol

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Hello fellow Rush fans, this is my first post here.

 

As a guitarist I have made quite few observations (they could be true or not) of Big Al's guitars and gear, so here some of them.

 

-The guitar used on The Anarchist is a hardtailed R40 Les Paul.

-The black sig Les Paul called Blackie is his main guitar from CA tour with pickguard added.

-Guitar used on Headlong Flight called Honey could be an original 59 Les Paul. But I believe it is a reissue.

-TMMB Les Paul is Geddy's original 57 Les Paul called Dirk.

-Les Paul used on Far Cry and Jacob's Ladder is probably an original 59 or 60 Les Paul. Its name is Luke so I'm assuming it could be 60 Les Paul previously owned by Steve Lukather (looks similar).

-Strat on OLV is an 50's reissue (probably 57), has a strange pickup in bridge position and reversed input jack (ala Hentor).

-Les Paul used on Between The Wheels is called Lil Al and was his main guitar 2007-2010. It's backup is Al's Crimson Red sig LP.

-355 is the original one (judging by pickguard) and had neck pickup reversed (out of phase?)

-335 is also original one

-Al is using only 2 amps this tour the Lerxst and Boogie which probably means no Limelight this tour.

-Guitar on Losing It is probably Hentor (judging by harmonics during soundcheck performance) and is probably used as warm-up guitar

 

Hope this helps,

 

Greetings from Slovenia (a small country not far away from where Lerxst's parents are )

Edited by rushfanslo
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"On the lead guitar Mr. Alex Lifeson"

 

RB, looking forward to seeing that later on the scope!

 

Am I that predictable? ;) LOL! :cheers:

 

Lots of fun seeing your lyrics! What shows will you be missing? You reminded me I have a family vaca late in the tour. I hope the hotel WiFi is as good as it was last year!

 

I will will be leaving this coming Saturday for a week vaca, so all shows between 6/20 and 6/27 I will miss - I might look for scopes on Friday 6/19, but we are leaving at 3:00am the next day, so I doubt I'll stay up for the whole show.

 

If I am not too tired on 6/27 when we return, I may jump back on that scope - take up my slack while I'm away! ;)

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Hello fellow Rush fans, this is my first post here.

 

As a guitarist I have made quite few observations (they could be true or not) of Big Al's guitars and gear, so here some of them.

 

-The guitar used on The Anarchist is a hardtailed R40 Les Paul.

-The black sig Les Paul called Blackie is his main guitar from CA tour with pickguard added.

-Guitar used on Headlong Flight called Honey could be an original 59 Les Paul. But I believe it is a reissue.

-TMMB Les Paul is Geddy's original 57 Les Paul called Dirk.

-Les Paul used on Far Cry and Jacob's Ladder is probably an original 59 or 60 Les Paul. Its name is Luke so I'm assuming it could be 60 Les Paul previously owned by Steve Lukather (looks similar).

-Strat on OLV is an 50's reissue (probably 57), has a strange pickup in bridge position and reversed input jack (ala Hentor).

-Les Paul used on Between The Wheels is called Lil Al and was his main guitar 2007-2010. It's backup is Al's Crimson Red sig LP.

-355 is the original one (judging by pickguard) and had neck pickup reversed (out of phase?)

-335 is also original one

-Al is using only 2 amps this tour the Lerxst and Boogie which probably means no Limelight this tour.

-Guitar on Losing It is probably Hentor (judging by harmonics during soundcheck performance) and is probably used as warm-up guitar

 

Hope this helps,

 

Greetings from Slovenia (a small country not far away from where Lerxst's parents are )

 

Awesome first post! And welcome aboard!

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"On the lead guitar Mr. Alex Lifeson"

 

RB, looking forward to seeing that later on the scope!

 

Am I that predictable? ;) LOL! :cheers:

 

Lots of fun seeing your lyrics! What shows will you be missing? You reminded me I have a family vaca late in the tour. I hope the hotel WiFi is as good as it was last year!

 

I will will be leaving this coming Saturday for a week vaca, so all shows between 6/20 and 6/27 I will miss - I might look for scopes on Friday 6/19, but we are leaving at 3:00am the next day, so I doubt I'll stay up for the whole show.

 

If I am not too tired on 6/27 when we return, I may jump back on that scope - take up my slack while I'm away! ;)

 

Curious because I thought your vaca could be during the "week northeast." I will be at Philly, NJ and NY that week. Very nervous about the MSG show, as its their last one east of KC. A strong sense of finality. And I have the family vaca very close to the last few shows in LA, so even less Rush towards the end. I'm missing the care free early days of Bristow, when the tour seemed limitless :) Closer and closer to the end we are getting :(

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Nice pictures...I would have liked to hear Jacob's Ladder live myself, since my first Rush show was in '81, just missing its original performances.

 

Regarding the vintage guitars...the ES-355 and the ES-335 appear to me to be his originals.

 

I know the white ES-355 has been re-issued, but you can see the very narrow neck on the guitar in the photo, which would be a clue that it is the original 1976 guitar...they did not choose to copy that particular spec on the reissue.

 

The sunburst ES-335 looks a whole lot like the original '68/'69 to me, and I doubt he'd bother making such an exact replica as a one-off for this tour, especially when only the hard-core Lifeson geeks like myself might notice.

Edited by spitball
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