RSSCategory: Alex Lifeson

Alex Lifeson’s 2010 Amp Rig

Alex Lifeson’s 2010 Amp Rig

Below are two recent vids posted by German amp company Hughes & Kettner going over Alex Lifeson’s 2010 Time Machine tour Rush rig. In brief, he’s running

July 14, 2010 | By | 2 Replies More
Are Lessons A Waste of Friggin’ Time?

Are Lessons A Waste of Friggin’ Time?

Are music lessons/instruction vastly overrated? I’m thinking they are. I’ve read over the years how people “should” read music, know all the notes on the fretboard by name and all that stuff, but really? Does that really help you become a better musician with your own style? Or does it hurt…. I got thinking about […]

March 17, 2010 | By | 10 Replies More
Alex Lifeson’s Snakes and Arrows Gear

Alex Lifeson’s Snakes and Arrows Gear

I’m a Rush fan, particularly since I came of guitar age during the Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures era, still two of my favorite albums. I did fall away from Rush a bit over the years as they got more into synths and Alex Lifeson got more into washy, ultra-chorused, ambient sounds instead of riffs. […]

March 8, 2010 | By | 3 Replies More
Alex Lifeson: Composing Solos, Rig Mainstays

Alex Lifeson: Composing Solos, Rig Mainstays

I happened on a fairly recent interview with Alex Lifeson from Canadian Musician magazine a while back, then forgot about it. Found it again, so here are the interesting parts, all quotes are Alex’s: Composing Solos “I want it to be part of the song – I don’t want it to be just an exercise […]

December 22, 2009 | By | Reply More
Alex Lifeson’s Permanent Waves Gear

Alex Lifeson’s Permanent Waves Gear

Vid: ‘The Spirit of Radio Lesson’ from Alex Even though I played in bands that copped multiple tunes off Rush’s Moving Pictures album, my favorite Rush album is Permanent Waves. The band was just on fire for that recording. Lots of energy, great parts, great arrangements that are complex yet understandable. Did I say great?

July 23, 2009 | By | 7 Replies More
Alex Lifeson on Going Back to Les Pauls

Alex Lifeson on Going Back to Les Pauls

The folks at PremierGuitar.com recently had a good interview with Alex Lifeson, who after using Les Pauls back in the early days of Rush (Alex is a huge Jimmy Page fan), went to Gibson ES-355s, then did the super strat thing for a while, then played PRSs and now is sporting a sweet-looking Les Paul […]

April 6, 2009 | By | Reply More
How To Get Hand Tone?

How To Get Hand Tone?

I just read an article on Gibson.com about Stevie Ray’s tone. The headline starts with these words: Myth Busters. I assume that’s because the overall point of the piece is that Stevie’s gear wasn’t cut and dried, particularly on the amp side, so his tone being a direct function of his equipment is a bit […]

October 30, 2008 | By | 2 Replies More