Guitar Toad
Toadily Stratologist
How did he get that funky tone on that cool, classic Rush tune? Intro and the solo are way cool. What guitar, amps and effects do you think he used on that one?
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Alex Lifeson - Limelight
- Thread starter Guitar Toad
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frigginalex
New member
Re: Alex Lifeson - Limelight
As I recall reading, he used a Strat that he modified with a Shark neck, a Floyd Rose tremolo, and a humbucker in the bridge. Not sure about the amplifier though.
As I recall reading, he used a Strat that he modified with a Shark neck, a Floyd Rose tremolo, and a humbucker in the bridge. Not sure about the amplifier though.
Butch Snyder
ObsoleteChickenPickingologist
Re: Alex Lifeson - Limelight
I believe the amps were Marshalls but they were 50-watt combos and not stacks... Also, the Floyds that Alex used did not have locking nuts...
I believe the amps were Marshalls but they were 50-watt combos and not stacks... Also, the Floyds that Alex used did not have locking nuts...
Re: Alex Lifeson - Limelight
If i remember right the same strat shows up in the Exit Stage Left home video..... Also i heard it's the same Fender he used to record Spirit Of Radio 2 years earlier.. Around the time of Signals he was using some sort of custom made strats from some guy in Montreal, but at the time of Moving Pictures it was a modded Fender...... Camera's Eye off of Moving pictures is killer!!!!! I love cranking the volume and jamming along to that tune..... was one of the first Rush songs i could play on guitar back in the early 80's.... I remember the day Exit Stage Left was released.... The local radio station played the whole thing 2 times
If i remember right the same strat shows up in the Exit Stage Left home video..... Also i heard it's the same Fender he used to record Spirit Of Radio 2 years earlier.. Around the time of Signals he was using some sort of custom made strats from some guy in Montreal, but at the time of Moving Pictures it was a modded Fender...... Camera's Eye off of Moving pictures is killer!!!!! I love cranking the volume and jamming along to that tune..... was one of the first Rush songs i could play on guitar back in the early 80's.... I remember the day Exit Stage Left was released.... The local radio station played the whole thing 2 times
Guitar Toad
Toadily Stratologist
Re: Alex Lifeson - Limelight
Strat with humbucker into Marshalls. So is the biggest part of the Limelight Intro simply picking closer to the bridge? BTW, I'd never heard that legend about bouncing the sound off a rock face. That's really cool. I have a hard time believing that but it's a great story nevertheless. It make me want to try it.
Strat with humbucker into Marshalls. So is the biggest part of the Limelight Intro simply picking closer to the bridge? BTW, I'd never heard that legend about bouncing the sound off a rock face. That's really cool. I have a hard time believing that but it's a great story nevertheless. It make me want to try it.
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Re: Alex Lifeson - Limelight
Ya they claim the solo was recorded out back behind the studio with the echo bouncing back from the natural valley behind the studio and some sort of rock face..... the studio is somewhere outside of Montreal i think
Guitar Toad said:Strat with humbucker into Marshalls. So is the biggest part of the Limelight Intro simply picking closer to the bridge? BTW, I'd never heard that legend about bouncing the sound off a rock face. That's really cool. I have a hard time believing that but it's a great story nevertheless. It make me want to try it.
Ya they claim the solo was recorded out back behind the studio with the echo bouncing back from the natural valley behind the studio and some sort of rock face..... the studio is somewhere outside of Montreal i think
Guitar Toad
Toadily Stratologist
Re: Alex Lifeson - Limelight
Is this the likely strat?
I knew that they had their own studio or one of the bad members had a one. I thought that it was a really awesome cutting edge studio and was in some remote location in Canada. It's probably true about the rock face echo.
Is this the likely strat?
WhoFan said:
I knew that they had their own studio or one of the bad members had a one. I thought that it was a really awesome cutting edge studio and was in some remote location in Canada. It's probably true about the rock face echo.
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TwilightOdyssey
Darkness on the edge of Tone
Re: Alex Lifeson - Limelight
Guitar Toad
Toadily Stratologist
Re: Alex Lifeson - Limelight
I was driving home from KC on Saturday night. I had taken some Chinese friends to the airport. On the way home, I heard LimeLight on the radio, what a classic tune. The solo is well done. Great stuff.
I was driving home from KC on Saturday night. I had taken some Chinese friends to the airport. On the way home, I heard LimeLight on the radio, what a classic tune. The solo is well done. Great stuff.
Re: Alex Lifeson - Limelight
Hard to tell if that is the guitar.... i do remember it being Black with a rosewood board so it could be it... But this Photo is taken from around 1984-ish when Alex was using many custom strats on stage.... I used to love a Candy Red one he used with a mirror pickguard
TwilightOdyssey said:
Hard to tell if that is the guitar.... i do remember it being Black with a rosewood board so it could be it... But this Photo is taken from around 1984-ish when Alex was using many custom strats on stage.... I used to love a Candy Red one he used with a mirror pickguard
Re: Alex Lifeson - Limelight
That's a new looking Tele Alex has used over the last 10 years... think it was used a lot on Victor.... it's in the Rush In Rio dvd.... Victor was recorded in Alex's home studios... Alex's home is 20 minutes from me....
I don't think the Le Studio used for Moving Pictures is owned by them.... many Canadian bands used the same studio-(April Wine included)... You can see Rush in early 80's videos lip sic'ing videos at Le Studio on their best of DVD i think.... Cronicals
Guitar Toad said:Is this the likely strat?
I knew that they had their own studio or one of the bad members had a one. I thought that it was a really awesome cutting edge studio and was in some remote location in Canada. It's probably true about the rock face echo.
That's a new looking Tele Alex has used over the last 10 years... think it was used a lot on Victor.... it's in the Rush In Rio dvd.... Victor was recorded in Alex's home studios... Alex's home is 20 minutes from me....
I don't think the Le Studio used for Moving Pictures is owned by them.... many Canadian bands used the same studio-(April Wine included)... You can see Rush in early 80's videos lip sic'ing videos at Le Studio on their best of DVD i think.... Cronicals
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Guitar Toad
Toadily Stratologist
Re: Alex Lifeson - Limelight
Looks like the strat in question has a maple neck and a Floyd.. going by this video anyways....
www.youtube.com/watch?v=r460UMI5gbo&search=rush Limlight
Looks like the strat in question has a maple neck and a Floyd.. going by this video anyways....
www.youtube.com/watch?v=r460UMI5gbo&search=rush Limlight
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Matt Blackett
New member
Re: Alex Lifeson - Limelight
I interviewed Alex about this tone, and it was indeed his Sportscaster--a Strat with a Lawrence humbucker and a Floyd (although I thought it had a locking nut). The amp was a Marshall combo and the chorus unit for the solo was a Loft rackmount unit--some obscure Canadian model.
As for the delay, he told me that it was natural echo bouncing off the mountain behind the studio but when I reminded him that they did the same thing for "Natural Science," he said, "You know what, you're right. We got the Limelight echo from the studio." And he thought it was a Lexicon unit.
That same Strat is on "Subdivisions."
WhoFan said:
I interviewed Alex about this tone, and it was indeed his Sportscaster--a Strat with a Lawrence humbucker and a Floyd (although I thought it had a locking nut). The amp was a Marshall combo and the chorus unit for the solo was a Loft rackmount unit--some obscure Canadian model.
As for the delay, he told me that it was natural echo bouncing off the mountain behind the studio but when I reminded him that they did the same thing for "Natural Science," he said, "You know what, you're right. We got the Limelight echo from the studio." And he thought it was a Lexicon unit.
That same Strat is on "Subdivisions."
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Guitar Toad
Toadily Stratologist
Re: Alex Lifeson - Limelight
Mr. Blackett-
I found this interview you did with Alex Lifeson. I hope it's ok to include the link. Matt Balckett with Alex Lifeson I loved reading the box where he met Jimmy Page and Geddy Lee's comments about Alex. Great stuff. Alex Lifeson is one of my alltime favorites. And for the record FWIW, Hemisphere was my first and probably favorite Rush album. I've only seen them once and that was on the Permanent Waves tour. I loved that show. It was great to see Rush. They had one of the very best live sounds I ever heard. It was loud enough to be loud, and not so lound that it turned into sonic mush like the Van Halen or Kiss shows.
I forgot to add...Nice interview. Very cool discussion you had with him.
Mr. Blackett-
I found this interview you did with Alex Lifeson. I hope it's ok to include the link. Matt Balckett with Alex Lifeson I loved reading the box where he met Jimmy Page and Geddy Lee's comments about Alex. Great stuff. Alex Lifeson is one of my alltime favorites. And for the record FWIW, Hemisphere was my first and probably favorite Rush album. I've only seen them once and that was on the Permanent Waves tour. I loved that show. It was great to see Rush. They had one of the very best live sounds I ever heard. It was loud enough to be loud, and not so lound that it turned into sonic mush like the Van Halen or Kiss shows.
I forgot to add...Nice interview. Very cool discussion you had with him.
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Matt Blackett
New member
Re: Alex Lifeson - Limelight
It's totally OK to post the link and I'm glad you liked the story. He was one of the best interviews I've ever done. The actual info I was referring to about the delay on Limelight was in the previous cover story, on the Vapor Trails album, where Alex said, among other things, that they nailed "Xanadu" all 11 minutes of it, in one take, first take.
Damn.
Guitar Toad said:
It's totally OK to post the link and I'm glad you liked the story. He was one of the best interviews I've ever done. The actual info I was referring to about the delay on Limelight was in the previous cover story, on the Vapor Trails album, where Alex said, among other things, that they nailed "Xanadu" all 11 minutes of it, in one take, first take.
Damn.
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indianblueguns
New member
Re: Alex Lifeson - Limelight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5JTBmx3xpc&list=PLA5e8Kv8Fb1PctlqVDyykN5kZd_eZBhij Alex talks about recording guitars and bouncing the sound off of a mountain.
Strat with humbucker into Marshalls. So is the biggest part of the Limelight Intro simply picking closer to the bridge? BTW, I'd never heard that legend about bouncing the sound off a rock face. That's really cool. I have a hard time believing that but it's a great story nevertheless. It make me want to try it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5JTBmx3xpc&list=PLA5e8Kv8Fb1PctlqVDyykN5kZd_eZBhij Alex talks about recording guitars and bouncing the sound off of a mountain.
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