Alex Lifeson Signature Series Guitars?????

rgto · #1 07-19-2003, 03:40 AM

Would anybody out there happen to know if Alex Lifeson has ever had a signature series guitar? I've seen him play Gibsons, Fenders, PRS, and even Hamers, but I've never seen a signature guitar for him.

Thanks in advance for any information!
Ryan

MehYam · #2 07-19-2003, 03:47 AM

Yep. A now-defunct Canadian company called Signature, oddly enough. I think he was part owner of the outfit. From http://www.rush-signals.com/rush/alex_gear.html:

Quote:

POWER WINDOWS TOUR
Identical to the studio setup, except for the amps, which were still the Marshal combos.
Late in the tour, Alex began using(and endorsing) Signature guitars.
These were Strat-style guitars

Since Roll The Bones he's been a PRS man, although I'm not sure if he's an endorsee.

rgto · #3 07-19-2003, 03:50 AM

Thanks MeyHam! Now I have to try and find one

Ryan

BeastofLove · #4 07-19-2003, 12:29 PM

Good luck trying to find one! I've been looking for one off-and-on for a few years now and haven't seen one. The only one I've seen in person had a green quilted maple carved top and belonged to a friend of mine in college.

-Ben

MehYam · #5 07-19-2003, 02:42 PM

Here's a nice info page on Signature guitars. Unlike most current Rush fans, I really dug the sound he got during the Power Windows and HYF tours. He played the Signatures through one of those little GK amps. Similar sound to Iron Maiden, at the time, very rich, woody, and distorted (reminds me of that Soldano pre-amp that's modeled on the POD).

http://www.geocities.com/signatureguitar/

Jimi D · #6 07-20-2003, 03:48 PM

I've owned three Signatures (two Oracles and a Crusader), and they're very similar to Jackson guitars from the same period. The necks and bodies for the bolt-on models were made by LaSiDo (Godin) and the neck-throughs were made by Larivee, so the neck shapes are very different between the two. The neck-throughs have a Jackson/Jem type neck, and the bolt-on's are much chunkier, more "c"-shaped-strat-like. They're really nice guitars, but the secret of the sound is in the pickups! The Evans single coils are distinctive and inspiring! I've got a Strat loaded with a trio of Evans and a mid-boost circuit right now, and it sounds just like Alex's Aurora's did... It should be noted that for years after he switched to PRS, Alex would pull the PRS pups and load Evans pickups in his guitars. So if you can't find a Signature, you can still get the tone - just find an old Strat or Jackson or Ibanez and drop some Evans pups in it.

http://www.synapticsystems.com/studios/evans/evans.htm

MehYam · #7 07-20-2003, 06:57 PM

Which Evans pickups exactly? Passive/active?

Jimi D · #8 07-20-2003, 07:52 PM

Evans doesn't make active pickups. Never did.

rgto · #9 07-21-2003, 01:59 AM

I love the guitar tones on HYF and power windows myself. Of course I have yet to find a Rush anything that I don't like! I've got a beater Charvel that might be fun to try those evans p/ups in. Then I can put the Dimarzio's in my RG570 like I've been planning to do for months.

Ryan

MehYam · #10 07-21-2003, 04:34 AM

I could have sworn once that I read an interview Alex where spoke of active pickups in the Signature guitar. Maybe I'm mixing that up with splittable humbuckers (don't tell me he didn't do that either).

Yeah, I'm with you on that guitar tone, I especially like how he sounded on the Show of Hands video, where he rocked out a bit. The tones on Vapor Trails are pretty cool too, although it's a different vibe entirely.

babahi · #11 07-21-2003, 03:46 PM

Yeah, I remember that bit on the Show Of Hands video. But I also remember seeing a full wall of LEDs behind him -- rack after rack! That might help more in your search for that sound...

MehYam · #12 07-22-2003, 01:08 AM

When I was 16 (um, "back in the day") I demo'ed a Signature guitar into one of those little GK jobbies, which pretty much nailed the dirty sound.

rgto · #13 07-22-2003, 01:13 AM

He seems to be playing a much more 'rythmically aggressive' type of guitar than he has before. It's a radical departure from so much of his previous work...and yet at the same time an almost natural thing for Rush to do. I really think that Hughes & Kettner Zentera modeling setup has a lot to do with his tones of late, but still has the amount of effect options he's probably become accustomed to.

I can respect where they are at this stage of there lives, and I dig Vapor Trails immensely, but I'm still waiting for the next 'Natural Science' to come out!

MehYam · #14 07-26-2003, 01:22 AM

I hear ya. I drooled at Geddy's mention that the song "Double Agent" on CP was almost a 12 minute instrumental.

xbolt · #15 07-18-2008, 09:26 PM

I've got a few Signatures...Two bolt-ons and the trans red neck thru in the middle...
I also recently picked up some NOS Evans pickups that will go into a Signature body project I have.

Alex Lifeson Signature Series Guitars?????

Re: Alex Lifeson Signature Series Guitars?????