David Kemp I noticed that they did this with ZZ Top and Motley Crue. Instead of Marshalls, they picked Blackstars, and they got guitars that were not what they had used.
Probably sound much better with a better speaker. Cheap Marshall and Cheap Blackstars have cheap Celestions with small magnets. Get a good one speaker with a good magnet, even if it isn't a Celestion, with Greenback, V30 or G12T voicing.
You never realize how important Geddy's bass playing is in Rush's music until you hear someone playing the basslines wrong or at least overly simplified.
Geddy Lee inspired my husband to take up playing bass back in 1980. He does it for fun and to jam with his friends. He realized that the bass guitar has no limits. And the six string guitar is just too steep of a learning curve at the start.
Mixed reviews with this one! I must admit it was pretty hard learning the songs before filming! The typo, well you can't win em all. Stupid autocorrect. Either way, thanks for watching and yes by busting should be interesting!
Rabea Massaad Hi there Rabea,I love the videos but I didn't feel any of the RUSH magic,sounded a bit empty and lifeless but maybe you can smash it out of the park with a by busting (hint hint)
I think out of the many you and Matt have done, only 2, for me anyway, missed the mark. which is pretty impressive and a difficult task. but, I'll be first in line to watch the next ones. The Darkness was my favorite and I still think you guys should do Pyromania and Hysteria era Def Leppard and, u should do a guilty pleasure one for each of u. maybe a Nuno one because, Bae, u nail that sh * t
If you guys end up doing by busting the bank, I'd recommend basing the sound and gear off of the Exit Stage Left album. It's a live album from the Moving Pictures tour, so right after the release of Tom Sawyer, Limelight, and YYZ, plus it includes basically all the other big hits. Also, if you can get a bass player like Dave to help out, that'd be sweet! (no offense Matt) Lastly, the way Alex plays is a HUGE part of his sound. If you look into the chord voicings and such that he uses, I'm sure you could get close pretty quickly. Good luck!
Let me start by saying you guys normally do pretty well and I'm a big fan of this series. To be honest, I think you guys really missed the mark on this one. For the guitar you put a lot of emphasis on the Floyd, when he really doesn't use it that much. He still plays fixed bridge LPs, 335s, and PRS at every concert, but hasn't played super Strats since the mid 80s, and that was only for a short time. He also doesn't use delay nearly as much as he uses reverb, because he's pretty known for his ambient swells. I think the Marshall DSL40 would've been a better choice than the Blackstar, because the Blackstar has a very saturated gain where the Marshall is more crunchy. Lifeson also used Marshalls for most of his career. The Flanger was a little slow and thin for what he normally does.
Caleb Neff If they were so adamant about the Floyd there has to be an LTD EC with a Floyd in that price range. That way you get the set neck mahogany guitar with the trem.
It really depends on what tone you're goin for. 70's rush would be the 335 but he did use super strats in the 80s. With that said this sounds like was pretty disappointing, I hope they do a by busting to redeem themselves!
a les paul would've been fine even if it had no floyd rose, also a PRS could've worked considering he does use PRS as made evident from his rig rundown video
Chris Yates they aren't into anything, in every one of these it seems like they expend no effort, they just google a rig rundown and skim through it to get some main talking points and then do a bad job at playing some hit songs
Absolutely love this series but after waiting for this one for over a year I have to admit that I'm underwhelmed with this one. Maybe I'm a bit too biased because RUSH is my favourite band but this felt half arsed. I would love to see a BY Busting the Bank of this
Yeah, Alex's recorded career spans several styles, so you need to specify which sound. I love that chorusy, moody sound on Grace Under Pressure, and the solo work on that album is particularly good.
One of my all-time guitar heroes! Should have rolled with an Epi (for price) 335 or similar axe, as that was his main weapon of choice until 1980. Also, chorus (specifically the Boss CE-1) was integral to his tone from about 1977/78 onward. Ahhh well...
I feel like a strat with a bridge humbucker would have pulled off the Hentor Sportscaster vibe pretty well. I think it would have also had a bit more high end than the Charvel, which would help. His tone from 1980ish is all about the CE-1 into the front end of a Marshall though. Exit Stage Left would be the thing to model the tone and gear off of IMO
JazzzRockFuzion Maybe they could have gone for a PRS SE Custom 24 as he has used a CE 24 in the past, it can cover multiple eras and doesn't completely blow the £1500 budget
+JazzzRockFuzion: Can't tell you how great it is to see fellow diehard Rush/Lifeson fans around here, especially someone like you who clearly knows Alex', his musical history and his gear....I would really love to hear your comments on my wall of text post above... :) cheers man!
A lot of that comes down to chord voicings. Alex uses a lot of doubled notes and open strings to fill the space. You can tell that they didn't really get the excerpts right at all, so it lacks those subtleties. Couple thinner sounding voicings with a sound that's not quite sustainy enough, and it loses a lot of balls.
Early Rush he didn't use so many pedals. A Cry Baby, an analog tape delay (Echoplex) and a Maestro Phase Shifter. Later (still early) he used a Roland or Boss Chorus and Electo-Harmonics flanger. I think that "Rush" booster (he never used, but sounds like Lifeson), a tape delay of some kind and a Boss CH-1 or Roland Space Echo (or clones) might have been all the pedals you needed.
You can hear on heavier tones (like YYZ and Tom Sawyer) how not being able to get a Les Paul made a bigger difference. Spirt OnThe Radio, on the otherside, sounded closer to the original. You think a floyd rose was really necessary? Maybe a stock Les Paul would get you closer.
All of the album _Moving Pictures_ was recorded with Stratocasters. They toured with the ES-355 for the older works. No Les Paul was involved in YYZ or Tom Sawyer. They didn't return until _Test for Echo_ What you're hearing is a standard 70's HSS Strat with a PAF in the bridge.
pretty sure Alex Lifeson used a Strat on The Spirit of Radio Alex is know to triple track guitar tracks, Les Paul, Telecaster + something else to get his big sound
Isn't Permanent Waves still in the 335 era? The Hentor (modded strat-style) appears on Moving Pictures and in later albums. I think he did use a tele for New World Man on Signals.
I usually enjoy these sound like vids, but this is not even in the same ball park as any of Lifeson's tones. What's obvious is that they know it as well.
tbh some riffs are a bit sloppy (actually yyz was the definition of sloppy) but the sound with the Rush boost is sooo close, great job. now sounds like Rush BY busting the Bank :D
+vcp93: Honestly? Kinda the truth, yeah. Alex' tone from 2112 onward has always been "expensive" sounding. 'Cause it was, especially for the time. :) Aside from the first couple of Rush albums, Alex never really was a guitar, cable, amp kinda guy - he's a sound shaper, not a shredder. And that's what makes his playing so unique....
Nah, I think the lesson is that a 80s hair metal guitar and a Blackstar are not the foundation for a Permanent Waves or Moving Pictures tone. An Epiphone 335 (although Alex played a 355, but Epiphone's 355 is out of production at the moment) and a Hot Rod Deluxe with some pedals would have gotten far closer than this and well within budget.
No, but they could do more than pick three songs from two albums, do obviously no research on the gear and then not even play the songs correctly. They've got 14 platinum albums, they deserve more time and respect than these guys gave them.
355 with the 70s thinner neck. Good luck getting anything close to that for under 3 grand. Thats why I mentioned the 339. While it doesnt have the full body of the 355/335, it at least has a similar feeling neck and doesnt come close to busting the bank. In fact you would save enough to get a good amp and not have to get TC pedals. Could actually get some MXR analogue stuffs.
Alex's 355 was made in 1977, and still had the 60's slim neck. His very rare signature model I'm told had an even thinner neck than the original. And yes the prices on any 335/345/355 older than 10 years are obscene. The much better buy is a Heritage, and they're made in the same Kalamazoo factory as the vintage ones.
Thank you!! I know me and a few other subscribers have been hounding you about this for a while now....pretty darn close I would say. Love to hear a 'By Busting the Bank' for this one 👍👍👍
Why were you even discussing what he uses nowadays? He wasn't using Hughes and Kettners until the early 2000's , so of course it won't capture the sound he had in the 70's and 80's.
I would have opted for an Epiphone 335 copy to free up more money for effects. Alex had a badass wah tone early on. Some ballsy distortion. Cool delay effects a la By- Tor or Anthem. I love this series but this one seemed uninspired.
Harrison Stokes Even if they do by busting the bank It would be a challenging one because his signature lp is discontinued. Either way it would be interesting to see
Buckethead's modern tone relies on a lot of expensive stuff but back in the 90s his rig was less complex but still managed to have his own sound. (albeit different sounding from what it's like now)
there was a Fender George Harrison Telecaster made but it's £7000+ and not good on a £1500 budget, so in that case a Classic Vibe Tele should work, couple it with a Fender Amp, a Leslie/Rotary pedal and a Tubescreamer
Bass part (Geddy Lee) -Geddy Lee sound sparkle, strong and GREAT. In the early Rush he used a Rickenbacker, but its hard to find a cheap Rickenbacker copy. In these times Geddy plays on his signatue Fender Jazz Bass. Emulate that tone is easy with a Sire Marcus Miller V7, adler body and maple fretboard. Passive mode -For oldy Rush, Lee used Ampeg. For actual the Gallien Krueger MB 110 is the best. Bass at 5, Lo-mid and Hi-mid at 3'5, treble at 6'5 -A high-gain distortion with clean blend and distortion/overdrive in a clean blend at the same time -You also neeed a phaser in various configurations
After all this time waiting for them to do RUSH, I wasn't that impressed :/ I think they really should do a 'by busting the bank' to redeem this video and give the band justice in my opinion
You f#$%^ing beauty! So glad to see you guys taking on Lerxt's tone and a decent job you did too. I might have gone with a Marshall combo, but good choice with the Charvel (he played a Strat with a humbucker in the 80's) and the TC Electronics effects (he uses heaps of them).
ZOMG...first, let this 4 decade+ Rush lover GUSH and THANK YOU guys for this - so long awaited and I have asked a bazillion times. Honestly though, I knew this would be one of the most difficult challenges ever on the show, especially on the budget. You guys did pretty well overall, but the fact is that Lifeson's sound has always been HUGE and his tone is what I refer to as an "expensive" tone. tl;dr warning... :D Another issue is that while Alex' overall playing style has been largely consistent over the decades, his choice of main axe has not - he's been all over the place, especially looking back at the Rush catalog over the years. First 1/4 of Lifeson was more Page-like, both in tone and gear, with a sound that was more raw and less "expensively" wet, with him using primarily Gibson LP style axes and Marshalls. For axes, Alex then spent a number of years on 335-355 styles & Howard Roberts Fusion guitars, followed by Strats and SuperStrats then PRS and now, Alex uses pretty much everything and anything he wants. 'Cause he can. :D After the big one of "2112" was when Rush and Alex "matured" and Alex' tone became increasingly more expensive sounding and complex. Side note: Rush fanatic guitar players know that its nearly impossible to replicate Alex tone without an Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress pedal somewhere in the chain, a pedal that Alex used noticeably, consistently yet not in an overblown way. That EH-EM pedal was the second pedal I ever bought and man do i wish I still had that original version... It's obvious I could go one for ages and ages - suffice it to say I THANK YOU BOTH for this. Alex is indeed one of the most underrated of all guitar players among those ignorant about Rush and while there is no honest Rush fan who will compare Lifeson to Satriani in terms of sheer technical ability, Lifeson's has carved out a singularly unique tone and playing style, note selection, phrasing, melodic and timing sense and also his slurring whammy techniques that to this day can be so incredibly hard to emulate properly. And besides, music ain't a competition. :) Something about his mix of OD/Distortion and all the very subtle wet stuff wizardry going on makes his tone so hard to copy, at any price [although getting easier now with Helix/AX8 and AXFx gear]. You guys did a yeoman's job with this effort. But it was always an incredibly tall order, one of the hardest you will ever face. Obviously, a no budget version is needed now! In fact, I have also been after TheGigRig guys to do just such a thing - with respect, if anyone can really nail down Lifeson's tone over the many phases of his career, it's going to be Daniel, not least because he frickin' loves the EH Mistress as much as I do. :D Good job guys...THANK YOU AGAIN for bringing a spotlight on Alex to new generations of players! cheers!
I appreciate your emphasizing the positive here. :) But I agree with many others that this "Sounds Like" ended up a complete misfire. I *completely* agree with you about Alex being underrated, even with the band's belated recognition in the past few years. A lot of the attention goes to Neil or Geddy, and of course they deserve their accolades. The most difficult challenge about guitar is not shredding solos, it is about writing SONGS, and Alex's guitar composition is wide-ranging, creative, expressive, memorable, and great fun to play.
+pgk7285: Yeah, you're right and I did say that on other posts here that the target was not really hit. :) I was mostly pleased to see Alex getting some love on Anderton's. And I was really trying to be diplomatic. Blame the politician in me... ;) Of all the songs I have learned over the decades, probably my all time favorites are Rush compositions. Totally spot on - so many of Lerxst's parts are so much damm fun to play, for instance Time Stand Still, La Villa, Limelight...sigh...I pretty much have every note of the Limelight solo nailed but just can never, ever truly replicate the tone and Alex's slippery vibrato technique, slurring into those notes. And of course, the infinite delay on the last screaming note. :D Yes, Bea was in the ballpark overall, but for sure not a home run. Ground rule double maybe... :D cheers man!
+Uki Malefu: 100% spot on man. "Danish Sexy Chords" Pete is openly a Prince lover and indeed, he would be the IDEAL guy to do a sounds-like homage...GREAT CALL Uki... :D
Love these sounds like by breaking / without breaking the bank segments... but have to say you guys seemed a bit uninspired today. Any chance you'll take another swing and do a full breaking the bank piece?
ToxicCokeCola the problem would be replicating the "de-bigulator" pedal that Rivers Cuomo has - not sure if anyone has done that with an actual commercial pedal - but I'm all in to see them put it together "without" busting
Sound like Ritchie Blackmore without busting (Do deep purple AND rainbow plz). Sound like Jeff Beck without busting. Sound like John Squire without busting (Make sure to do some second comming). Sound like Cream without busting (I know you guys did clapton, but the sounds and gear he used in Cream are so differant to his solo stuff.) Sound like Yes without busting.
If I'm not mistaken didn't Alex use strats in the early years? I understand that he's know as a Les Paul guy but I think he's used a various of guitars while in the studio.
...just record yourself playing a harmonic minor scale on a stratocaster with a bunch of overdrive and delay and then play it back with the speed multiplied x10.
Considering your starting point, this was remarkably close - well done! Also, great ad. for Charvel and TC Electronic (I wasn't even aware of these pedals in the TC range).
This needs to happen and my life won´t be complete if they won´t do it. For me though the best guitar sound was on the Empire album especially on Anybody Listening!
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
Pretty clear that Matt and Rabea aren't big Rush fans. This was pretty lacklustre.
David Kemp Rabea should be, considering that he's in a prog metal band.
David Kemp I noticed that they did this with ZZ Top and Motley Crue. Instead of Marshalls, they picked Blackstars, and they got guitars that were not what they had used.
Blackstar was founded by ex-Marshall employees. They are cheaper so it's a solid compromise because Marshall stuff is expensive as hell.
Look at the One Man Rush medley by Antoine Baril - its awesome!
Probably sound much better with a better speaker. Cheap Marshall and Cheap Blackstars have cheap Celestions with small magnets. Get a good one speaker with a good magnet, even if it isn't a Celestion, with Greenback, V30 or G12T voicing.
YOU HAD THE ES 335S RIGHT BEHIND YOU
Emerald Vision I know i think they did that on purpose
I mean to be fair Alex used a lot of different guitars. They were probably trying to go for the Hentor Sportscaster vibe.
Ikr
that's a 2k guitar
@@adrian5b it was an epiphone
You never realize how important Geddy's bass playing is in Rush's music until you hear someone playing the basslines wrong or at least overly simplified.
Geddy Lee inspired my husband to take up playing bass back in 1980. He does it for fun and to jam with his friends. He realized that the bass guitar has no limits. And the six string guitar is just too steep of a learning curve at the start.
Mixed reviews with this one! I must admit it was pretty hard learning the songs before filming!
The typo, well you can't win em all. Stupid autocorrect.
Either way, thanks for watching and yes by busting should be interesting!
Legend.....
Rabea Massaad Hi there Rabea,I love the videos but I didn't feel any of the RUSH magic,sounded a bit empty and lifeless but maybe you can smash it out of the park with a by busting (hint hint)
I think out of the many you and Matt have done, only 2, for me anyway, missed the mark. which is pretty impressive and a difficult task. but, I'll be first in line to watch the next ones. The Darkness was my favorite and I still think you guys should do Pyromania and Hysteria era Def Leppard and, u should do a guilty pleasure one for each of u. maybe a Nuno one because, Bae, u nail that sh * t
If you guys end up doing by busting the bank, I'd recommend basing the sound and gear off of the Exit Stage Left album. It's a live album from the Moving Pictures tour, so right after the release of Tom Sawyer, Limelight, and YYZ, plus it includes basically all the other big hits. Also, if you can get a bass player like Dave to help out, that'd be sweet! (no offense Matt) Lastly, the way Alex plays is a HUGE part of his sound. If you look into the chord voicings and such that he uses, I'm sure you could get close pretty quickly. Good luck!
Spirit of Radio didn't sound too bad, to be fair. For without busting the bank, not bad. However a by busting would be sweet!
Let me start by saying you guys normally do pretty well and I'm a big fan of this series.
To be honest, I think you guys really missed the mark on this one. For the guitar you put a lot of emphasis on the Floyd, when he really doesn't use it that much. He still plays fixed bridge LPs, 335s, and PRS at every concert, but hasn't played super Strats since the mid 80s, and that was only for a short time. He also doesn't use delay nearly as much as he uses reverb, because he's pretty known for his ambient swells. I think the Marshall DSL40 would've been a better choice than the Blackstar, because the Blackstar has a very saturated gain where the Marshall is more crunchy. Lifeson also used Marshalls for most of his career. The Flanger was a little slow and thin for what he normally does.
Caleb Neff If they were so adamant about the Floyd there has to be an LTD EC with a Floyd in that price range. That way you get the set neck mahogany guitar with the trem.
If they had the Howard Roberts Fusion (He used it a lot on the Moving Pictures tour), I would be in heaven
We thought the Chavell SoCal sounded too heavy right out of the gate, I believe the pickups were too high output.
Dudes,...
@@apico This video is about sounding like Rush. You can only expect this comment thread to occur.
It's absolutely criminal that you opted for a charvel over a 335 of some sort
or an HSS strat
It really depends on what tone you're goin for. 70's rush would be the 335 but he did use super strats in the 80s. With that said this sounds like was pretty disappointing, I hope they do a by busting to redeem themselves!
a les paul would've been fine even if it had no floyd rose, also a PRS could've worked considering he does use PRS as made evident from his rig rundown video
Im gonna start a band named Crap and hopefully we will get big one day so you guys can make a video called "Sound like Crap".
I think that could honestly double as a title for this video.
a Rush sounds like but no Limelight!?!?
Seems like these guys aren't really into Rush or did the video in a rush (no pun intended :-)
I do love these videos though.
Chris Yates you sir are a genius
Chris Yates they aren't into anything, in every one of these it seems like they expend no effort, they just google a rig rundown and skim through it to get some main talking points and then do a bad job at playing some hit songs
No pun intended my ass
@@Jakeman90210 would love to see u do better u prick
Absolutely love this series but after waiting for this one for over a year I have to admit that I'm underwhelmed with this one. Maybe I'm a bit too biased because RUSH is my favourite band but this felt half arsed. I would love to see a BY Busting the Bank of this
kero gunso Feel exacty the same as you! They should go listen to some 2112 and make a By busting the bank!
Alex's tone on Grace Under Pressure is facepalming this video
Yeah, Alex's recorded career spans several styles, so you need to specify which sound. I love that chorusy, moody sound on Grace Under Pressure, and the solo work on that album is particularly good.
those opening chords on " Red Sector A " just crush me every time. Oh to have one of my guitars sound that good !!!
One of my all-time guitar heroes! Should have rolled with an Epi (for price) 335 or similar axe, as that was his main weapon of choice until 1980. Also, chorus (specifically the Boss CE-1) was integral to his tone from about 1977/78 onward. Ahhh well...
I feel like a strat with a bridge humbucker would have pulled off the Hentor Sportscaster vibe pretty well. I think it would have also had a bit more high end than the Charvel, which would help. His tone from 1980ish is all about the CE-1 into the front end of a Marshall though. Exit Stage Left would be the thing to model the tone and gear off of IMO
100% agreed!
JazzzRockFuzion Maybe they could have gone for a PRS SE Custom 24 as he has used a CE 24 in the past, it can cover multiple eras and doesn't completely blow the £1500 budget
+JazzzRockFuzion: Can't tell you how great it is to see fellow diehard Rush/Lifeson fans around here, especially someone like you who clearly knows Alex', his musical history and his gear....I would really love to hear your comments on my wall of text post above... :)
cheers man!
JazzzRockFuzion THEY WERE STANDING IN FRONT OF THE 335S THEY PLAYED ME SO HARD
Well, that was a throwaway episode, lads. Not much enthusiasm for Rush, eh?
It sounds a bit thin and empty for Rush? Alex Lifeson has a bigger sound, but then he has an expensive set up? M
A lot of that comes down to chord voicings. Alex uses a lot of doubled notes and open strings to fill the space. You can tell that they didn't really get the excerpts right at all, so it lacks those subtleties. Couple thinner sounding voicings with a sound that's not quite sustainy enough, and it loses a lot of balls.
Early Rush he didn't use so many pedals. A Cry Baby, an analog tape delay (Echoplex) and a Maestro Phase Shifter. Later (still early) he used a Roland or Boss Chorus and Electo-Harmonics flanger. I think that "Rush" booster (he never used, but sounds like Lifeson), a tape delay of some kind and a Boss CH-1 or Roland Space Echo (or clones) might have been all the pedals you needed.
You can hear on heavier tones (like YYZ and Tom Sawyer) how not being able to get a Les Paul made a bigger difference. Spirt OnThe Radio, on the otherside, sounded closer to the original.
You think a floyd rose was really necessary? Maybe a stock Les Paul would get you closer.
All of the album _Moving Pictures_ was recorded with Stratocasters. They toured with the ES-355 for the older works. No Les Paul was involved in YYZ or Tom Sawyer. They didn't return until _Test for Echo_ What you're hearing is a standard 70's HSS Strat with a PAF in the bridge.
Hmm, that's interesting. Maybe it was just something they missed a bit setting up the gear.
Markle2k it was a T-Top, not a PAF. Source: Alex's luthier
pretty sure Alex Lifeson used a Strat on The Spirit of Radio
Alex is know to triple track guitar tracks, Les Paul, Telecaster + something else to get his big sound
Isn't Permanent Waves still in the 335 era? The Hentor (modded strat-style) appears on Moving Pictures and in later albums. I think he did use a tele for New World Man on Signals.
Not XYZ ! It's YYZ
Saint Novacaine Toronto!
Exactly!
Named after the Pearson airport code, it's not the alphabet song!
I like how they explain the meaning of the song in the show Classic Album (I'm not if it's the exact name of the show)
:)
this was the really really far away from the rush sound. On the other hand it was as fun as it gets!
nice try guys, you cant win all of them!
One to revisit by busting. I'd like to see them take another crack at it with no budget.
no it wasn't! it was really really close to the rush sound, closer to the heart?
Please do Opeth guys!
Dolo I'd love to hear this one, take this comment as a second like :p
Dolo Please do old meth
I usually enjoy these sound like vids, but this is not even in the same ball park as any of Lifeson's tones. What's obvious is that they know it as well.
yes it is, this is definitley in the same ball park as alex's tones
It's called YYZ ya bellends
I couldn't help but think of the Strokes sounds like bloopers and someone shouting YY FUCKING Z MAN! haha
I couldn't help but think of the Strokes sounds like bloopers and someone shouting YY FUCKING Z MAN! haha
Dude, it's YYZ which is the international airport code for Toronto.
IVE BEEN ASKING FOR THIS SOUNDS LIKE FOR ALMOST A YEAR
ZOMG...U AN WITH YOU 1 GAZILLION PERCENT AND YES, THIS DESERVES SHOUTING FROM THE ROOFTOPS! :D
But did it disappoint?
Cole s yes
sadly, yes
Evidently these gents know virtually nothing about Rush
Kevin Lewis ; too young
Too much for them
Totally Agree
@@akeeperofoddknowledge4956 lol I'm 14 and a huge rush fan...
@@shernandez300 no one cares
Try a Sound like Opeth, that could be interesting
I swear 80% of their tone/sound is a PRS.
First time I played one, within seconds I was hearing Akerfeldt.
tbh some riffs are a bit sloppy (actually yyz was the definition of sloppy) but the sound with the Rush boost is sooo close, great job.
now sounds like Rush BY busting the Bank :D
So boyz and girlz, the moral of this story is; "If you don't have a lot of ducats to spend on your gear, you aren't going to sound like Alex". ;)
+vcp93: Honestly? Kinda the truth, yeah. Alex' tone from 2112 onward has always been "expensive" sounding. 'Cause it was, especially for the time. :) Aside from the first couple of Rush albums, Alex never really was a guitar, cable, amp kinda guy - he's a sound shaper, not a shredder. And that's what makes his playing so unique....
Nah, I think the lesson is that a 80s hair metal guitar and a Blackstar are not the foundation for a Permanent Waves or Moving Pictures tone. An Epiphone 335 (although Alex played a 355, but Epiphone's 355 is out of production at the moment) and a Hot Rod Deluxe with some pedals would have gotten far closer than this and well within budget.
I'm almost embarrased for you guys on this episode
Best part about this video was the perfectly syncronized leg un-rest at 6:08
LinkToon000 that wasn't planned but glad someone noticed hahaha
Why this isn't the top comment is proof to me that nothing is real.
Rush has 20 albums worth of material and you guys do 3 songs, and don't even learn how to play them first...
These guys churn out these videos... do you think they have time to listen to 20 albums of Rush and learn their back catalogue?
No, but they could do more than pick three songs from two albums, do obviously no research on the gear and then not even play the songs correctly. They've got 14 platinum albums, they deserve more time and respect than these guys gave them.
Gabriel Klute the problem is Alex has a lot of guitars and a huge palette of sounds from which to choose.
True, but there are some "common threads" (Gibson PAF or active pickups, modulation, delay, clear highs). I'm close to his tone, but it isn't perfect.
He has a lot of guitars but as far as recording he only used a les paul, es, or strat up until the late 80's. Excluding the double necks.
no epiphone 335?
I use the Epi Pro339 for Rush stuff and it gets pretty darn close. Pickup upgrade and it would be almost there!
Lifeson played a 335 and a 355? In the 70's.
355 with the 70s thinner neck. Good luck getting anything close to that for under 3 grand. Thats why I mentioned the 339. While it doesnt have the full body of the 355/335, it at least has a similar feeling neck and doesnt come close to busting the bank. In fact you would save enough to get a good amp and not have to get TC pedals. Could actually get some MXR analogue stuffs.
Alex's 355 was made in 1977, and still had the 60's slim neck. His very rare signature model I'm told had an even thinner neck than the original. And yes the prices on any 335/345/355 older than 10 years are obscene. The much better buy is a Heritage, and they're made in the same Kalamazoo factory as the vintage ones.
eladious the epiphone sheraton would have been a good choice
It bothers me that you don't know how to play Spirit of Radio and you are using it as an example
DontKillAnts they didn’t play any of the songs right
Pls what have you done its YYZ not XYZ
Normally a fan of these...This one should have been called, "Sounds Nothing Like Rush"!
Please do Sound like Gojira!!
From which album? They all sound fairly different
wesclev83 FSTM
Yea! Some songs from "From Mars To Sirius", please.
Me: "This sounds nothing like Alex!"
Also Me: (too busy air-drumming to care)
i think it sounds exactly like alex
I don't think I have ever pushed on a Sounds Like so fast since I started watching.
Me too!
Great job, guys! I know I requested this somewhere back in the 70s when you first started this. Lifeson's hard, too. You did well.
Wasn't expecting this one guys! Lifeson is an incredibly skilled player! Only a recent Rush fan
Thank you!! I know me and a few other subscribers have been hounding you about this for a while now....pretty darn close I would say. Love to hear a 'By Busting the Bank' for this one 👍👍👍
AT LAST MY REQUESTS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED
COULDNT BE MORE HAPPY OVER A RUclips VIDEO
ZOMG...U AN WITH YOU 1 GAZILLION PERCENT AND YES, THIS DESERVES SHOUTING FROM THE ROOFTOPS! :D
I knew I wasn't the only one who was hoping for this since they first brought his series
I was happy till I watched it. Their heart wasn't in it.
Why were you even discussing what he uses nowadays? He wasn't using Hughes and Kettners until the early 2000's , so of course it won't capture the sound he had in the 70's and 80's.
Erm... I'm pretty sure the last one is a typo... It's YYZ
Overall, it's a pretty good one!
What? No limelight??? What gives
XYZ?? Seriously guys....
That improvised bass on Tom Sawyer makes me so sad
should have went with the DSL 40 Marshall and a MXR analog chorus and phase 90...maybe a EQ too...IMHO
Sorry for the typo, apple auto correct and I didn't notice!
Please do EVH, Joe Bonamassa and Eric Johnson! :))
EVH without busting the bank
Eric Johnson, yeah man. Strat and hell of chorus + delay.
Yes, please. No more shitty bands (?)
Thomas Højberg plus stereo amps, one clean one slightly above breakup
Nicolás Bascuñán rush is way better than any band YOU like
This episode looked like you were forced to use (and advertise) some products instead of picking the right guitar, etc.
This is definitely one that needs to be done With busting the bank
I would have opted for an Epiphone 335 copy to free up more money for effects. Alex had a badass wah tone early on. Some ballsy distortion. Cool delay effects a la By- Tor or Anthem. I love this series but this one seemed uninspired.
Pls do buckethead on his birthday (13th may)
Harrison Stokes Even if they do by busting the bank It would be a challenging one because his signature lp is discontinued. Either way it would be interesting to see
Buckethead's modern tone relies on a lot of expensive stuff but back in the 90s his rig was less complex but still managed to have his own sound. (albeit different sounding from what it's like now)
love the SRV in the background at 4:08
Please do Megadeth
bro.
jack kivi they already did metallica
They didnt do megadeth tho
run a flying V into the metallica rig
Fluffy_ thanks I'll try that :)
I'm sure you guys don't have the guts to make a " how to sound like Motörhead" ;)
How have you not done the Beatles yet???
Two acoustic guitars...done.
ErichWilliam not at all
there was a Fender George Harrison Telecaster made but it's £7000+ and not good on a £1500 budget, so in that case a Classic Vibe Tele should work, couple it with a Fender Amp, a Leslie/Rotary pedal and a Tubescreamer
Why would you use a Fender amp when you could use an AC15?
AC4 has great tones, and is surprisingly loud.
Bass part (Geddy Lee)
-Geddy Lee sound sparkle, strong and GREAT. In the early Rush he used a Rickenbacker, but its hard to find a cheap Rickenbacker copy. In these times Geddy plays on his signatue Fender Jazz Bass. Emulate that tone is easy with a Sire Marcus Miller V7, adler body and maple fretboard. Passive mode
-For oldy Rush, Lee used Ampeg. For actual the Gallien Krueger MB 110 is the best. Bass at 5, Lo-mid and Hi-mid at 3'5, treble at 6'5
-A high-gain distortion with clean blend and distortion/overdrive in a clean blend at the same time
-You also neeed a phaser in various configurations
After all this time waiting for them to do RUSH, I wasn't that impressed :/ I think they really should do a 'by busting the bank' to redeem this video and give the band justice in my opinion
You f#$%^ing beauty! So glad to see you guys taking on Lerxt's tone and a decent job you did too. I might have gone with a Marshall combo, but good choice with the Charvel (he played a Strat with a humbucker in the 80's) and the TC Electronics effects (he uses heaps of them).
ZOMG...first, let this 4 decade+ Rush lover GUSH and THANK YOU guys for this - so long awaited and I have asked a bazillion times. Honestly though, I knew this would be one of the most difficult challenges ever on the show, especially on the budget. You guys did pretty well overall, but the fact is that Lifeson's sound has always been HUGE and his tone is what I refer to as an "expensive" tone. tl;dr warning... :D
Another issue is that while Alex' overall playing style has been largely consistent over the decades, his choice of main axe has not - he's been all over the place, especially looking back at the Rush catalog over the years. First 1/4 of Lifeson was more Page-like, both in tone and gear, with a sound that was more raw and less "expensively" wet, with him using primarily Gibson LP style axes and Marshalls. For axes, Alex then spent a number of years on 335-355 styles & Howard Roberts Fusion guitars, followed by Strats and SuperStrats then PRS and now, Alex uses pretty much everything and anything he wants. 'Cause he can. :D
After the big one of "2112" was when Rush and Alex "matured" and Alex' tone became increasingly more expensive sounding and complex.
Side note: Rush fanatic guitar players know that its nearly impossible to replicate Alex tone without an Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress pedal somewhere in the chain, a pedal that Alex used noticeably, consistently yet not in an overblown way. That EH-EM pedal was the second pedal I ever bought and man do i wish I still had that original version...
It's obvious I could go one for ages and ages - suffice it to say I THANK YOU BOTH for this.
Alex is indeed one of the most underrated of all guitar players among those ignorant about Rush and while there is no honest Rush fan who will compare Lifeson to Satriani in terms of sheer technical ability, Lifeson's has carved out a singularly unique tone and playing style, note selection, phrasing, melodic and timing sense and also his slurring whammy techniques that to this day can be so incredibly hard to emulate properly. And besides, music ain't a competition. :)
Something about his mix of OD/Distortion and all the very subtle wet stuff wizardry going on makes his tone so hard to copy, at any price [although getting easier now with Helix/AX8 and AXFx gear].
You guys did a yeoman's job with this effort. But it was always an incredibly tall order, one of the hardest you will ever face. Obviously, a no budget version is needed now! In fact, I have also been after TheGigRig guys to do just such a thing - with respect, if anyone can really nail down Lifeson's tone over the many phases of his career, it's going to be Daniel, not least because he frickin' loves the EH Mistress as much as I do. :D
Good job guys...THANK YOU AGAIN for bringing a spotlight on Alex to new generations of players!
cheers!
I appreciate your emphasizing the positive here. :) But I agree with many others that this "Sounds Like" ended up a complete misfire. I *completely* agree with you about Alex being underrated, even with the band's belated recognition in the past few years. A lot of the attention goes to Neil or Geddy, and of course they deserve their accolades. The most difficult challenge about guitar is not shredding solos, it is about writing SONGS, and Alex's guitar composition is wide-ranging, creative, expressive, memorable, and great fun to play.
+pgk7285: Yeah, you're right and I did say that on other posts here that the target was not really hit. :) I was mostly pleased to see Alex getting some love on Anderton's. And I was really trying to be diplomatic. Blame the politician in me... ;)
Of all the songs I have learned over the decades, probably my all time favorites are Rush compositions. Totally spot on - so many of Lerxst's parts are so much damm fun to play, for instance Time Stand Still, La Villa, Limelight...sigh...I pretty much have every note of the Limelight solo nailed but just can never, ever truly replicate the tone and Alex's slippery vibrato technique, slurring into those notes. And of course, the infinite delay on the last screaming note. :D
Yes, Bea was in the ballpark overall, but for sure not a home run. Ground rule double maybe... :D
cheers man!
Sounding like Alex Lifeson is really simple and costs nothing. You just start with a ridiculous amount of talent and dexterity.
Just over a year after his death, a sound like Prince would be nice, plus he got some ace guitar tones
This man knows what we want! Third-ed!
Yes please
Has it been a year already? shit.
+Uki Malefu: 100% spot on man. "Danish Sexy Chords" Pete is openly a Prince lover and indeed, he would be the IDEAL guy to do a sounds-like homage...GREAT CALL Uki... :D
I was just about to leave that comment!!! Also....I have to...IT'S JOHN O' CLOCK MOTHER FUCKERS GET IN THERE!!!!!!
Love these sounds like by breaking / without breaking the bank segments... but have to say you guys seemed a bit uninspired today. Any chance you'll take another swing and do a full breaking the bank piece?
Not even close, and I love this show. The riffs weren't even in the ball park. Do over!
wrong! it was VERY close and i hate this show, the riffs were definitley in the ball park too
I think the Blood Moon Phaser is 100% broken... That wasn't doing any phasing haha!
sound like weezer would be cool for those distortion tones
ToxicCokeCola the problem would be replicating the "de-bigulator" pedal that Rivers Cuomo has - not sure if anyone has done that with an actual commercial pedal - but I'm all in to see them put it together "without" busting
Rob Beeston yeah Rivers also had a modded Mesa Boogie MkI which was part of what made their tone so huge.
Good rig, good on you for taking on something out of the comfort zone. One typo I noticed "THE THE VIDEO ROOM!"
Sound like Bloc Party! Pedal overload
YEEES, AFTER A YEAR OF ASKING THEY FINALLY DID IT!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
now do by busting please!!
Finally!!! And now by busting the bank please :)
they were right in front of the gibson hollow bodies when they picked out charvel. How could they miss that?
Please do a Rammstein one. It would be awesome.
I have been waiting this! Thank you so much!
like the channel but this one is way off
no it isn't, it's way on!
A Charvel for Lifeson's sound? Blasphemy! And XYZ?!!!! TRIGGERED!!!
Do versus again
I've been waiting for this one. Thanks guys.
I don't know but Bea and Matt look pretty tired to me
Just started watching this... Why not PRS SE with Floyd??*&$%#??? ($549 at GC). I'm only a couple of minutes in though... Let's see how this goes...
Waited forever for this. Mildly disappointed
i'm not, i'm proud
have been waiting soooo long thank youuuuuu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sounds like Judas Priest BY busting the bank!!!!!
hate to say it but that doesn't sound like Rush
Thanks, gents. I remember requesting this Sounds Like, and you delivered. Well done!
This tone was a little too far off. Maybe it was Rabea's playing...
MnMSkittleSkittle He's a very hard guitar player to emulate. Also some of the parts they played weren't 100%.
Agree. I also feel like they could have picked a better guitar (335 or SG).
Sound like Ritchie Blackmore without busting (Do deep purple AND rainbow plz).
Sound like Jeff Beck without busting.
Sound like John Squire without busting (Make sure to do some second comming).
Sound like Cream without busting (I know you guys did clapton, but the sounds and gear he used in Cream are so differant to his solo stuff.)
Sound like Yes without busting.
Please sounds like GOJIRA !!!
5:15 "THE THE VIDEO ROOM!!!"
Weezer! Weezer! Weezer!
Something that would be cool to see is Sound like Dio (Vivian Campbell) without busting the bank
SOUND LIKE THE EAGLES
SOUNDS LIKE GETTING SUED.
A sound like Devin Townsend, specifically The Devin Townsend Project, would be really interesting to be seen attempted without busting the bank.
this does not at all explain his huge live sound
If I'm not mistaken didn't Alex use strats in the early years? I understand that he's know as a Les Paul guy but I think he's used a various of guitars while in the studio.
Sound like the cult (billy Duffy)
Xandeeno yes yes yes please do this one
Xandeeno this would be great, any excuse to see some Gretsch's!
Xandeeno Yes! Especially the guitar tones from their first and second albums.
You finally did it!!! I've been waiting for this one for a while! : )
How about yngwie malmsteen?
Strat, DSL40, Reverb, Wah, Delay and sorted!
William Allison oh, thanks
...just record yourself playing a harmonic minor scale on a stratocaster with a bunch of overdrive and delay and then play it back with the speed multiplied x10.
This is crazy, I was just searching yesterday for if y'all had done a sounds like for Alex lifeson. Thanks guys, loved it.
Gojira!
Considering your starting point, this was remarkably close - well done! Also, great ad. for Charvel and TC Electronic (I wasn't even aware of these pedals in the TC range).
Please do Queensrÿche - Empire album!!!!
i wanna see them do Eyes Of A Stranger, it's their best song
This needs to happen and my life won´t be complete if they won´t do it. For me though the best guitar sound was on the Empire album especially on Anybody Listening!