Rig Rundown - Rush's Alex Lifeson

[@clinke2007]

The official soundtrack of "Rig Rundown - Rush's Alex Lifeson": - "Aqualung" - Jethro Tull - "Carry On Wayward Son" - Kansas - "Cross Eyed Mary" - Jethro Tull - "Dancing With The Moonlit Knight" - Genesis Rush crew be diggin' the Prog!

[@andrewpappas9311]

clinke2007 One iconic Progressive Rock band to another

[@ThomasandrewTk]

You forgot the best. Dancing wit the moonlitknite

[@ThomasandrewTk]

Oh nvm it wouldnt let me read more omg xD

[@MoeSlislack]

I was noticing that too. I love all those songs.

[@jonathanwright8802]

Neil actually chooses all of these songs; it's explained in one of his books. Saw them for the last time in 2015; actually, the pre concert music was terrible. Way too many b-list Tull tunes. Yuck.

[@sttvoyager1727]

Alex Lifeson is one of the greatest rock guitarists of ALL TIME. Alex and Rush provided me a lifetime of great joy and wonderful memories while watching, touring and listening to Rush thru-out middle, high school, undergraduate and graduate school, medical school, residency, fellowship all the way till now ( October 2018). My dream has always been one day that I would get to shake the hands of one or all three members of the band thanking them with most gracious appreciation for a lifetime of intense enjoyment and pure happiness. Thank you ALEX, GED AND NEIL.....you guys changed my life forever. Doc David

[@hoey2323]

10:26 - the 'Copy' button on the Axess floorboard is labeled "NO IDIOT STOP", lol

[@WarmothGuitarist]

$20,000 in amp heads alone. Not to mention his custom Steampunk cabinets, and all of his other gear. Ahhh, the life of a rockstar. I must say though, while I preferred when Alex was mostly playing PRS guitars, those LPs with the Floyds are pretty sick. One thing I really admire about Alex, is that his live sound has actually progressed with the times. I saw a Rush "Snakes and Arrows" tour show on TV one day, and he was using distortion tone that one would expect to hear from Adam Jones of Tool.

[@nkmcfrln]

He was renting guitars and amps before A Farewell to Kings.

[@johnnystieferman6527]

I’m glad he went back to Gibson there is no others. Glad he shelved the PRS

[@TruthSurge]

So, when you've toured the world 30 years (or was born to a billionaire) you too can have all that in your rig, boys and girls! H&K are nice sounding amps. I used to own a little combo. loved it.

[@TheBoonggaboongga]

The last note of the Limelight solo is epic enough to be processed by a dedicated head.

[@curtisgtrdaddy]

i used to work with scott appleton at mars music in nashville 10 years ago!!! he was neal schons tech for a while and he is an incredible guitar player himself... great guy!!!

[@JamesOhGoodie]

I saw Rush at Madison Square last week on the Time Machine Tour! FANTASTIC show! "The Camera Eye" takes on a whole different meaning in New York, yet me tell ya!

[@TheSoxmania]

you should totally do a RR of Geddy Lee...

[@andrewpappas9311]

d34n1097 They should've

[@dvdfrnzwbr]

As far as I know Geddy plays thru the house pa system. That's why you see clothing dryers and chicken rotisseries behind him on stage.

[@terrymiller111]

Alex needs a damn traffic cop to route his signal.

[@josemenendez4454]

Nothing like Living Color

[@seankearns9120]

Bonus Points for playing 'Selling England By the Pound' at the end.

[@jonathanwright8802]

For everyone who loves the house music in the background: ALL of it is chosen by Neil (this goes back 30 years), and he is a huge Genesis and Jethro Tull fan (as are Geddy and Alex)......so that 'splains it! ps saw them June 23, 2015 in Boston, and 40% of the pre show house music was Tull. Interesting: the first time I heard "Man in the Box" by Alice in Chains was on the Presto Tour, pre-show after Mr. Big played. Thaks Neil!!

[@wingnutofcoolness]

And Kansas, apparently .

[@TheExiledTexan]

I remember hearing a fair bit of Deep Purple too, during the pre-show on the Time Machine tour. Pleasant surprise, that.

[@guitarstuffplace]

I've watch every single rig rundown and related video in existence, and i think alex lifeson's is the most complicated.

[@Groovetrapped]

that last note of Limelight is legendary!

[@fyrcrack1]

He has a separate amp for one note. This is insane

[@NoR110011]

Perfection and money

[@michael_caz_nyc]

Alex Lifeson is an Incredible Guitar Player. Really UnderRated ( I.M.O. ) - he absolutely: Rips Live, and is as Accurate as a Swiss Watch. Total Precision every show, every night.

[@heathercollins4432]

He's not underrated to guitar players, but I guess he would be to someone who can barely grasp the concept of proper grammar...

[@stuartmiller7419]

@@heathercollins4432 How about the needlessly supercilious, such as yourself?

[@andrewpappas9311]

I just saw Tool in Toronto last week with my friends that I play in a band with and they actually brought out Alex for Jambi, none of us were expecting to see him (we were all staring at each other in shock like “Did Maynard actually just say that they were bringing out Alex Lifeson?”) but it was still awesome watching them go from Jambi (which is my buddy who’s our singer’s favourite Tool song) into the solo section of Passage to Bangkok then back to Jambi. Alex is still one of my favourite guitarists and Rush is one of my favourite bands, not to mention a reason why I’m proud to be from Toronto like the guys from Rush

[@theneovas1]

My favorite Rig Rundown so far. That's because I love RUSH!!!!

[@Valhalen716]

Aqualung, Kansas, and Cross Eyed Mary! YES

[@j8ded]

he has a whole another amp head for one note of limelight? did i hear that right....??

[@CorvetteCoonass]

***** When you want something to sound just right, you'll go to any lengths to make it happen.

[@hazor777]

EXACTLY. He's made his money , who could blame him for having wanted every second of the performance to sound like he wanted it too. Just sucks that they don't tour anymore.

[@artysanmobile]

Andrew Monias A bit of spinal tap excess. It's easy for such ridiculousness to creep into a touring act's setup.

[@hazor777]

HOW, is it "ridiculous" ...?

[@drewper73]

I know exactly which note he's talking about. I've always wondered how they pull that off live. It's one note but it sounds so cool being sustained while he goes back into the main riff.

[@DowntownScotty]

Wow. Great in depth explanations from the guitar tech. And the best road crew in the business.

[@LifeProducersofNewJerseyLLC]

She did a good job. She did what more interviewers should do (but don't) and let the expert talk.

[@RByrne]

She actually seemed to know what she was talking about, too. They should bring Rebecca back.

[@EvilEyeGypsy]

Words you will never hear from Alex's tech; "It's a pretty simple set up".

[@DjackTheDjurst]

I like how Jethro Tull's "Aqualung" is playing in the background to one of the greatest prog rock bands in the world.

[@MrUltraworld]

The H&K amp sim out is really good (as are the amps). I've been a Luthier/Amp Tech since 1980. I traveled for almost 9yrs. till the wife said no more. He has a ton of gear onstage. But his signal out is dry out from the Palmer to an AFX at the FOH. He has nothing onstage mic'd up so he's switching effects for his in ears and the AFX out front. I have a lot of customers I try to get their recorded sound live. Some pretty eccentric set ups, this one's right up there. Geddy uses one Sans Amp.

[@itsallinmyh3ad]

Finally a Guitar Tech that KNOWS what he's talking about. Haven't seen one of those in a long time.

[@JimijaymesProductions]

CARRY ON MY WAYWARD SONAHHHON -Love having Kansas in the background! Got a bit distracted by it though

[@patrickthometz6365]

One of the greatest guitarists in history

[@sweenykim]

All this inboard gear is mindblowing! Ah, the days of a simple MK II and some pedals...

[@fonkamex]

This lady and the other one that talks about basses at Thomman are a dream of every musician

[@mightyV444]

No, not *my* dream! x-))

[@spider62able]

Just a note on that 52 reissue Tele, It has brass replacement bridge saddles. Definately not stock!

[@eph1223]

Such complexity yields awesome sound. I saw Rush live a couple months ago and Alex's sounds were very good. I think the complex rig is a necessity to cover all the textures of Alex's guitar parts over the years. The proof is in the pudding!

[@Razzics]

I'm trying to get a similar bass tone to his, but with a little more drive and metallic high end while maintaining a good low end. You've been a lot of help. Thanks a LOT.

[@BoeyChar]

This video is awesome. Great and complex set-up, great tech, great interviewer..

[@spider62able]

I agree with going with the Fractal for his FX . It could do all of his effects exept maybe the Wah and his piezos. I think he's just very comfortable with this setup.That's all I can come up with!

[@TruthSurge]

@MrWilly2204 it was good. I liked all those midrange smoother tones he used on like Limelight and such. Did he use Gallien-Kreuger for a while? (sp)

[@hamwerd]

It's amazing that if you think about two great players, as far as tone & dexterity, you think of Alex & Steve Howe; Alex has one of the most complex & extensive stage setups and Steve has just a digital floor console & SS/digital modeling combo amp (see PG's Yes Rig Rundown)...oh, and they both kill it live, guess it really IS all in the fingers...

[@jman890202]

I hear Genesis in the background near the end of the video!! Steve Hackett and Alex Lifeson are my favorite guitarists!

[@RogueReplicant]

People forget that Rush were influenced by great old school bands: Jethro Tull, Kansas, Yes, Pink Floyd, The Who, Cream, Led Zeppelin, etc. They were also influenced by other styles (Ultravox, Talking Heads, The Police).

[@daleburkett4141]

Please explain since they have played together since the late 60's????

[@RogueReplicant]

@@daleburkett4141 Played together since the late 1960's? Who? Rush? Alex and Geddy might have, but Neil joined in the mid-70's. I don't understand your request. Explain what?

[@TheZxman]

Very well done. This man knows his stuff

[@OZRIC1985]

Alex's guitar tech definitely knows his stuff!!! Very cool rig rundown! :)

[@KeeperOfPoops]

but it kinda defeats the point of this rundown, it's supposed to be an "Alex Lifeson" rundown, not a "Scott Appleton" rundown therefore in my opinion this rundown sucks

[@lordjs9726]

I thought the Gibson EDS 1275 would be in this video as well...

[@N7CAL]

Fitting that Genesis, Dancing with the Moonlit Night was closing out the interview for me, my two favorite bands ever

[@jgmopar]

They should have had the guitar tech for a day BUBBLES do the interview

[@sonic-dna7742]

That would be fuckin DECENT!

[@4spbiz]

De hee hee hee cent!

[@zosojplp]

rush is so nice about sharing their rig with everybody

[@garya7893]

Its was a white Gibson 355 that gave Alex that sound in the early years that i fell in love with in the late 70s . You will notice a change in his sound in the 80s I like the raw sound of the early days up to Moving Pic. album It brings me back to my teen years

[@GuitaristAidan]

This rig is like friggin' mission control... so much stuff!

[@ClaburP]

Excellent interview!

[@ScottFairley]

It's a bit more complicated than that, but barely. For the Vapour Trails/R30 tours, he was splitting the bass signal to an Avalon DI (for a pure clean) and a Tech 21 preamp (for a dirty sound) and just running those two signals to the PA with the Front of House guys adding echo every now and again. I read he used an Orange amp setup for the Snakes and Arrows and Time Machine tours, but he's still not using any effects as far as I know.

[@crucify40]

Actually Neil Peart selects the playlist/music that's played before the concert starts. Read that somewhere..

[@carlosescudero9845]

i like to pretend I know what they're talking about.

[@urianger]

haha same i wish i knew what they're talking about

[@omnipop4936]

I like to pretend I care about anything other than watching Rebecca.

[@lerxstcire]

@@omnipop4936 lol

[@lerxstcire]

Shout out to Garrison Mandolin! Wooooo!

[@ryj44]

😆 I’m still pretending

[@omfg51]

@ProffAndy the rack is an important part of any good band's performance. lots of mic and wireless systems need to be kept track of and the rack equipment does that.

[@DjackTheDjurst]

They keep playing influential prog rock songs.

[@fafnesbane]

Aqualung my friend!!

[@ProffAndy]

5:39 onwards could have been done in about 5 seconds......... "Alex plugs his guitars into the Large Hadron Collider"

[@liu3kang]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@sgtpepper1138]

I hope Premier Guitar is going to do a Rig Rundown for the current RUSH tour.

[@iamchristianlopez]

@amarr11 The new '52 reissue has that stock. Plus no ashtray bridge and has tone bypass, I think.

[@Sanson101]

Great as all PG works...why did not you do a video on Geddy´s rig??....just wondering....

[@JgHaverty]

Sanson101 Premier Guitar... not Premier Bass :)

[@Sanson101]

they have done videos on Flea, Myung, Stanley, Marcus, Wooten, Beller...no guitar players either I Think.....

[@JgHaverty]

Sanson101 it was a joke man. Relax

[@Sanson101]

JgHaverty mine was too!...I just want to see Rebecca!

[@pip5528]

+JgHaverty Technically it's still guitar, hence the name bass guitar. It's not an upright bass or anything like that. :)

[@teejay8662]

The fractal is just a backup! Yesssssss!!!

[@simonmastromatteo5692]

Great gear tour ! Anybody noticed Carry On Wayward Son in the background ?

[@mikecronis]

I would love to see those Fractal settings he uses. For Limelight, I use a Electro-Harmonix Freeze pedal for the "infinite note".

[@jimmydodopage]

11:00 you can hear "dancing with the moonlite knight"

[@199ALBO]

Edoardo Papa I was just going to wright this XD

[@hamishgiec2062]

+Edoardo Papa Love Aqualung at the start as well :3

[@ThomasandrewTk]

Genesis and Rush are my favorite bands this is great

[@kundalinipsych]

Can't believe he's using those Palmer Speaker Sims! I used to have one in the eighties I think...

[@prsplayer210]

@jacobdallen1 they brought back the neck heel , for 2011 called neck pattern regular

[@andrewpappas9311]

This band makes me happy and proud to be Canadian, most specifically Toronto :D

[@madderbass]

Genesis "Selling England By The Pound" is also playing in the background.

[@TheyLetMeOutOnSunday]

Brilliant selection of background music.

[@MrWilly2204]

@TruthSurge He used a GK rack preamp sometime during the 80's. Not sure exactly when though.

[@widowmaker5544]

where's alex lifeson, i don't see no alex lifeson! just scott appleton who also works for def leppard's phil collen

[@moogmanXanders]

man the Piezo equipped Les's remind me of my epiphone Les paul Ultra II with the dual outputs and the black shadow nanomag cept mine dont have a Licensed floyd just regular Stopbar Tuneomatic

[@bob733333]

Highly underated player!

[@MARSHOMEWORLD]

I've used the SansAmp Bassdriver DI Box before and even it by itself (playing a Fender Precision ) could deliver a very close growl similar to the "Counterparts" -era bass tones Geddy had. I think that the true tone start in the player himself when it comes down to it, so you won't sound exactly like him, but that would be a good start.

[@salpuma9145]

Where's the white double-neck SG? Pretty sure they played Xanadu on that tour...didnt they? What he does with it on the intro...with the volume pedal?...easily top 10 rock guitar moment

[@joejoe3011]

@hellsing1983 That too. "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" by Genesis starts around 10:17

[@0Heavy0Metal0]

I suppose this rig has evolved as Alex has. This is one of the more complex rigs I have seen. Only the tech and Alex fully understand it.

[@TheRealThomasPaine1776]

"that's it in a nutshell" Yeah, pretty freaking big and complicated nutshell!!

[@snapascrew]

@Glockenator maybe that was his more sunburst coloured 335?

[@theguitarczar]

No! If the way Lifeson's tech described it is accurate the Palmer units HAVE to provide some sort of load for the amps -or there is something in between we're not privy to.

[@celestelongway7315]

Wow. nice gear!!! From mtw - jam night guitars in L.A.

[@UnspokenEthos]

Aqualung, Carry One Wayward Son, Cross Eyed-Mary and Selling England By The Pound. Nice choices.

[@MARSHOMEWORLD]

For over a decade now, Ged's rig has been a blend between a Trace Elliot Quadravalve all-tube power amplifier and a SansAmp RBI rackmountable preamp.No more amps in a traditional sense.This why he has clothes dryers, chicken roasters,etc on his side of the stage now instead of big stacks of bass amps.

[@utooberblooper]

carry on wayward son is playing in the background,but if youve been to a concert during setup and soundchecks,you would know they play assorted music from all different artists

[@DrummingMoose]

The pickup in the sunburst prs (my favorite) for the tone, is a fernandes pickup, NOT A FERNANDES SUSTAINER.

[@snapascrew]

Wow alex has got an axe fx! He's so up to date on his gear... awesome!

[@davec629]

@spider62able They were selling the 52 reissue with a modern bridge and wiring setup with the Tele so you could have your choice of setup (modern or vintage) but did away with it.

[@Razzics]

I think Geddy switched to Orange recently because that's what the website uses (could be wrong), but I checked out the SansAmp RBI. It looks pretty promising, and it's reasonably priced enough to buy. As far as the Trace Elliot goes, how much of an influence on his sound do you think THAT has over his SansAmp? I ask because there's no fucking way I'm going to be able to afford that Trace Elliot.

[@kennyplay2301]

He is giving just one (example) of the last note of the solo on Limelight. Not that it is used for just one note.

[@ohhhrayos_esjulio3323]

Ok seriously how did Geddy Lee get left out of this rig rundown?? Does not compute ._.

[@babayaga1767]

he doesn't use a rig. sans amp geddy lee pre in ear monitors. i do the same

[@Grayham4]

general mayhem he also has at least three basses and keyboards

[@robgreen1818]

He doesn’t really run a rig, it’s just Ged’s crazy fingers-Bass-sansamp-front of house.

[@snapascrew]

On this tour he had 4 inputs to foh/monitors. 1: A sansamp RPM, 2: a Palmer speaker simulator (used as a DI instead of a speaker simulator), 3: a Palmer speaker simulator fed by an orange bass head and 4 an Avalon tube DI. On tours previous to time machine he had the same setup sans the Orange head. Sources: I asked their sound guys. And it’s also on the internet in a few articles. Look hard enough and you’ll find it. It’s not until recently that he started attempting to use only his signature sansamp unit. That thing didn’t exist back when this video was shot.

[@gnarwhale11]

This dude is an awesome guitar tech.

[@KeeperOfPoops]

i disagree, it's so much more shit when the fuckboy techie does the gear how about we rename the video "Rig Rundown - Rush's Scott Appleton" cos that just rolls of the tongue DUH!

[@youremember40]

Para todo el hardware que utiliza y la gran calidad que éstos poseen, el sonido es bastante normal. No es una opinión peyorativa. Aprendí a tocar guitarra escuchando a Lifeson y Rush es una de mis bandas favoritas.

[@maximilianodelrio]

Concuerdo, nunca me ha gustado mucho su sonido en vivo de los 2010, siento que le faltaba más cuerpo como los tonos de los 80s

[@givemeajackson]

pdi 03 are awesome units. i'll have to get either one of those or a two notes torpedo.

[@TheDelboyoelmundo]

can we have a Mark Knopfler Rig Rundown....

[@ManOffTTC]

It's not just a Sans-amp. It's a Sansamp RPM pre-amp and an Orange Amp.

[@Rich6Brew]

I found it all very illuminating, but there was something I didn't understand: What is this pie-zo they keep referring to?

[@brandondavis6105]

Aqualung is playing in the background!

[@diamonddust22]

He doesn't answer to you or anyone else. He plays what he wants, how he wants, and when he wants to play it.

[@MrUltraworld]

It's pretty amazing what it can do. I still prefer a real amp, love it effects all in a small light package. It's the only piece of gear in Chris Broderick's rig. A laptop for programming & a power amp to power a pr of cabs onstage. He sends a mix of mic'd cab & the Ultra's DI to the FOH. It's a simple but very powerful rig. It saves a lot of $ too. Much less weight to ship, it costs a fortune to ship all that gear worldwide. It's a big consideration

[@grazzly1]

Dancing with the Moonlit Knight by Genesis at the end. Good song to dial a PA to.

[@detritus10001]

growing up, i must admit Rush was not a favorite of mine. when i started playing guitar, i tried to learn spirit of the radio, and thus hated them for a while. i still can't play much rush, but i do so adore their music.

[@MrUltraworld]

As array type PA's have gotten so good, loud stage volumes fight the better sounding PA's. Most players have a lot of dummy gear onstage. The musicians have in ear's, they cant hear an amp standing in front of it. Some players use bass shakers (Patrucci) to feel the music, mimicking a loud 4x12. The real rig is offstage into ISO cabs. Patrucci, Zakk, even Billy Gibbons use this route. Look around YT for live rigs & you'll see for yourself. Cool stuff. I'm a gear & car nerd. Can't shake it.