If Lifeson would try to be Eddie Van Halen all the time, Rush simply wouldn't work. He wisely stays out of Peart's way. One could compare the Who to Rush; the weak instrumentalist in the Who (at least in live performance) was Pete Townshend. Not many considered his soloing as world changing, but his rhythm chops were well respected. Dreams - Eddie Van Halen (Van Halen) 97. Padmasana - Buckethead 98. Whole Lotta Love - Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) 99. Working Man - Alex Lifeson (Rush) 100. Love Is The Law - John Squire (Seahorses) 101. Painkiller - Glenn Tipton/KK Downing (Judas Priest) 102. Black Magic Woman - Carlos Santana 103. Fire And Water - Paul Kossoff (Free) 104.
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?
Naturally, I got curious about Alex Lifeson’s gear on that album. I remember watching the Loving Pictures-era studio and live videos on MTV, but not Permanent Waves-era stuff – which apparently doesn’t exist, according to what’s on the almighty YouTube.
So failing a visual of what Alex used, here’s what some Internet sleuthing dug up. Several websites hav copied and pasted the same info among each other, so the following is some of that plus a little anecdotal info dug up here and there. Lifeson fans please check me on this stuff.
Alex’s Permanent Waves Gear
Guitars
> Black ’77 Fender Stratocaster with an original (no fine tuners) Floyd Rose tremolo, no locking nut – Alex used powdered graphite in the string slots – and a Gibson humbucker. Used on “The Spirit of Radio” and the lead on “Different Strings.”
> A sunburst Gibson Howard Roberts Fusion was also used on “Different Strings.”
> Trusty white Gibson 355, stock, used on the rest of the album with the exception of the leads on “Jacob’s Ladder,” which was:
> Custom-built Pyramid solid-body [could not find a pic of this guitar either].
> Acoustics were a Gibson J-55 and a Dove in Nashville tuning.
Neil Peart
Amps
> Amps were said to be a combination of Hiwatts, Marshalls and Mesa/Boogies into Marshall 4×12 bottoms. Live, Alex was clearly favoring Hiwatts at this time.
> He also used a Leslie cab [song?].
Effects
> “Various” wahs, fuzzes and phasers, according to the websites, along with “Loft analog delays and Maestro parametric EQs.”
> The flanger in “The Spirit of Radio” is presumed to be an Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress or an Eventide Harmonizer, with most thinking the former.
> After my experiments with the new Eventide PitchFactor pedal, I’d say that Alex was also using an Eventide Harmonizer, at least for some parts if not for whole songs. The Harmonizer was (and still is) used a lot by guit-slingers in the studio, and was seldom talked about.
![Van Van](/uploads/1/2/6/6/126641613/371090764.jpg)
Alex on the ‘The Spirit of Radio’ Opening Riff
Eddie Van Halen Vs Alex Lifeson
“The Spirit of Radio” by Rush Sample Instruction – Click here for more blooper videos
Eddie Van Halen Interview Alex Lifeson
Category: Alex Lifeson, Electro-Harmonix, Eventide, Gibson, Hiwatt, Marshall, Mesa/Boogie, Strat