The shred generation is hitting retirement age and beyond, and arthritis diagnoses are becoming increasingly common – but the good news is that the condition doesn’t have to be the death knell for anyone’s playing days.

Our aging guitar heroes have shown the impact a life of playing can have on our bodies. Jake E. Lee’s right hand has “basically no cartilage.” A sports doctor laughed in amazement when Steve Morse showed him his hands, ground down by years of shredding – and relayed his ambition to continue touring.

Keith Richards recently revealed that arthritis has cast uncertainty on his continued ability to play for longer periods, while Alex Lifeson, Joe Perry, and Joe Satriani have all suffered their own struggles.

According to Nuffield Health, 50 percent of adults aged 65 and over have been diagnosed with arthritis, and Jimmy Page isn’t immune just because he’s a guitar god. Wear and tear over time is a major factor, but there are measures we can take to prevent and alleviate symptoms.

Dan Turnell, Clinical Director at Elite Performance Physio, has worked in the performing arts sector for over a decade. He wants players to look at their hands a little differently.

“One of the biggest mindset shifts is that playing an instrument is a skilled muscular action,” he says. “They should think of themselves as an athlete, instead of as a musician.”

There are over 100 types of arthritis; but for guitarists the most common is osteoarthritis: the cartilage at the end of a bone gets damaged or worn down, resulting in bone-on-bone contact. It currently affects over 32.5 million Americans including Lee, Morse, and Richards.

Repetitive motion has slowly ground down cartilage, causing pain, inflammation and, in extreme cases, a loss of hand mobility. “Playing guitar is small repetitive movements continuously happening,” Turnell notes. “It runs the risk of potential cartilage changes and microtraumas.”

He adds: “When you’re young you think of arthritis as something that affects your granddad,” warning that the approach is to our detriment. He regularly works with young musicians to help establish “good practice routines that protect the body and minimize the risk of injury.”

Prevention will always outweigh any cure. “I encourage people not to sit and play for six hours at a time, and to understand that a warm-up is important before you even touch the guitar,” he says.

Warm-ups help release synovial fluid, which lubricates joints and keeps muscles warm and responsive. Turnell recommends hand exercises such as stretches and grip and squeeze movements, or using strengthening bands for individual fingers.

Joe Satriani benefited from hand massages after a tour of particularly challenging music. The shows put extra strain on his hands and he suffered the consequences of malpractice to his digits. I’ve used a D’Addario Varigrip for years as part of my pre-show routine – it’s worked wonders.

It might be helpful to think of arthritis as the last domino in a line. The best way to prevent it is to ensure that you’re always working with, rather than against, your body.

“Prevention comes down to making sure that all the muscles around the fingers, hands and wrists are as strong as they need to be to minimize the pressure and over-aggravating our joints,” Turnell says.

“It comes down to load management within the body. For example, if you’re not setting your practice environment up in the appropriate way, then playing for six hours in a suboptimal position, you’re potentially going to suffer microtrauma injuries through the joints.

“Posture is likely to be a secondary or tertiary cause of arthritis, but by being hunched over a guitar, the body isn’t able to move with freedom. Guitar straps help offload the weight; otherwise, all that weight is going to come into the hands and impact shoulder mobility.”

Likewise, diet and lifestyle choices represent another domino. “Certain food combinations can be inflammatory for the body; and if we’re not hydrated, our joints aren’t hydrated either.

Sugar and processed foods are the biggest culprits. “From a socializing perspective, alcohol can act as an inflammatory substance, and it can affect our sleep – which impacts our body’s ability to recover and prepare to play the next day.”

Turnell emphasizes the importance of semi-regular check-ins with a physio, just as you’d take your car to the garage for maintenance. But he says there’s another issue at play too. “Once musicians get to a certain standard, they often stop taking lessons,” he says.

“But lessons are really useful – not necessarily from a technical perspective, but to make sure you’re not falling into bad habits, which can be a potential trigger for an arthritic change.”

After that, it’s time to look at your instrument and setup – should you ditch that heavy, fat-necked Les Paul for something that’s kinder to the body?

Morse has accepted his gigging days are now numbered, as his arthritis worsens, but a key modification to his Music Man signature guitar is helping relieve unnecessary stress. Perry confessed to recording the band’s recent One More Time EP exclusively with his Fender/Warmoth “Burned Strat,” as it’s been set up to be kinder to his hands.

The more our guitar heroes face arthritis struggles and talk about what it means for them, the better it is for the wider guitar-playing community.

“Seeing people doing things with an arthritic condition improves our understanding that it’s more of a self-limiting condition rather than a death knell,” Turnell concludes. “You just modify your activity around it.”

• For help and advice around arthritis and related issues, head to Arthritis Foundation.

Whether they’re being praised as torch-carrying titans or derided as classic-rock cosplayers, Canadian duo Crown Lands are often cited as the modern-day Rush.

But Kevin Comeau – their guitarist, bassist, keyboardist and now primary producer-engineer – isn’t concerned about the endless comparisons, which continue with the release of their third LP, the conceptual sci-fi epic Apocalypse.

But they’re expecting that chatter; after all, the reference point was consciously baked into the band’s DNA back in 2015, when he met his long-lost brother in prog, drummer-singer Cody Bowles.

“When we started the band, we joked to ourselves, ‘What if the White Stripes covered Rush?’” Comeau tells Guitar World. “We just kept leaning more into the Rush than the White Stripes as time went on. I still think, sonically, Rush’s Moving Pictures is as perfect a record as you can get. As a producer, I’m always chasing the clarity of something like Power Windows.”

In fact, connecting these virtuosic Canadian bands feels like the ultimate accolade. “We’re not worried about people comparing us to Rush,” he says. “I don’t think you can get more complimentary than a comparison to Rush. I love seeing the discourse online – ‘I don’t like them. They sound too much like Rush.’ Or ‘I don’t like them. They don’t sound enough like them.’

“I’ve always loved Rush’s [philosophy of thinking] – ‘We want to be the world’s smallest symphony orchestra.’ Trying to do that with two people is like trying to one-up our heroes – or one-down our heroes.”

Apocalypse is their most grandiose adventure into this symphonic realm, building on the proggy template – and interstellar good-and-evil storyline – they established with 2023’s Fearless.

The album balances spacey balladry (Through the Looking Glass) with heavy, punchy rockers (Blackstar), all building to the 19-minute climax of the title track, which also pulls inspiration from the Allman Brothers Band and the bonkers 1974 Yes piece The Gates of Delirium.

Their long-form centerpiece, with its textural shifts and cinematic key/tempo changes, offers plenty of space for Comeau on guitar – from crunching power chords to jittery arpeggios to bluesy leads that sound beamed in from The Wall.

That fluidity and constant surprise keeps the piece engaging, much like Echoes or Supper’s Ready. “When you have a record about going through a black hole and fighting your arch villain through time and space,” he says, “the music ends up writing itself. You end up pushing all the crazy polyrhythms even further.”

But the monster runtime wasn’t the ultimate goal, even if Comeau gets a nerdy thrill out of seeing the track tick past the 19-minute mark.

“You’re chasing length a lot of the time in prog,” Comeau says. “I’m always chasing the 20-minute opus. When we sent the final mix to Ted Jensen, it was 19 minutes and 1 second. Mastering engineers will often lop off any dead space, and the master came back at 18:58.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever had to send a revision – ‘It sounds great, but can you restore the four seconds of silence at the very end so that it stays past 19 minutes?’ It’s so stupid, but that’s progressive rock, baby!”

Even if all of these tunes had been short, Comeau would’ve had his hands full on Apocalypse; along with playing guitar and producing the bulk of the material, he also continued to handle all of the bass, synths and bass pedals. To put it in Rush terms: part Alex Lifeson, part Geddy Lee.

To pull off that crazy feat on stage as a two-piece, especially with their songs growing more complex, Crown Lands would either need to scale back dramatically or get super creative.

They’ve chosen the latter route, with Comeau often playing a double-neck guitar/bass custom-built by luthier Brock Stoyko. (There was also a major assist from Lee’s bass tech, John “Skully” McIntosh, who helped him wire it. And to land on a suitably “ergonomic” design, Comeau went to Lee’s home and took measurements of the Rush legend’s own double-necks.)

Comeau’s admiration clearly extends well beyond “casual fan.” In 2021, Crown Lands joined Lifeson on stage during the annual Andy Kim Christmas Show in Toronto, joining for an all-star Led Zeppelin medley.

“In rehearsals, I’m playing every Rush riff I know, like The Necromancer, and Alex is just laughing,” Comeau says.

“He was so cool. He said, ‘I don’t want to play my double-neck for this song – it’s too long and heavy.’ I said, ‘I’ll do it!’ He lent me his white Gibson EDS-1275 for Stairway, so I’m doing the 12-string part while he’s doing the solo. I’m like, ‘Holy shit, this is life-affirming.’”

Later, Comeau helped Lifeson catalog and tune his guitars for a charity auction, and he wound up being Lee’s keyboard tech ahead of 2022 Taylor Hawkins tribute show.

Prog is in Crown Lands’ blood, and their Rush worship is pure. “When I found Cody, it was like, ‘It’s perfect!’ We’re so deep into this niche; I don’t know where we’d be if we didn’t have each other to fill in [our] musical holes. I see that in Rush.

“They’re such singular musicians that, if they were in any other context, it wouldn’t work. The way they were able to last for 40 years, how they’ve stayed friends when the meat grinder of the industry destroys friendships, is so special.”

• Apocalypse is out now via Inside Out.
• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

“I’ve never been very confident, to be honest with you, as a player,” Alex Lifeson told Guitar World in 2025. “I’ve always felt like I had to work hard, and maybe I didn’t appreciate that I have a natural talent for playing guitar.”

Anyone who’s heard his work as one-third of the prog-rock institution Rush – from those crashing, Pete Townshend-like chords to his dramatic, shimmering arpeggios – knows he’s being charmingly modest. That, or maybe he just needs to re-examine his own songs.

But that’s where we come in. To celebrate his 2026 reunion tour with bassist Geddy Lee – which follows the 2015 R40 run, their final outing with late drummer-lyricist Neil Peart – let’s take a closer look at 20 of Lifeson’s finest studio guitar moments.

1. Working Man (from 1974’s Rush)

Rush were still in their embryonic Led Zep-worship mode in 1974, but they did scrape together one genuine classic for their self-titled debut – an overdriven riff monster with power chords, bluesy shredding and a nimble, octave-ascending riff halfway through that feels worthy of spawning its own song.

2. Fly by Night (from 1975’s Fly by Night)

Fly by Night, the bruising title track from Rush’s second LP, opens with a flurry of guitar moves that wound up becoming Lifeson signatures.

The triumphant D major, the resounding sus chord, the beautifully tense and chromatic arpeggio – there are so many little moments, just in the first 10 seconds, that can make any Rush fan smile and nod with recognition.

Guitar-wise, it’s all building to a killer post-chorus solo, stacked with bluesy bent notes and pinched harmonics.

3. The Necromancer (from 1975’s Caress of Steel)

In a 2018 Guitar World feature, now-former Gwar guitarist Pustulus Maximus broke down his love for The Necromancer, a nearly 13-minute psych-prog fantasy behemoth from Rush’s third LP. “The beginning sounds very much like Pink Floyd, but Lifeson’s solo in the rock part has an amazing groove and feel,” he said, describing the epic’s ebb and flow.

This one’s definitely unique in the band’s catalog – from that stoner-ific intro section, with reversed guitars and chorus-y guitars rising like weed-smoke plumes, to the sheer ferocity of the solo and the clean-tone jangle that follows. The Necromancer is (understandably) a divisive Rush song, but no-one can doubt its merits as a well-rounded guitar showcase.

4. 2112 (from 1976’s 2112)

It almost feels unfair to cite 2112 as a song, given that it sprawls out over seven sections and nearly 21 minutes – occupying the entire first side of Rush’s titular breakout LP. But Lifeson really swings for the fences throughout this grand conceptual work: nailing those enormous delayed chords in Overture, bathing his arpeggios in cinematic chorus throughout Oracle: The Dream, adopting an almost punk-like energy during the climactic attack of Grand Finale.

One of his most genius moments actually involves the technically weakest playing; at the beginning of Discovery, his out-of-tune plonking approximates our protagonist stumbling upon a guitar (“What can this strange device be?” Lee sings) and figuring it out in real time.

5. Closer to the Heart (from 1977’s A Farewell to Kings) 

Despite being heralded as an elite of heavy prog guitar, Lifeson has a real knack for gentle, pastoral playing.

As he explained to GW, the band workshopped their earliest material using acoustics and a cassette recorder – then bringing in the amplification and energy later on.

Closer to the Heart shows the best of both worlds, as Lifeson builds from chiming 12-string to, eventually, anthemic harmonized solos.

6. Xanadu (from A Farewell to Kings) 

The mighty Xanadu expertly illustrates how Rush did so much with so few pairs of hands: Lifeson and Lee tag-team the driving main riff with maximum creativity, tackling the descending lines in unison or veering apart for added color. The standout guitar section happens immediately, with Lifeson adding ambient volume swells over Peart’s drifting chimes.

7. La Villa Strangiato (An Exercise in Self-Indulgence) (from 1978’s Hemispheres)

The winking subtitle points to the band’s underrated sense of humor – and on this hypnotic instrumental, Rush use Lifeson’s ever-vivid real-life dreams as a launching pad for some of their wildest genre flips and tightest ensemble playing.

Across nearly 10 minutes, the trio explore everything from psychedelia to hard rock to jazz-fusion, with Lifeson the obvious star of this dreamscape. His solo swells during A Lerxst in Wonderland might be the most evocative playing in his catalog.

8. Jacob’s Ladder (from 1980’s Permanent Waves)

After a bright, strident opening march, Rush chase the storm clouds into one of their heaviest-ever riffs. Lifeson is at the top of his game here, layering his guitar theme into octaves for even more impact. Rush were rarely more intense than they were on Jacob’s Ladder.

9. Freewill (from Permanent Waves)

Despite all the recorded evidence to the contrary, Lifeson and Lee are mere mortals. When they started jamming again after a long hiatus following the R40 tour, the guitarist told Ultimate Classic Rock that they sounded like a “really, really bad Rush tribute band.”

The toughest nut to crack was reportedly the surging fan-favorite Freewill, which features one of the most frenetic guitar solos he ever tracked. “There’s a lot of notes,” he said. “The solo is crazy.”

10. YYZ (from 1981’s Moving Pictures)

It’s the most fittingly proggy sidebar in Rush history; the band’s first Grammy nomination came with YYZ, a track built around a rhythmic Easter egg nodding to Morse Code for a Toronto airport. Just perfect.

The song’s main riff is already ace enough, showing just how much mileage you can get out of two notes if you put your mind to it. But the piece becomes a classic when Lifeson stretches out – the solo at the midway point is deliciously disorienting, peaking with a virtuosic run of finger-tapping.

11. Limelight (from Moving Pictures) 

Limelight is up there with the most poignant Rush tracks, channeling Peart’s fame-induced isolation into four minutes of sleek (if still proggy) radio-rock bliss.

Lifeson’s dreamy arpeggios and chunky chords are already enough – it’s just a bonus that he churned out a god-tier, whammy-filled solo on his Hentor Sportscaster, a Strat outfitted with a Gibson humbucker and a Floyd Rose tremolo.

“It was the perfect selection to create the soulful, elastic and unstable character for the solo of that song,” he told Guitar World.

12. The Analog Kid (from 1982’s Signals)

“Signals was a weird record for me,” Lifeson told Guitar World in 2025, noting that their heavier use of keyboards created “more of a fight for space with the guitar.”

But that argument shouldn’t apply to The Analog Kid, which saves most of its synth presence for some booming pads on the chorus. Elsewhere, Lifeson takes charge – including on the solo, which features a nifty harmonizer-type effect.

13. Digital Man (from Signals)

Upon first listen, Digital Man sounds more suited to a list of Geddy Lee’s finest moments, given his wildly melodic and grooving bass line. You might even look first to Peart, who adds some tastefully placed tom-tom fills and fierce hi-hat work.

But Lifeson also deserves marquee mention, anchoring the track with his stabbing, Police-like chords and a woozy solo with a touch of David Gilmour in its bluesy bends.

14. Kid Gloves (from 1984’s Grace Under Pressure) 

Is this Lifeson’s ultimate guitar solo? The tremolo-bar madness, the blue-sky harmonics, the brushes with ska and rockabilly – all packed into one blistering run that somehow feels both composed and improvised.

15. Hand Over Fist (from 1989’s Presto)

Why did Rush never play Hand Over Fist live? Why did they refrain from releasing it as a single? No great answer. This punchy rocker is a highlight from the sadly overlooked Presto, with Lifeson leading the charge.

He does a bit of everything – that trebly funk-rock intro, the busy bluesy groove, the squealing pinched-harmonic leads, a less-is-more solo with some majestically sustained notes.

16. Leave That Thing Alone (from 1993’s Counterparts)

As the ’80s wore on, Lee’s keyboards grew to be a little controversial, both within and outside the band. After a series of more atmospheric, synth-heavy LPs, Counterparts arrived like a welcome punch of heaviness, offering more of an overall sonic balance – and much-needed presence to Lifeson’s riffs. Leave That Thing Alone is a perfect example, highlighted by his skyrocketing, psychedelic solo.

17. Test for Echo (from 1996’s Test for Echo) 

Lifeson was so enthused about his guitar tone on Test for Echo – a roiling, textured wave of acoustic and electric – that he gave Guitar World a thorough, multi-paragraph breakdown. He used a Les Paul Custom and a Godin Acousticaster, tuned down to D standard, through a variety of heads and cabinets.

But the most important element here is the vibrancy of his riff writing, which suggests that perhaps Rush had been soaking in Tool’s recent work.

18. Earthshine (from 2002’s Vapor Trails)

Lifeson once again sounds like he’s channeling Tool and other modern prog-metal throughout Vapor Trails, often exploring ultra-dark guitar tones via modern-sounding production.

Of course, the album’s sound was, to put it mildly, polarizing, and Rush released a remixed edition in 2013. Earthshine might be the album’s sonic and songwriting peak, with a choppy riff pogoing off Lee’s high, yearning vocal.

19. Bravest Face (from 2007’s Snakes & Arrows) 

When you’ve been a rock band for three decades – especially one with a sizable fan base – it’s hard finding new pathways to explore. It’s admirable, then, just how different Rush sound on Bravest Face. Here, Lifeson often zigs when you expect him to zag, moving from a grungy atmosphere into a raw acoustic riff and a solo with a strangely laid-back, bluesy vibe.

20. Carnies (from 2012’s Clockwork Angels)

Carnies is easily one of Lifeson’s simplest guitar riffs – but it also might be his heaviest, built on some borderline-metal harmonics that carry the entire song.

But he also manages to work in some experimental flourishes, including a kaleidoscopic tremolo effect that lends itself well to the subject matter. “

“It’s almost like a carousel,” he told Guitar World upon the album’s release. “Ged and I were like, ‘Oh, my God, that’s so cool!’ It really sounds like you’re on this horsey going up and down.”

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

So, guys, anything new? Here at Guitar World, we believe in hitting artists with the hard questions first.

“Not much at all,” Geddy Lee deadpans. The bassist is speaking via Zoom from his home studio, a wall of basses behind him. “I’ve just been playing a lot of cards with Al, trying to win some money off him.”

“He always does,” says Alex Lifeson, joining in on Zoom from his own home music sanctuary. “He’s vicious at Go Fish.”

While we’re on the subject of games, suffice to say that nobody – including, for the longest time, Lee and Lifeson – had “Rush going on tour in 2026” on their bingo cards, and it wasn’t until the spring of last year when the idea started to look like a distinct possibility. Even after the two had finally come to a decision that yes, this was going to be a thing, they kept word from leaking out for months.

“Nobody knew,” Lee says emphatically. “I didn’t even tell my kids.”

“In this day and age, it’s so difficult to keep a secret,” Lifeson says. “We did our best to keep it quiet, and we were pretty successful, I think.”

The announcement was made almost casually, during a private event for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, last October, when, responding to an intentionally placed “fan” question asking if the band would ever tour again, Lee answered, “I kind of think we should tour next year.”

Initially, the tour, dubbed Fifty Something, was a relatively short run of seven major cities, but following near-instantaneous sell-outs, more cities were added, and then more, and as it now stands, the tour will encompass North America, South America and Europe, 86 concerts in all, and won’t wrap until April 2027 in Helsinki, Finland.

“It was very surprising,” Lifeson says of the reaction from fans.

“We knew there were fans that wanted us to come back,” Lee says. “We’d get messages from fans all the time and they want to see Al and me playing together again in whatever form we had chosen. We’re very fortunate we have such a loyal fan base, but I don’t think Al or I or anyone associated with us expected the overwhelming response to the very first announcement. It’s very nice, very gratifying.”

Lee admits to feelings of frustration following the conclusion of Rush’s last tour, R40, in 2015. In his view, the band was playing at peak form, and both he and Lifeson wanted to keep going. Drummer Neil Peart, however, had other ideas about how he wanted to live the rest of his life. “He was so happy being a full-time dad,” Lee says, “and his body just said to him, ‘That’s enough as a touring musician. I can’t do it anymore.’”

Over the next few months, Lee and Lifeson accepted Peart’s decision. “That’s life – no hard feelings.” Lee says. “The man certainly earned a break from the madding crowd.”

Following Peart’s tragic death in 2020 from glioblastoma, Lee and Lifeson gradually occupied themselves with various activities. Lee, who already published his first book, Geddy Lee’s Big Beautiful Book of Bass in 2018, cranked out two more: 2023’s My Effin’ Life: From Holocaust Roots to Rock and Roll Stardom and 72 Stories: From the Baseball Collection of Geddy Lee. “Writing my first book was very gratifying,” he says. “It taught me that instead of banging out notes, I can bang out words. It sent me down a different path.”

Lifeson posted a couple of solo instrumental tracks, Kabul Blues and Spy House, on his website before forming an alt-rock band called Envy of None with bassist Andy Curran, guitarist Alfio Annibalini and lead singer Maiah Wynne. The group issued a self-titled debut in 2022 and a follow-up, 2025’s Stygian Wavz, but played no live shows. “I really didn’t have any interest in going back on the road,” Lifeson says. “I felt like I was really done with that.”

The former bandmates reunited on stage a few times in 2022, first with Primus to celebrate South Park’s 25th anniversary (the show’s co-creator, Matt Stone, played drums on Closer to the Heart), and they performed mini-sets of Rush classics at a pair of tribute concerts for the late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, during which they were backed by a number of drummers: Dave Grohl, Tool’s Danny Carey, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith and former David Bowie sticksman Omar Hakim.

“The Taylor Hawkins tribute shows were pivotal for a lot of reasons,” Lee says. “Obviously, we got a chance to pay tribute to Taylor, but also we got a chance in our own way to pay tribute to Neil, which was long overdue. To play our songs again with some other brilliant musicians, it showed us that our music is still alive.”

Riding high from those shows, the two briefly considered taking things a step further and playing together in an official capacity. “But it didn’t work out,” Lee says. “No sense dwelling on it, just move on with your life.”

For Lifeson, that meant tending to his health. Stomach surgery to correct a hiatal hernia resulted in gastroparesis, a chronic condition in which the muscles in the stomach don’t move food as they should for it to be digested.

The guitarist visited a wellness clinic in Austria and learned to manage the condition through strict lifestyle changes (alcohol, smoking, gluten, lactose and junk food are out). Once he was back home, he would get together with Lee, just like always, and soon they began jamming. Then they began jamming on Rush songs, just two old friends having a blast.

Only it wasn’t that simple. This wasn’t just two old friends having a blast. It was something more than that… but what? Could they really tour once again as Rush? Should they? Warming up to the idea took some time, especially for Lifeson, who had previously stated that Rush’s touring days were over. And the biggest question of all was, if they did play live again, who would sit in that drum seat? As Lee says, “How do you ask someone to replace a guy who’s irreplaceable?”

Through his bass tech, John “Scully” McIntosh, Lee was tipped off about Anika Nilles, a German composer, producer and music educator, and as it turns out, a virtuoso drummer (her resume includes a 2022 tour with Jeff Beck). As Lee recalls, “We did a Zoom call together and said, ‘Look, we’re thinking of going on the road, and obviously we need a drummer. Would you be interested in playing some Rush songs with us?’

That’s really all we asked. She was totally game for it and said, ‘That sounds great.’ So she hopped on a plane and played with us for a week, and it was on the last day Alex and I looked at each other and went, ‘Wow, I think we have a drummer… Now what the fuck do we do?’”

When was it exactly when you two started playing Rush songs together again?

Geddy Lee: I would say it was in late 2024. I had just finished my third book, and I was sitting down here looking at all these bass guitars, and they were making me feel very, very guilty. So I started getting my fingers back in shape – and they were really out of shape.

I came down every day and played, and I was having dinner with Al one night and I told him, “Yeah, I’m getting my fingers back in shape. I’ve been writing a bit of lyrics and stuff. Maybe we should jam.” We always saw each other anyway every couple of weeks for dinner or drinks or something.

Al came over and we just started jamming and having fun the way we always do after we drink too much coffee. [Laughs] We’re having a laugh. Then Al, I think, or one of us suggested, “Let’s play a Rush song for fun and see if we can remember it without doing any homework.” Of course, we could only remember parts of them. That’s kind of how it started.

Aside from Rush songs, what else were you jamming?

Lee: We were just jamming, making shit up. That’s what jamming is.

When two guys from Rush get together to play Rush songs, what do they play?

Alex Lifeson: There are only like a thousand songs to choose from. We tried to get the easiest ones –

Lee: There are no easiest ones. [Laughs]

Was it just the two of you playing on your own, or did you have any sort of rhythm loop for accompaniment?

Lee: It was just the two of us. Sometimes we’d pull up the song and play along with it just to see – “What the fuck does that sound like?” That would help you remember all the things you forgot. I think Al remembers Freewill being the first song we tried.

Lifeson: Sure it was, yeah.

Lee: Which for a bass player is not a walk in the park. That was interesting to see my fingers tell me to fuck off. But it was fun. We ended up really laughing. And when we walked away from that goofy session, not only had we put some interesting jams down on tape, which I don’t know what’ll ever happen with them or they’ll remain in the bin, but we walked away with this smile. Playing our songs was so much fun.

The next time we got together to jam, we started challenging each other – “Can you remember this one?” Then we would flail through it. After enough of that, we started getting this sheepish grin at the end of our sessions. It was like, “What are we doing here? Are we doing something? Are we quietly tricking each other into going back on the road?” But that was still a ways away before we could agree to that.

What was that moment like when one of you finally said it out loud? Who was the first to say it?

Lee: I don’t know how that went. In the past, it was usually me who would say, “Hey, Al, do you want to do some shows? Do you want to think about this?” But I was a bit sheepish to do that because we’ve already been down that road and it didn’t work out after the tribute shows for Taylor.

We went down that road a little bit, but Al wasn’t into it for a lot of reasons. I don’t know who… I think we both just kind of gravitated to looking at each other saying, “This is kind of fun.”

Lifeson: I remember Ged saying, “We should get together. You should come over, have a coffee. There’s some stuff we need to talk about.” I went over and we did exactly that. We kind of talked about, “Why don’t we just play one of these days? Just play some stuff, maybe work on some stuff or whatever.”

That’s what led to that. I think Ged knew I was not really enthusiastic about even considering going back on the road, doing a tour, especially something that’s turned into this size of a tour. I think he was cautious and just wanted to have… I mean, we’ve been playing together for 60 years, and he just wanted to play together. That’s what we did the first day, and we were laughing and smiling and really enjoying it.

Like he said, we were jamming. We were playing bluesy stuff and whatever, and that led to playing a Rush song or two. That eventually led to playing maybe more Rush songs, and then the ball started rolling and it started to grow on its own, and it seemed to have a life of its own and an energy of its own. Everything started falling into place and moving toward ultimately getting together and doing this tour.

I needed convincing, for sure. Once I felt better – I got my health in order at the beginning of 2025, and that was one big hurdle for me. I was not feeling well enough health-wise to go back onto the road or to commit to doing anything with that sort of thing in mind.

But as the time went by and I felt good, and we started playing more and other ideas came up, it seemed natural that we would follow through with this and really start playing together.

It’s one thing to do one song, but it’s a whole other thing to do 40 songs. And I’ll tell you, it’s hard. It’s hard, hard, hard, but it’s really exciting, and it feels really good when the songs start coming together, and the fingers start going to the right places and it all comes back to you. Muscle memory is a mysterious thing, but it’s beautiful.

That must have been a strange and incredible process. As you said, you needed convincing…

Lifeson: It was gradual. When we started really sounding good together again, like more recently, when I could see a faint light at the end of the tunnel, it almost turned a switch on for me. I went from having self-doubt and not being really positively sure that I really wanted to do it… but I’d made the commitment. It was at that moment that I realized that, yes, this is going to be a good thing. It’s going to be a good thing for me personally and for us.

No doubt you were also considering your health and wondering, “Physically, should I do this?”

Lifeson: Well, I just concentrated on my digestive system. [Laughs] That was the main problem I was dealing with. I’ve had arthritis for years, and I’m pretty successful in dealing with that, but it was the digestive issues that were the real problem.

Millions and millions and millions of people go through that sort of thing. I managed to find a good way to mitigate some of the worst parts of it, and I just feel so much better about my energy and everything in my life, really.

Would it be right to assume that numerous drummers have approached you two over the years?

Lee: Well, yes. I mean, people who are close to us – good friends that are successful drummers – would never infer something like that because they have too much respect, not only for Neil and for the situation… They were grieving as well, so they wouldn’t be so selfish as to say something inappropriate like that.

There were many other drummers who reached out to me in the aftermath of Neil’s passing that were pushing themselves, and that was most distasteful to me. It was completely inappropriate timing.

Of course, we have some great pals who are amazing drummers in their own right, and they’re in very successful bands. We didn’t really know where to begin to look when it was time to choose a drummer. We started with Anika because she had been recommended to me, and I had done some research on her. I loved her vibe and her diverse style, and I had her in mind in case I was going to do some kind of project.

We didn’t have a list. We never, ever accumulated a list of drummers. When Al and I finally said, “Okay, I guess we’re getting serious. Who’s going to sit in that impossible seat?” How do you ask someone to replace a guy who’s irreplaceable?

It’s daunting. We started with the name that was already on my mind. We called her up, she came, and we hit it off. Once we were sure… She brought a lot to the table, but more than her chops, more than her guts and her willingness to sit in that hot seat, she brought an intelligence and a story. I love her story.

This is someone who grew up in Germany in a family of musicians. Her dad was a drummer. She’s played drums her entire life. She doesn’t even remember the first time she picked up sticks. It’s who she is. I thought, “Wouldn’t that be nice to bring someone so fresh in our midst to inspire Al and me?”

She’s a bit younger than us, and she likes to remind us of that. Every time we tell a story about a gig in 1971, she goes, “Wow, I wasn’t even born yet.” I’m just a big fan of hers, and I think Al has become a big fan of hers.

Part of this little journey we’re on now is about rooting for her. I really want her to succeed in this moment because she’s taking all the heat. The fans love her right now, but they’re going to scrutinize her, and she’s up for it. I just love that about her.

Did you give Anika a big list of Rush songs to prepare for when she came to play with you?

Lee: We just picked a few classic Rush songs. I said, “Learn these as best you can and let’s see what happens.” It was very casual, very relaxed, and it wasn’t an audition. We said to her, “We’re not auditioning drummers, but your playing really interests us. So just come and let’s see what happens.”

Lifeson: I didn’t know what the expectations were. I probably thought, “She’s very good. She seems to have a good grasp of the songs technically.” But there was something that was just not quite there. It wasn’t really until the last day that suddenly she sort of blossomed and understood better what we were kind of looking for or going after. And then after that, it’s just been better progressively through the whole year of rehearsals we’ve been doing.

Lee: On the fifth day, this is what happened: we’d gone four days and Al and I hadn’t even talked about her. We only had her for a few days, so we wanted to work through all these songs and see her reactions. See her gut feel, learn a little bit about it. We didn’t know her. She was a complete stranger, really.

She was a bit intimidated when she first arrived, of course, because she’d heard of the band, but she wasn’t a Rush fan. She didn’t know the songs intimately.

Of course, she knew songs like Tom Sawyer, and she knew of our reputation, and of course, there’s no drummer on the planet that doesn’t know who Neil Peart is and doesn’t revere that name. It was a tall order for her, but we were so busy working through these songs that we hadn’t chatted.

On the last day I said, “Al, can you pop into my house? We have to talk about what’s going on here.” [Laughs] He came over and I said, “What do you think?” And he said, “I don’t know. What do you think?” I said, “I don’t know. What the fuck are we doing?” [Laughs] We talked about her pros and cons. There was a sliver of doubt. Her technique was incredible, her facility…

Playing the fills was the last problem she would’ve had. She nailed the fills. That’s not the thing. There’s a lot more to playing a Rush song than the fills. It’s the feel. It’s the nuances. Our music is idiosyncratic, and that just takes time.

We’ve played Rush songs with maybe five or six different drummers over the last few years. Every time you sit and play a Rush song with a drummer, I don’t care who they are, there’s an adjustment. There’s a little translation that Alex and I have to do with the drummer about this little part or that little part. That’s normal. But we just weren’t sure because this was all new to us. So we went to that last day with an open mind, but a little doubt.

And song after song we played with her, she just killed it. I mean, she understood all those little things that Alex and I had been telling her all that week, and she processed it and delivered. That’s when we looked at each other in the studio and went, “Yep, we have a real problem, because now we have a drummer and we’re going to make a commitment.”

For Anika, it wasn’t just about recreating the records. It was about bringing her own perspective to the music.

Lee: I don’t know if Al feels the same way, but I think she’s very respectful of whose parts she’s playing. She understands that air drummers for the last 45 years have been out there mimicking some of those parts. She wants to do that justice. At the same time, she’s a completely original and independent creative force, but she’s sublimating a bit of that for the sake of a tribute to Neil.

At the same time, the more she knows the songs, the more confidence she has with the songs. There are moments where she’s now able to put her own special sauce on this song or that song. We’ll start looking for moments to let her stretch out. We already have a couple in the set where I look at her and go, “Anika, this is free time. You go wherever you want to go, and I’ll be there. We’ll meet you there.”

I look at it like this: There have been phases to this adventure. Phase one was her understanding Neil’s role in Rush. Phase two is like, we’ve learned all the songs, now let’s have some fun with them. Now we’re massaging the arrangements and seeing how they can go.

At the same time, we’re not out there to turn it into a new thing. We’re there to represent our songs with our hearts and with our best playing fingers forward. And we want fans to celebrate that music with us. The mandate isn’t to change everything. The mandate is to be respectful of the arrangements of the song at the same time elevate from the norm.

You’ve hired Loren Gold as a touring keyboardist, so it’s something of a new presentation.

Lee: That’s correct. That’s what we wanted. When people come in and look at the stage setup, it’s not a trio. It’s not Rush 2.0. It’s a new time and we’ve got a different vibe, but the music is treated respectfully.

Alex, are there any new guitars you’ll bring out on the road?

Lifeson: Yeah, a few. Kirk Hammett gave me one of his Greenies. I’ve been having fun with that. It’s a pretty raunchy Les Paul, for sure. The Gibson Custom Shop did such an amazing job on it. The relic’ing is just spectacular. It sounds really, really great. There’s a couple of other Les Pauls. [He gestures to an Explorer on the wall]

Oh, and I just got this from Gibson. This is a guitar that Cesar [Gueikian], CEO of the company, made with some of the craftsmen there. He sent that along for me to check out, so I’ve been fiddling around with that. It’s so different for me in terms of its shape and style. I’ve got to get used to it.

My original ES-355 has gone to someone else, but I have one of the reissues that I’ll have on the road. I’m still sort of building that arsenal. I think I had 23 guitars on the last tour. I’ll probably have 15 or 16, something like that. I don’t know how many Ged’s going to take out this time around. Ged, I think you had probably 25 basses on the last tour.

Lee: Last tour, I had 27 vintage bases that I played. I don’t know if I’ll get through 27 this time, but it’s a slightly shorter show and I’ve fallen in love with my beautiful ’62 Jazz Bass. I’m going to play that on quite a few songs, but I’m also planning to bring some unusual things out. I’ve got a couple of classic Rickies that I’ll bring out. I’ve got some Hofners and T-birds that I’ve fallen in love with. I’m going to have, I don’t know, maybe 10 to 15 instruments I’ll try to work into the set.

At the end of those five days you did with Anika, if things didn’t work out, for whatever reason, would that have been the end of this experiment, or would you have regrouped and tried something else?

Lifeson: Who knows? I mean, it’s impossible to say.

Lee: My gut tells me we would have regrouped and looked elsewhere, but I’m very happy we didn’t have to do that. We’re really lucky. And also with Loren Gold, our keyboardist – I met him in 2014 when I did a charity show with the guys from the Who in London for their 50th anniversary, ironically.

We kind of hit it off. Again, he was one of those names that just stuck in the back of my mind. And when we talked about adding a keyboard player, his was the first name that came to mind. We’re very fortunate that the two people who were top of our minds both have worked out really, really well. That’s a little bit of a blessing from above, I think. Someone’s looking after us there.

Of course, as you said, Neil is irreplaceable, and he’s beloved by the band’s fans. That said, people seem to be very excited to see Anika play with you guys.

Lee: We’re very gratified with how well she’s been welcomed by the Rush family, so to speak. They haven’t even heard her play one note with us yet, and there’s already this kind of outpouring of love for her, and they’ve shown her tremendous kindness, which I know is inspiring for her. It’s been very gratifying to see the response.

She must be a real inspiration to female drummers around the world.

Lee: Yeah. I think that’s a great part of her story. I love that part of her story. I’ve gotten mail from young girls, older women saying, “Right on, man. Thank you.”

And now she’s part of your story.

Lee: Totally. But let’s be clear: we did not hire Anika Nilles because she’s a woman. We hired her because she’s an incredible drummer, and not just an incredible drummer – an intelligent, hardworking, responsible… I couldn’t even get her drunk last night! [Laughs] I tried.

She’s a unique individual. In many ways, she reminds me of the big goof who sat on the throne before her. She’s a total professional, a work-first person. The fact that she’s female and she’s doing that for women musicians around the world, that’s a bonus. It’s not the reason she’s in that seat.

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

Alex Lifeson’s Rush reunion pedalboard and live rig has been revealed, and it confirms that there are no tube amps on the Fifty Something tour.

The Canadian virtuoso had recently revealed to Rick Beato that his signature IK Multimedia TONEX pedal was to play a key role in his new live rig as he looks to recreate classic Rush tones throughout the set. Now we know exactly how he's doing that thanks to an Instagram post from his gear brand, Lerxst.

In Rush’s later years, Lifeson had ditched tube amps for a Fractal Axe-Fx amp modeler. However, the traditional modeler route, Lifeson told Beato, usually used the same cluster of tones shared between dedicated hot, dirty, and clean channels.

So, to see him doubling down and expanding his use of digital gear isn’t a surprise. The beating heart of Lifeson's new rig is his signature IK Multimedia TONEX pedal, which has captured some of his most prized amps and tones from across his career. Beyond that, he’s got a few other tricks up his sleeve.

Joining the 12-foot-strong Fractal FC-12 foot controller and his TONEX pedal is a Tech 21 wah pedal, a Paul Cochrane Timmy overdrive, and a TC Electronic Ditto X2 looper.

Rounding out the bunch is the Morley x Lerxst ATWAS, a wah-and-volume pedal in one. While its successor, the Blah Blah, was released in 2024, Lifeson is staying true to the two-trick pedal. It got used right off the bat, too, with – spoilers ahead – Lifeson and Geddy Lee donning double-neck guitars for their epic set opener, Xanadu, on opening night.

The ATWAS is likely being employed as a volume pedal here, with the Tech 21 catering to all of Lifeson’s wah-y needs.

Lifeson has been busy with Lerxst releases in the years between Rush’s apparent farewell 11 years ago and their triumphant comeback with Anika Nilles and Loren Gold. The firm has dropped the Limelight S-style guitar, a reimagining of his iconic Hentor Sportcaster; a pre-wired Limelight pickguard; CHI head and 1x12 cab; and the By-Tor drive and boost pedal, among others.

It’s perhaps a surprise, then, that only one piece of Lerxst-branded gear has made it onto his latest pedalboard, but it’s a high-powered ‘board all the same, and his guitar tones have been getting rave reviews so far.

In related news, Gibson Custom Shop Greeny has also made its way into his live rig, while Epiphone – its finger firmly on the pulse – has now reissued Lifeson’s ES-355.

No matter the drummer, whoever was to step onto Neil Peart’s lofty drum riser in a reprised Rush was always going to have a massive task on their hands.

Jeff Beck-approved Fusion drummer Anika Nilles’ first shows with the prog giants have been met with widespread acclaim, but getting Rush back on stage wasn’t exactly smooth sailing – nor was Nilles’ rollercoaster 'audition'.

Her first sessions with the band, Rush bassist Geddy Lee says, were “casual.” But for two musicians who spent the best part of half a century playing with one of the world’s best drummers, there was a difficult musical and personal adjustment period to weather.

As Lee remembers in the new issue of Guitar World. “We said to her, ‘We’re not auditioning drummers, but your playing really interests us. So just come and let’s see what happens.’”

Lee says he and bandmate Alex Lifeson had no expectations during the first four of their initial five days together. Lee wanted “to work through all these songs and see her reactions and her gut feel.”

“We didn’t know her. She was a complete stranger,” he develops. “She was a bit intimidated at first because she’d heard of the band, but she wasn’t a Rush fan.”

By the time the sessions neared an end, both Lifeson and Lee realized they harbored reservations about going forward with a reunion.

“There’s no drummer on the planet that doesn’t know who Neil Peart is and doesn’t revere that name,” Lee acknowledges. “It was a tall order for her, but we were so busy working through these songs that we hadn’t chatted.”

So, before their last session, Lee called Lifeson over to his house.

“He came over, and I said, ‘What do you think?’ And he said, ‘I don’t know. What do you think?” Lee remembers. “I said, ‘I don’t know. What the fuck are we doing?’

“There was a sliver of doubt,” he admits. “Her technique was incredible. She nailed the fills, [but] there’s a lot more to playing a Rush song than the fills. It’s the feel. It’s the nuances. Our music is idiosyncratic, and that takes time.

“We’ve played Rush songs with maybe five or six different drummers over the last few years. Every time you sit and play a Rush song with a drummer, I don’t care who they are, there’s an adjustment.

“But we just weren’t sure because this was all new to us. So we went to that last day with an open mind. And song after song, she killed it. She understood all those little things that Alex and I had been telling her all week, processed them, and delivered.

“That’s when we looked at each other in the studio and went, ‘Yep, we have a real problem, because now we have a drummer and we’re going to make a commitment.’”

“There was something that was just not quite there,” echoes Lifeson. “It wasn’t really until the last day that suddenly she sort of blossomed and understood better what we were kind of looking for or going after.”

The band are so committed to Nilles that they aren’t discounting writing music together, and the praise for Nilles has been flooding in since the tour began.

For Rush, replacing Peart was difficult for a number of reasons, but despite a long line of drummers vying for the gig, Nilles was their only choice.

Rush’s full chat can be found in the latest issue of Guitar World. Head to Magazines Direct to pick up a copy.

Epiphone has paid tribute to one of Alex Lifeson’s most iconic electric guitars by releasing a reissue of his 1976 ES-355.

In Lifeson’s arsenal of Rush guitars, his Alpine White ES-355 is up there as perhaps the most significant. It featured on almost every Rush album, serving as Lifeson’s main guitar in the studio and on the stage for decades, until it was sold at auction for $384,000 in 2022.

The original was custom-built for Lifeson, and when the auction of the ES-355 was announced, the Rush guitar hero dubbed it “the iconic Alex Lifeson guitar”.

Now, a year after Lifeson teased an Epiphone reissue was in the works, the Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Custom 1976 ES-355 Reissue has officially landed just in time for the Rush reunion.

It hasn’t got the natural wear and tear of the source material, instead arriving pristine out the factory exactly as Lifeson’s original would have all those years ago.

That means the flawless Alpine White colorway looks the absolute business, and when paired with all the Lifeson-specific specs, it makes for one helluva nice Epiphone guitar.

It has a three-piece maple neck that mirrors the original, as well as a five-ply semi-hollow body composed from maple and poplar, with a solid maple centerblock for added sustain.

More tactile appointments include the harmonica-style Tune-O-Matic bridge and Maestro Vibrola, as well as a pair of gold-covered, USA-made Gibson T-Type humbuckers. There’s also the mono Varitone switch, and a few more modern refinements such as the Graph Tech nut.

Finishing touches include mother-of-pearl block inlays on the 22-fret ebony fingerboard, and the Gibson Custom-style split diamond inlay on the open book headstock.

“The ES-355 has always been a really special guitar for me – it’s got this incredible balance of elegance and power,” says Alex Lifeson. “What I love about this Epiphone “Whitey” recreation is how faithfully it captures that original spirit while still feeling fresh and alive in your hands.

“It’s a guitar that invites you to explore, to take chances, and to find your own voice. I’m genuinely thrilled that players everywhere will have the chance to experience it and make it part of their own musical journey.”

The Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Custom 1976 ES-355 Reissue is available to preorder for $1,499.

Head over to Epiphone to find out more.

The Epi arrives just in time for Rush’s hotly anticipated reunion tour, which kicked off over the weekend at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles. The show was one of the band’s first official outings with new drummer, Anika Nilles.

It was a set filled with double-neck guitars, deep cuts, and signature amp modeler pedals, as well as a cameo from an unexpected Metallica signature guitar.

Prog rock legends Rush have made their long-awaited return to the stage.

11 years after the band exited stage left at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, they were back at the same venue with new drummer Anika Nilles in tow as they kickstarted the Fifty Something tour in style. Our friends at Classic Rock did the math, with the band ending the 3,964-day wait by playing a song that has never opened a Rush set before.

Launching into Xanadu, from 1977’s A Farewell to Kings, the new-look lineup did little to shy away from the fan favorites, with mammoth hits including Moving Pictures’ bangers Limelight and Red Barchetta, The Spirit of the Radio, La Villa Strangiato, and Subdivisions all packed into a breathless two sets. And yes, they played 2112, stripping it down to just three parts.

But it wasn’t just the big hitters on show. Unexpected songs, including Dreamline, The Garden, a tender cut from the band’s superlative final album, Clockwork Angels, and By-Tor & The Snow Dog, ensured the setlist represented a career-wide representation of one of the best bands to abuse time signatures and double-neck guitars with wilful abandon.

And, shock horror, there were plenty of guitars on display. From Geddy Lee’s double-neck Rickenbacker and Lifeson’s double-neck Gibson SG used on that rip-roaring opener, to a Gibson Custom Shop Greeny – gifted to Lifeson by Kirk Hammett – the pair have brought a wealth of gorgeous instruments onto the tour bus.

Tonally, Lifeson has also opted to include his signature IK Multimedia TONEX pedal in his live rig, as he vies to replicate the classic sounds of the band’s records across the set, making it a history of Rush tone, too.

Rush produced 19 albums and a sea of classic material over a change-making 40-year career. That was widely believed to have ended after the R40 tour concluded in 2015, given that Peart wanted to retire from the road.

Peart passed away in 2020, with most fans believing that spelled the end of the band for good. But after the success of Lee and Lifeson’s cameo at the Taylor Hawkins tribute show, the pair opted to revive the band with the help of former Jeff Beck drummer Anika Nilles and ex-Who keyboardist Loren Gold.

Though there was a queue of what Geddy Lee calls “distasteful” drummers eyeing Peart’s drum throne, it was German fusion drummer Nilles who was given the nod. The fact that she wasn’t already immersed in the prog scene, or even a Rush superfan, helps create a degree of separation between Rush with Neil ‘the Professor’ Peart, and this surprise new era of the band.

“When Al and I finally said, ‘Okay, I guess we’re getting serious. Who’s going to sit in that impossible seat? It’s daunting,” Lee admitted to Classic Rock. “[Nilles] brought a lot to the table, but more than her chops, more than her guts, and her willingness to sit in that hot seat, she brought an intelligence and a story.”

The band will now traverse across the US and Canada, with South American and European shows taking place next year.

Rush setlist: Kia Forum, Los Angeles

Set 1

• Xanadu
• Limelight
• Far Cry
• Subdivisions
• Freewill
• Bravad
• Caravan
• La Villa Strangiato
• Vital Signs
• The Spirit of Radio

Set 2

• 2112 Part I: Overture
• 2112 Part II: The Temples of Syrinx
• 2112 Part VII: Grand Finale
• Distant Early Warning
• Red Barchetta
• Dreamline
• Natural Science
• Time Stand Still
• Red Sector A
• YYZ
• The Garden
• Tom Sawyer

Encore

• By-Tor & The Snow Dog
• Working Man

Alex Lifeson has shed more light on the guitar rig he'll be using for Rush's upcoming reunion tour – and fans should expect to hear some very familiar guitar tones.

As a sea of elite guitar players make the switch from tube amps to modelers, Neural DSP, Line 6, Kemper, Univeral Audio and Fractal have been taking most of the wins.

But Lifeson, along with Joe Satriani, became one of IK Multimedia's earliest and biggest champions, working with the firm to release a signature amp pack and a limited edition TONEX pedal.

Now, Lifeson's faith in IK Multimedia is set to reach new heights, with the prog guitar hero set to take his signature TONEX on the road for the Rush reunion tour – making him perhaps the highest profile player to use the TONEX in a live setting.

What that means, tonally, is that their set will be a history of Rush’s guitar tones – because the TONEX has helped cloned them all.

Speaking to Rick Beato, Lifeson says IK Multimedia “took all the amps that I had in storage, and they kept them for almost two years” to produce digital recreations of four iconic amps from his collection. These were available both as a standalone plugin and baked into his signature TONEX.

The earliest iterations of amp modeling, he confesses, had flaws. But this current crop of digitized tones means serious business. IK Multimedia won him over.

“When they sent it to me, and I listened to it, I really wasn’t sure what to expect, because quite often this sort of technology, prior to this generation, always felt two-dimensional,” he confesses. “It was just pasted on a window; there was no depth, and everything sounded tight and compressed.

“Now, I guess with the advent of AI [machine learning] helping, they sound like the greatest amps ever. There’s depth in the bottom end. There’s real character. It’s not just the fuzziness and the noise that you get from an amp; it responds beautifully.”

As such, the TONEX forms a key part of his live rig, alongside the Fractal, which looks to be handling the lions' share of the effects duties. It's a far cry from Lifeson's old rig, which featured physical tube amp heads, cabs, and a much smaller crop of guitar tones to choose from.

In those days, Lifeson says he usually had a cluster of tones for live, split between hot, dirty, and clean channels. They covered all bases.

The TONEX and Fractal duo, conversely, has allowed him to be far more detailed with his tone-sculpting, recreating those classic tones for each song on their set list.

“I thought, 'Wouldn't it would be cool if I could go back and emulate all those guitar sounds that I had from those records?'” he relays. “I thought, 'If I could make the guitar sound from Tom Sawyer and Limelight, and go through the whole gamut of guitar sounds... wouldn’t that be cool?'

“It’s really interesting to listen to and fresh as it changes through the course of the night. It’s not just the same thing for an hour and a half.”

Lifeson recently confirmed he’s taking a Greeny copy, gifted to him by Kirk Hammett, on the Rush tour, and also discussed how close he was to taking a regular job as Rush battled mounting debt before they broke big with 2112.

Geddy Lee, meanwhile, has called out the “distasteful” drummers who put themselves forward for a Rush reunion while they were still mourning Neil Peart’s passing.

2112 is widely regarded as Rush’s commercial breakthrough. Disappointing album sales of 1975’s Caress of Steel, coupled with declining attendance at shows – not to mention a less-than-ideal critical reaction and the potential catastrophe of being dropped by their label – spurred Alex Lifeson, Geddy Lee, and Neil Peart to, frankly, give it their all.

Now, as the newly reformed Rush – with drummer Anika Nilles – are set to embark on the Fifty Something Tour, kicking off on June 7, Lifeson recalls that uncertain period and how much of a make-or-break moment it really was for the band.

“We were heavily in debt,” Lifeson says matter-of-factly in an interview with Rick Beato. “Our managers had spent so much money just keeping us on the road, and there was a lot of pressure.

“It really was, either we go home, and I go work for my dad as a plumbing assistant, or we just say screw everybody, we're just going to make the record that we want to make, and if it fails, then at least it's our thing, we did it. That was [1976’s] 2112 – so that was my protest record.”

Lifeson clarifies that the record’s success wasn’t “instantaneous,” but rather, “it took a year for that record… touring and promoting it” to find its audience.

“What happened was people really locked onto it. This happens to so many people: when you discover a band, you feel like that's your band. I'm the only person that knows how great this band is. That's kind of what happened, one gig at a time.”

By the end of that same year, the record had gone platinum, even entering the Canadian Albums Chart, peaking at No.5, as well as becoming the band’s first record to crack the U.S. Top 100.

“We were on a much better track,” Lifeson continues. “Now the gigs were starting to come in, we were headlining more… we felt emboldened, and never was a record company executive or management allowed in the studio from that point on. That bought us our independence, and we were precious with that.”

In a classic Guitar World interview from 1996, the Rush guitarist described the atmosphere that led to the creation of 2112.

“Because there was so much negative feeling from the record company, and our management was worried, we came back full force with 2112,” he recalled. “There was a lot of passion and anger on that record.”

Ultimately, “it was about one person standing up against everybody else.”

In more recent news, Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson revealed that, following Peart’s death, several drummers tried to force a Rush reunion on them while they were still in mourning.

As Rush prepares to make their grand return to touring next month, Alex Lifeson has been discussing what’s in his reunion rig – and a copy of Kirk Hammett’s legendary Greeny is a surprise addition.

Lifeson, Geddy Lee, and former Jeff Beck drummer Anika Nilles will kick off the Fifty Something tour in Los Angeles on June 7. It’s the band’s first tour without stalwart drummer Neil Peart, who passed away in 2020.

After soft-launching their comeback at the Juno Awards, Lifeson is looking forward to bringing some new axes to the stage.

“Kirk Hammett gave me one of his Greenys,” he says in the new issue of Guitar World. “I’ve been having fun with that. It’s a pretty raunchy Les Paul, for sure. The Gibson Custom Shop did such an amazing job on it. The relic’ing is just spectacular, and it sounds really, really great.”

Hammett is the third owner of the fabled Greeny Les Paul. It made its name in the hands of Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green, who then personally chose Gary Moore as its caretaker when he left the music scene entirely in 1970. Hammett then bought it for a “very realistic” price after the Irishman’s passing.

A slew of affordable and definitely-not-affordable reissues have come since, with Biffy Clyro’s Simon Neil among those to have stumped up $20K for a Custom Shop model.

For Lifeson, there are other electric guitar changes afoot, too.

“My original ES-355 has gone to someone else, but I have one of the reissues that I’ll have on the road,” he says. A new Epiphone reissue of the guitar has also been teased.

“I’m still sort of building that arsenal,” Lifeson expands. “I think I had 23 guitars on the last tour. I’ll probably have 15 or 16 [for this tour].”

“Last tour, I had 27 vintage bases,” Lee takes over. “I don’t know if I’ll get through 27 this time, but it’s a slightly shorter show, and I’ve fallen in love with my beautiful ‘62 Jazz Bass. I’m going to play that on quite a few songs, but I’m also planning to bring some unusual things out. I’ve got a couple of classic Rickies that I’ll bring out.

“I’ve got some Hofners and T-birds that I’ve fallen in love with. I’m going to have, I don’t know, maybe 10 to 15 instruments I’ll try to work into the set.”

The band has credited their appearance at the Taylor Hawkins tribute show as the spark for their reunion, although Lee has said it was “distasteful” how many drummers came forward following Peart’s passing, each with an eye to taking his drum throne.

Rush are the cover stars of the latest issue of Guitar World. Print and digital copies can be ordered from Magazines Direct.

Prog giants Rush are set to hit the road for the first time since Neil Peart’s passing next month, with former Jeff Beck drummer Anika Nilles sitting in for the Professor. But while the band was still in mourning after his death, Geddy Lee says some drummers were already eying Peart’s position.

The band had retired in 2015 after the R40 tour, with Peart’s deteriorating health the main reason for their curtain call. Peart passed away five years later, with most assuming that Rush, simultaneously, were no more.

That has, of course, proven not to be the case. Nilles was recommended to the band by a tech who spent time on the road with Jeff Beck’s 2022 tour, and Lee and Lifeson eventually approached her. However, they note some other players were tactless in their approach.

“People who are close to us – good friends that are successful drummers – would never infer something like that because they have too much respect, not only for Neil and for the situation,” Lee tells Guitar World. “They were grieving as well, so they wouldn’t be so selfish as to say something inappropriate like that.”

However, he adds that “there were many other drummers who reached out to me in the aftermath of Neil’s passing that were pushing themselves, and that was most distasteful to me. It was completely inappropriate timing.”

Lee says it was when he and guitarist Alex Lifeson linked up with Dave Grohl to play Rush songs at the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert in 2022 that sparked their reunion. Two years later, they were back on stage again as part of a Gordon Lightfoot tribute show, and the rumor mill began spinning when Lifeson confessed that the pair had been jamming.

But timing and finding the right drummer were everything.

“We didn't really know where to begin to look,” Lee says. “We started with Anika because she had been recommended to me, and I had done some research on her. I loved her vibe and diverse style.

“We didn’t have a list,” he adds. “When Al and I finally said, ‘Okay, I guess we’re getting serious. Who’s going to sit in that impossible seat? It’s daunting. We started with the name that was already on my mind.

“We called her up, she came, and we hit it off. She brought a lot to the table, but more than her chops, more than her guts, and her willingness to sit in that hot seat, she brought an intelligence and a story.”

Born into a family of musicians, Lee says the 42-year-old, born between the Rush's ninth and tenth albums, “doesn’t even remember the first time she picked up sticks,” rather, “It’s who she is.” Her relative freshness, he adds, has been vital in Rush’s second coming.

They soft-launched their comeback at the Juno Awards in late March. Their full-fledged return is happening next month at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, on June 7, where they played their final show with Peart 11 years ago.

Rush are the cover stars of the new issue of Guitar World. Print and digital copies can be ordered from Magazines Direct.

When Detroit prog rock band Tiles went on indefinite hiatus in 2018, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Chris Herin started writing new songs to keep himself busy.

At first, Herin had no intention of recording a solo album, but as months turned to years and his catalog of new songs grew, he began working with longtime collaborator and producer Terry Brown.

Over several years of on-and-off work, the two assembled Hiding in Plain Sight, a musically diverse record based on the battle Herin’s father underwent with dementia before he died. “I wanted the music to trace the path my father took from the point where his behavior started getting odd and all the way through the trajectory of the disease,” Herin says.

For years, Herin didn’t even want to think about his father’s disease, let alone write songs about it. With time, the memories became less painful, and working on Hiding in Plain Sight helped provide closure. To provide contrast to the sobering subject matter, Herin wrote in a variety of styles, including ’80s power rock, pop, country-folk, classic rock and, yes, prog.

“I like that there’s an odd inconsistency between the music and lyrics,” Herin says. “We wanted the music to offset some of the more depressing content and bring more dimensions to the album.”

To enhance their enjoyment of the creative process, Herin and Brown recruited more than two dozen guest musicians, including Peter Frampton, Alex Lifeson, Martin Barre (ex-Jethro Tull), Randy McStine (Porcupine Tree), Kim Mitchell (Max Webster) and Jeff Kollman (Alan Parsons Live Project).

While all of the soloists met or exceeded Herin’s expectations, two went above and beyond. Lifeson radically reworked the stripped-down Second Ending into a melancholy mélange of sparse plucked notes, effected guitar swells and weeping strings.

“He’s not doing any of the lead work he’s known for,” Herin says. “He came up with 10 tracks of textures and atmospheres that all could have worked, and Terry integrated them all into the song, which was amazing.”

Similarly, Barre turned The Darkest Hour from a basic prog song into a layered, musically ornate folk-imbued number. “I had just asked him for a quick solo,” Herin says. “Not only did he do an incredible solo that interlocks with everything, but he added extra guitar that’s orchestral on its own – and then he recorded flute and mandolin, which takes the song to a completely different place.”

Proceeds from Hiding in Plain Sight will be donated to Alzheimer’s charities.

• Hiding in Plain Sight is out now via Laser's Edge.
• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson debuted their new Rush lineup yesterday (March 29) at the Juno Awards in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, marking their first live performance with new drummer Anika Nilles.

The duo and Nilles performed Finding My Way – the first track on Rush's self-titled 1974 debut album, which featured John Rutsey on drums in the studio, rather than the late Neil Peart, who joined the band later that year.

As for why they decided to go for this seemingly unlikely pick for their first performance with Nilles, Lee told reporters post-show, “You really can't ask us what song to play. If we have to choose one song, it's almost impossible. We have so many. So we just asked management, and they said first song, first album.”

“Also, it's the only song we know how to play,” Lifeson quipped.

In what must have been one of the most pressure-filled moments of her career so far, Nilles proved she is more than worthy of stepping into Peart’s shoes, as she accompanied a Les Paul-wielding Lifeson and Lee on his eye-catching Seafoam Green Fender Jazz Bass.

Rounding off the lineup was keyboardist Loren Gold, who will also join the band on their upcoming tour.

Lee and Lifeson also took the opportunity to pay tribute to Peart, with video footage of the beloved drummer and bandmate flickering on the screen behind them.

The appearance served as a preview of the upcoming Fifty Something tour – Lee and Lifeson’s first shows under the Rush banner in 11 years. It kicks off in North America on June 7 at the Forum in Los Angeles.

What was supposed to be a limited, 22-show run ended up extending to the UK, Europe, and South America, with dates in 2027 added just a few weeks ago.

Back in October, Rush delighted prog rock fans worldwide by announcing the Fifty Something reunion tour across North America. What's more, they recently added UK, Europe, and South America shows to the bill, with 24 shows across 13 countries slated for 2027.

Jeff Beck’s drummer, virtuoso Anika Nilles, will be filling in for the late, legendary Neil Peart, alongside Loren Gold, who has worked with the likes of The Who, Roger Daltrey, and Don Felder, on keyboards.

And while the legendary band has already sold over half a million tickets for the North American leg of the tour, reuniting as Rush was far from an easy decision. In fact, it has been years in the making.

“I think the first attempt that Alex [Lifeson] and I had of thinking about another tour was after we played here in London at Taylor Hawkins tribute concert with the Foo Fighters,” Geddy Lee tells Planet Rock.

“That was an incredibly emotional day – and there was such an easy, happy, loving environment backstage between the musicians that, when we finished our set, we gathered with a bunch of them backstage, all of them encouraging us to go back on tour.”

He continues, “So when we got back to Toronto, we were still kind of high from that moment, and we started talking about it, because it felt like, in some way, we had denied our participation in Rush once the band stopped, and so playing again with different drummers, we sort of reclaimed the music.

“It was important to recognize that it didn't just end in 2015 [after Peart's retirement from touring] – there's still some joy to be had playing our own songs.”

Lee goes on to say that, despite the initial enthusiasm, Lifeson wasn't so keen, and the “whole idea fizzled out”.

“We just carried on being friends, which is a full-time job – trying to keep him out of my wine cellar is hard,” he quips.

Lifeson carried on working on his other projects, which included featuring on Marco Minnemann’s 2017 record, Borrego; forming the supergroup Envy of None, whose debut album was released in 2022; and even working on his own solo material.

“There was an opportunity to get together [with Lee] for a project,” the guitarist explains. “So we did that – we just kind of jammed, trying to get the fingers in shape. The next thing we knew, we thought we'd play some Rush songs. We really hadn't played them in a few years, and it was just so much fun.

“When we began talking about it more seriously, the whole idea started to gather steam, and it turned into this great project to get back into shape and to become a full-time player of Rush music."

However, it wasn't as easy as the two had expected – especially considering all the decades they spent playing the Rush repertoire.

“When you do it every day for 40 years, you can read a newspaper while you're playing, but when you get away from it and revisit it, you suddenly realize, those songs are hard!” he concludes.

Lifeson and Lee – together with Nilles and Gold – have been practicing relentlessly for what is bound to be a historic return.

Tickets for the newly announced shows go on sale on February 27 at 10 am local time. For more information, head to Rush's official website.

In more recent Rush news, Lifeson revealed his biggest challenge when preparing for the Rush reunion tour.

NAMM 2026: Gibson has revealed what it has in store for its wallet-friendly Epiphone guitars throughout 2026, headlined by a Futura range that's ready to take the brand into “a new era.”

By Gibson’s own admission, it is regularly “inspired [by] our history,” but nostalgia is just 50% of the Epiphone recipe this year, as far as its Futura range is concerned. It “takes the most iconic Gibson body shapes and remixes them with modern, professional-grade features at a price point for every player.”

Aesthetics play a big part here, as it draws from the automotive industry for inspiration. There are Chromashift finishes that change color in real time, with premium features like stainless steel frets, which make their long-awaited Epiphone debut, and compound radius fretboards to bolster their specs.

Electronics haven’t been ignored either. They get ProBucker Ignite pickups, which are extra-hot passive humbuckers, and push-pull knobs for single coil spank on the fly, which conspire to “deliver the feel and fire to match,” ensuring players can get plenty of bang for their buck.

It’s a shrewd move from Epiphone. As competition in the budget guitar market is arguably fiercer than it’s ever been, the Futura range ensures its lower priced Epiphone models can persuade many to choose the company's electric guitars over, say, Harley Benton, by offering more than just stripped-back versions of Gibson mainstays. Expect them this spring.

The theme of value-for-money transfers over to its Inspired by Gibson range, too. The series was established to bring the “premium feel and performance” of Gibson guitars, via Custom Shop features, to lower price points like never before, with vintage icons like the 1959 Les Paul Standard, and a far more affordable version of a new classic, the Les Paul Special Double Cut Figured, on the menu.

There’s also an Explorer 80s EMG model, complete with control knobs in a triangular formation and, as the name suggests, high-output EMG humbuckers – reviving a cult classic. Sadly, though, we’ll have to wait until the winter for their launch.

Signature guitars aren’t limited to Gibsons, either. While a limited-edition run of Gary Clark Jr’s custom-made ES-335 has been confirmed, so too has an Epiphone version, set to follow closely behind.

There’s also a Gibson Custom Shop-inspired Alex Lifeson ES-355 reissue – celebrating “Whitey,” a workhorse guitar that has featured on virtually every Rush record in one way or another – and an all-new axe for Lzzy Hale.

The Halestorm songstress, who dropped a white-and-gold Epiphone Explorer in 2019, is back with a far more glittering visage. It rocks a standout sparkling finish, a chrome pickguard, and pickup covers to match for its twin humbuckers.

“[The Hale Explorer] is just eye-popping and so cool,” a smiling Gibson VP of Product, Mat Koehler, told Guitar World on the NAMM floor. No kidding.

See Gibson for more.

Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee took everyone by surprise when, just three days ago, they announced that Rush are officially reuniting for a seven-city tour, with the addition of Anika Nills on drums to honor the legacy of the late Neil Peart.

Despite the two jamming and making surprise appearances at various concerts over the past couple of years, Lifeson, in particular, was vocal about his hesitancy to tour again.

However, now that Rush is back, Lifeson and Lee are knee-deep in refamiliarizing themselves with the band's gargantuan repertoire – and, according to the guitarist, the complexity of Rush's guitar parts took even him by surprise.

“I love playing so much. And I've continued, over these last years, doing other projects. But when we sat down and started playing some of the Rush stuff, I realized how hard it was to play these songs,” he admits in an interview with Geoff Edgers at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

“When you do it every day for 40 years, it's not a big deal, really,” he continues. “You're used to it. But when you're away from it, and you are a little more objective about the intense complexity of the music and the feel and the new nuances and all the things that go into making a Rush song and performance, to be challenged with that again was really, really exciting. And the more we started rehearsing and playing, the more I just fell in love with the idea of playing again.”

Speaking about their decision to reunite as Rush, Lee reveals that it was a “very difficult decision” on many levels.

“First of all, because [of] what it entails in terms of work, but also what had transpired, you know, losing a member like Neil is devastating,” he says. “It was a very sad time, and it took time for us to even contemplate. This is a relatively recent decision, and I would say it was kind of out of the question for the longest time because of those circumstances – and how do you replace someone who's irreplaceable?”

The Rush bassist/vocalist goes on to say that the two were also caught up in their own individual projects. However, the idea of a reunion became less absurd when “something happened the last couple of years” that brought the two back to jamming together.

“He would come over, drink my coffee, hang around, jam, and we would laugh,” he relates.

“And then one day, I don't know why, we started playing some Rush songs for fun. God, we were laughing so hard, and we were enjoying it so much, and it was almost like playing those songs dispelled the dark clouds.”

Lee and Lifeson are officially back in the saddle – with the addition of drummer Anika Nilles – and will be traversing North America in summer 2026. To witness this reunion, fans can participate in a presale by signing up here by 11:59 p.m. ET today, with general on-sale tickets going live on October 17.

Back in March, Rush released their career-spanning greatest hits collection, Rush 50. Despite rumors of a possible Geddy Lee–Alex Lifeson reunion under the Rush moniker, it didn't seem likely to transpire, given drummer Neil Peart's death in 2020 and the two having rejected the notion in multiple interviews.

However, the two are back in the saddle, with the official announcement of a Rush tour – dubbed Fifty Something – for summer 2026. Filling in on drums will be the award-winning German composer and producer, and Jeff Beck collaborator, Anika Nilles.

The seven-city Fifty Something is described as a “celebration of Rush’s music, legacy, and the life of late drummer and lyricist Neil Peart,” with the tour kicking off with two nights at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles on June 7 and 9, and concluding in Cleveland on September 17.

“It’s been over 10 years since Alex and I have performed the music of Rush alongside our fallen bandmate and friend Neil,” says Lee in a press statement. “A lifetime’s worth of songs that we had put our cumulative hearts and souls into writing, recording, and playing together onstage.

“And so, after all that has gone down since that last show, Alex and I have done some serious soul searching and come to the decision that we fucking miss it, and that it’s time for a celebration of 50-something years of Rush music. So in 2026 my BFF Lerxst (aka Alex Lifeson) and I are going to hit the road once again to pay tribute to our past and to Neil by performing a vast selection of Rush songs in a handful of cities. No small task, because as we all know Neil was irreplaceable.

“Yet life is full of surprises,” Lee continues, “and we have been introduced to another remarkable person; an incredible drummer and musician who is adding another chapter to our story while continuing her own fascinating musical journey. Her name is Anika Nilles, and we could not be more excited to introduce her to our loyal and dedicated Rush fanbase.”

According to the band's social media platforms, these shows will find the band playing two sets each night, with each show featuring “a distinct selection of songs.” Rush will also “build each night’s setlist from a catalog of 35 songs, including their greatest hits and fan favorites.”

Since Peart's death, Lee and Lifeson have performed together a number of times, including at the 2022 tribute concerts for the late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, the Gordon Lightfoot tribute in Toronto, and with Les Claypool at South Park’s 25th anniversary concert.

The two have also been jamming, with Lifeson revealing in a 2024 Rolling Stone interview that “we sound like a really bad tribute band for the first three or four run-throughs on these things.”

Moreover, in an interview with Guitar World last year, Lifeson was hesitant to confirm whether a Rush reunion tour was even on the cards. “I mean, we toured for 40 years. I’m not interested in going back out on tour,” he said.

“I don’t wanna sit in a hotel room for hours and hours and hours to work for a couple of hours. Been there, done it, loved it. But that’s in the past. So whether Ged and I get back together again and write or do anything, we’ll see.”

However, it seems like fans' prayers have been answered, and Rush will be heading out on tour once again, with the tour, in Lee's words, aiming to “pay homage to our music, pay homage to our lost brother, represent the songs – and celebrate the songs.”

Fans will be able to participate in a presale by signing up here before this Thursday [October 9] at 11:59 p.m. ET, with general onsale tickets going live on October 17.

Rush's 2112 came amid an uncertain time for the band, as disappointing sales for its predecessor, 1975's Caress of Steel, and less-than-ideal critical reception led to a period of financial hardship – plus their international label, Mercury Records, was teetering on dropping them.

As Alex Lifeson dissected 11 key tracks from the Rush repertoire in Guitar World's November 1996 issue, the guitarist looked back on 2112 – and reflected on how stress, strain, and apprehension forged what was to become one of the band's most seminal albums.

“We started writing that song on the road,” he said, referring to the 20-minute song that kickstarts the album. “We wrote on the road quite often in those days. The Fountain of Lamneth, on Caress of Steel, was really our first full concept song, and 2112 was an extension of that.

“That was a tough period for Rush because Caress of Steel didn’t do that well commercially, even though we were really happy with it,” he admitted. “We wanted to develop that style.

“Because there was so much negative feeling from the record company, and our management was worried, we came back full force with 2112. There was a lot of passion and anger on that record. It was about one person standing up against everybody else.”

As for the gear that he used at the time, Lifeson's no-faff approach lent itself well to the song and overall tone. “I used the ES-335 again, and a Strat, which I borrowed for the session. I couldn’t afford one at the time. I used a Marshall 50-watt and the Fender Twin as well.

“I may have had a Hiwatt in the studio at that time, too, but I think it came a little later. My effects were a Maestro phase-shifter and a good old Echoplex. There were a limited number of effects available back then. The Echoplex and wah-wah were staples in those days.”

In more Alex Lifeson news, the Rush guitarist recently joined Tom Morello on stage for a surprise guest spot in Toronto, during which they (naturally) jammed a Rush classic in the band's home city.

In January, as wildfires raged across California, Primus' Larry ‘Ler’ LaLonde was one of the countless individuals and families whose homes were destroyed by the fires, and whose most beloved possessions were lost forever. For LaLonde, this included the guitar gear he had collected throughout the years.

“That’s been one of the craziest components... I haven’t gotten a full count yet,” he divulges in a candid interview with Guitar World.

“The last I looked, I was up to, like, 58 guitars. So yeah, tons. My whole studio of recording stuff… and here’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever done in my life: I had this hard drive, a 12-gig hard drive, just sitting around on the desk. It was just for these situations, and I probably ran past it 20 times while pulling stuff out of the house and into the car.

“I never thought to grab that hard drive. It was just the dumbest thing in the world. I don’t know where that mental block came from because that’s what it was for. So, that’s kind of a bummer. But yeah, that was the craziest thing.”

LaLonde explains how Paul Reed Smith reached out to him and sent him two “amazing” guitars, “because I lost all but one of my PRSs,” to help him replace some of the many instruments that were destroyed.

As for whether there were any guitars lost that were particularly sentimental, LaLonde replies, “There’s one Strat that I had on all the first Primus records, like on Sailing on the Seas of Cheese, that’s the guitar I’m holding in that picture. I had that guitar since high school, and that one was in there [the fire].

“But the first thing that I grabbed when I was like, ‘We’ve got to get the hell out of here,’ was the double-neck that Alex Lifeson gave me. So, there’s some stuff that made it out of the house, but a lot that didn’t. But one that comes to mind that didn’t was that Strat, which I used up until I started playing the PRS.”

Elsewhere in the interview, LaLonde discusses the process of auditioning drummers after the departure of Tim Alexander while he and his family were “scrambling to find a place to live.”

Guitar World's full interview with Larry LaLonde will be published in the coming weeks.

Just months after revealing that he and Geddy Lee regularly jam, Alex Lifeson has joined Tom Morello on stage for a surprise guest spot in Toronto, during which they jammed a Rush classic in the band's home city.

The cheers that erupted after Morello uttered the words, “Please welcome Alex Lifeson to the stage,” are palpable, even via YouTube. Aptly donning his Godin Lerxst Limelight, built as a recreation of the Hentor Sportcaster that dominated Rush's early '80s material, Lifeson swiftly rolled back the years as soon as he started playing Limelight's iconic opening bars.

The spot happened at the city's Danforth Music Hall on July 17. Morello is currently touring as a solo artist and, after dedicating The Garden of Gethsemane to the late Chris Cornell and covering Ozzy's Mr Crowley, called upon Lifeson to help kick off the encore.

Proving he is human after all, Lifeson warms into the guitar solo but ends on a high, throwing Morello a wry smile and a shake of the head as he nails the final vibrato. The Canadian legend received another rapturous response upon the song’s end, with Morello beaming, “What a time to be alive.”

He also stuck around for the final song of the night, a cover of the MC5’s Kick Out the Jams, which was also covered by a newly reformed Soundgarden earlier this year.

Lifeson has recently released a second album with his post-Rush band, Envy of None, and it’s a release that has seen him embrace digital gear and reignite his passion for solos.

However, he’s also spoken candidly about his insecurities as a player, saying he’s always struggled from a lack of confidence in his abilities.

The Limeight performance continues Morello's hot-streak of shred-offs. He joined Jane's Addiction and rekindled his fiery partnership with Bruce Springsteen last year, traded licks with Slash in February, and spearheaded the heavy metal Yardbirds at Back to the Beginning earlier this month.

For a band that has never played a gig together, Envy of None have gained an increasingly high profile since the release of their eponymous debut album in 2022. After that record’s success, the band were eager to keep the momentum up and so Stygian Wavz was released earlier this year.

The tracks have gathered plenty of critical acclaim with their crafted blend of prog and pop and some superbly ethereal vocals from Maiah Wynne. Guitar duties fell once again to Alex Lifeson, but first of all we were intrigued to find out how the band was born.

How did Envy of None first come about?

“After Rush finished our last tour in 2015 I kept playing and doing a bit of writing and [bassist] Andy Curran reached out and asked if I could put some guitars on some stuff that he was working on. One of those songs was a song called Liar, which is on the first record.

“So I did that. I didn’t spend much time on it, just some rough guides. In the meantime, he was asked to be a judge in a talent contest, and [vocalist] Maiah was a contestant. He said to Maiah, ‘The best thing for you is to go out, meet other musicians, work with other people and get a sense of what your skills are.’”

“And she said, ‘Well, I Googled you and I know your background, so why don’t we work on a song together?’ And he sent that song Liar back to me after she did her vocals and he said, ‘You gotta listen to this!’ I was blown away by her voice, and I immediately said to Andy, ‘Erase everything I did. I’m gonna redo all the guitars. We have to work with this girl, she’s amazing.’ And then it just kind of went from there.

“We added a couple more songs and then started talking about a record. So that was the first album, and we recorded it during the pandemic. We worked remotely and I think that’s great because it’s a very efficient way to work. We had so much fun making the record that we decided to start a second one almost immediately. We spent, I don’t know, probably a little over a year putting Stygian Wavz together. And here it is, finally.”

Your guitar work on the album is very textural and atmospheric and shuns the centre-stage spotlight.

“I think that’s always been a part of me. I mean, I’ve always thought in those terms, you know? [In Rush] Geddy [Lee] and Neil [Peart] were really active as a rhythm section and it kind of forced me to pull back a bit. I thought, ‘If these guys are going to play like this, I can’t play like that anyway.’ It would be crazy and it wouldn’t service the song. So I really developed a style that’s more chordal and broad.

“I use chorus a lot in my sound, just to get a more expansive kind of tonality and character to the guitar sound, and it was perfect for Maiah. She’s a singer who has a beautiful, very nuanced voice that can sit on top of anything; the heaviest stuff, the darkest stuff, the bluesiest stuff… she just fits on anything, so it frees all of us up.”

“For me, I just love to approach guitar from a different angle. I love doing things that people don’t expect me to do. I try not to be Alex Lifeson from Rush, you know? I try to create sounds on a guitar that are not guitar-like, which is kind of fun, camouflaging the instrument. On this record, I’m playing a lot more traditional stuff.

“I’m actually soloing more, provided that it’s in service of the song. If the solo fits and does something to enhance, or plays a role in the arrangement of a song, then I’m all for it. But my days of shredding and playing like a crazy maniac are over. There are a million people on Instagram that do that now.”

Which guitars did you use on the album?

“It was a mix. I have two 335s, so I used both of those. I used a Rickenbacker 12-string on The Story choruses. I used two Les Pauls, my good old reliable ’57 Tele, and the Godin [Lerxst] Limelight – since I got that I’ve been using it quite a bit.

“For acoustics: Martins, Gibsons, Larrivées, and a PRS Angelus that they built for me, a beautiful, beautiful acoustic guitar. And a mandola and an oud [a Multi Oud Encore Nylon] that I got from Godin. It’s a fascinating instrument. Really went down a rabbit hole with that one, but it’s fun to explore an instrument that you don’t really know how to play!”

You were saying that you enjoy camouflaging your guitar sound – which effects did you use in the process?

“I used my good old [Electro-Harmonix] Electric Mistress for a bunch of stuff and a lot of plug-in effects that are a little wilder and crazier. I think I used a Big Muff for something, and a [Boss OC-2] Octaver, which I came across in our storage that I used back in the ’80s. Anything I can get my hands on, I try to incorporate it. But I would say mostly plugins, you know, because they tend to be the wilder kind of manipulators.”

Which amps did you use for the album?

“I have two amps in my studio currently: a Bogner and a Mesa/Boogie Mark V. And then I have a single 12 Celestion cabinet that I can mic. Plug-ins are getting way better; I did a thing recently with the [IK Multimedia] Tonex people where they sampled all the amps I have [for the Alex Lifeson Legacy Signature Collection].

“I was really impressed with how great they sound. I guess they’re using AI to do the sampling, but there’s depth. They’ve really nailed the bottom-end of what a cabinet and a speaker does.

“I also got a bunch of [UAFX] amp pedals from Universal Audio: the Dream [’65 Reverb Amplifier], the Enigmatic [’82 Overdrive Special Amp] and there’s another one called the Lion [’68 Super Lead Amp], which is sort of a Marshall thing. If I’m going to do a session somewhere, I just grab a few of these and toss them in a bag and go to the session or the gig, just like that.”

Are there plans for Envy of None to tour the new album?

“We’ve been talking about it. You know, it’s not easy to just go and do a gig. It’s not like you grab your gear, jump in a van and go to a place and play. We have never played together, so we’d need to put together a set from the two albums. There’s a lot of work involved to even consider doing some dates.

“But having said that, we would love to because, in our minds, we can see what an amazing couple of hours it would be if we were to do those first two records in a live situation. A nice theatre with a nice PA and a very subtle light show. I think that would be great.”

• Stygian Waves is out now via Kscope.
• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.

When Rush came off the road in 2015, Alex Lifeson’s interest in guitar waned. And when Rush drummer Neil Peart died of cancer nearly five years later, Lifeson entered a period of mourning, meaning guitar completely took a backseat.

But things began to change when fellow Canadian (and Coney Hatch bassist) Andy Curran reached out to Lifeson, asking him to provide scratch guitar tracks to help bring a few of his skeletal compositions to life. At first, Lifeson thought nothing of it; soon, however, a new band – Envy of None – was born.

Lifeson says he was reticent during the recording of the band’s self-titled first album back in 2022, which led him to take something of a six-string backseat and focus on creating sounds that “didn’t sound like a guitar.” Call it a case of easing into things after spending most of his adult life beside Rush’s Peart and Geddy Lee, who he considers his brothers. But nothing could change the fact that Rush was over.

“You can’t change the past,” Lifeson says. This meant that if Envy of None were to make a second album, he’d have to dive in, take the training wheels off, and let it rip.

Lifeson did just that, as heard on 2025’s Stygian Wavz, an album that, for a time, didn’t even appear to be in the cards.

“I didn’t expect, really, to make a second record after the first one, which was just an exercise more than anything,” Lifeson says. “But this album has got our soul in it. We’re not just a group of musicians in some sort of co-op unit. We’re functioning like a band, we sound like a band, and that was the result of being freer and more open, which you can do on a sophomore record.”

As a lifelong gearhead with a new sense of interest in the process of creation, Lifeson turned to his stable of toys to bring his guitar playing to the forefront.

“It’s just so much fun to create moods, colors, and textures,” he says. “I have loads of crazy gear and old pedals. There are just so many things now that you can use to manipulate sounds. It’s really a treat for me to work that way.”

Listening to Stygian Wavz, one gets the sense that Lifeson, a guitarist whose playing has always served the song, has regained his footing as a titan of rock guitar. That’s not to say he’s overplaying; he’s merely expressing himself in ways his fans are used to.

“There’s no need to be flashy,” he says. “I want to be memorable in [terms of] what the solo is. To do that, you have to be connected to the song. I got to express myself more as a guitarist. I consciously tried to work some solos in, and there’s a little more heaviness on some of the songs – and lots of funky stuff, too.”

Regardless of what Envy of None does (or doesn’t do), Rush will always loom large in Lifeson’s mind. But even though he’s proud of his past, he says he’s focused on his new band, meaning we’ll just have to keep on waiting for one of those rumored Rush reunions. Still, Lifeson doesn’t entirely punt on the idea.

“We [Lifeson and Lee] get together – we do stuff together. Sometimes I go over there, and we’re going to jam or something, and we end up just drinking coffee and laughing, you know? That’s a beautiful part of our relationship. Will something come of it? I don’t know. Who knows? But I know I’m really happy doing [Envy of None].”

Stygian Wavz definitely has a different flavor from the band’s 2022 debut.

“Yes, it does. The first one, I think, I don’t know… it was a new thing for us. We’d never worked together, and songs developed the way they did. It had that cinematic, atmospheric thing, and I loved it. But this one sounds more like we’re a unified unit – more like a band.”

There’s definitely cohesiveness, and it sounds like you’re stretching out as a player, with some signature touches and ethereal sounds. What’s the secret sauce?

“Well, I start off with a little bit of cannabis. [Laughs] Then, I just go, you know? I’ve always loved that, even in Rush; whenever I had the chance, I tried to do little atmospheric intervals wherever I could. And with the first Envy of None record, I had a free license. Probably 70 percent of the guitar stuff on that record doesn’t sound like a guitar. I made an effort to do that because I wanted to do that – I wanted it to not sound like a guitar.”

You’ve found a balance between that and letting loose on this record.

“With this record, I take those moments and try to incorporate them in more of a rock sense. Then, working with [vocalist] Maiah [Wynne] – we work very closely together. She’s a real inspiration for me and naturally drives me along that path.”

A song like Not Dead Yet has got that ethereal thing, but there’s also some twang. How did you approach that?

“When I first got the original idea, Andy and [guitarist/keyboardist] Alf [Alfino Annibalini] had written a very simple sketch of what they were after. I loved it right from the get-go.

“Part of my history dates back to the Toronto scene in the Sixties between the hippies and the R&B guys. There was a real movement for Toronto funk, and that’s what I heard in the first few bars of that song. I wanted to create something along those lines.”

What gear did you break out to do that?

“I used a Tele for the main track; I have all my analog gear here in the studio – my compressors, preamps, and three or four amps. And I have an enclosure with a single Celestion 12. This is all in my apartment.

“I’ve got lots of tools here to work on anything and develop anything. With that song, I wanted to keep that funky groove; then, once it went off into the chorus, the heavy guitars came in, and we followed up with the cleaner, James Bond-ish thematic outro.”

Speaking of heavy guitars, Under the Stars has a lot of that – but it’s also got a very quintessential “less is more” solo, which is something you’ve always done very well.

“That’s been number one with me for my whole life. It’s all in service of the song. When I’m constructing solos, I’m thinking about the song, like, ‘How does it fit into the song? How does it reflect what the emotional character of the song is?’ That’s really important to me.

“I don’t set out to go, ‘I’m gonna play the fastest I can possibly play.’ Maybe in the early days I was sort of like that, but it’s not about flashiness and trying to out-flash some other guitar player. It’s all about the song.”

What did you hear in Under the Stars that led to your approach?

“When I first heard that section, we discussed it, and everybody said, ‘It’d be great to have a guitar solo.’ I’ve been sort of reluctant to play solos because of that whole attitude, but on this record, I thought, ‘You know what? I’m going to go back to playing solos and constructing them because it’s going to help the song.’

“So that one was kind of different for me. The volume and tone pots were turned down, and I played with my fingers instead of a pick. Then I stole a little David Gilmour lick there; it’s very emotional and very powerful.”

You mentioned being reticent in terms of playing solos. I assume that on the first record, there was a concern that your lengthy track record with Rush could weigh down the project. Have you moved past having to bear the weight and legacy of Rush and be more free as a guitarist?

“That’s a great question and observation. With the first record, I was very reticent about being too flashy or too much of a guitarist, you know? I made an effort to create sounds that we un-guitar, which was a great challenge, fun, and suited the record. But with this record I felt more confident I could play a more traditional role. My response was to start including more solos and being more open about the guitar parts that I was writing.”

Is that a lot different from your role within Rush since you’re not the sole guitarist in Envy of None?

“In Rush, I was the only guitar player. In this band, Alf plays a lot of guitars, and Andy throws down a guitar every once in a while. I’m a little more free because I’ve a commitment to this unit as a band. When I got the mixes back, I thought, ‘Oh, my God, we’ve become a band.’”

After spending all those years in Rush and having it end the way it did, there must have been a level of trepidation to where trying something new felt insurmountable or that it might impact the way you’re viewed.

“You know, to my core, I’m just a musician. I’m just a guitar player. I love playing guitar. I play guitar – I don’t know – three or four hours a day, and I always include an hour before I go to bed. It’s just a discipline I’ve adapted, which I’m very happy about because I’m not a very disciplined person. [Laughs]

“I’ve really come to love playing guitar more than ever. Then, working on this project to where I’m feeling a little more comfortable, I’m not in the shadow so much of Rush. I mean… I’m so proud of what I did in Rush and all that we did, but at the end of it, I’m still that guy who likes to play in a band. It doesn’t matter what form, just as long as I love it and I respond to the ideas – and there are great ideas among the four of us.”

As someone who isn’t so disciplined, and after being a working musician for more than 50 years, it’s incredible to hear that you’re still playing for hours a day. What keeps you inspired?

“After Rush finished in 2015, I really didn’t play much. I did a little bit afterward, but honestly, I really didn’t play for months. It wasn’t until Andy reached out to be in 2016, saying, ‘I’m working on some music. Would you mind putting some guitars down?’ that I started to play more.

“I did that for him, and it wasn’t particularly tight, but it gave him an idea, a sketch, of what a guitar sounded like with the songs he was writing. That was that.

“But he came back later and said, ‘I’ve got a couple of other songs. Would you mind doing the same thing?’ Then, Envy of None started to happen. And Neil [Peart] was sick; I wasn’t inspired to play very much when Neil was sick. I noodled a bit because I didn’t want my fingers to go completely rubbery, but my heart wasn’t in it with my brother being ill in that way.”

Did Neil’s passing and, of course, mourning him, help you move forward?

“When he passed, it was like, ‘I gotta move forward.’ That was part of the whole grief process for me. Usually, grief lasts for a solid year, and then, I say to myself, ‘Okay, you’ve got to move forward. You can’t change the past.’ It was around that time that I really dove back into playing much more regularly. In the last year, I’ve adapted this more manic playing, where I’m playing for hours every day – and I love it.”

Was it a challenge to get back into proper playing shape?

“Well, my fingers feel better! I’m 71; I’m not going to play like I did when I was 21 – or 51, for that matter. [Laughs] But I’ve found that my fingers are coming back; they’re grateful to me for doing this and getting them back into shape.

“It’s a long road when you’re at this age and battling the things that come with advanced years, but my fingers feel so much better than they did six months ago. I feel so much more confident in my playing. I feel confident. I feel happy. I feel reborn in terms of playing. It’s a good place for me right now.”

Can you describe the player you are today? We know what you’re capable of and what you’ve done, and with that, listeners have an expectation and perception of you. Who is Alex Lifeson the guitarist in 2025?

“I know where I came from, and I know what I was like as a player for the bulk of my main career. Now, I’m more of a sensitive player. I don’t have the same kind of expectations. I’ve never been very confident, to be honest with you, as a player. I’ve always felt like I had to work hard, and maybe I didn’t appreciate that I have a natural talent for playing guitar.”

Given the breadth of your catalog, it’s hard to believe you lacked confidence.

“I always felt like I had to work really hard if I wanted to be good at it. I kind of discounted my natural ability, and I’m more aware of that now. I find that when I’m doing takes, I’ve always been an early-take guy. My best work is in the first five or six takes, particularly the solos. But I’m finding now that the first couple of takes are really satisfying.”

Having more confidence has to help with the age-related roadblocks you mentioned.

“My playing has changed quite a bit. I don’t think I’m as dexterous; I don’t think I have the precision and speed I had, but that’s coming. The more I play, the more creative I feel in how I envision the part I’m trying to do and with the part I’m writing. That’s why I’m getting results quicker these days.”

Are there any updates to your stable of signature gear?

“Yeah – we had the [Lerxst] Limelight come out, the Grace, and now we have the Freewill, which is the original modified Strat I had in 1979. So, that’s the black version of all these three guitars. That’s coming out next. And Epiphone has a few things they want to release; they’d like to do a reissue of the ES-355, and Gibson wants to do an acoustic and some other things.

“On the pedal front, we have the [Lerxst] By-Tor and the Snowdog. We’re working on a chorus and probably a delay. I have some ideas about an amp pedal, you know, incorporating what we do with the Lerxst amps but in a smaller enclosure. So yeah… there’s always something in the world of gear. I’ve always been a gearhead!”

Do you mostly lean on your new gear when recording, or do you use a lot of your tried-and-true gear from your Rush days?

“There are definitely go-to’s that I prioritize, but I also just like grabbing something that I don’t think is the ‘right’ thing and seeing how that works. Like, I have the first guitar I ever owned, which my parents bought for me in 1967 for $57. It’s just a cheap Japanese guitar that I had refinished. I pull it up for some things; it’s kind of like a Jack White sensibility, like, ‘I’ll take this crappy guitar and see what happens.’

“So far, I haven’t had much success, to be honest. [Laughs] But you get what I’m saying. Sometimes, I’ll go for a P90; I’m not normally inclined in that way with guitars, but now I realize that tonality is what it’s all about. I create different tones.”

Is there one guitar or amp you favor?

“I’d probably say my ES-335, the Lerxst guitars, and a couple of my Teles. And then, on the amp front, I’ve got a bunch of them. I’ve got a Marshall, my Lerxst amps, Bogner, a Mesa Boogie Mark V and – like I said – I have an enclosure built with a single Celestion 12.

“Then I’ve got my Universal Audio compressors and about a dozen good acoustics. I’ve been collecting gear for 50 years, so I’ve got a good arsenal of gear here in my apartment. I’m covered.”

On the Rush side of things, there’s a new box set, Rush 50. What’s the story there?

“We [Alex and Geddy] don’t get involved too much in how that’s all put together. Everybody knows what we want to do, and we have good people who know what we want to create. And the record company, Anthem, has been amazing. They don’t have to get our approval; they can just go ahead and do all this stuff.

“But they always ask us. They want to make sure we’re happy and satisfied with everything. So we do engage, and we do change things up, and we do get clarification on stuff and all of that. But this particular package is pretty remarkable. It’s a beautiful package with great, great stuff in it. I’m really looking forward to its release.”

Has your newfound comfortability and growing confidence in Envy of None as a functioning band given you the license to put to bed the hope that you and Geddy will work together again? Is that officially in your rearview mirror?

“Well, you know, ‘in the rearview mirror’ is maybe a little harder than… I would say I’m so proud of my past and all of that. But I like playing. I like writing. I like working with people. Geddy is my best friend. I talk to him every day, you know?”

Does that mean Envy of None has a long-term future?

“We’re likely going to start the third record the day after this one releases. So I’m in a good space. I’m working on another project for a documentary on the Great Lakes with some brilliant musicians.

“That’s really a lot of fun, but there’s no hard deadline, so we’re moving slowly but in a really good direction. And I’m working with another female artist; I always pick up little gigs here and guest on other people’s albums. I’m a working musician.”

• Stygian Wavz is out now via KSCOPE.
• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

Alex Lifeson might be ranked eighth in Guitar World’s 100 Greatest Guitarists of all Time, but it appears that amid all the laurels and decades of success with Rush, he was still not above self-doubt.

“I’ve never been very confident, to be honest with you, as a player,” he tells Guitar World. “I’ve always felt like I had to work hard, and maybe I didn’t appreciate that I have a natural talent for playing guitar.”

Lifeson’s comments come almost 10 years on from Rush’s last performance at the Forum, California and, for a period following the death of Neil Peart in 2020, it seems Lifeson fell out of love with playing guitar. Fortunately, he says he now feels “reborn” as a player.

As such, he focusing on welcoming a new approach to his playing, experimenting with digital tones, new collaborators (in his supergroup Envy of None) and above all else, a new-found confidence.

“I know where I came from, and I know what I was like as a player for the bulk of my main career,” he observes. “Now, I’m more of a sensitive player.”

Still, reconnecting with guitar after several years of dormancy wasn’t automatic for Lifeson.

“My fingers feel better!” he comments. “But I’m 71; I’m not going to play like I did when I was 21 – or 51, for that matter. It’s a long road when you’re at this age. I’m battling the things that come with advanced years, but my fingers feel so much better than they did six months ago. They’re grateful to me for doing this and getting them back into shape.”

Overall, it seems Lifeson's return to playing has been as much about conquering mental barriers, as physical ones, but it’s been worth the effort.

“I feel confident. I feel happy,” he says. “I feel reborn in terms of playing. It’s a good place for me right now.”

Alex Lifeson isn’t the only guitar great who wrestles with self-doubt. Brian May and James Hetfield have also previously discussed their own struggles around playing.

For more on Lifeson’s return, plus a dive into the biggest selling rock album of all time, AC/DC’s – Back In Black, pick up the latest issue of Guitar World at Magazines Direct.

Alex Lifeson's legendary 'Whitey' ES-355 – his custom-built 1976 Gibson ES-355TD and “main guitar” for over three decades – was sold for $384,000 in 2022, well above its original $300,000 estimate.

However, if you're not the lucky new owner of this historic axe, you may still be able to get your hands on a more affordable reissue – which Lifeson teased in the latest edition of Guitar World.

“Epiphone has a few things they want to release; they’d like to do a reissue of the ES-335, and Gibson wants to do an acoustic and some other things,” he reveals.

Right before the auction, Lifeson discussed how difficult it had been to part with the semi-hollow that had accompanied him throughout his career, and described the last precious moments he had with it.

“That was the last one that was left,” Lifeson said at the time. “I was sitting in our mudroom, just off our garage, while the removal truck was waiting. I sat there with that case in between my legs and, maybe it sounds a little corny, but I was talking to it.

“I was reminiscing about gigs that we did together and kissing the bubble wrap. But I know that, with the funds I’m hoping to raise, it gives it all another life and helps other people, and in some cases gives people another chance at life. Why wouldn’t you do that?”

Notably, Epiphone flexed its ES-355-building credentials last year when it dropped the premium-spec'd Inspired by Gibson Custom model, which could quite easily be used as a starting point for a Whitey reissue.

Elsewhere in the new Guitar World chat, Lifeson shares a few updates on his stable of signature gear.

“On the pedal front, we have the [Lerxst] By-Tor and the Snowdog. We’re working on a chorus and probably a delay,” he hints. “I have some ideas about an amp pedal, you know, incorporating what we do with the Lerxst amps but in a smaller enclosure. So yeah… there’s always something in the world of gear. I’ve always been a gearhead!”

In other Alex Lifeson news, the esteemed guitarist recently opened up about his complicated relationship with guitar solos – and why he’s de-prioritized them over the years.

For more Alex Lifeson, plus new interviews with Robin Nolan and Gary Holt, pick up issue 592 of Guitar World at Magazines Direct.

Alex Lifeson’s guitar work defined Rush’s ’70s repertoire – with tracks such as La Villa Strangiato and Working Man encapsulating their six-string-forward approach. However, once the ’80s rolled around, Rush did a 180: guitars took a backseat in favor of synths.

“I was reluctant, even in Rush, towards the end – I was not playing nearly as many solos,” Lifeson says in an interview on Q with Tom Power [via Ultimate Guitar]. “That was part of the way we did things. There was always a spot for a solo, whether we used it as a solo or not. It was there. And I would do a solo.”

However, as the band’s career developed, so did his ethos vis-à-vis the use of guitars. “In the later years, I just wanted to get away from that,” he continues.

“Because I didn't want to bring so much attention to that. I don't know, maybe I was thinking crazy, but it just seemed that way at the time. So, going into this [new project Envy of None], the music was so different. I just wanted to be in the background. And my job was to be a part of this thing. Not this guy from Rush.”

Lifeson’s supergroup, Envy of None, was formed in 2021 alongside bassist Andy Curran, guitarist and keyboardist Alfio Annibalini, and vocalist Maiah Wynne. Their debut self-titled album was released in 2022 and draws inspiration from ambient and industrial music. It was followed by 2023’s That Was Then and this March’s Stygian Wavz.

His thoughts about what soloing means for him now – and for the new project – were also expressed in a 2022 Guitar World interview, right after Envy of None's release.

“I think I have a particular style and character to my solos, [and] there’s lots of variation in my soloing, but I think at this point in my life it’s more about servicing the song,” he admitted.

“Not being too distracting, or shining a light on any particular thing. It’s just getting into the groove, tapping your foot, and feeling connected with the song itself.”

In recent Alex Lifeson news, the guitarist reveals that Envy of None served as the catalyst for him to dabble in amp modelers after a lifetime of being a tube amp stalwart.

Like most guitarists of his generation, Alex Lifeson is a tube amp stalwart. His signature Lerxst Omega amp is based on the Marshall Silver Jubilee, while classic Rush albums were recording with Marshall Plexi and JCM800-style heads.

While he has veered from the tube path for occasional dalliances with solid state amps like the Gallien-Kruger 250ML and Roland JC-120, he has never been a fan of digital modelers – until now.

Recording Stygian Waves, the second full-length album by his post-Rush project Envy of None, Lifeson was tempted away from real amps for the first time. The products that snared him? The IK Multimedia TONEX and Universal Audio pedals.

"They sound amazing," he tells Guitar Player. "They don't sound like plug-ins; they sound like real amps. They've managed to nail the bottom end that was always lacking with plug-ins and really get what an amp sounds like through a speaker cabinet.

"It's a whole new generation in sound. There's nothing lacking."

Lifeson has his own Tonex signature collection, with models of four of his amps: a Marshall 4140 Club & Country 2x12 combo, a Marshall 6100 30th Anniversary head, a Hughes & Kettner Tri-Amp, and a Lerxst Omega.

Like many guitarists, Lifeson enjoys exploring the digital rabbit hole.

"I like the trial and error part a lot," he says. "I enhance the experience with a little cannabis, usually, and I then spend hours going through this gear, because it's so much fun to experiment and hear these things and mess around."

"So it's not ever boring. It's maybe a little time consuming – time-wasting, sometimes," he admits, "but it's all part of the fun of being a musician and playing in a band."

Lifeson is not the only player won over by UA pedals. John Mayer recently named one as the only modeler he recommends for young players, while The Edge traded his tube amps for them at U2's residency at The Sphere.

What is it?

Godin makes a colossal number of models that really span the diversity of the guitar: acoustic to electric and beyond! It’s also only one brand in a Canadian manufacturing empire that includes Seagull, Art & Lutherie, Norman, and Simon & Patrick, not to mention the innovative Tric cases.

Another brand that Godin is more recently responsible for making is the latest venture of fellow Canadian Alex Lifeson, Lerxst.

So when we got the chance to take a look at one of Godin’s latest 5th Avenue models alongside the second highly limited Lerxst edition, we couldn’t resist. Just how good are Godin guitars?

5th Avenue TL Gold Foil

Godin’s roots might lie in the acoustic guitar, but innovation – in both manufacturing and style – has long been its calling card, and electric models have been on the increase for some time now. Our 5th Avenue model illustrates that progression.

Originally a single non-cutaway acoustic archtop that was introduced in 2008, some 17 years later it’s grown into a 12-strong mini-range of archtops with non-cutaway and cutaway models, with and without Bigsbys, and a variety of pickups that include its own range, Seymour Duncan and, as we have here, Lollar.

This new ‘Thin Line’ (TL) model launched in 2024. It has a thinner-depth body (the rim measures 45mm, the same as a Gibson ES-335 as opposed to the 76mm depth of the original), and it’s also a little narrower across the body, measuring 381mm (15 inches) and not the 406.4mm (16 inches) of the original 5th Avenue.

So less ‘big ol’ archtop’ and more akin to Godin’s Montreal Premiere in size by design. It’s still a hollowbody, though, with two longitudinal spruce braces supporting the top, instead of the ‘Breathe-Through’ centre block of that Montreal Premiere.

As you’d expect with the style, the body, arched front and back are constructed from laminated wild cherry with attractive bookmatching to the outer layers on the front and back.

The edges are cleanly bound with a single-ply dark brown binding that does get hidden by the sunbursting of the almost light grey-to-dark brown gloss finish in places. The two f-holes are nicely stylised, and you can clearly see the classic thinline construction with thin sides and kerfed linings to increase the glueing area. It’s a very tidy job.

The archtop style is referenced here by the neck, which glues to the body at the 15th fret but then extends above the body to the neck pickup. This means that section of the neck, and the pickups, sit quite high off the body.

The neck itself is silver leaf maple, again with a similar ’bursting as the body, but here it’s satin. The ’board is ebony, unbound, with simple dot inlays reflecting the unshowy style. In fact, only the headstock face has a fancy pattered three-ply plastic facing, hinting at a bygone style.

The pared-back aesthetic is reinforced by the absence of a pickguard, and the biggest visual statement is the pickups themselves. The Lollar Gold Foils are placed inside cream ‘dog-ear’ covers that sit on quite thick dark-brown height-raising spacers.

The standard tune-o-matic sits on a synthetic (not wooden) foot that appears to be firmly pinned. And while the Stratocaster-style plastic knobs seem an odd choice, at least they’re brown with a gold lettering, so they fit the theme rather well.

Lerxst Grace

Another illustration of the diversity and quality of Godin’s manufacturing capability, it’s more than a feather in the brand’s cap to work with Alex Lifeson in creating contemporary versions of his classic Hentor Sportscaster (various modded Fender styles from back in the day) under the Lerxst brand.

As we’ve mentioned, this metallic red version is the second run, which follows on from the Limelight, and aesthetics aside, the Grace we have here is the same guitar.

Now, Godin isn’t new to creating electric guitars based on the good ol’ Stratocaster, and currently its Session T-Pro is a stylised take on that blueprint. What is new, however, is the frankly colossal price tag of the Lerxst Grace in comparison: the production Session T-Pro is $1,399/£1,749; the limited-edition Grace is considerably more.

But pulling this one from its classy hard case, it’s a very good advert for the detailed Godin quality. You can’t see the body wood under the deep-red metallic gloss, but the spec sheet says it’s swamp ash.

And along with what appears to be a slightly modernised outline, it’s not as contoured as the Fender classic, especially in the forearm area. It’s not a particularly lightweight guitar, either: our sample is a little weighty for the style.

Obviously, here we have a longer scale length than on our 5th Avenue, measuring 648mm (25.5 inches) as opposed to 631mm (24.84 inches). We have a bolt-on neck, and while the neck heel is round-nosed, it’s not as contoured as modern HSS Stratocaster models such as Fender’s Ultra II, for example.

The standard slab-sawn maple is pretty plain in appearance (some would even say bland), and like the 5th Avenue it features a dot-inlaid ebony fingerboard with a 305mm (12-inch) radius and mirror-polished stainless-steel frets that match the mirror (plastic) scratchplate.

The Vega-Trem UltraTrem and the staggered-height rear-lock tuners all keep the quality high, and the pickups are specifically designed for these guitars by Mojotone. The wiring is pretty simple with just that three-way toggle switch – which voices neck, neck and middle, and bridge – and a master volume and tone.

Oh, and the dished jack socket cup is reversed and sticks out from the body, as per Alex’s original apparently. You’ll also notice that the two controls are effectively like the two tones on a Stratocaster in terms of their placement, with the volume removed. Plenty of artist-specific idiosyncrasies, then, but the craft is seriously good.

Specs

Godin 5th Avenue TL Gold Foil

• PRICE: $1,899/£2,099 (inc gigbag)
• ORIGIN: Canada
• TYPE: Single-cutaway, archtop electric
• BODY: Laminated Canadian wild cherry
• NECK: Silver leaf maple, glued-in 
• SCALE LENGTH: 631mm (24.84”)
• NUT/WIDTH: Graph Tech/43.95mm
• FINGERBOARD: Ebony, pearloid dots, 406mm (16”) radius
• FRETS: 21, medium
• HARDWARE: Graph Tech adjustable Tusq bridge base with tune-o-matic bridge, trapeze tailpiece, Godin logo’d enclosed-style tuners 
• STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 51.5mm 
• ELECTRICS: 2x Lollar Gold Foil single-coil pickups, 3-way toggle pickup selector switch, master volume and tone 
• WEIGHT (kg/lb): 2.44/5.37
• LEFT-HANDERS: Not this model, only the non-cutaway 5th Avenue with neck P-90 ($/£999)
• FINISHES: Vintage Burst HG (as reviewed) – gloss body, satin finish to neck

Lerxst Grace

• PRICE: $,3999/£5,499 (inc hardshell guitar case)
• ORIGIN: Canada
• TYPE: Double-cutaway solidbody electric
• BODY: Swamp ash
• NECK: Maple, bolt-on
• SCALE LENGTH: 648mm (25.5”)
• NUT/WIDTH: Graph Tech/42.5mm
• FINGERBOARD: Ebony, 305mm (12”) radius
• FRETS: 22, medium stainless steel
• HARDWARE: Vega-Trem UltraTrem vibrato, Godin logo’d rear locking tuners – chrome/nickel-plated
• STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 52.5mm
• ELECTRICS: 2x Mojotone overwound single coils (middle and neck), double-blade humbucker (bridge), 3-way toggle pickup selector switch, master volume and tone
• WEIGHT (kg/lb): 3.96/8.7
• LEFT-HANDERS: No
• FINISHES: Red – metallic gloss body; satin natural neck back
• CONTACT: Godin Guitars

Playability and sounds

It’s doubtful whether we could have selected two more different guitars if we’d tried, and so it’s little surprise that not only do they vary in feel, the sound is contrasting, too. Let’s go back in time and start with the 5th Avenue…

The reduced size here proves very comfortable, seated or strapped on, and although the neck, pickups and bridge do sit quite high off the body, there’s no problem or struggle.

The neck has good width, it’s slim in depth in lower positions and fills out nicely by the 12th fret. And yet because it joins the body at the 15th fret, upper-fret access isn’t that easy, and there’s a sharp corner under the neck heel.

But the main shaft of the neck is very well shaped (a classic C), the fingerboard’s edges are lightly rolled, and the fretwork, from a medium gauge, feels a little more contemporary than the style might suggest. The setup is pretty standard, but it ships with 11s, which certainly gives it some fight.

With its hollow body you get plenty of unplugged volume, all with that hint of quick attack and shorter-sustain ‘archtop’-like response. You could easily put a mic in front of this one and capture a pretty good swing-era rhythm sound.

Plugged in, though, and bringing up the volume of the neck pickup, there’s a very evocative, thick chocolatey voice that just needs a late-50s jazz combo to fit right in. There’s a slight softening as you pull back the volume (which suggests we don’t have a treble bleed circuit), but full up there’s just the right amount of clarity.

With both controls full up, the mix nods more to classic Gretsch – it’s bright but with depth and a hollowed middle. Back off the volume and a little tone and it’s a wonderfully softer, yet clear, jazzy voice. You can’t help wondering what this TL would sound like with a volume control for each pickup.

Flick over to the bridge pickup and we’re now in the 60s, with bite and quite a bit of honky depth that could be useful for any beat-band pop hit of the era.

There’s a little ‘vibrato’ if you push the neck, too, and if Godin hasn’t considered a TL with a Bigsby then it should. But the quality of sound here is really something, and the volume and tone control provide more than useful shade. We’re really loving this sound – and we’re still on the clean channel with no effects.

Adding some dirt doesn’t ruin the fun, and we’re into an old-school ride with the bridge proving surprisingly aggressive. It gives a Mod classic voice that does an earthy rock ’n’ roll twang nicely – great sound! Things get a little fruity at the neck, with instant swampy slide, and fuzz tones implode. Here comes the feedback… Hold on tight!

By design, of course, our Grace is a very different ride. Although it is a little weighty, it’s an absolute pleasure – very good looking with a neck and fingerboard that disappear under your hand and fingers.

It ships with 10-gauge strings, but with the different-tension supplied springs for the vibrato, you can go lower or higher gauge.

The neck reminds us of PRS’s Wide Thin in its profile with a nicely relaxed C section that’s pretty slim in depth (20.7mm at the 1st fret, 22.6mm by the 12th), albeit it with a more regular nut width of 42.5mm and string spacing of 35mm. The fretwork (2.4mm wide by 1.25mm high) is exemplary, as is the perfectly cut Graph Tech nut.

But it’s the voicing that’s really well considered here. The neck pickup very subtly leans into a humbucker with what sounds like a subtle high-end roll-off – a little less sparkle than a lower wind, perhaps – but that’s where the middle position comes in with more high-end detail to those bouncy, funky sounds we’ve heard hundreds of times before.

Then there’s the bridge ’bucker that has a little more kick; it’s rounder and thicker, but it doesn’t lack clarity or presence. These are three very strong sounds that cover a wide range – one reason why a good HSS guitar such as this is a function player’s dream. The guitar plays beautifully with those super-smooth frets, which make for effortless bends.

Speaking of which, there’s quite a large range of bendability on the UltraTrem, too. The supplied arm does sit a little high in playing position compared with our vintage-spec Strat reference, but the up-bend is huge, easily five semitones on the G string and down to very slack.

Don’t forget there’s no locking nut here, but even with the strings barely stretched the tuning stability and return-to-pitch is superb. Of course, the wide range won’t suit everyone, but it’s here if that’s your style. The very smooth-feeling vibrato only uses two springs.

You find three additional spring sets in the case: high tension, low tension and extra low; our fitted springs are normal medium tension. If you thought Godin only did lower-end ‘functional’ guitars, this might make you think differently. We certainly did.

Verdict

Verdict: ★★★★½

The TL is a superb evolution of the original 5th Avenue that retains its archtop style without the physical bulk. The Lollar Gold Foils combine to produce hugely evocative jazzy, bluesy or garage-rock swamp tones. We just can’t say enough how good this guitar sounds.

We don’t usually review a guitar like the Lerxst Grace because, put simply, it’s a limited collector’s piece and is priced accordingly – just look at Fender, Gibson and PRS who milk this market.

The ‘but’ – and the point of this feature – is that this Grace vividly illustrates that Godin should be taken very seriously, and we can only hope that, with or without Alex Lifeson’s input, this style becomes a mainstay of its line-up at a more real-world price.

Guitar World verdict: Judging by this disparate duo, and in answer to our original question – just how good are Godin guitars? – we have to say, very good indeed. Always functional and fit-for-purpose, these contemporary models possess another level of quality.

Hands-on videos

Godin

Reverb

• “One of this year’s most versatile electrics – and you don’t need to be a Rush fan to appreciate it”: Godin Lerxst Limelight review

Behringer has forged a reputation for its ability to make affordable versions of high-end and sought-after stompboxes, so when it announced it was making a Boss CE-1 clone in 2022, it caused great excitement. Now, at long last, the Chorus Symphony is finally here.

The very first iteration of a chorus pedal, the Boss CE-1 can be heard all over the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ catalog, and is famously John Fruciante’s favorite chorus stompbox.

Its essence has now been captured and repackaged as the Behringer Chorus Symphony. Its makers talking up the return of “an icon of an era” and it arrives with a tidy $79 price tag.

Boss launched the celebrated CE-1 in 1976, and it made waves with its BBD shimmer and sizable stereo sounds. It was sadly discontinued long ago, with Frusciante – who has used it throughout his career – Rush’s Alex Lifeson and Andy Summers among its most famous admirers.

Few would have expected a nearly three-year wait for its release, but fortunately the Chorus Symphony is here at last and it's eager to charm its way onto pedalboards.

Behringer is urging guitarists to “strike a chord and let it shimmer”, with the pedal’s all-analog BBD circuit serving “a rich warm sound that helped shape many hits”.

It’s said to be suitable for “any instrument”, and comes bottled with the “thick, syrupy and multidimensional sound” of a Roland Jazz Chorus amplifier alongside those much craved CE-1 tones.

The employment of a bucket brigade circuit is crucial for that, with Behringer eager to follow the CE-1’s recipe as closely as possible.

Housed in a full metal enclosure with vintage visuals, the chorus' Speed and Depth controls have been streamlined into one dial. A High/Low switch, which sits beside a Level control for adding “crunch and drive” to the signal, “can add lot of body to your sound or push the preamp – also lifted from the Roland – into overdrive territory.”

A second footswitch is present to activate the pedal’s vibrato mode, which gets controls for Depth and Rate. There’s also a dip switch inside the pedal for switching between true bypass and buffered modes.

It’s a fairly comprehensive suite of effects and tones, helping the pedal stand out for its versatility as much as its vintage charm – and its $79 price tag is hard to ignore.

“The Behringer Chorus Symphony is a pillar in the monument of modulation, and now, with a bit of Behringer magic, it's more accessible than ever before,” the firm says. “It's a pedal that's touched every corner of music history, it's too prolific to avoid.”

Head to Behringer for more info.

The release follows Behringer’s other budget revivals of some other bygone classics, including its $65 Fuzz Bender, which clones a fuzz adored by Eric Clapton. The firm recently hit back at its critics, saying “No other company delivers as many innovative and affordable products as we do”.

While a Rush reunion may not be in the cards), Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee are still keeping the band's spirit alive by regularly meeting up for friendly jam sessions.

“It’s good to jam with friends as you get older,” Lifeson says in the new issue of Classic Rock. “I need to play. Once a week I go to Ged’s – it’s in the calendar – keep my fingers moving, play Rush stuff, new jams. We do record it, but I couldn’t even begin to tell you where it’ll go.”

Despite recording their jams, the two insist fans should not get their hopes up. As Lee coyly puts it, “Al and I are lifelong friends. We jam together once in a while, it’s true. That’s all I want to say about that right now.”

In an interview with Rolling Stone last year, Lifeson confirmed that the two are actually playing “a lot of Rush songs” during these regular jam sessions, but end up sounding like “a really bad tribute band for the first three or four run-throughs.

“And then muscle memory kicks in, and we’re having a ball doing it. It’s good for the fingers. We’re together in a room like we’ve always been. That’s been really good, but there’s no chance that we’re going to get a drummer and go back on the road as the rebirth of Rush or something like that.”

That doesn’t mean Lifeson and Lee won’t treat audiences to a live performance from time to time. In fact, the two reunited last May at the Gordon Lightfoot tribute concert in Toronto, where they put their own spin on The Way I Feel.

Visit Magazines Direct to pick up the new issue of Classic Rock.

Alex Lifeson and his new gear venture Lerxst are celebrating 40 years of Rush’s barnstorming LP Grace Under Pressure with the release of a limited-edition signature guitar.

Named Grace, the Strat-style electric guitar is being touted as “an evolved take of a modern classic” with much of its template coming from the “world-class” Lerxst x Godin Limelight six-string.

Also concocted in collaboration with fellow Canadians Godin, Grace is a fresh take on the Hentor Sportscaster that Alex Lifeson made sing across Rush’s celebrated 1980s era.

Imbued with “the latest in high-quality hardware and craftsmanship” for an instrument “primed for the next generation of tone seekers”, the Red Sector A-colored guitar (geddit?) effortlessly stands out – and it does so with aplomb.

Beyond its spotlight-stealing mirror pickguard and chrome hardware, Grace is loaded with a Mojotone Lerxst Humbucker in the bridge, and two Mojotone Lerxst single-coils in the middle and neck positions, which combine to replicate the original Sportscaster’s modded Strat wizardry.

That pickup combination was originally only available on the Limelight, but a pre-loaded pickguard has since been released, extending its prog-ready tones to Strat and Strat-styled guitars of all persuasions.

Grace pairs a swamp ash body with a maple neck and an ebony fretboard with 22 stainless steel frets, and either an original Floyd Rose or a Vega Trem for those wanting to stay closer to the Strat’s traditional hardware heritage.

By 1984, Rush had firmly established themselves as one of the world’s premier progressive rock acts, and Lifeson was typically known for playing a Gibson Les Paul during this time.

But the Sportscaster had proved to be an unlikely sidepiece, arriving after Lifeson first modified a Fender Stratocaster with a new single-coil pickup in the neck, a Gibson humbucker in the bridge, and Floyd Rose tremolo in 1978.

“I used this guitar as a spare primarily and started using it increasingly for the Floyd Rose,” Lifeson told Guitar World in July.

“I was becoming more enamored with the use of the tremolo bar, and the Floyd Rose made that very effective – and it sounded great,” he continues. Eventually, the guitarist commissioned Veneman Music to build a replica, incorporating a shark neck, Floyd Rose, and a Bill Lawrence L500 pickup. From that, the Sportscaster was born.

The Limelight saw the Sportscaster make an unlikely comeback last year, and now Grace is looking to take the Rush virtuoso’s unorthodox Strat-style build to new heights.

“We were blown away by the positive feedback we got from the release of Limelight earlier this year and knew that we wanted to do another one,” says Lifeson.

“With Grace, we wanted to pay tribute to the 40th Anniversary of Grace Under Pressure by building off of my favorite guitar from that period and – much like Limelight – evolving the concept to create an instrument with a sound and playability that would speak to modern players.”

Lifeson adds that the “beautiful instrument” can cater to a variety of playing styles, meaning you aren’t limited to riffing in 27/8 with this thing.

“And the mirrored pickguard,” he continues, “comes in handy for late-night sessions when you need, um, to check, ah, your hair or something.” That, personally, is the clincher.

The Lerxst Grace guitar is limited to just 200 units at $3,999 apiece.

Head to Lerxst’s Reverb Shop to learn more.

Picture an Alex Lifeson signature model and a Floyd-equipped Les Paul will likely spring to mind. However, prior to recording Rush’s Moving Pictures album, which was released in 1981, Alex commissioned the build of his Hentor Sportscaster.

We’ll go for a potted history: the Sportscaster was Alex’s take on an HSS Strat-style guitar, the main specs of which included a Warmoth body and neck, ebony fingerboard, DiMarzio FS-1/Bill Lawrence L500 pickups, Schaller locking tuners, and a Floyd Rose vibrato. Now, Alex has teamed up with fellow Canadians Godin to recreate (with evolutionary tweaks) his beloved double-cut.

Released under his Lerxst brand, the Limelight is a high-end nod to his ’80s-era guitar. As with the Sportscaster, it’s based on an S-type body, this time cut from swamp ash.

The maple neck follows tradition with its 648mm (25.5-inch) scale length but bucks it with 22 stainless-steel frets and a 305mm (12-inch) radius. Like the original, we’re dancing on a beautifully even slice of ebony, and to the rear it’s finished in a silky satin.

Tuning is taken care of by Godin’s 18:1 locking staggered tuners with a Graph Tech nut. At the other end it’s fitted with a Vega-Trem, but completists can spec a Floyd Rose instead. Electronically, it’s a different animal from a regular S-type, too, with Alex’s Mojotone Lerxst Limelight set in HSS configuration. They’re wired to a three-way toggle and master volume/tone pots.

We’d use one word to describe the playability of the Limelight: smooth. The medium action could probably go a bit lower, but it’s set to a comfortable ballpark height. Elsewhere, the ebony ’board and stainless-steel frets combine for a glassy feel when traversing the neck and bending strings; when you get to the summit you’ll appreciate the rounded heel shape.

If you’re on the heavier-handed end of the picking scale, you’ll find the strings hold firm under attack without the inevitable pitch-bend when played open, particularly on a guitar fitted with a vibrato.

Ours is set to float, giving us drop and pull-up response. Divebombs, gargles and fluttering vibratos are all on offer, with the Vega-Trem working incredibly smoothly to seamlessly return to pitch.

Tonal preferences are incredibly personal and sometimes an HSS guitar can leave you two-thirds full. Not so here. Mojotone delivers quintessential references for the three positions: Hendrix-y neck tones; pecky, squashy pluck in the middle; and a complex bridge humbucker that’s bursting with clarity and note separation.

You don’t need to be a Rush fan to appreciate this guitar, which might be making a play for one of this year’s most versatile electrics.

Specs

• PRICE: $3,999 (inc gigbag)
• ORIGIN: Canada
• TYPE: Double-cutaway solidbody electric
• BODY: Swamp ash
• NECK: Maple, bolted-on
• SCALE LENGTH: 647.7mm (25.5”)
• NUT/WIDTH: Graph Tech/41.91 mm
• FINGERBOARD: Ebony, dot inlays, 304.8mm (12”) radius
• FRETS: 22, medium, stainless steel
• HARDWARE: Vega-Trem, 18:1 staggered pole locking tuners
• ELECTRICS: Mojotone Lerxst Limelight set (double-blade bridge humbucker, overwound single coils at neck and middle positions)
• FINISH: Limelight Cream
• CONTACT: Lerxst Amps

It's been nearly 10 years since the last Rush gig, but Alex Lifeson refuses to hang up his creative boots, with his Lerxst gear band continuing to evolve.

The firm has already released electric guitars, tube amps, pre-wired pickguards, and “the most horrific fuzz in the universe”, and now the Blah Blah – said to be “one of the most unique wah pedals ever designed” – adds more fuel to his innovative fire.

It has been built in collaboration with Morley, one of the most respected wah pedal crafters in the game, to offer players “a bold new world of classic and avante-garde sounds”. Its name comes from Lifeson's bizarre and meme-worthy speech during Rush's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013.

Drawing on Lifeson’s decades of wah stomping experience, its new- and old-school features use Morley’s switchless optical wah circuit as a springboard for inspiration.

Its “expressive vocal response” has been engineered by Lerxt and Morley to Lifeson’s exciting specifications, while a second Blah Blah circuit allows for filtering effects.

The two circuits are interchangeable via a soft-click footswitch, with the pedal activated as soon as its treadle is moved forward. It being spring-loaded means it will spring back into the upright position when player's remove their foot.

The Blah Blah circuit's responsive dynamics are aided by an adjustable Pitch knob, which helps guitarists to fine tune the effect to their specific pickups. A Tone control is also on hand for pinpoint EQing so they harmonize with the other stompboxes of each player's pedalboard.

Also featured inside its sturdy steel enclosure is a premium Morley buffer circuit, while an LED indicator light assists its ease of operation on darkened stages and practice rooms.

“Wah pedals have been an essential tool of sonic expression for me since the Fly by Night album,” Lifeson details. “With the ‘wah’ side of the Blah Blah, we really wanted to capture that classic sound while also giving it a wide enough frequency response to suit modern players.

“The guys at Morley have designed some of the greatest wah pedals ever, so it was a natural collaboration to work on this project with them, and see where we could take it next,” he continues.

“Alex wanted us to create something unique and inspiring,” adds Morley Owner Scott Fietsam. “We certainly achieved the 'Blah-talkie' sound, but what surprised us was how versatile this pedal turned out to be. It opened up numerous sonic possibilities in both clean and distorted modes, making it enjoyable for a wide range of players.”

An official statement from the collaboration heralds the Blah Blah for its “cornucopia of expressive, touch-sensitive filtering effects that evoke both vocal and synth-like sounds out of whatever instrument that is run through the pedal.”

Talking to Guitar World about all things Lerxst, Lifeson highlighted the importance of versatile gear.

“I strongly believe that if you give a guitar to five different players – same guitar, same amp – each one of them is going to sound different, just because of the way they play,” he says. “The attack, how their fingers move, all of that. A lot of it is your own personal mojo that goes into your playing.”

The Lerxst collection pedal started with the By-Tor, condensing a $2.5K Marhsall-like tube tone into a $300 pedal.

The Blah Blah wah pedal is limited to a 500-unit run. It is priced at $299 and is available exclusively at the Lerxst Reverb Store.

Head to Reverb to learn more.

Slowly but surely, the digital amp world is converting even the most ardent of tube amp supporters. Slipknot’s Jim Root, who once claimed he’d never use a modeling amp, is one of the more recent big names to jump ship, but Alex Lifeson is standing strong.

The Canadian prog legend is keeping busy with life after Rush, forging guitars, amps and pedals with his Lerxst gear brand.

While a “horrific” fuzz pedal and a pre-wired pickguard have made for notable releases, his tube and combo amp range sits chief among them.

“There has been an explosion of guitar music in the past five years,” he told Guitar World. “Lerxst amplifiers provide a platform for these players.”

In a new interview with Guitar.com, alongside Mojotone CEO Michael McWhorter (Lerxst is part of the Mojotone brand family), Lifeson has reaffirmed his anti-modeler stance. And he has good reasoning for his position.

“You know, buy whatever amp you want,” he says. “But the one that we make sounds really good, and it’s based on a more traditional lineage. Digital is becoming a much better platform within itself.

“But when you’re using a plugin compared to an amp that’s mic’d, the difference is so noticeable,” he continues. “I hear depth in the amp that’s mic’d, I hear internal dynamics, I hear so much that I don’t hear in the digital plugin, which seems almost pasted onto the screen.”

With so many big names being seduced by the pull of digital amps – including The Edge and Blue Öyster Cult’s Buck Dharma, who had been tube amp champions for decades prior – it feels the pro-tube camp is slowly diminishing.

Dharma justified the jump, saying: “Digital stuff is valid and has a great musical tone… the day to replace tube amps is here,” but Lifeson is holding his ground.

As more players begin to echo Dharma’s thoughts on the matter, doubts over the future of tube amps continue to grow.

And yet, despite the success of recent(ish) additions to the modeling market like the Quad Cortex and Fender’s Tone Master Pro – with Positive Grid readying the launch of the Spark 2 – some players still believe digital amps aren’t quite the finished product.

“The biggest challenge for the digital products is not the tone,” John Petrucci told Rick Beato last year. “It's not the things like gain and overdrive and stuff like that, it's how the amplifier physically pushes air through the speaker, it's the feel thing… It's all happening very randomly, nothing happens the same.”

There are parallels, then, between Lifeson and the Dream Theater shredder’s comments.

Laney has attempted a solution by creating the world’s most powerful FRFR cabinet in collaboration with Devin Townsend. Barefaced Audio’s Activier, in turn, can turn its guitar cabs into modeling-friendly power amp combos.

Yet the living, breathing aspect of real, tangible amps – amps you can feel, not just hear – continues to strike a point of difference with digital technology.

The battle rages on…

The Hentor Sportscaster made an unlikely comeback when Alex Lifeson announced that his own gear brand, Lerxst, had reanimated it as the Limelight and was making them in partnership with Godin. But what became of the original Sportscasters, like that fire engine red model that Lifeson was cradling on the cover of Guitar World’s November 1981 issue?

Truth be told, it’s a little bit of a sorry tale. But as Lifeson tells us, in this interview to commemorate 70 years of the Strat, the Hentor Sportscaster did more than enough to etch its way into the annals of rock history. With a different electric guitar, the solo to Limelight would just not have been the same…

How and where did you acquire this Strat?

“The story begins in 1978 when I modified a Fender Stratocaster that I purchased new. I replaced the bridge single coil [pickup] with a Gibson humbucker, reversed the input jack for easier access and added a Floyd Rose tremolo to replace the Fender tremolo. I used this guitar as a spare primarily and started using it increasingly for the Floyd Rose.

“It was renamed ‘the Hentor Porkflapsocaster.’ Shortly after, I commissioned Veneman Music to build a replica incorporating a shark neck, Floyd Rose and Bill Lawrence L500 pickup. This was the Hentor Sportscaster. This became the model for the Lerxst Limelight [Lifeson’s new signature guitar with Godin].”

What initially led you to choose this Strat over the semi-hollowbodied Gibson guitars you’d been playing with Rush?

“Although I was known primarily as a Gibson player, I did own several Fenders and liked the difference. I owned a 1956 Strat in 1973 as a backup to the [Gibson] ES-335. It made me think and play differently. I was becoming more enamored with the use of the tremolo bar, and the Floyd Rose made that very effective – and it sounded great.”

Did you use this Strat on any notable recordings?

“From [Rush’s] Moving Pictures on, I used the Hentor on a lot of recordings and particularly liked it for soloing. One standout recording is the solo from Limelight. It was the perfect selection to create the soulful, elastic and unstable character for the solo of that song.”

What made this Strat special beyond the modifications?

“The neck was bare wood, so I felt an immediate connection to that neck. I stripped a [Fender] Tele neck a few years later, and that guitar became my go-to for writing. I must have used that guitar for writing 75 percent of Rush’s material.”

Why did you choose this Strat for your 1981 GW cover shoot?

“I used the third Hentor [overall] and the second one built by Veneman Music for that shoot to match my red jacket and tie. I was so fashion-conscious!”

Do you still own this guitar? If not, what happened to it?

“No, I think I gave it to a tennis pro friend years ago. That was a mistake, as he’s left-handed! The Hentor Sportscaster was sold at auction two years ago, and the original black Hentor is in a museum in Ottawa, Canada. They’re gone now, but their spirit lives on in the Lerxst guitar series. Those are faithful replicas of the originals.”

Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson and bassist Geddy Lee made a surprise appearance at last Thursday's (May 23) Gordon Lightfoot tribute concert at Toronto’s Massey Hall. Lifeson and Lee were billed under the nom de plume “L+L” before revealing their identities and joining Canadian alt-country band Blue Rodeo on stage. 

To the audience's surprise, Lifeson and Lee put their own spin on the Canadian songwriting great's The Way I Feel. The Rush duo also took the stage for an ensemble performance of Summerside of Life.

“It was important for us to pay tribute to Gordon,” Lee tells Variety. “Not being folk or pop artists, Alex and I were looking for one of Gordon’s songs that might better suit our style of play and we found that in The Way I Feel. Its structure was loose and more open to interpretation than many of his more popular tunes.

“After the gig, Gordon’s daughter Meredith [Moon] said to us, ‘Leave it to Rush to make The Way I Feel sound prog,’ so I think we succeeded.”

In addition to this surprise performance, Alex Lifeson recently revealed that he's been jamming with Geddy Lee.

“It’s funny because we sound like a really bad tribute band for the first three or four run-throughs on these things,” he said.  “It’s 'Oh, my God, what did I play there? Why did I play that so hard?

“And then muscle memory kicks in, and we’re having a ball doing it. It’s good for the fingers. We’re together in a room like we’ve always been. That’s been really good, but there’s no chance that we’re going to get a drummer and go back on the road as the rebirth of Rush or something like that.”

In a recent Guitar World interview, Lifeson set the record straight on the prospect of a Rush reunion as well as his his recent gear endeavors under his Lerxst banner.

Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson reveals he has recently been jamming with his bandmate, Rush bassist and lead singer Geddy Lee.

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Lifeson unveils what's happening behind the scenes and why there are currently no plans to take their songs out on the road.

“It’s funny because we sound like a really bad tribute band for the first three or four run-throughs on these things,” he reveals. “It’s 'Oh, my God, what did I play there? Why did I play that so hard?

“And then muscle memory kicks in, and we’re having a ball doing it. It’s good for the fingers. We’re together in a room like we’ve always been. That’s been really good, but there’s no chance that we’re going to get a drummer and go back on the road as the rebirth of Rush or something like that. And if we wanted to write new material, nobody cares about new material anymore. They just want to hear the old stuff from guys like us.”

Despite these recent jamming sessions and Lee publicly talking about a possible live reunion, Lifeson doubled down that he's not convinced they should tour again, particularly because of his recent health issues. 

“No, we’ve talked about it in depth, and I was waffling between maybe considering it and not. And then my health issues came up. I know if we went on the road, it couldn’t be like we used to do it.”

In a recent interview with Guitar World, Lifeson explained how doing the book tour with Lee for the bassist's memoir My Effin' Life, and their reunion for 2022's Taylor Hawkins tribute shows temporarily reignited his passion for touring.

“So for a little while I thought, you know, it’d be kind of good to get back out,” he mused. “And then I thought… nah, not really.”

However, he didn't exclude any further song collaborations with Lee. “I mean, we toured for 40 years. I’m not interested in going back out on tour. I don’t wanna sit in a hotel room for hours and hours and hours to work for a couple of hours. 

“Been there, done it, loved it. But that’s in the past. So whether Ged and I get back together again and write or do anything, we’ll see. Until then, there’s plenty to work on, you know?”

1984 saw Rush release their 10th studio album in as many years. But while the trio – guitarist Alex Lifeson, bassist, keyboardist, and singer Geddy Lee and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart – were firmly established as rock superstars, they were also in some ways operating as a newborn act, exploring uncharted, sometimes uneasy, rock territory. 

Following the massive mainstream success of 1981’s Moving Pictures, which spawned now-classic singles like Limelight, Freewill, and Tom Sawyer, the band took a hard turn on the next year’s Signals, which pushed synthesizers to the forefront, relegating Lifeson’s guitar to a less central and more supportive role. 

“Signals was a weird record for me – I liked the songs, but I thought it was a little weak in tonality,” Lifeson tells Guitar World. “Keyboards started coming up a lot more and so there was a little more of a fight for space with the guitar, which would continue with some of the following records.” The band’s next album, Grace Under Pressure, “was kind of a response to Signals,” Lifeson says, “and it became more of a guitar record.”

Indeed, while Grace Under Pressure, released April 12, 1984, still sounds closer to the synthy, heavily processed sound of Signals than the rock anthems of Moving Pictures, Lifeson’s guitar is more present throughout, spiking the tracks with driving riffs and slashing chord work, and infusing songs like Afterimage, Between the Wheels, and The Body Electric with characteristic hot-wired solos. “I think The Body Electric is my favorite song from the record,” Lifeson says. “I really liked the solo on that one.”

Gear-wise, Lifeson employed a combination of Marshall and Carvin amps in the studio, and relied heavily on a Loft digital delay unit and a DeltaLab HarmoniComputer harmonizer (which you can hear on Distant Early Warning and Red Sector A), among other effects. 

His main guitars for the sessions, which took place at Le Studio in Quebec, were his white Hentor Sportscaster, as well as another Strat similarly modified with a humbucker in the bridge position, along with his trusty Gibson ES-355. 

“I liked the combination of the 355 double-tracking with a Tele or a Strat – something a little wiry, with a different character,” he says. “That was sort of my go-to.”

Despite the high quality of the songs and performances, Lifeson concedes that Grace Under Pressure was a “really hard” record to make. “We started working on it with [producer] Steve Lillywhite,” he says. “We approached him on the previous tour and we agreed to work together on Grace Under Pressure. But then literally last minute we got a call from his management and they said, ‘Steve’s taken another project. He won’t be doing your project.’ That really left us in a lurch.”

In a pinch, the band went searching for a new producer and landed on Peter Henderson, who had worked with Jeff Beck, Paul McCartney and Wings, Supertramp, and others.

“Peter had a good track record, but while he was qualified, he just didn’t seem to be focused,” Lifeson says. “That left it up to the three of us to really focus on production. We like to work with a producer that’s sort of like the fourth wheel, where we do what we do and they add just a little bit of direction and deal with some of the stuff we don’t want to deal with. That way we can focus directly on the music. 

“But that wasn’t quite the case. I remember we were at Le Studio and it was a very, very cold winter. The record took a long time to make and it was really, really difficult.”

That said, he adds, “When it was all said and done we were quite proud of it. I like the tone of the record. I like the songs on that record. I think that it was a progression from the previous records, and that’s what we always wanted to achieve.”     

Throughout Rush’s decades together, Lifeson continues, “We always wanted to move forward. With Grace Under Pressure we certainly did.”

Alex Lifeson and Mojotone joined forces back in 2012 to produce the first Lerxst amplifier – the limited edition 25/50-watt OMEGA head – based on the Marshall Silver Jubilee guitar amps that Lifeson used during the recording and touring cycles for Rush’s Clockwork Angels album but featuring several circuit modifications, parts upgrades and hand-wired construction. 

The 15-watt 6V6-driven Lerxst CHI combo followed shortly afterwards in 2015, offering a more affordable, lower-powered variation of the OMEGA.

For 2024, Lifeson and Mojotone have significantly expanded the Lerxst lineup to include special-edition and regular-production OMEGA amps, the Limelight guitar, the By-Tor Boost/Drive pedal and the new, more powerful 30-watt CHI combo amp plus a CHI amplifier head. 

Many Lifeson fans will likely consider the new CHI the ideal Goldilocks “just right” amp out of the Lerxst lineup thanks to its club- and studio-friendly output and more wallet-friendly price. We tested the CHI head along with a matching CHI 1x12 extension cabinet.

Like the OMEGA, the CHI features a two-channel design with shared EQ section based upon the Silver Jubilee, but the power amp section’s 6L6 tubes give it a different overall tonal and performance personality than the OMEGA and Jubilee’s EL34 tubes, with less dominant mids, brilliant treble, crystalline presence, biting attack, more clean headroom and more dynamic, less compressed responsiveness when pushed into overdrive. 

Controls consist of Presence, Bass, Middle and Treble EQ that are shared by both channels, Output Master to control overall volume (also including a push/pull channel switching function), Input Gain with a pull diode “rhythm clip” setting and Lead Master volume for adjusting the lead channel’s output. An included footswitch also can be used for channel switching. 

A single ¼-inch input jack, power switch (no standby) and “Starman” logo power indicator round out the front panel features. Rear panel jacks include a ¼-inch footswitch jack, serial effects loop mono send and return jacks (-10dB instrument level) and 16/8/8-ohm speaker output jacks. 

A Mojotone Greyhound 8-ohm 12-inch speaker is loaded in the 1x12 CHI cabinet. This is an oversized cabinet that measures 24 x 20 x 9 inches (width x height x depth) and features an open-back design that contributes to the CHI amp’s more effervescent upper midrange and treble tones and less aggressive bass. 

It’s built from Baltic birch with ¼-inch finger joints and is covered with Race Gray Tolex with a Red Garnet Levant center stripe that perfectly matches the CHI head’s cosmetic appearance. 

The CHI head’s 30-watt output delivers ample volume levels for club and studio applications that won’t blow out your eardrums. It may lack the full/half power functionality of the OMEGA head and Silver Jubilee’s pentode/triode switch, but that’s really not necessary as the amp delivers satisfying clean and overdrive tones at lower volumes. 

I compared the CHI amp and cabinet to my personal 1988 Marshall Jubilee 2554 50-watt combo. While the gain character was often similar, especially with the Input Gain’s “rhythm clip” gain engaged, the CHI actually sounded much closer to my late Seventies two-input Hiwatt 50-watt DR504 head, thanks to its chiming upper mids and overdrive characteristics that were more Hiwatt-like chunk and crunch than Marshall-style bark and growl. 

With a 335, Strat and an Gibson SG plugged into the head, I was able to dial-in tones that came damn close to Lifeson’s late ’70s/early ’80s sounds, especially with a PastFX Chorus Ensemble and/or an Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress added to the signal chain. Thanks to the CHI’s more airy and shimmering upper mids and treble, I also found that its clean tones matched nicely with classic chorus and flanging effects. 

By modern amp standards, the saturation at maximum gain is somewhat mild. However, this means the tone never gets overly compressed, attack remains crisp and articulate and every note in a chord maintains definition and clarity. The bass is never dominant or flabby, which helps a guitar maintain a prominent voice in a band that doesn’t get lost in the mix.

The CHI head and cabinet setup costs about $400 more than the CHI combo. The CHI combo is the same size as CHI 1x12 extension cabinet and weighs about three pounds less than the individual head and cabinet together, but it’s much easier to haul and load a separate head and cabinet at a manageable 31 and 24 pounds, respectively, than wrestle with a beastly 52-pound combo.

Specs

• PRICE: $1,695 (CHI head); $695 (CHI 1x12 cabinet)
• ORIGIN: USA
• TYPE: 2 channel tube amp head, 1x12 guitar speaker cabinet
• OUTPUT: 30W
• TUBES: 3x  JJ 12AX7 preamp tubes, 2x JJ 6L6 power tubes
• CONTROLS: Input gain w/rhythm clip, Lead Master, Output Master w/pull channel, Treble, Middle, Bass, Presence
• CONNECTIONS: 2x 8 ohms, 1x 16 ohms speaker outputs, footswitch in, Rec/Send serial effects loop
• SPEAKER: 1x 8 ohm Mojotone Greyhound Speaker
• CABINET: Baltic birch, Race Grey and Red Garnet Levant Tolex, Mojotone Black Matrix Grill Cloth
• CONTACT: Lerxst

If, somewhere out in the cosmos, there exists a master list of guitarists with the most coveted tones in rock history, it’s safe to say that Rush’s Alex Lifeson ranks near the top. 

His sound – crisp and articulate, and characterized by lightly chorused arpeggios, shimmering, glassy chords and smoothly overdriven lead lines – has powered some of the greatest radio anthems of the last half-century and is instantly recognizable to generations of listeners.

Lifeson has, unsurprisingly, collaborated with various manufacturers on signature pieces of gear over the years – but never to the extent that he is at this moment in time. Though Rush ceased activity in 2015 (and, with the tragic passing of drummer Neil Peart in 2020, are unlikely to restart in the future) the guitarist, now 70, is still deeply engaged in his tone journey. 

To that end, he recently unveiled a newly designed line of high-end guitar amplifiers under the brand name Lerxst (Lifeson’s longtime nickname), conceived and constructed in partnership with celebrated North Carolina-based manufacturer Mojotone. The flagship design, the Omega, is based on a custom model Mojotone built for Lifeson during the run for Rush’s final studio album, 2012’s Clockwork Angels.

The new Omega, a British-voiced head with footswitch-able clean and lead channels, a shared three-band EQ, a switchable 50/25-watt power section and a high-quality serial effects loop, homes in on some of the key aspects of Lifeson’s sound and brings them to the public in a handsome (dig the “Starman” power indicator light on the front panel, for one eye-catching feature), hand-built package.

“It’s a great amp,” Lifeson tells Guitar World, “and I just thought, now’s the time to share it.”

Lifeson is apparently in a very sharing mood these days. In addition to the Omega (also offered in a special-edition hand-wired version), the Lerxst range includes the Chi amplifier, a more compact 30-watt design available in smallbox head and 1x12 combo formats, as well as a variety of 1x12, 2x12 and 4x12 speaker cabinets. 

There’s also a Lerxst pedal, the By-Tor Signature Overdrive, which squeezes the sound and presence of the Omega into an even smaller enclosure – this one a ’board-friendly (note the top-mounted jacks) stompbox with discrete boost and drive sections that can be engaged separately or in tandem.

But that’s not all. Not long after announcing the joint venture with Mojotone, Lifeson unveiled one more collaboration: the Lerxst Limelight guitar, designed in conjunction with Canadian builder Godin.

The first entry in a proposed line of six-strings, the model draws inspiration from one of Lifeson’s most iconic and idiosyncratic instruments – the heavily modded guitar known as the Hentor Sportscaster, which Lifeson first used on Rush’s smash 1981 album Moving Pictures (it’s featured on the solo for Limelight, among other tracks), and employed significantly on the follow-ups, Signals and Grace Under Pressure. 

The Hentor began life as a ’70s-era Fender Stratocaster, which Lifeson modified to meet his specific tonal and playability needs, eventually adding a Bill Lawrence L500 humbucker in the bridge position to access heavier sounds, a more comfortable aftermarket neck from a Canadian company named Shark, a Floyd Rose tremolo and a Gibson-style three-way toggle selector on the lower horn, among other features. 

The new Limelight guitar pays tribute to the Hentor with an S-type swamp ash body, customized maple neck, Lerxst Limelight pickups in an HSS configuration, a three-way toggle switch, the option of either a Vega or Floyd Rose tremolo and more. 

“I was a little apprehensive that it wouldn’t come out the way I expected,” Lifeson says of attempting to capture the magic of such a unique instrument. “But they nailed it.”

He laughs. “I mean, I’m biased, but it’s really great.”

Lifeson recently sat down with Guitar World to discuss his deep dive into signature gear. But he also assured us that he still enjoys making music with that gear as well. 

“I’m writing and recording all the time, I’m working on a lot of different acts, I’m very, very happy being at home and working on that stuff,” he says. As for whether any of the “stuff” he’s working on might one day include Rush bassist and singer Geddy Lee? “We talk about it,” Lifeson acknowledges. “But he’s got a busy life. I’m doing things. So we’ll see how it goes over the next little while.”

Until then, there’s plenty of new guitars, guitar amps and pedals to attend to. “Oh, there’s lots of different things going on,” Lifeson says. “It’s all been in the works for a couple of years, and now it’s finally arrived. And it’s so fun to get to this point.”

What led you to begin working with Mojotone on the Omega roughly a decade ago?

“The inspiration for it was a Marshall Silver Jubilee that I used on Clockwork Angels. After that, I couldn’t find another one. I had leads on a few, but every time I approached someone they didn’t want to sell it. So I spoke to Michael McWhorter at Mojotone about actually building an amp based on that platform, but then changing the bias, warming it up a little bit and making some other adjustments to my taste. 

“The Omega has been in production ever since, but as a sort of limited boutique amp. More recently, we felt it made sense to update it. So now we’ve got a great amp with different configurations and colors, and we have the Chi, which is the smaller, lower-watt version, and we have the cabinets. We started to look at a number of things – the amps, the pedals, the guitar line, the whole guitar-oriented package – to see what we could do.”

What are some of the particular features of the Omega that make it ideal for your tonal needs?

“I really wanted a strong clean section, which the Omega has. My experience with a lot of multi-channel amps is the clean sound never quite had the body that I heard in my head. But I think we got it with this amp. And then the more overdriven section is not too overdriven. It’s not crazy overdriven, which has never been my thing. 

“The way I’ve approached it has always been to pull the volume back on my guitar for rhythm parts and then turn it up for solos – more the old-style boost. So I wanted a good, chunky, distorted section, but not too overdriven, and with a nice, smooth boost for soloing.”

In the period between developing the original Omega and these new models, did your taste in tone change at all? 

“I don’t think so. I was quite happy when Mojotone delivered those first Omega amps, and I used them onstage for two or three Rush tours. So it fit everything that I wanted for that period of time. With the new ones we haven’t made any major changes, although there is also a hand-wired version now, which I actually haven’t heard. I should probably check one of those out if I can. [Laughs] I think they’re all gone already, but I’ll get in line.”

They might bump you up to the front. 

“Maybe. I’m not so sure!”

Have you also used the Chi? 

“I have. Actually, I did a gig just before Christmas, the Andy Kim Christmas special, which is a cool event for charity that, for the last few years, they’ve done at Massey Hall here in Toronto. Typically, I would get their production to supply an amp for me, just for convenience. 

“But this time I took the Chi combo with me, and I loved it. It’s a lightweight amp with a nice, tight quality, and it was loud enough for the room, certainly. I like the convenience of that combo, and it does sound really great.”

You’ve also developed a pedal with Mojotone, the By-Tor Signature Overdrive. 

“We talked about doing a whole line of pedals. And when we were discussing the idea, I said I thought it’d be kind of cool to have a By-Tor pedal. If you go back to that song, By-Tor and the Snow Dog [from 1975’s Fly by Night] the By-Tor pedal has all of those growly characteristics. 

“So it’s an overdrive, and it’s also a boost. What Michael likes to say is that we really tried to build the Omega into a small little box, so that you get the drive and the quality of the distortion similar to the amp. That was their target with it, and they got it. 

“Over the years I’ve tried a bunch of other pedals that do sort of the same thing, but I like this one because it’s a little smoother. It’s not so aggressive and over the top. When I try out a lot of pedals, I find that they seem to be extreme in whatever it is they’re doing. And then you can dial it back, of course. 

“But with the By-Tor, it’s just really nice and smooth. I’m being kind of selfish with how I approach it, because I’m thinking about myself first. [Laughs] But the tone is great. I’ve actually used it on some sessions.”

Last but certainly not least, you recently unveiled a new signature guitar, the Lerxst Limelight, which is based on your famous Hentor Sportscaster modded Strat from the early ’80s. What was the inspiration behind that guitar?

“Well, back then I had a Strat, but I’m more of a Gibson guy. And I’ve always been a humbucker guy. So I dropped a humbucker into the Strat. And then I really liked those Fender pickups for the cleaner stuff. I wanted the combination of the two. So I made a few of those guitars. 

“This one was the one I used for the solo for Limelight, on Moving Pictures, so we called the new model the Limelight. It’s basically a reissue of the Hentor, with a humbucker similar to the Bill Lawrence pickup in the original, the same kind of Floyd Rose, all the same attributes that the original had.”

Essentially you were looking to create a superstrat, similar to what Eddie Van Halen was doing at the time, where you’re trying to cross a Fender with a Gibson.

“Yes. Basically it’s the same idea. And with the Floyd Rose, too. So now you’ve got a consistent vibrato system that stays in tune. And we’re going to offer two different versions – one with the [locking] Floyd Rose and then one that’s just a straight-through. It’s not a lockdown. Because not everybody goes crazy with that thing. 

“I actually like to use the arm pretty subtly – more as a vibrato instead of to do big dive bombs and things like that. And sometimes it’s a little cumbersome with the locking nut. So we thought we would just make that an option available to people. 

“But the guitar sounds great, and it’s really playable. The neck feels really, really good on it, too. You know, I took all the finish off the neck and made it really personal to what I like, and Godin really did it right.” 

Over the years you’ve collaborated with various manufacturers on signature guitars and amplifiers. In the past, artists would generally stay with one company, but nowadays it seems like there’s less of an issue with collaborating with multiple brands. Is this something that has ever been a problem for you?

“It hasn’t been an issue. For the guitar, we approached Godin, a Canadian company, and I liked that. I like to keep stuff at home if I can. They were very enthusiastic, and we spent a lot of time going back and forth on exactly what the design is, if there’s any compromises we had to make on the design for considerations of copyright and all of that. They were really into the project and they continue to be. So at the end of the day, it all worked and everybody’s fine with it.”

For longtime Rush fans, one of the most exciting aspects of all this new gear is the possibility of getting closer to achieving the Alex Lifeson-like tones that they’ve loved all these years. In your opinion, what is that Alex Lifeson tone?

“Wow, that’s hard for me to answer. I don’t know how people hear my sound or my tone. I strongly believe that if you give a guitar to five different players – same guitar, same amp – each one of them is going to sound different, just because of the way they play. The attack, how their fingers move, all of that. A lot of it is your own personal mojo that goes into your playing. 

“To try and be a little objective. I guess when people think of my tone, they think of clean arpeggios, so that needs to be addressed. And they think of a solid, crunchy sound. I’m not overly heavy, not metal-y in that sense. 

“I like to have definition and clarity in whatever it is I’m doing, whether it’s a heavy, dirty sound or it’s a clean sound with body. And I want the gear I’m using to respond and speak well to that. Those are maybe the types of things people hear when they listen to my playing.”

Speaking of your playing, is there any possibility you might put all this great new gear to work alongside Geddy? 

“Um… Don’t know. [Laughs] Really, there’s so much stuff in the airwaves these days about Geddy and I getting back together and doing something. And I think it’s partly because of the way things went nine years ago, when we finished touring. We were at a high point, and we were playing really well. 

“The show looked great. I think a lot of our fans felt, you know, why now? But we broke up the band basically for Neil. And he had valid reasons. He was tired. He couldn’t play at the level he demanded from himself. So he felt it was time. But I think that for a lot of Rush fans there wasn’t a feeling of closure. So there’s a hope that we’d get back together. 

“I will say that doing this book tour with Geddy [for Lee’s 2023 memoir, My Effin’ Life], I did a few of the stops with him, and it’s kind of reignited interest in us getting out and playing. And the shows that we did last year for Taylor Hawkins [at the 2022 Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concerts] were inspiring, too. So for a little while I thought, you know, it’d be kind of good to get back out. And then I thought… nah, not really. [Laughs] 

“I mean, we toured for 40 years. I’m not interested in going back out on tour. I don’t wanna sit in a hotel room for hours and hours and hours to work for a couple of hours. Been there, done it, loved it. But that’s in the past. So whether Ged and I get back together again and write or do anything, we’ll see. Until then, there’s plenty to work on, you know?”

• For all the details on what Lifeson is cooking up with Mojotone, head over to Lerxst.

Alex Lifeson has teamed up with Mojotone to unveil his latest LERXST release – the Limelight pre-wired pickguard, which aims to provide the textures and tones of the Rush guitarist’s Hentor Sportscaster. 

The HSS-configured pickguard seeks to remove some of the fiddly technicality that typically comes with pickguard and pickup changes, while delivering some Lifeson-approved Limelight tones. 

While Lifeson’s LERXST project has already produced a fully fledged Limelight Strat with Godin, this latest release allows players to instead install that build’s ‘80s era Rush-replicating pickups into a Stratocaster of their choosing – making it a much cheaper way to obtain those sounds.  

That original Hentor Sportscaster was used extensively by Lifeson throughout the ‘80s, a decade that saw the band produce seven studio albums.    

Mojotone says its HSS configuration sports “industry elite components” to replicate the single-coil-bolstered side of Lifeson’s playing.    

The design pairs a humbucker with stainless steel blades in the bridge and single-coils for the middle and neck positions. Each sport Alnico V magnets for “a smooth treble response that cuts through the mix with punchy lows, and strong midrange presence.” 

The single-coils have also been designed to match the output of the humbucker to ensure a balanced output and a “full and dynamic tone in every position.” 

Featuring a satin black finish, the pickguard has 11 holes, meaning it can fit a healthy array of Stratocaster builds.  

Finally, it offers controls for master volume and tone, which sit alongside a three-way pickup switch (neck, neck/middle, bridge).

Mojotone says the pickups are “highly recommended for metal, rock, and heavy distortion,” but adds that they're just as adept at handling clean tones, especially with those humbucker-balanced single coils. 

“The original Hentor brought together a mix of tone and playability that empowered me to explore sounds and styles of playing that I had never attempted before,” says Lifeson. “Ultimately these things became signature parts of my style.”

The pre-wired pickguard costs $489.95 (as opposed to a more eye-watering $3,999 for a full Limelight guitar) and is available to pre-order now. Shipping begins later this month. 

Head to Mojotone for more information.  

Lifeson has been diving deep into gear manufacturing recently, using the LERXST banner to produce the By-Tor Drive/Boost pedal and the Snow Dog Octave Fuzz, which offered the “most horrific fuzz in the universe.”

Alex Lifeson’s LERXST brand has continued to grow with the unveiling of the limited-edition Snow Dog octave fuzz pedal.

The Rush legend announced his entry into the gear market last November. At the time, Lifeson revealed he’d collaborated with Mojotone for the LERXST amp range, which would be followed by guitars, pedals and pickups.

Lifeson then debuted his first effects pedal, the LERXST By-Tor, and partnered with Godin for the LERXST Limelight electric guitar. Now, the Mojotone-backed LERXST lineup has been bolstered with its second stompbox – the Snow Dog.

In keeping with the brand’s naming etiquette, the Snow Dog bookends the By-Tor, with both pedals together referencing Rush’s 1975 track, By-Tor and The Snow Dog.

As such, the Snow Dog arrives with a near-identical layout, with controls for each effect. For Octave, there’s Level and Gain; for Fuzz, there’s Level, Tone and Sustain. A toggle switch decides which effect comes first in the signal chain.

While the By-Tor was a drive and boost pedal, the Snow Dog ups the gain for octave fuzz tones, with Lifeson saying of his newest pedal: “It can produce the most horrific fuzz in the universe”.

Taking inspiration from the fuzz tones of Lifeson’s early influences – Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page among them, who favored the Tone-Bender – the Snow Dog is said to build off "a beloved silicon octave fuzz from the early 1970s", updating it for the needs of the modern player.

Accordingly, the fuzz side promises to run the gamut from “subtly satisfying vintage fuzz sounds to thick sustain”, while the octave combines multiple semitones to create a “signature upper octave sheen”.

Each effect can be used independently, though the pedal supposedly hits its “final form” when combined: “A searing octave fuzz that can cut through any mix while still retaining its thickness and texture.”

The dual footswitch approach certainly lends a nice versatility to the Snow Dog, with some of the more established brands – such as EHX, Beetronics and Way Huge – opting for one-switch-fits-all designs in recent times. This is a pricier pedal, mind, so such flexibility should perhaps be expected.

Of the drop, Lifeson says: “I use distortion, fuzz, and overdrive pedals and plug-ins when I'm looking for that kind of specific sound for the projects I work on and am having fun with both the By-Tor and Snow Dog pedals. But it's the Snow Dog that really screams.”

It's worth noting that Lifeson isn't especially known for using octave fuzz pedals, but if anything, that shows the guitarist's wider goals for the LERXST lineup. Perhaps he sees it as a comprehensive catalog of two-in-one pedals catering to all types of players, not just Rush fans (despite the obvious links).

The Snow Dog is available now as a Reverb exclusive for $295. Each pedal comes with a tour pass signed by Lifeson. We wonder what Rush track will be used to name the next LERXST pedal...

Visit the LERXST Reverb store for more. 

NAMM 2024: Alex Lifeson unveiled his LERXST amp range in collaboration with MojoTone last year and, at the time, he promised us big things were afoot – hinting at a full range of pedals and guitars to follow. 

What we did not expect was that they’d be with us within mere months, but lo and behold, here we are amid NAMM 2024, witnessing the introduction of Lifeson’s own LERXT Limelight S-style electric guitar.

This time, it’s being produced in collaboration with another great Canadian export: Godin. The signature guitar (named after the track from Rush’s 1981 album Moving Pictures), is based around the Hentor Sportscaster S-style build favored by Lifeson in the 1980s, but has been refined by Godin and Lifeson into something a little more contemporary. 

In this case, that means a contoured swamp ash body – which looks to be very similar to Godin’s Session S-style – paired with a maple neck and an ebony fretboard (complete with hard-wearing stainless steel frets).

Meanwhile, over on the pickup front, Lifeson has once again involved his partners at Mojotone, which has produced a custom-wound HSS set for the Limelight, simply dubbed the Lerxst humbucker and Lerxst single coil. 

There’s no spec or further explanation of these yet, but we love the look of that rail-style ’bucker in the bridge position and it’s complemented by a straightforward control set of volume, tone and three-way toggle switch (albeit it with the latter unusually located on the lower horn). 

In terms of hardware, you can expect a choice of Floyd Rose tremolo or Vega Trem, with the Vega option equipped with 18:1 locking tuners and a GraphTech nut. Finally, the Limelight is, appropriately, finished in high gloss.

 “The original Hentor brought together a mix of tone and playability that empowered me to explore sounds and styles of playing that I had never attempted before,” explains Lifeson. 

“Ultimately these things became signature parts of my style. When the idea came to reimagine this guitar it made sense to partner with innovators like Godin who I knew I could trust to utilize the advances in technology and manufacturing skill to create something that could power a new generation of players looking to push their own boundaries.”

“It was not quite enough for me to just develop a reissue of that very special instrument. This was an opportunity to showcase 40 years of evolution within that solid platform. Well, Axe and you shall receive!”

The only downside is the price – which, in keeping with his Mojotone-made LERXST amps is on the premium end of the scale. Indeed, the LERXST Limelight is coming out of Godin’s Canadian facility, and as such, is set to retail for around $3,999. 

That said, LERXST did offer a more affordable pedal amp take on the Omega head tone, in the form of the By-Tor drive/boost pedal, so we wonder if Lifeson might have something else up his sleeve for, er, down the line. 

In the meantime, for those looking for a more affordable Lifeson signature model, we point you toward Lifeson’s Epiphone Les Paul Custom Axcess...

For more information, head to Godin.

To keep up to date with all gear releases ahead of NAMM 2024, head over to our guide to the latest NAMM 2024 news.

Along with the likes of Keith Richards and Steve Morse, Alex Lifeson is just one of many high-profile electric guitar players who are having to juggle their passion for playing with pain onset by arthritis.

While others have had to fully adapt the way they play (and even invent new accessories) to overcome the physical obstacle, the Rush legend is sticking to a “very effective” medicinal regime – but, despite this, the condition is “slowly getting worse”.

Speaking to Eddie Trunk on SiriusXM, the Gibson signature artist reflected on his dealings with arthritis over the past two decades, and how it has affected his daily playing.

“I have psoriatic arthritis, and I've been dealing with it for quite a while – for almost 20 years,” he revealed (transcribed via Blabbermouth). “I'm on two biologics [biologic drugs for the treatment of arthritis], so sort of like a double whammy in dealing with it. 

“And it's been very, very effective,” Lifeson assured. “Despite the side effects and all of that, it's been a really effective regimen for me, and it's really helped my hands. I have times where the inflammation has its own mind, and that's when you'll see me shaking my hands [while I am playing]. 

“But it is what it is, and I can still get by, and I'm so used to it, I don't really even think about it that much anymore.”

With that in mind, Lifeson was also asked about the possibility of returning to the road, either as part of a new project or a possible reunion with former Rush bandmate, Geddy Lee.

However, with four decades of touring under his belt and his own growing doubts over whether he can still play like he did 10 years ago, Lifeson is in no rush to embark on another tour anytime soon, and says to do so may not be wise.

“The last tour I thought was a terrific tour for Rush,” he reflected. “I thought we played really well. I thought the show was really fun. Going back in time to the beginning was a great way to celebrate the end of the band. 

“I don't know if, at 70 years old, 10 years later, if I can play like I played back then. I haven't played that material in nine years. And if I can't play it like I played it nine years ago, then I really have no interest in doing it. 

“I think Rush has a strong legacy because of the way things ended. We ended on a high note, and that's the way people remember us. And I think that that also is partly the reason why so many people would love to see us back out, because that's the memory they have of us. 

“We were dedicated to what we were doing. We practiced a lot. We were passionate. We played our hearts out. Physically, 10 years later, at this stage, [after] these 10 years, I don't know if we can do that. 

“I don't know, can Ged sing like he did? Can I play guitar? Can he play bass like he did? I don't know. Unless we did a big rehearsal and tried to do all that stuff, we'll never know. But just thinking intellectually how this would work, I'm not keen on doing it, really.”

As mentioned, Lifeson isn’t the only A-list guitarist to be dealing with arthritis and other painful joint issues that threaten to hinder their playing. Late last year, Keith Richards explained how he found new ways of approaching the guitar after his own arthritis forced him to alter his playing style.

More recently, Steve Morse sat down with Rick Beato to discuss his own dealings with arthritis, which prompted him to develop a new string mute that helped him adapt his technique.

In other Alex Lifeson news, the guitarist recently turned his attentions to the gear market, unveiling the LERXST By-Tor overdrive and boost pedal, and collaborating with Mojotone to debut a LERXST signature amp range.

Hello, and welcome to Essential Guitar Tracks. As you may well know, every seven days (or thereabouts), we endeavor to bring you a selection of songs from across the guitar universe, all with one thing in common: our favorite instrument plays a starring role.

Our goal is to give you an overview of the biggest tracks, our editor’s picks and anything you may have missed. We’re pushing horizons and taking you out of your comfort zone – because, as guitarists, that’s something we should all be striving for in our playing. 

So, here are our highlights from the past seven days – now with a Spotify playlist…

Unprocessed – Die on the Cross of the Martyr (feat. Tim Henson & Scott LePage)

As one commenter kindly put it, the latest Unprocessed cut sees “three God-like guitarists” team up for a generational display of guitar playing prowess. Henson and LePage lend their boundless soloing chops to Manuel Gardner Fernandes, whose own trademark percussive approach keeps the track ticking along. Each player is pushing the boundaries of guitar music in their own respective ways. When joined together, it makes for one mesmeric listening experience. (MO) 

Today Was Yesterday – Grace (feat. Alex Lifeson)

Since Rush came to a close, the Canadian prog icons’ guitar hero has been busy… very busy. His industrial project, Envy of None, released their debut album, he guested on a Tom Morello track, and just last week, he launched his own gear company. 

For his next trick, Lifeson has collaborated with Today Was Yesterday, the project by prolific sidemen Ty Dennis and Angelo Barbera, who are now taking the spotlight. Lifeson appears on six of 10 tracks on the duo’s forthcoming debut album, while Robby Krieger also appears across the tracklisting.

Musically, Grace is right in Lifeson’s wheelhouse: it’s classic prog in the vein of Genesis, Yes, and, indeed, Rush, with mind-bending riffs, panoramic guitar soundscapes, and dynamic shifts aplenty. All of which serves as a reminder that Lifeson’s tonal palette remains truly timeless. (MAB)

Guns N' Roses – The General

Three decades ago, Guns N' Roses famously put their own spin on Paul McCartney's iconic Bond theme, Live and Let Die. Carrying with it a great sense of occasion, an air of mystery, and plenty of action, the stadium-conquerers' new single finds them channeling their inner spy once again. Can't go wrong with that wailing, wah-ing Slash solo, either... (JM)

c – Deconstruction (ft. Serj Tankian, Tony Iommi & Cesar Gueikian)

The Gibson Band is a new concept from the iconic guitar brand, set to feature a revolving cast of big-name endorsee talent and Gibson’s own in-house team. So, if you’ve ever pondered what Gibson CEO Cesar Gueikian would sound like on a track with System Of A Down’s Serj Tankian and a guest solo from guitar icon Tony Iommi – well, wonder no more! Proceeds raised by the single, alongside an auction of Tankian’s original artwork and a custom-painted Gibson Les Paul, are all going to support a worthy cause, in the form of the Armenia Fund’s Artsakh Refugee Initiative. (MP)

Architects – Seeing Red

The UK metalcore heavyweights’ first output since the departure of Sylosis shredder Josh Middleton takes them back to their roots, deploying pummeling breakdowns, an arms-aloft chorus, and Sam Carter’s guttural screams. Gotta love that Gojira pick-scraped riff from Adam Christianson, too. (MAB)

IDLES – Grace 

A relative slow-burner by IDLES’ own energetic standards, Grace is a track that “came from nowhere and everything,” ramping up the tension across its bass-laden procession to a detonation of gain-drenched noise that serves as a “new manifesto of love triumphing over nihilism.” (MO)

The Libertines – Night Of The Hunter

Known in their early days for their ultra-catchy, ramshackle garage-rockers (and constant presence in the tabloids) the Libertines have clearly grown quite a bit over the decades, and for the better. Night Of The Hunter – the second single from All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade, their first new album in nine years – is simply beautiful, with a memorable lead motif that sounds straight out of a Spaghetti Western. (JM)

Slift – Nimh

We couldn’t get enough of Slift’s previous single Illion – the eponymous taster of an album due to land early next year. This follow-up from the French psych-metal trio has them rubber-stamped as ones to watch in 2024. A dynamic, densely woven entanglement of monstrous fuzz, chiming arpeggiated guitar and complex, grooving bass parts. It moves as a seething, organic mass – a titan laying waste to all and, occasionally, pausing for breath. (MP)

Devon Ross – Killer

When she’s not stalking the catwalk as a Gucci model or acting in the likes of HBO’s Irma Vep, Devon Ross can be found thrashing out ’70s-vibed post-punk on a Fender Mustang. A guitar player since childhood, Ross’ angular chord stabs are indebted to Patti Smith and Television, but her effortless cool cuts its own sonic figure. (MAB) 

Ryujin – Gekokujo

Guitarist and frontman Ryoji Shinomoto may pull on traditional Japanese influences (not to mention a smattering of dragon flute) in his writing for Ryujin, but his sound borrows a few tricks from Scandinavia, too. Not least, In Flames’ melodic menace and Alexi Laiho’s raucous leads. His solo on previous effort Raijin & Fujin (featuring Trivium’s Matthew K. Heafy) just made our best of the year list – and for good reason. (MP)

Green Day – Dilemma

A quintessential Green Day offering, released ahead of the band’s 14th studio album, Saviors, which is due in just a few weeks. Expect angsty outbursts of thrashing chords and moody palm-muted progressions aplenty, with the odd broken arpeggio thrown in for extra punctuation. (MO)

Also on this week’s playlist…

• Caligula’s Horse – The World Breathes With Me
• Sjowgren – newrules

It’s barely been a week since Alex Lifeson debuted his LERXST signature amp range, designed and produced in collaboration with Mojotone. Now the partnership has given birth to a brand new signature overdrive and boost pedal, the LERXST By-Tor.

The pedal is currently available as a Reverb-exclusive. It has come more quickly than we might have anticipated, but isn’t a complete surprise, given the brand’s recent debut announcement mentioned future plans for “a range of amplifiers, guitars, effects pedals, and pickups”. 

So what is the By-Tor? Essentially, it’s a two-in-one drive and boost pedal designed to capture the flavor of the recently revamped LERXST Omega head, but without the expensive (and weighty) tube circuitry.

It’s named after Rush’s tune By-Tor and the Snow Dog and, appropriately, promises to offer “the same intensity and growl that the tube amp is known for”. The control array is a straightforward Tone, Gain and Level for the Drive side and a Level control for the Boost side.

The Omega itself is based on a Marshall Silver Jubilee-style build and the By-Tor has the same tonal touch stones, with Mojotone’s Michael McWhorter pitching it as a “a British-voiced amp in a box”.

Both of the pedal’s functions can be used independently or in conjunction and a handy feature comes in the form of a Boost First / Drive First toggle switch, which enables you dictate the order of the signal chain. 

Boost First creates more saturation, while Drive First enables you to use the Boost side in a more traditional manner, i.e. kicking-in to gain-up solo sections.

The tonal range is pitched as everything from “light and crunchy” to “overdriven chaos”, which sounds like a fun amount of flexibility. Reverb’s own Andy Martin certainly gets some killer Rush-style sounds out of it in his demo above. 

At $295, it’s on the mid- to high-end of the amp-in-a-box price scale, exceeding the likes of a few Marshall-flavored rivals, like Wampler’s Plexi Drive ($239) and heading towards the likes of UAFX’s Lion ’68 (at $399). 

However, given this is made in the USA and that the original Omega head retails for $2,495, this is certainly looking like a more cost-effective way to get you in the Lifeson ballpark.

Either way, while we’d initially read the LERXST press release hints of a wider range of products to come as being a vague promise of future offerings, there are clearly more concrete plans afoot. We wonder what's next?

Head to the LERXST Reverb store for more information and purchase links. 

Alex Lifeson has announced the arrival of a new line of high-end signature tube amps, produced in collaboration with Mojotone, under the brand name LERXST.

The partnership dates back to a custom-built head that Mojotone put together for Lifeson, around Rush’s 2012 Clockwork Angels recording and touring cycle. That head was later issued as a limited edition of 100 amps, dubbed the LERXST Omega. 

Now the Omega returns with a full launch and a revamped red and gray tolex covering, alongside a few additional features that open it up to a wider range of players. 

As before, the Omega is a two-channel head with a three-band EQ, plus a 12AX7 preamp section and EL34 power amp. However, whereas the original build was a 100-watt unit, the new flagship unit halves that into a 50-watt design, which can switch down to 25 watts for lower volume applications. 

Then there’s a serial effects loop and the option of matching cabinets (both 2x12 and 4x12), which feature ‘voidless’ Baltic birch enclosures. The Omega will be available in a limited run hand-wired version for $3,495, or in the standard production version for $2,495. 

However, it’s not just a case of tweaking the old amp. Alongside the Omega, Lifeson and MojoTone have also debuted the Chi. This is a smaller head/combo option that is designed to channel the Omega character into a more practical build. 

Again, it uses 3x 12AX7 tubes in the preamp section, but favors a pair of 6L6 power tubes. It’s a 30-watt design, but again it comes two channels (footswitchable), a shared three-band EQ and a serial effects loop.

Inside, the construction uses a PCB, but it is hand-loaded and components include carbon comp resistors, Heyboer transformers and Mojotone’s own Dijon coupling capacitors, plus it’s all custom built in Burgaw, NC, USA. 

A special mention also has to go to that nifty illuminating Starman logo power indicator light on each of the amps.

“The LERXST CHI is an awesome monster in its own right and one of the sweetest sounding amps I’ve ever heard,” comments Lifeson. 

Expect to find the CHI for $1,995 (as a 1x12 combo) or $1,695 for the head version. 

There is no word yet on the exact spec or prices of the cabs/speakers involved in the range, but we expect that will follow very soon.

“There has been an explosion of guitar music within the past five years that has been incredible to witness in its diversity of sounds and players,” says Lifeson, in his announcement. 

“LERXST amplifiers provide a platform for these players that offers the power and quality of tone of the best amplifiers of the past, while also providing key features like power scaling and high-quality effects loops that reflect the needs of players today.”

One interesting footnote in the press release for the new range is that it describes LERXST as an outlet for the Rush man’s “desire to design and manufacture a line of guitar products that reflect Lifeson's forward-thinking approach to sonic exploration and live performance” and, in particular, describes the brand as offering “a range of amplifiers, guitars, effects pedals, and pickups”. 

All of which suggests that these two heads are just the beginning of the LERXST line and there’s a lot more to come. 

It also raises the question of what the future implications of a guitar line might be on Lifeson’s existing signature products, such as the recent Epiphone Les Paul Axcess Custom – not to mention what kind of music we might hear recorded on the new gear.

For more information on the full range, head to LERXST.

Tool’s ongoing fall tour recently took them to Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena, and for the occasion the prog heroes called upon Canadian native Alex Lifeson to help them through a set-closing performance of Jambi.

No doubt Lifeson seized the opportunity to take to the stage alongside Adam Jones when the chance presented itself, given the fact the Rush virtuoso has repeatedly spoken of his admiration for the Silverburst Les Paul-wielding mastermind – and Tool – in the past.

Indeed, Lifeson once tapped Tool’s Third Eye as one of the 22 songs that shaped Rush’s sound, and in the process called Jones “a fabulous guitarist and songwriter”, while also commending Tool for their “intensely dynamic, yet heavy” sound.

Lifeson further singled out Jones for praise after his guest spot at the band’s recent show, and even went as far as to gift his hero one of his own personal Epiphone Les Paul Custom Axcess signature guitars, which arrived earlier this year.

Posting to Instagram, Lifeson said, “What an honour and delight it was playing with one of my favourite bands last night. I’ve loved @toolmusic since the first time I listened to them. They are such a great band and I am lucky to call them friends.

“One of the many high points of the evening was gifting my @epiphone Les Paul to @adamjones_tv,” he went on. “His playing is inspirational and speaks to my soul like no other guitarist. Respecto, brother.”

Locking Les Paul fretboards for the 10,000 Days cut, the two guitar titans made light work of the rigorous 10-minute rhythmic workout that is Jambi, courtesy of their pinpoint right-hand picking maneuvers and surgically precise fretting.

It was by no means an easy track to guest on, but as one would expect from a Tool superfan (and from the guitar hero that helped created one of the finest prog outfits of all time) Lifeson looks to have learned the track inside out, and admirably keeps up the band’s resident rhythmic machine.

Among the riff fest, there was also room for some notable lead action, with Lifeson later taking the reins around the four-minute mark to deliver a burst of Rush’s own track, A Passage To Bangkok.

Like we said above, we imagine it was a pretty special occasion for both Jones and Lifeson, as further evidenced by the generous LP gift – which had been signed, “Adam, you are an inspiration!”

In other Tool news, Gibson’s latest Adam Jones signature guitar is here – and it’s a $20k Murphy Lab recreation of the Tool titan’s prized Flying V with a Futura-style headstock.

Signature guitar design is easy, isn’t it? Take an off-the-peg model, give it a lick of paint, put a squiggle on it somewhere, and talk up the proprietary tonal benefits until the cash rolls in?

Well, actually, no. If you know anything about Rush legend Alex Lifeson, it should be that he has an eye for detail when it comes to the music he makes, and the instruments he uses to make it, so a guitar bearing his name is likely to be a little bit outside of the norm.

Sure enough, this is evidenced by his Gibson and Epiphone signature models. The former first appeared in 2011 as a Custom Shop model, and in 2021 Gibson and Alex ported many of that high-end model’s features – most notably the Les Paul Axcess heel and Graph Tech Ghost-equipped vibrato – over to Epiphone for the Alex Lifeson Les Paul Axcess Standard. 

The guitar was a hit, offering some out-of-the-ordinary features at a reasonably affordable price point. And, now, Epiphone has turned its attention to the tuxedo model, putting the Lifeson styling into a Les Paul Custom.

Here, we get a mixture of improvements, similarities and one or two big differences (we’ll get to those). It starts with the thinner mahogany body design. That’s clad with a AAAA-grade, quilted maple veneer and offered in the Lifeson-approved Ruby red finish. 

This being a Custom, the laurel fingerboard of the Standard model has been swapped for a darker, arguably classier‑looking piece of ebony, and, of course, there’s the split diamond inlay on the headstock.

There are some more subtle visual tweaks, too: the multi-ply body binding, LP Custom block inlays (rather than trapezoids), and black top hat knobs where the Standard had gold. Talking of gold, there’s a lot of it, courtesy of the covered Epiphone Ceramic Pro (neck) and ProBucker 3 (bridge) pickups, Grover Rotomatics and the Floyd Rose 1000 vibrato.

Which brings us to the elephant double-locked in the room because the Custom’s Floyd Rose is just that. Gone is the Graph Tech Ghost, leaving us with a regular Floyd Rose and no piezo voice. 

Given that it’s been a distinctive part of previous Lifeson models, we asked Epiphone for the reasoning: “Alex wanted something different,” we’re told, “so he went with the Custom appointments and the simplicity of just the Floyd sans piezo.”

So, bad news for Lifeson fans looking for pseudo-acoustic tones, but the good news is that the coil-splitting remains for both pickups via the push-pull volume controls. Turn to the neck tone knob and we’re rewarded with another switch, this time knocking the neck pickup out of phase when engaged. 

However, a second gripe also emerges when you look at the price. The 2021 standard came in at $899/£799, while the Custom has a whopping jump of around 80 per cent at $1,299/£1,449.

Feel & Sounds

Still, we’re here to look at what we could be buying, rather than what we could have won. Out of the case, Alex’s Custom cuts a sharp, impressive figure. The Ruby finish is much more at home with what we’re used to seeing him play, and while the sheer presence of a Floyd Rose on a Les Paul is divisive, there’s no denying that the blend of gold, black appointments and red quilt veneer give this guitar a striking ‘sports car’ visual that will be a magnet for some players out there.

The upmarket feel continues with the playability, too. There might not be any weight relief by design, but we get it by proxy instead with the thinner body and a large amount of wood chewed out to make way for the Floyd. It’s a sturdy but not overly bulky guitar that is balanced on the strap and isn’t going to curve your spine after long playing sessions. The comfort is aided by the same belly carve we’ve seen on the Standard, also nestling in nicely when played seated. 

Then there’s the neck, whose profile is described by Epiphone as ‘rounded’ but in reality is a fairly modern-feeling, medium-thin profile that maintains a bit of chunk in the palm. 

Epiphone has hit something of a stride in the past 18 months, and the ebony fingerboard on our review model follows the likes we’ve seen on the Adam Jones and Jerry Cantrell Les Paul Custom models. Combined with the medium-jumbo frets, the journey around the fretboard is smooth and glassy with no hint of grit.

That gets even better when you venture to the upper frets and discover the Axcess heel. It’s really a joy to play, with the neck flowing seamlessly into the body for a smooth take-off in a way that isn’t there on regular LPs. It’s a similar story with the Floyd Rose, which arrives with us perfectly balanced and takes care of tuning business even after some heavy-handed divebombing.

Tonally, there’s a lot on offer. The neck pickup packs a punch with a slight compression to our ears, which we think will help it cut through when played clean. It’s got some brightness (for its position), too, maintaining its clarity even under heavy gain, and with the height adjusted certainly works well with the bridge position ProBucker.

With the coil-split engaged, we’re transported to some convincing neck single-coil tones, and these are enhanced with a funky quack if you flip the phase and put the selector in the middle position.

Talking of which, if you’re the kind of player who skips over the midpoint on a Les Paul, the full humbucker sounds, switched out of phase with each other, might be enough to make you revisit it. With this voicing, it’s a bit like having a bandpass filter or a more subtle cocked-wah in the chain.

Finally, there’s the bridge pickup in isolation, which we’ve seen before in many Epiphones. Here, the story is very much what we’re used to – fat, meaty bridge tones that excel under medium crunch and higher gain settings. There’s clarity and heft with an edge of aggression, but it’s coupled with some headroom and dynamics so you don’t feel like you’re playing a full-metal magnet.

Verdict

There’s no doubt this iteration of Alex Lifeson’s Les Paul has a lot to offer. The problem is that there’s no getting away from the fact that a couple of years ago, Rush fans could pick up a similar guitar – admittedly with less visual appeal – for a lot less money. 

At the time of writing, there are some brand-new Standard models still available in retailers, with used prices heading skywards. Which begs the question, does the existence of the Standard add to the Ruby red face of the Custom by being too good for too little money? 

Or is the Custom a victim of increased component and material costs, wars and global inflation? Whatever the reasoning, if you can live without the piezo and take the Alex Lifeson Les Paul Custom Axcess at face value, it’s a great guitar. It all depends on how big an ‘if’ that is for you. 

Specs

• PRICE: $1,299 / £1,449 (inc case)
• ORIGIN: China
• TYPE: Single-cutaway solidbody electric
• BODY: Mahogany with AAAA quilt maple veneer
• NECK: Mahogany, ‘rounded’ profile, glued-in with Axcess Contour Heel
• SCALE LENGTH: 628mm (24.75”)
• NUT/WIDTH: Floyd Rose R4 Locking/43mm
• FINGERBOARD: Bound ebony, pearloid large block inlays, 305mm (12”) radius
• FRETS: 22, medium jumbo
• HARDWARE: Floyd Rose 1000 series double-locking vibrato, Grover Rotomatic tuners – gold‑plated
• STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 53.35mm
• ELECTRICS: Epiphone ProBucker 3 (bridge) and Ceramic Pro (neck) humbuckers, 3-way toggle pickup selector, 2x volumes (with pull-switch coil split), 2x tones (pull switch phase on neck)
• WEIGHT (kg/lb): 4/8.8
• LEFT-HANDERS: Yes
• FINISH: Ruby – all gloss
• CONTACT: Epiphone

Epiphone has teamed up with Rush legend Alex Lifeson for a new signature guitar – the drop-dead-gorgeous Les Paul Custom Axcess.

It’s Lifeson’s second signature Epiphone Axcess following the release of 2021’s Les Paul Standard Axcess, which arrived with all the aesthetic hallmarks of a regular Les Paul Standard – Burst-esque Viceroy Brown finish included – save a few notable tweaks: namely, the appointment of a Floyd Rose tremolo.

It comes as no surprise that the Floyd Rose returns for the suave Les Paul Custom Axcess, which ups the cosmetic ante with gold hardware and an ultra-elegant Ruby finish.

Available in both right-hand and left-hand iterations, the latest Axcess features a spec sheet that remains mostly faithful to the previous model. A mahogany body and neck return, though the former now flashes an AAAA quilt maple veneer.

A 12”-radius ebony fingerboard topped with block inlays and 22 medium jumbo frets joins the party, with the Custom Axcess once again making use of a heavily sculpted neck joint to promote ultimate upper fret access.

Elsewhere, Ceramic Pro neck and Probucker 3 bridge humbuckers are responsible for tones, and can be sculpted via a standard Les Paul control layout comprising two volume and two tone pots.

Some extra sonic versatility is also added thanks to push/pull pots on three of those parameters, which access coil-split (both volume) and phase (neck tone) modes. A three-way switch also makes the cut.

Of course, it’s the Gold Floyd Rose 1000 Series tremolo that really steals the headline here, with the hardware department also making room for a locking nut, Grover Rotomatic tuners, and Black Top Hat control knobs.

One thing that appears to be absent on the Custom, though, is the secondary output Piezo jack that could be found on the Standard model. Here, it’s just good ol’ fashion 1/4" action.

When the original Epiphone Axcess arrived, Lifeson told Guitar World how it was his intention to “create something that was an instrument I would want to buy and own and play.”

“I didn’t want to just get my name plastered on a guitar model and then sell it based on that,” he said of his collaboration with Epiphone. “My biggest concern was, can we get Custom Shop quality, but in a guitar that costs quite a bit less? And I think we did it.”

The Les Paul Custom Axcess is available now for $1,299.

Head over to Epiphone for more information.