Alex Lifeson Distortion

I suppose I can understand not being a fan of his tone, though it was one of the richest, heaviest in the history of rock (see a wildly unsuccessful thread I started on this subject; http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=78681 -), but Rhoads was absolutely without any doubt not just another metal guitarist.   He wasn't just 'classically influenced and trained', he was one of the finest guitar players in the world, and that's just his classical (which everyone and their gardener was waiting in line to learn)--  his rock playing made such a deep impact I don't even think many realize how deep it was.    Particularly his approach to rhythm and songwriting was quite fresh and most of the metal that came after utilized his up/down patterns, taking the sense of swing in hard rock Jimmy Page and Tony Iommi had founded a step or two further.  Not to mention his extraordinary taste, solos and fills, and musicalogic knowledge.

Rhoads was a true master, unlike most of his peers who were happy to get by on warmed-over blues riffs and clichéd song structures.   Further, Diary of a Madman is not only a brilliantly conceived album that set a standard so high it turned out to be impossible to match, but was one of the first progressive metal records.

clarkpegasus4001 wrote: Atavachron wrote: Fox On The Rocks wrote: Wasn't sure if this falled under Tech Talk or Musician's exchange but whatever. Anyways, Does anybody know what kind of distortion Alex used in the late 70's/early 80's (Farewell To Kings - Moving Pictures). He has probably my favourite guitar tone ever, along with Stephen Hacketts, and he's never really publicly discussed before. Was he just using his Amplifier distortion or did he have various pedals? I know he used Hiwatts and Marshalls along with a lot of Chorus. it's a good question--  I don't see why Lifeson would need external distortion but I guess it's possible he would occasionally hit one, but if anything it would've diminished his gain. I was a big fan of Rush at the time. As far as I can remember he used an MXR Distortion+ and an MXR Micro Amp.

 ^ hmm, like Randy Rhoads.. great little box, used to have a buddy with one

Fox On The Rocks wrote: Wasn't sure if this falled under Tech Talk or Musician's exchange but whatever. Anyways, Does anybody know what kind of distortion Alex used in the late 70's/early 80's (Farewell To Kings - Moving Pictures). He has probably my favourite guitar tone ever, along with Stephen Hacketts, and he's never really publicly discussed before. Was he just using his Amplifier distortion or did he have various pedals? I know he used Hiwatts and Marshalls along with a lot of Chorus.

it's a good question--  I don't see why Lifeson would need external distortion but I guess it's possible he would occasionally hit one, but if anything it would've diminished his gain.