Alex Lifeson

At 3:00 of this "Rig Rundown" with Premier Guitar, Rush's Alex Lifeson's tech Scott Appleton shows both of Alex's 90s PRS guitars, one in black and one sunburst with Signature brand pickups.

"I always stuck with my 335, but at the beginning of this tour I got a Howard Roberts Fusion that I love, it's a great guitar. I use that for 'Hemispheres,' 'Tom Sawyer,' 'Camera Eye' and the medley at the end of the night. It's the dark guitar with the single cutaway - it looks like an oversized hollow-body Les Paul, which is basically what it is, it's a hybrid of the Howard Roberts and a Les Paul. It's a hollow-body guitar but it has a maple spur that runs down the center of the body so it's got the weight and density yet it has the acoustic qualities, like at a lower volume setting it's nice and clear, not fat and undefined like the Les Paul usually is. The back pickup is one of the hot Gibson pickups and the other one has a certain coiling to it that's a little more toppy, which you can use in that front, rhythm position."

In this music video for Rush's song "Limelight," Alex can be seen playing a black Fender Stratocaster at 1:00. And in an interview with Premier Guitar he says, "Yeah, I sort of went through a Fender period. In fact, we did a gig with Blue Oyster Cult at the Nassau Coliseum in the late seventies, and one of the horns had fallen off of the stack and then fell on my 335, as well as a double neck that I had. It sheared a headstock off the double neck, and it took a real big gouge out of the neck of the 335. So I decided, 'Okay, the 335’s going home, that’s not going to be on the road anymore.' I got a Strat as a backup, and I just wasn’t quite comfortable with it, you know, coming from the Gibson world. So I got a Schaller neck for it, and I put a humbucker in the bridge position—just fooling with it a little bit, trying to get something that was sort of a hybrid between a Gibson and a Fender."

The Myth of Creation Legend has it that Russ Heinl, an old buddy of Alex's, approached him in 1986 with a prototype of a new MIDI pickup. After playing it Alex wasn't to impressed with the pickup but thought the Guitar the pickup was installed in was great! (1)(5). Russ and Alex then got together and with the assistance of some other fine Canadian luthiers developed the Signature and consequently the Signature Guitar Company was born.

Beginning production in 1987 they produced a limited number of models (it is believed about 500) until the company closed in 1990. In this brief, 3 year window in time some of the most outstanding guitars in the world were created. During production there were 2 distinct generations of Signature guitar. The first generation (1-gen) were handsome flat tops and the second generation (2-gen) had beautifully carved tops. 1-gen Aurora models can be seen and heard being played by Alex Lifeson on the RUSH video "Show of Hands".

Another great, Guy Pratt (bass player for Pink Floyd) used Signature Excalibre Basses in the late '80s and early 90s for much of Pink Floyd's studio and live work.

The fade into legend

So with such excellent quality and superb craftsmanship, where did the Signature Guitar Company go? It is a sad, unjust and cruel world and unlike the movies good does not always prevail over evil. The time was a dark, perilous and morally corrupt 1990. LA glam rock, sissy metal music and big hay stack hair jobs ruled the Earth. Factories were soullessly pumping flash guitars with lots of points that were virtually dipped in fluro paint. The market was saturated with such abominable excuses for instruments. These companies also had huge endorsement propaganda deals with slick LA rockers.

Because each and every Signature came stock standard with the best available materials, expert craftsmanship and state of the art Evans/EMG electronics they were selling for US$1200 - $1800. The poor guy's at Signature werre forced to compete in a tough, image driven market against cheaper, flashier yet quality compromised instruments. In a world over run by bad yet showy craftsmanship Signature was unable to keep its head above water.

An interesting yet tragic omen to this was that Alex's famous pearl white Signature (Great White) seen in "Show of hands" had its head broken off one day prior to the companies passing. It happened during a hand off and guitar change on stage during the "presto" tour.

Sadly, the Signature Guitar Co. slipped away in 1990 into legend and their competitors to this day are still trying to catch up with their quality.

"The candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long. And you have burned so very, very brightly..." Victor Tyrell, 2023.

At 1:44 of this "Rig Rundown" with Premier Guitar, Rush's Alex Lifeson's tech Scott Appleton show us Alex's original 1970s 355 in white.

At 3:45 of this "Rig Rundown" with Premier Guitar, Rush's Alex Lifeson's tech Scott Appleton shows us this Telecaster which he mentions is Alex's main writing instrument.

During this rig rundown with "Premier Guitar", Rebecca Dirks talks with Alex Lifeson's tech, Scott Appleton. At 1:18 Scott picks up the Crimson Red version of Alex' signature guitar.

Lifeson used his "Hentor Sportcaster", named after Rush producer Peter Henderson, in the 1980's, used notably on the "Grace Under Pressure" tour. In the video above, luthier Freddy Gabrsek explains how Lifeson gave him his Sportscaster to reverse engineer and make copies of. Gabrsek holds the original Sportscaster at the beginning of the video, but plays one of his replicas at the end of it.

In this image one can see Alex Lifeson playing his signature ES-355.

For Test for Echo, Lifeson used the Acousticaster, saying "In the choruses I used a Godin Acousti-Caster, which has a really interesting sound that is at the same time almost acoustic but definitely electric."

Alex Lifeson on the ‘Time Machine Tour’ with the PRS NF3.

In the thumbnail for this video, a photo Lifeson can be seen in which he is holding his signature Epiphone Les Paul Axcess.

For the song "Stick It Out" on Counterparts, Lifeson used a '72 standard tuned in drop D. He says "The guitar was a ’72 Les Paul Standard that I had used on certain songs in the past."

Explains use of it on Anthem http://www.guitarworld.com/interview-alex-lifeson-dissects-11-key-rush-songs-anthem-test-echo

old clip from 1977 talks about it at 1:00 as his original guitar https://rushvault.com/2013/01/19/rare-1977-video-alex-and-his-guitars/

In this YouTube video taken from "R30" DVD/Blu-ray, Alex plays "Roll The Bones" with a Gibson SG Original in a concert Frankfurt, Germany.

Q: "When did you got your first good steel-string?" A: "That wasn't until 1976 when I went to Gibson and did some shopping. I got my white ES-335 and a double-neck electric, but I also got a beautiful Gibson Dove, which I used for years. I still have that guitar, and it sounds fantastic. Its probably on all of our records."

Q: "The Dove famously appears on "Closer to the Heart" from 1977's A Farewell to Kings, correct?" A: "Right, it was the Dove plus a Gibson B-45 12-string."

Alex Lifeson praises the PRS Hollowbody 12-String for its silky playability and bright, clear tone, highlighting the craftsmanship and innovative split saddles. His comments are featured on the PRS Guitars website, emphasizing his appreciation for the instrument's broad fretboard and exceptional intonation.

At 4:43 of this "Rig Rundown" with Premier Guitar, Rush's Alex Lifeson's tech Scott Appleton shows us his 12-string Martin Dreadnought that he uses on the intro for "Closer To the Heart."

Alex Lifeson uses the Loucin LD Melanija acoustic guitar, as listed on the Loucin Guitars website under artists currently playing their custom hand-crafted guitars.

In the article, Alex states (regarding Rush's Hemispheres):

“By that time I had my ES-355, and my acoustics were a Gibson Dove, J-55 and a B-45 12-string. I had my Marshall in the studio. I had the Twin and two Hiwatts, which I was also using live, but the Marshall was my real workhorse."

In this article, Alex states (regarding Rush's Hemispheres):

“By that time I had my ES-355, and my acoustics were a Gibson Dove, J-55 and a B-45 12-string. I had my Marshall in the studio. I had the Twin and two Hiwatts, which I was also using live, but the Marshall was my real workhorse."

At 4:20 of this "Rig Rundown" with Premier Guitar, Rush's Alex Lifeson's tech Scott Appleton shows us this Les Paul.

Listed in this article among Alex Lifeson's touring equipment for the Grace Under Pressure tour in 1984.

Alex Lifeson uses the Gibson Alex Lifeson Rush 40th Anniversary Les Paul Axcess FR, as detailed on the Gibson website.

In this photo on wikipedia Alex uses a Gibson Les Paul, which looks to be a 60s-70s model.

Here Alex can be seen playing his signature PRS SE acoustic guitar. PRS quotes Alex on this official product page saying "I was very pleased when PRS presented me with my SE Angelus acoustic, a beautiful guitar of stunning quality. It was in response to the challenge of building a guitar that shared the integrity and attention to detail that the Alex Lifeson Private Stock Angelus possesses in a package more broadly accessible. The SE Alex Lifeson Thinline is that model. Carefully selected materials, expert craftsmanship and a smart approach to concept resulted in a guitar that is beautiful to look at and rewarding to play."

PRS also posts this video about the guitar.

Discussed on this introduction to Gibson Memphis range NAMM 2015 - starting at 9:17 and Alex mentioned at 14.55 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKoFTI0F9Zo

Alex playing one on Rush 40 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FICkVLg7Vok

This picture shows Lifeson with his signature Gibson Les Paul ES model.

In this user-uploaded photo, Alex Lifeson is seen playing a Gibson Les Paul Goldtop.

In a YouTube video by OfficialEpiphone, titled 'Alex Lifeson Introduces the 2023 Les Paul Custom Axcess' he can be seen showcasing and playing his new signature model guitar.