Alex Lifeson goes digital

[skoora]

Well said. They will be making (milking) millions dollars, and Alex chose a Toy to play thru.

In a way it reminds me of the Cream Reunion shows in 2005.
People were mortified Clapton didn’t use Marshalls and a Gibson.

Oh man, that choice of gear made that concert a real bummer.

 

[skoora]

He has used so many different types of sounds over the decades I can see where digital is more consistent way to cover the range.
Are more people using digital than tubes yet ?

I think he said in the interview about going digital, that was what he was going for. Having the different eras, including FX, be represented accurately vs. having a singular tone that does all the songs. From the the clips of the show so far I don’t hear that. Just sounds like a higher gain Marshall like drive on everything.

 

[mentoneman]

I got into Rush late but I think his tones fit the songs and the song writing, structures and definitely in the complex and progressive genre which I can and do appreciate for what they are.

One of my best friends(may he RIP) who I played in a band with was a huge Marino fan.

i had friends in high school bands who could play YYZ and was exposed to tons of their music by friends who worshipped them. they fell into the Yes/Asia/Genesis/King Crimson bucket for me. liked parts of some songs and mostly for the drums, but couldn’t stomach listening to the entire album kinda thing.

maybe if Alex was strictly rhythm gtr and they had a killer lead gtr/vocalist like Marino or Rik Emmitt with heavier tones for cooler solos and background harmonies we could have enjoyed a rad all Canadian Rush 2.0

 

[stephen sawall]

I think he said in the interview about going digital, that was what he was going for. Having the different eras, including FX, be represented accurately vs. having a singular tone that does all the songs. From the the clips of the show so far I don’t hear that. Just sounds like a higher gain Marshall like drive on everything.

Maybe he found that one magical amp on the ToneX and doing all the effects with the Fractal.

Makes sense. That way if something happens to Alex Geddy can replace him easy. Just use the preset pack from ToneX. This AI is replacing more jobs than I estimated.

 

[mentoneman]

Maybe he found that one magical amp on the ToneX and doing all the effects with the Fractal.

Makes sense. That way if something happens to Alex Geddy can replace him easy. Just use the preset pack from ToneX. This AI is replacing more jobs than I estimated.

just like the holographic michael jackson show i saw in vegas, i wonder how a holigraphic peart performing with alex and geddy would have faired with fans.

pretty sure the new drummer would have been burned at the stake if she tried to use electronic drums v big analog kit.

gene simmons raves tbst the holographic kiss concert he’s working on is going to blow people away.

 

[stephen sawall]

Be interesting to know what % of bands are using a digital rigs these days. Seems about half sometimes.

 

[Alpha Stryke]

 

[CarlF]

So far, this is the best clip I found where you can actually hear the guitar. Sounds good to me.
Glad it's an early Rush tune too.

 

[JimAnsell2]

i didn't read the rest of this thread, but i'm still going to spout out my opinion spew, ready?

alex is a normal dude who happens to be a highly microscoped rock star. All of rush are the type of guys that probably LISTEN to their aboves (record label people, managers, whoever) like they listen to their wives... "sure honey"... while they do what they want... So remember that. its a business. its about PERCEIVED whatever... for social media, or YOUR PERSONAL COMFORT AS A FAN, or anything else. Everything these bands do is about capitalism and money, but thats not a reason to be a cynic IMO. fans vs musicians usually engage in this shit, which is fine, is sepearates the people who "know" and and "don't know" how to run this stuff. Capitalism gives these guys a stage at all. there are certail necessary evils that come into play. I hate when people are seemingly oblivious to that. I guess i assume everyone else has spent time sitting back stage with touring artists who are happy to tell you how their lives are running. if you never get that perspective, than you're (as elton/reg said in Love Lies Bleeding) "JUST A FAN" To be a fan who digs as deep as you can, you'll never find out from these guys how hard they really work until you make them tell you the GOOD(bad) stories. i take everything learned from old dogs into account. learning from experience is priceless. Talk to rodies when you meet your favorite bands, they're way more interesting and happy to engage with you, especially when you bring them some good weed or some solid home cookiing.

 

[rsm]

why not just mime to backing tracks?

 

[VonBonfire]

Be interesting to know what % of bands are using a digital rigs these days. Seems about half sometimes.

After many hundreds of gigs, maybe even a thousand, in and around Austin, I've seen exactly three guys using fully digital rigs. The one guy sounded ok and was in a road band so it was out of convenience but his tone was drenched in delay anyways so not sure it'd make any difference. The next guy had some digital modeling combo and sounded like absolute dogshit. The last guy had the full zero volume stage with roland drums and they were faced sideways on the stage for some reason. They never got booked at that club again, LOL. Nobody takes that digital junk seriously around here.

 

[JimAnsell2]

why not just mime to backing tracks?

holy shit, what a dumbass thing to say... seriously, wow... typical RT hater shit from people who have never played a gig.
bro, this ain't Motley Crew or artists that need HELP. Alex and Geddy had the level of confidence to where they probably know how to deal with anything. those dude from rush lived rush for 50 years. this shit is in their bones, and always will be. c'mon dude, you know this shit!!!

this also goes to show, how OUR ROCK AND ROLL isn't fucking sacred. like kids can come in a do this shit in a week... face it. our heros are more like the last reference for a time period... the wind is always blowing away from what YOU KNOW. FIGURE OUT A WAY TO COPE... your ego can't become a factor in moden music, period. unless you want to be left behind.

 

[CarlF]

The should have hired David Lee Roth for vocals.

 

[rsm]

holy shit, what a dumbass thing to say... seriously, wow... typical RT hater shit from people who have never played a gig.
bro, this ain't Motley Crew or artists that need HELP. Alex and Geddy had the level of confidence to where they probably know how to deal with anything. those dude from rush lived rush for 50 years. this shit is in their bones, and always will be. c'mon dude, you know this shit!!!

this also goes to show, how OUR ROCK AND ROLL isn't fucking sacred. like kids can come in a do this shit in a week... face it. our heros are more like the last reference for a time period... the wind is always blowing away from what YOU KNOW. FIGURE OUT A WAY TO COPE... your ego can't become a factor in moden music, period. unless you want to be left behind,

 

[stephen sawall]

After many hundreds of gigs, maybe even a thousand, in and around Austin, I've seen exactly three guys using fully digital rigs. The one guy sounded ok and was in a road band so it was out of convenience but his tone was drenched in delay anyways so not sure it'd make any difference. The next guy had some digital modeling combo and sounded like absolute dogshit. The last guy had the full zero volume stage with roland drums and they were faced sideways on the stage for some reason. They never got booked at that club again, LOL. Nobody takes that digital junk seriously around here.

About twenty years ago I saw a Fractal rig when they first came out. The last ten years about half the bands I see local acts are using a digital amp. Mostly younger people. If they have a tube rig it's usually a lunchbox. Digital has been dominant here a long time. Mostly Fractal and Line 6.

 

[JimAnsell2]

i was hoping for some discourse, but instead i got nothing. right on... you're all in the "justafan" catagory than. works for me. have counter arguments for when they come, if they come.

 

[VonBonfire]

About twenty years ago I saw a Fractal rig when they first came out. The last ten years about half the bands I see local acts are using a digital amp. Mostly younger people. If they have a tube rig it's usually a lunchbox. Digital has been dominant here a long time. Mostly Fractal and Line 6.

It's interesting that it seems to be very regional. I backed a friend of a friend in Clarksdale MS last year and all of us had Twin Reverbs, LOL. The south moves a little more slowly I guess. There are also a lot of venues that don't really have much in the way of F.O.H so that probably is a factor too. A good number of clubs still won't complain if you crank up a bit so I would guess that's also behind some of it.

 

[JimAnsell2]

@rsm: if thats how you want to view it, cool. if u got anything to say to add to this? dm me. otherwise, you can leave. you don't have much to add it seems.

 

[rsm]

After many hundreds of gigs, maybe even a thousand, in and around Austin, I've seen exactly three guys using fully digital rigs. The one guy sounded ok and was in a road band so it was out of convenience but his tone was drenched in delay anyways so not sure it'd make any difference. The next guy had some digital modeling combo and sounded like absolute dogshit. The last guy had the full zero volume stage with roland drums and they were faced sideways on the stage for some reason. They never got booked at that club again, LOL. Nobody takes that digital junk seriously around here.

I think for most small to medium bar gigs, unless you're in a wedding type cover band covering a wide range of different bands / genres or silent stage digital makes sense IMO, taking a small tube amp rig and effects is easy enough if you're playing a single or similar set of genres.

A global tour and needing to cover decades of your own material, I can see using a digital rig. IIRC correctly Metallica paid or hired someone to program their Fractals, maybe some help from Fractal. I think if Alex called my company wanting to use my digital modeler product, I'd make sure to help, and make sure he's happy with the results.

I think if Alex, Steve Howe, Metallica, etc. thought it sounded like shit, they wouldn't use it.

 

[rsm]

@rsm: if thats how you want to view it, cool. if u got anything to say to add to this? dm me. otherwise, you can leave. you don't have much to add it seems.