Limelight Cover

Tonemeister

Tonemeister

Experienced
Ok, I know this is probably one of the most posted tracks on here but, I did a cover a couple of years ago and never got around to posting it. It's of Rush's Limelight. I have found this to be Alex's best and most illusive guitar tones. I spent a lot of time dialing this in and I thought I'd just share it for shits and giggles. All Axe FX tones direct to Pro Tools. Sadly it was done on FW14 I think and so the preset doesn't really work on the latest firmware. I used a Gibson R7 and an SG for most of the rhythm parts. The Chorus I used a piezo output from a Brian Moore, mixed in with the regular guitar tone. The solo is played on a Ernie Ball JP6 (needed the trem).

 
Can you redo this preset in the latast firmware and get that sound. That would be great and post please. I haven't heard a preset like this for ages.
Thanks nickxmix
 
Very nice. I could nitpick the chorus tone, but that's probably more of a mix issue than a FAS tone issue. Very nice.

nickxmix said:
Can you redo this preset in the latast firmware and get that sound. That would be great and post please. I haven't heard a preset like this for ages.
Thanks nickxmix
Click to expand...
This should get you started. Unless you use the OPs guitars, it's only going to be close anyway.
http://axechange.fractalaudio.com/detail.php?preset=2475
 
How do you learn to play a track with that irregular rhythm? Either I am not picking it up correctly when I listen, or I am simply not worthy ;-)
 
benvigil said:
Very nice. I could nitpick the chorus tone, but that's probably more of a mix issue than a FAS tone issue. Very nice.
Click to expand...
I agree to an extent. If you listen to the solo'd track from the album (which I had for reference) it is a very much studio blended tone. It is possible to get the tone live but it would require alot of extra processing and you would need a piezo output. I kind of ballparked the arpeggio chorus stuff. Thanks for listening.
 
Gilesy said:
How do you learn to play a track with that irregular rhythm? Either I am not picking it up correctly when I listen, or I am simply not worthy ;-)
Click to expand...
None of us are actually worthy. Haha. Do you mean the time signature changes in the tune or the weird free feel of the solo?
 
Very Nice Tonemeister!

I haven't been able to get the main riff as good as this even though I've tried several combinations of amps, drives, and filter settings (AX8).

Would you be willing to share your strategy/signal chain for nailing these tones?

Thanks for the clip!
 
Gilesy said:
I knew this was beyond me....interesting analysis of the time signature changes:

http://www.thefrankes.com/wp/?p=2165

I honestly can't begin to work these out (and I think I am relatively bright...it must be my (lack of) musical ear combined with age)..
Click to expand...
Yah that is an interesting breakout of it but I'm sure that I just learned the patterns initially. I don't think I had a grasp on odd time the first time I learned it but that was probably 30 years ago (who's old now? ) If you concentrate on listening to Alex's parts and memorizing his phrases it should help you get there. Neil and Geddy tend to bend time and accent things counter to what Alex is doing so that can be distracting. Keep at it Gilesy!
 
Molekiller said:
Very Nice Tonemeister!

I haven't been able to get the main riff as good as this even though I've tried several combinations of amps, drives, and filter settings (AX8).

Would you be willing to share your strategy/signal chain for nailing these tones?

Thanks for the clip!
Click to expand...
I'll try and answer this more specifically later when I'm in front of the Axe FX II but I felt strongly that the key to the sound is the punchy low end and the sharp compressed attack which I believe is due to studio compression during the mix phase. I played around alot with a compressor block to get that punch. I also usually do my research to figure out what the artist may have been using for gear when they recorded the tracks. I know he was using his Hentor Sportscaster which had Bill Lawrence L-500 Humbuckers in it. I used a Les Paul with a humbucker. I have no idea if that's even close to the sound of a L500 but I figure it gets me closer than a single coil would. I also researched his amps of choice and I read he may have used a Marshall on that track. He was using HiWatt amps among others just before this time so who knows? Either way it's obviously a blended sound and we are often chasing a recorded and "mixed" tone from an album and it's not just one raw guitar track. The Axe has lots of tools though to get us there. You need a little education on how tracks get recorded and mixed on an album before trying to really do some close matches.
 
I've created a few patches for limelight and it seemed to me pretty straightforward to get the main verse/chorus sound, although I do need to actually record it and listen back to see how close I really am. That solo sound though, I have not been able to create anything sounding close enough. Maybe it's just my terrible playing, or they way the chorus is set up, but I just cannot get that sound.

I've had all my gear packed away for a while now due to home renovations, but this clip has got me motivated to get it set up and see what I can do :)
 
Definitely one of my favorite all time songs, even my daughters too!
I did this song live, using my Boogies, a Petrucci 7 string that happened to have the peizo in the trem, and I would blend it thru out the song. reverb and delays provided by Lexicon PCM80, and Eventide GTR4000. I retired the big rack for my Axe Fx, still use the boogie 2:90 and speakers.

recorded with a traditional video cam... sorry! :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom