e.grijp Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Alex Playes on a Black Axcess and it,s not the BIG AL ! does anybody knows this Fact? Is it one of the Wildwood guitars ? the 25 Black special made ? I LIke to know!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock2112 Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 Yeah, on the current tour he's playing one of his signature models in black (some went to Wildwood, but not all) -- not Big Al. I don't know if it's one of the 25 limiteds, or rather number 26! But Rush's producer says he used a black one in recording Clockwork Angels that he thought sounded even better than the other AL signatures he had heard. Might be that same one he's using live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e.grijp Posted October 3, 2012 Author Share Posted October 3, 2012 Yeah, on the current tour he's playing one of his signature models in black (some went to Wildwood, but not all) -- not Big Al. I don't know if it's one of the 25 limiteds, or rather number 26! But Rush's producer says he used a black one in recording Clockwork Angels that he thought sounded even better than the other AL signatures he had heard. Might be that same one he's using live. It seems to me that he changes a lott more gear this time .he,s now using Fractal and has other Amps : Mesa Boogie and Lerxt Amps ? The Lerxst Amps are tuned up Marshalls, somebody told me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GibSinCity Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 Here's the Wildwood Lifeson: http://www.wildwoodguitars.com/products/al558.php?CategoryID=338&n=59# He doesn't mention or show the black one here, but still a pretty cool look at the 2011 Time Machine Tour rig. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-E-t3JSllw&feature=player_detailpage#t=283s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SolitaryPine Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 Are you sure there were only 25? The last time I looked on eBay there were three black ones for sale, and I've never heard anything about them being limited editions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock2112 Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 Musician's friend identifies them as a limited run (see link below). I read somewhere when they first started surfacing that a limited run of 25 were being made. I don't know more than that. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/gibson-custom-alex-lifeson-les-paul-axcess-limited-run-electric-guitar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SolitaryPine Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 OK. I'm sure limited is true (since I think they use the same 3 digit serial number format as the other two colors) but I doubt there are only 25 of them. Maybe Wildwood sold 25. There are three on eBay right this second, and they don't seem to be priced any higher than other colors. http://www.ebay.com/itm/BRAND-NEW-2012-Limited-Run-Gibson-Custom-ALEX-LIFESON-SIg-Les-Paul-Axcess-Guitar-/120997141906?pt=Guitar&hash=item1c2bfddd92 http://www.ebay.com/itm/2012-GIBSON-CUSTOM-SHOP-ALEX-LIFESON-LES-PAUL-AXCESS-EBONY-GLOSS-COA-TAGS-MINT-/221132471458?pt=Guitar&hash=item337c85bca2 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gibson-Custom-Shop-Les-Paul-Axcess-Alex-Lifeson-Ebony-/251156423752?pt=Guitar&hash=item3a7a16e448 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock2112 Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Alex talked more about these black models in a recent guitar magazine interview. It might have been Guitar World but there are so many now that I'm not sure. Anyway, he said Gibson approached him about doing a limited run of "solid colors" due to customer requests. He admitted what I have suspected all along as well -- that doing solid colors meant that Gibson could "save" certain guitars that had defects in the woodgrain by painting them black. I always thought for that reason that Gibson should price the black models a bit cheaper, because it requires more pristine wood to make a translucent finish. The reality is, if someone wants a black model, it doesn't really matter what the heck is under the black paint, appearance-wise. But guitars that would have otherwise been band-sawed are being sold at full price. Alex and his tech believe that his black model sounds better to them ("more growl") than his other signature models -- he said it has the same specs as the other signatures, but every guitar is different and possibly just having a thicker layer of paint over the guitar could be affecting the sound. I came really close to jumping at one of those black models on ebay, because I think they look cool and I love the royal crimson model I have. But the other side of my brain pulled me back from the brink to realize that, if I am going to spend $3k on another guitar, it should be something that extends my "guitar vocabulary." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zGrooveMeister Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 Musician's Friend has the black for $3999 (original price) and the crimson or sunburst for $4299 (up from $3999). My guess is that the top on the black models is not maple, or is a different kind of maple, as a flame maple top is only used for esthetics and Gibson would be crazy to paint over such wood, regardless of what it looks like - I have seen some butt-ugly FMTs. The different wood should have some effect on the resonate sound of the guitar. At least that sounds like a fairly plausible explanation for having pulled it out of my ***. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SolitaryPine Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 Musician's Friend has the black for $3999 (original price) and the crimson or sunburst for $4299 (up from $3999). My guess is that the top on the black models is not maple, or is a different kind of maple, as a flame maple top is only used for esthetics and Gibson would be crazy to paint over such wood, regardless of what it looks like - I have seen some butt-ugly FMTs. The different wood should have some effect on the resonate sound of the guitar. At least that sounds like a fairly plausible explanation for having pulled it out of my ***. I doubt they are using different wood. I tried out six different AL LPs before selecting mine at Wildwood. They all sounded very different. Different tree, different wood density, etc. My guess is that the one Alex has in black is just one that sounds better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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