merlin4140's channel

merlin4140 commented 1 day ago

10:37 Add to

Rush cover "La Villa Strangiato" played on Alex Lifeson ES-355

Alex Lifeson fan plays "La Villa Strangiato" on Gibson's Alex Lifeson signature model ES-355

26,696 views

merlin4140 said:

@mcp682112 I couldn't care less if you are impressed or not and neither am I impressed that that your cousin is in Dream Theatre. A great band, by the way, how come they didn't ask you to join? BTW My mother, God bless her, has nothing to do with my gear, I work hard for a good living and buy m...

• merlin4140 commented 3 weeks ago

  10:37 Add to

  Rush cover "La Villa Strangiato" played on Alex Lifeson ES-355

  Alex Lifeson fan plays "La Villa Strangiato" on Gibson's Alex Lifeson signature model ES-355

  26,696 views

  merlin4140 said:

  @ThatItalianGuyTil That is very sweet of you...thanks LOL. But sorry I have a girlfirend.

• merlin4140 commented 5 months ago

  10:37 Add to

  Rush cover "La Villa Strangiato" played on Alex Lifeson ES-355

  Alex Lifeson fan plays "La Villa Strangiato" on Gibson's Alex Lifeson signature model ES-355

  26,696 views

  merlin4140 said:

  @caseyjones67, this video actually featured a Hughes & Kettner Switchblade. Nowadays I am playing through both a Hughes & Kettner Coreblade and a Marshall JMP1. The Switchblade is an awesome sounding amp but I like the Coreblade and JMP1 better because of the on-board noise-reduction.

• merlin4140 commented 8 months ago

  10:37 Add to

  Rush cover "La Villa Strangiato" played on Alex Lifeson ES-355

  Alex Lifeson fan plays "La Villa Strangiato" on Gibson's Alex Lifeson signature model ES-355

  26,696 views

  merlin4140 said:

  @houseband239 Hi, the rig has been completely reworked since this video, actually. Not because that one sounded bad just because I needed something that was easier to make adjustments to in a live situation. That rig's effects were all rack-mounted (including numerous stomps through a GCX switc...

• merlin4140 commented 9 months ago

  10:37 Add to

  Rush cover "La Villa Strangiato" played on Alex Lifeson ES-355

  Alex Lifeson fan plays "La Villa Strangiato" on Gibson's Alex Lifeson signature model ES-355

  26,696 views

  merlin4140 said:

  @jacksecret Thanks!!! I really appreciate the compliments and that you are ok with my variances. I understand how some purists get upset that I'm not perfectly nailing every note right off the studio record, but honestly I'm not trying to. I think my interperetations of Alex's frameworks are p...

• merlin4140 commented 9 months ago

  10:37 Add to

  Rush cover "La Villa Strangiato" played on Alex Lifeson ES-355

  Alex Lifeson fan plays "La Villa Strangiato" on Gibson's Alex Lifeson signature model ES-355

  26,696 views

  merlin4140 said:

  @FCexpediter Hey thanks for the kind words man!! The funny thing about Rush tempo is that live they don't always play at the album tempo, quite often it's slower. I don't know how "spot on" this video's tempo is because I'm playing along to tracks created by my bandmates during a rehearsal, bu...

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merlin4140 commented 9 months ago

4:55 Add to

Rush cover "Cinderella Man" on guitar

Cover of Cinderella Man by Rush on guitar, played along to backing tracks (minus the guitar track) from a session with the Rush cover band I jam wi...

2,387 views

merlin4140 said:

@jacksecret No sweat, you are correct in your comments. What I must point out is that I do this for fun and although I do try to remain authentic to Alex's masterpieces, I don't typically beat myself up trying to duplicate everything in a completely identical fashion. I get as close as I can fo...

• merlin4140 commented 1 year ago

  4:55 Add to

  Rush cover "Cinderella Man" on guitar

  Cover of Cinderella Man by Rush on guitar, played along to backing tracks (minus the guitar track) from a session with the Rush cover band I jam wi...

  2,387 views

  merlin4140 said:

  @HometownGold Thanks!!

• merlin4140 commented 1 year ago

  4:55 Add to

  Rush cover "Cinderella Man" on guitar

  Cover of Cinderella Man by Rush on guitar, played along to backing tracks (minus the guitar track) from a session with the Rush cover band I jam wi...

  2,387 views

  merlin4140 said:

  @TNorb Thanks! I do it with a Gibson now that has a Floyd Rose trem AND piezo pickups so I can get the acoustic/electric blend and also do the whammy on the solo (which is more authentic to the original solo Alex played on AFTK)

• merlin4140 commented 1 year ago

  4:55 Add to

  Rush cover "Cinderella Man" on guitar

  Cover of Cinderella Man by Rush on guitar, played along to backing tracks (minus the guitar track) from a session with the Rush cover band I jam wi...

  2,387 views

  merlin4140 said:

  @Spector2112 Thanks man!!

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merlin4140 commented 9 months ago

10:37 Add to

Rush cover "La Villa Strangiato" played on Alex Lifeson ES-355

Alex Lifeson fan plays "La Villa Strangiato" on Gibson's Alex Lifeson signature model ES-355

26,696 views

merlin4140 said:

@Gpup4Lifez Get a life you jerk, because if this is what you sit around doing (getting ridiculously critical and being totally imature) then your's must really suck. This is a place for polite musicians to have some fun so take your cynisism and profane mouth elsewhere.

• merlin4140 commented 9 months ago

  10:37 Add to

  Rush cover "La Villa Strangiato" played on Alex Lifeson ES-355

  Alex Lifeson fan plays "La Villa Strangiato" on Gibson's Alex Lifeson signature model ES-355

  26,696 views

  merlin4140 said:

  @P0V3RTY09 You got that right!!!! Well the Rush tribute project has finally started to gel, we are called "Spindrift, The Rush Tribute" based out of Minneapolis, MN USA. I will begin posting some clips of our rehearsals (be kind, after all they are just REHEARSALS LOL). We hope to start playing...

• merlin4140 commented 9 months ago

  10:37 Add to

  Rush cover "La Villa Strangiato" played on Alex Lifeson ES-355

  Alex Lifeson fan plays "La Villa Strangiato" on Gibson's Alex Lifeson signature model ES-355

  26,696 views

  merlin4140 said:

  @alienedwards Thanks for the support!! I never claimed this to be the perfect reproduction of Alex's masterpiece, it's just me playing one of my favorite guitar compositions of all time to the best of my abilities, and there are plenty of places where I am not perfect. It really puzzles me how ...

• merlin4140 commented 10 months ago

  10:37 Add to

  Rush cover "La Villa Strangiato" played on Alex Lifeson ES-355

  Alex Lifeson fan plays "La Villa Strangiato" on Gibson's Alex Lifeson signature model ES-355

  26,696 views

  merlin4140 said:

  @Gpup4Lifez the dude will be reprimanded for not playing at the proper tempo, we are so sorry and depressed that he failed to impress you.

• merlin4140 commented 10 months ago

  10:37 Add to

  Rush cover "La Villa Strangiato" played on Alex Lifeson ES-355

  Alex Lifeson fan plays "La Villa Strangiato" on Gibson's Alex Lifeson signature model ES-355

  26,696 views

  merlin4140 said:

  @chrislandrum62 Thanks!! I couldn't agree more, Alex has always been my biggest musical influence and I love playing Rush more than any other style or band. His writing is so unique, nothing else comares.

• merlin4140 commented 10 months ago

  10:37 Add to

  Rush cover "La Villa Strangiato" played on Alex Lifeson ES-355

  Alex Lifeson fan plays "La Villa Strangiato" on Gibson's Alex Lifeson signature model ES-355

  26,696 views

  merlin4140 said:

  @UncleJoey12 Thanks man! The AL 355's were only for sale for a very short time, they only made 300 and they all sold out very quickly. I was very fortunate to get one! It is an incredible instrument, plays like a dream and sounds amazing.

• merlin4140 commented 10 months ago

  10:37 Add to

  Rush cover "La Villa Strangiato" played on Alex Lifeson ES-355

  Alex Lifeson fan plays "La Villa Strangiato" on Gibson's Alex Lifeson signature model ES-355

  26,696 views

  merlin4140 said:

  @4stringjudas Thanks! Never to old to rock & roll :)

• merlin4140 commented 10 months ago

  10:37 Add to

  Rush cover "La Villa Strangiato" played on Alex Lifeson ES-355

  Alex Lifeson fan plays "La Villa Strangiato" on Gibson's Alex Lifeson signature model ES-355

  26,696 views

  merlin4140 said:

  @IslandWreck uh..what mark??? I missed severalmarks in this video LOL. Eh, sorry you didn't like it but it's good enough for me and lots of people here seem to like it just fine. I know I'm not perfect but I have fun with it!

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merlin4140 commented 10 months ago

12:43 Add to

La Villa Strangiato/YYZ Cover

Cover of 2 songs originally by canadian band Rush, la villa strangiato and YYZ. I hope you lyke it.

333 views

merlin4140 said:

Very nice job!!

• merlin4140 liked 10 months ago

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merlin4140 commented 11 months ago

10:37 Add to

Rush cover "La Villa Strangiato" played on Alex Lifeson ES-355

Alex Lifeson fan plays "La Villa Strangiato" on Gibson's Alex Lifeson signature model ES-355

26,696 views

merlin4140 said:

I have been playing for 35 years and built up a lot of gear over those years, so I sold several guitars to buy the Lifeson (and it was worth it). All of my gear costs no more than many folks spend on a boat or sports car...we all choose our lifetime toys hobbies and mine are guitars and amps ;)

• merlin4140 commented 1 year ago

  10:37 Add to

  Rush cover "La Villa Strangiato" played on Alex Lifeson ES-355

  Alex Lifeson fan plays "La Villa Strangiato" on Gibson's Alex Lifeson signature model ES-355

  26,696 views

  merlin4140 said:

  @skorziks Sorry no can do...it is what it is LOL. This was filmed on a small cam-corder with a mic plugged into it for the room sound. Not studio quality I realize that, but that's not what I was going for, it was really just intended as a visual showcase for the guitar itself (not my talent as...

• merlin4140 commented 1 year ago

  10:37 Add to

  Rush cover "La Villa Strangiato" played on Alex Lifeson ES-355

  Alex Lifeson fan plays "La Villa Strangiato" on Gibson's Alex Lifeson signature model ES-355

  26,696 views

  merlin4140 said:

  LOL that's a loaded question :) Of course I did NOT play this entire song note for note off the original studio recording, although the framework parts I think I have down pretty well. But that is what I love about this song and other Rush tunes, Alex himself has numerous interpretations of his...

• merlin4140 commented 1 year ago

  10:37 Add to

  Rush cover "La Villa Strangiato" played on Alex Lifeson ES-355

  Alex Lifeson fan plays "La Villa Strangiato" on Gibson's Alex Lifeson signature model ES-355

  26,696 views

  merlin4140 said:

  Wow, thanks so much for the com[liments!!! You know the H&Ks are great amps for Rush (in the video it's a Switchblade, currently I am using a Marshall JMD-1 and a Coreblade) but there are many amps out there that will get a good Rush tone. It's really more about your skills as a tone tweaker and...

• merlin4140 commented 1 year ago

  10:37 Add to

  Rush cover "La Villa Strangiato" played on Alex Lifeson ES-355

  Alex Lifeson fan plays "La Villa Strangiato" on Gibson's Alex Lifeson signature model ES-355

  26,696 views

  merlin4140 said:

  @marypal64 Hey thanks a lot!!! Well we are rehearsing and hope to play some gigs around the Minneapolis area in 2011, should be ready to get out of the basement around feb/march.

• merlin4140 commented 1 year ago

  10:37 Add to

  Rush cover "La Villa Strangiato" played on Alex Lifeson ES-355

  Alex Lifeson fan plays "La Villa Strangiato" on Gibson's Alex Lifeson signature model ES-355

  26,696 views

  merlin4140 said:

  @MrSchapira Thanks so much, I appreciate it!

• merlin4140 commented 1 year ago

  10:37 Add to

  Rush cover "La Villa Strangiato" played on Alex Lifeson ES-355

  Alex Lifeson fan plays "La Villa Strangiato" on Gibson's Alex Lifeson signature model ES-355

  26,696 views

  merlin4140 said:

  @StratGT Hey thanks man!!! I am amazed that it still gets hits this far down the road LOL. I DO plan to post some more videos of Rush covers this winter, bear with me. Life has been hectic. My buds and I are TRYING to get the Rush Tribute thing going but it is a vey slow process with our busy ...

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merlin4140 commented 1 year ago

10:37 Add to

Rush cover "La Villa Strangiato" played on Alex Lifeson ES-355

Alex Lifeson fan plays "La Villa Strangiato" on Gibson's Alex Lifeson signature model ES-355

26,696 views

merlin4140 said:

@southport97 plenty oif goofs in there but I am good at covering them up LOL. Thanks much for the compliment!

• merlin4140 commented 1 year ago

  10:37 Add to

  Rush cover "La Villa Strangiato" played on Alex Lifeson ES-355

  Alex Lifeson fan plays "La Villa Strangiato" on Gibson's Alex Lifeson signature model ES-355

  26,696 views

  merlin4140 said:

  @zigzaghookie on this video I am using stompboxes (in my rack and looped with a midi switcher) Maxon overdrive, maxon chorus, boss flanger, boss digital delay

• merlin4140 commented 1 year ago

  10:37 Add to

  Rush cover "La Villa Strangiato" played on Alex Lifeson ES-355

  Alex Lifeson fan plays "La Villa Strangiato" on Gibson's Alex Lifeson signature model ES-355

  26,696 views

  merlin4140 said:

  @Javic2112 Thanks!!!

• merlin4140 commented 1 year ago

  10:37 Add to

  Rush cover "La Villa Strangiato" played on Alex Lifeson ES-355

  Alex Lifeson fan plays "La Villa Strangiato" on Gibson's Alex Lifeson signature model ES-355

  26,696 views

  merlin4140 said:

  @zigzaghookie I used stomboxes in my rack when I made this video, I prefer them to rack effects. Maxon Chorus, Boss Flanger, Boss DDL, Maxon OD. The stomp models in the Line 6 M13 all sound just as good.

• merlin4140 commented 1 year ago

  10:37 Add to

  Rush cover "La Villa Strangiato" played on Alex Lifeson ES-355

  Alex Lifeson fan plays "La Villa Strangiato" on Gibson's Alex Lifeson signature model ES-355

  26,696 views

  merlin4140 said:

  @zigzaghookie Not on this video, but I am using the M13 now and it sounds just as good if not better. I like having all the effects right on the floor where you can tweak them quickly instead of in a rack like I did before (and in this video)

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