No. 0201981·progressive-rock·5 blocks
Tom Sawyer
Alex Lifeson's tone on Tom Sawyer is a masterclass in using chorus and effects to create a massive, shimmering wall of guitar sound. The ES-355's semi-hollow body provides natural resonance and warmth, which is then pushed through a Marshall for crunch and layered with a Boss CE-1 chorus for that wide, sweeping stereo effect. The result is a tone that fills the entire sonic spectrum without ever getting in the way of Geddy Lee's bass and Neil Peart's drums.
Moving PicturesSignal path · input → output · 8 blocksLive values · Line 6 Helix
Guitar
Gibson ES-355
Pickups
HH
Tuning
bridge
Strings
standard
Volume Pedal
Deluxe Comp
Chorus CE-1
Brit Plexi Brt
Simple Delay
Searchlights
4x12 Greenback 25
Volume Pedal
← Volume pedal
Level
100%
Deluxe Comp
← Studio compressor
Threshold
-36dB
Ratio
2:1
Knee
6dB
Attack
0.1s
Release
0.9s
Mix
0.7
Level
0dB
Chorus CE-1
← Boss CE-1
Speed
4Hz
Depth
6
Mix
50
Brit Plexi Brt
← Marshall Super Lead 1959
Drive
6
Bass
5
Mid
6
Treble
7
Presence
6
Master
1
Bias
0.5
BiasX
0.5
Sag
0.5
Hum
0.5
Ripple
0.5
Ch Vol
6.5
Simple Delay
← TC 2290
Time
350ms
Feedback
25
Mix
25
TempoSync1
0
Searchlights
← Hall reverb (Le Studio)
LowCut125Hz
HighCut6500Hz
Mix
20
Decay
2s
4x12 Greenback 25
← Marshall 4x12 Greenback
LowCut19.9Hz
HighCut16000Hz
Level
0dB
Pan
0.5
Delay
0
Engineer's note
File 020
Alex Lifeson's tone on Tom Sawyer is a masterclass in using chorus and effects to create a massive, shimmering wall of guitar sound. The ES-355's semi-hollow body provides natural resonance and warmth, which is then pushed through a Marshall for crunch and layered with a Boss CE-1 chorus for that wide, sweeping stereo effect. The result is a tone that fills the entire sonic spectrum without ever getting in the way of Geddy Lee's bass and Neil Peart's drums.
— Alex Lifeson
Sources · Verified by
Field notes for this tone
All field notes →Shoegaze Wall of Sound: Guitar Tone Settings and Pedal Recipe
Shoegaze guitar tone settings from the ground up: fuzz, chorus, reverb, and delay settings with frequency-space thinking for bedroom players and DAW builders.
Looper + Delay + Reverb Without Muddiness: Setting the Order and Parameters
How to position your looper in the signal chain with delay and reverb, and the specific parameter settings that keep layered loops clean instead of a wall of indistinct noise.
Modern Worship Guitar Tone on Helix: A Complete Preset Walkthrough
How to build a worship guitar preset on the Line 6 Helix, from ambient cleans to full lead, with exact block names, settings, and snapshot assignments.
