The Rush guitarist partners with Mojotone on a new line of versatile, hand-built guitar amps and cabs.
Lerxst amplifiers are designed to offer a diverse palette of sounds that range from crystal-clear cleans to raging arena rock sounds and everything in between, supplemented with key features like power-scaling and serial effects loops to suit the needs of the next generation of sonic explorers, all designed to Lifeson’s exacting specifications and handcrafted in the USA by Mojotone. The initial launch includes the Omega amplifier head, Chi amplifier head and combo, and an accompanying range of matching guitar cabinets.
Omega is Alex Lifeson’s signature amplifier and the flagship of the Lerxst line. This British-voiced amplifier head features footswitchable clean and lead channels with a shared 3-band EQ, meaning a consistent tonal foundation between sounds while still offering shimmering cleans, gutsy rhythm crunch, and soaring lead tones. The amplifier has a switchable 50/25 watt power section to give it an equally usable powerband on large stages as well as in small clubs and the studio as well as a high-quality serial effects loop perfect for utilizing modulation and time-based effects.
"Lifeson’s signature sounds are easily within reach with Omega, but its versatile, characterful sounds are equally useful for players looking to chase their own creative muses and sonic landscapes." In addition to its standard version, Omega will also be offered in a Limited Edition Hand Wired version for a short time.
Lifeson stated, “I’m very excited about the new, updated Omega amp. It sounds incredible and it’s very handsome – you’ll want to get one even if you don’t play guitar!”
Chi takes the growl and tone of the Omega and places it within a more compact form factor. The 30-watt amplifier is built around 6L6 tubes for excellent headroom and a clear, articulate sound and is available as both a smallbox head and a 1x12 combo amplifier. In keeping with its lineage, Chi also includes footswitchable clean and lead channels and a serial effects loop, making it equally versatile on stage or in the studio.
“I’ve used more amps than Dr. Frankenstein did when breathing life into his creature, but the Lerxst Chi is an awesome monster in its own right and one of the sweetest sounding amps I’ve ever heard,” said Lifeson. “All the great character of the Omega in a cool, compact package that you don’t have to be a seven-foot monster to carry around.”
Both amplifiers are also accompanied by a range of guitar cabinets in multiple speaker configurations, including 1x12, 2x12, and 4x12, ideal for any stage configuration or studio application. All amplifiers and cabinets are handcrafted to the highest standards with top quality components in Mojotone’s Burgaw, NC-based factory. The cabinets, head shells, and combo speaker cabinets are made of voidless baltic birch and finished with a striking race gray and red garnet levant Tolex finish for a lifetime of gigging and playing.
Omega Specifications
- 3x JJ 12AX7 Preamp Tubes
- Selectable Impedances: 4, 8 or 16 ohms
- Switchable Power Output between 50 and 25 Watts
- Two Channels (Switchable)
- Shared three-band EQ
- 2x JJ EL34 Power Tubes
- Footswitchable clean and lead channels (Can also use pull knob on Master volume)
- Speaker Outputs: 2x J¼" Jacks (16Ω/ 8Ω/ 4Ω)
- Included Lerxst Footswitch
- Inputs: 1x Instrument Jack, Footswitch
- Controls: Presence, Bass, Middle, Treble, Output Master, Channel Select, Lead Master, Input Gain
- Dimensions: (H) 10 ¾" x (W) 29" x (D) 8 ¼"
- Serial effects loop
- Weight: 44lbs
- MAP $3,495 (Limited Edition Hand Wired AmplifierHead) or $2,495 (Standard Edition Amplifier Head)
Chi Specifications
- Custom CTS Potentiometers
- Finger-jointed Baltic Birch Cabinet
- Custom built in Burgaw, NC USA
- Carbon Comp Resistors
- Starman Power Indicator Light
- Lerxst Chi One Button Footswitch Included
- Footswitchable clean and lead channels (Can also use pull knob on Master volume)
- Race Grey and Red Garnet Levant Tolex Finish
- Shared three-band EQ
- Power Output: 30 Watts
- Hand-loaded PC Board construction
- Serial Effects Loop
- USA Made Heyboer Transformers
- Mojotone Dijon Coupling Capacitors
- Selectable Impedances: 4, 8 or 16 ohms
- Three JJ 12AX7 preamp tubes and two JJ 6L6 power tubes
- MAP $1,995 (Chi Combo Amplifier) or $1695 (Chi Amplifier Head)
“There has been an explosion of guitar music within the past five years that has been incredible to witness in its diversity of sounds and players. Lerxst amplifiers provide a platform for these players that offers the power and quality of tone of the best amplifiers of the past, while also providing key features like power scaling and high-quality effects loops that reflect the needs of players today.”
For more information, please visit lerxstamps.com.
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This Japan-made Guyatone brings back memories of hitchin’ rides around the U.S.
So, as I’m prone to do, I started digging around hitchhiking culture and stories. Surprisingly, there are organized groups that embrace the hitching life, but the practice remains on the fringe in the U.S. Back in the 1950s, writer Jack Kerouac wrote the novel On the Road, which celebrated hitchhiking and exposed readers to the thrill of maverick travel. Heck, even Mike Dugan (the guitarist in all my videos) hitched his way to California in the 1960s. But seeing that fellow on the side of the road also sparked another image in my brain: Yep, it always comes back to guitars.
Let me present to you a guitar that’s ready to go hitching: the Guyatone LG-180T, hailing from 1966. The “thumbs-up” headstock and the big “thumb” on the upper bout always made me think of thumbing a ride, and I bought and sold this guitar so long ago that I had forgotten about it, until I saw that hitchhiking dude. Guyatone was an interesting Japanese company because they were primarily an electronics company, and most of their guitars had their wooden parts produced by other factories. In the case of the LG-180T, the bodies were made by Yamaha in Hamamatsu, Japan. At that time, Yamaha was arguably making the finest Japanese guitars, and the wood on this Guyatone model is outstanding. We don’t often see Guyatone-branded guitars here in the U.S., but a lot of players recognize the early ’60s label Kent—a brand name used by an American importer for Guyatone guitars.
With a bit of imagination, the LG-180T’s “thumbs up” headstock seems to be looking for a roadside ride.
Kent guitars were extremely popular from the early ’60s until around 1966. The U.S. importer B&J fed the American need for electric guitars with several nice Kent models, but when the Guyatone contract ended, so did most of the Kent guitars. After that, Guyatone primarily sold guitars in Japan, so this example is a rare model in the U.S.
“Unless you are a master at guitar setups, this would be a difficult player.”
This headstock is either the ugliest or the coolest of the Guyatone designs. I can’t decide which. I will say, no other Japanese guitar company ever put out anything like this. You have to give the Guyatone designers a thumbs up for trying to stand out in the crowd! Guyatone decided to forgo an adjustable truss rod in this model, opting instead for a light alloy non-adjustable core to reinforce the neck. Speaking of the neck, this instrument features the most odd-feeling neck. It’s very thin but has a deep shoulder (if that makes any sense). Totally strange!
Another strange feature is the bridge, which offers very little adjustment because of the three large saddles, which sort of rock back and forth with the tremolo. It’s a shame because these pickups sound great! They’re very crisp and have plenty of zing, but unless you are a master at guitar set-ups, this would be a difficult player.
This could be why the LG-180T only appeared in the 1966 and 1967 catalogs. After that, it disappeared along with all the other Yamaha-made Guyatone electrics. By 1969, Guyatone had gone bankrupt for the first time, and thus ended guitar production for a few decades. At least we were blessed with some wacky guitar designs we can marvel at while remembering the days when you could play in the back end of an explosive 1973 AMC Gremlin while your mom raced around town. Two thumbs up for surviving our childhoods! PG
