“The original Hentor brought a mix of tone and playability that empowered me to explore sounds I had never attempted before”: Alex Lifeson’s LERXST Limelight pickguard provides the transferable tones of one of his most iconic instruments
Alex Lifeson has teamed up with Mojotone to unveil his latest LERXST release – the Limelight pre-wired pickguard, which aims to provide the textures and tones of the Rush guitarist’s Hentor Sportscaster.
The HSS-configured pickguard seeks to remove some of the fiddly technicality that typically comes with pickguard and pickup changes, while delivering some Lifeson-approved Limelight tones.
While Lifeson’s LERXST project has already produced a fully fledged Limelight Strat with Godin, this latest release allows players to instead install that build’s ‘80s era Rush-replicating pickups into a Stratocaster of their choosing – making it a much cheaper way to obtain those sounds.
That original Hentor Sportscaster was used extensively by Lifeson throughout the ‘80s, a decade that saw the band produce seven studio albums.
Mojotone says its HSS configuration sports “industry elite components” to replicate the single-coil-bolstered side of Lifeson’s playing.
The design pairs a humbucker with stainless steel blades in the bridge and single-coils for the middle and neck positions. Each sport Alnico V magnets for “a smooth treble response that cuts through the mix with punchy lows, and strong midrange presence.”
The single-coils have also been designed to match the output of the humbucker to ensure a balanced output and a “full and dynamic tone in every position.”
Featuring a satin black finish, the pickguard has 11 holes, meaning it can fit a healthy array of Stratocaster builds.
Finally, it offers controls for master volume and tone, which sit alongside a three-way pickup switch (neck, neck/middle, bridge).
Mojotone says the pickups are “highly recommended for metal, rock, and heavy distortion,” but adds that they're just as adept at handling clean tones, especially with those humbucker-balanced single coils.
“The original Hentor brought together a mix of tone and playability that empowered me to explore sounds and styles of playing that I had never attempted before,” says Lifeson. “Ultimately these things became signature parts of my style.”
The pre-wired pickguard costs $489.95 (as opposed to a more eye-watering $3,999 for a full Limelight guitar) and is available to pre-order now. Shipping begins later this month.
Head to Mojotone for more information.
Lifeson has been diving deep into gear manufacturing recently, using the LERXST banner to produce the By-Tor Drive/Boost pedal and the Snow Dog Octave Fuzz, which offered the “most horrific fuzz in the universe.”
