Alex Lifeson Says He Admired Jimmy Page So Much After Facing The Troubles Of Double-Neck Guitar

Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson opened up about his choice of instruments during an interview with Ultimate Classic Rock. Apparently, the guitarist admires Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page for playing the Gibson EDS-1275 double-neck after experiencing how hard it is to perform with it due to its heaviness.

For those of you who may not know, Jimmy Page frequently played a double-necked Gibson EDS-1275 in Led Zeppelin concerts, especially for tracks such as ‘Stairway to Heaven,’ ‘The Rain Song,’ and ‘Celebration Day.’ The guitar proved to be a heavy instrument as it weighs about 13 pounds and it’s often regarded as one of the coolest guitars in rock music.

Despite the EDS-1275 was never sold in great quantities, it was used by a number of notable musicians such as former Eagles guitarist Don Felder on live performances of ‘Hotel California,’ Def Leppard guitarist Steve Clarke, KISS guitarist Ace Frehley, and Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash. However, it was mostly popularized by Jimmy Page, and even a signature model made for the guitarist was produced.

Just like these musicians, Alex Lifeson is also known for using the Gibson EDS-1275 double-neck and during a recent interview, the musician opened up about the struggles of performing with the incredibly heavy guitar. According to Lifeson, he felt excited when he first got the opportunity to play the guitar as the band was writing music that can be performed with the Gibson EDS-1275.

However, things got harder as the Gibson EDS-1275 double-neck is extremely heavy which hinders the performance as the player must hold the guitar up while performing at the same time. Considering all the struggles that come with performing with one of the coolest guitars in the world, Rush guitarist expressed his admiration to Jimmy Page for continuously performing with a guitar that weighs 13 pounds.

Lifeson’s statement on the Gibson EDS-1275 double-neck follows:

“I was really excited about it. I admired Jimmy Page so much. More importantly, we were starting to write music where I could really incorporate the 12-string.

But it’s an unwieldy guitar. It’s very head-heavy. So you really literally have to hold the guitar up with your left hand while you’re playing it.”

There’s a reason behind not every guitar player plays the legendary Gibson EDS-1275 double-neck, in addition to being remarkably heavy, the guitar requires a track that co-operates with its 12 strings. Lucky for Page, Led Zeppelin has a signature sound that starts with the acoustic guitar sound, later turns into electric guitar which makes it perfect to use the troubled Gibson.