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Riff Tone

The Spirit of Radio

Rush

Guitarrock1980s

Original Gear

GuitarGibson ES-355
AmpMarshall (likely 100-watt JMP, possibly Silver Jubilee 2553 or 50-watt Marshall combo, but main studio amp was Marshall JMP per Lifeson interview)

Amp Settings

gain6
bass6

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Effects & Signal Chain

Notes

Studio recording, 1979-1980 for 'Permanent Waves'. Lifeson states he used his ES-355 and Marshall as the 'workhorse' in the studio for this era. Hiwatt and Fender Twin were present but Marshall was primary for this track. Chorus effect likely from Roland JC-120 or Boss CE-1, but main amp tone is Marshall.

Tone Character(10)
bright and articulatechimey with pronounced attackmodulated shimmer from chorus/flangertight and percussive rhythmslightly compressedcutting upper midsdynamic pick responsenot overly saturatedclear note separationdistinct modulation sweep

Difficulty

The riff requires tight, fast alternate picking, syncopated chord changes, and precise timing to match the modulation sweeps, making it challenging for most players.

This tone has been researched 2 times by the community

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