Rush – Permanent Waves

Which guitars did you use on Rush's first LP, Rush?

I used the 335 and a rented Rickenbacker 12-string. That's it for guitars. I played them through my Marshall 50 with a 4-12 cabinet, and I used a Maestro phase shifter, a Cry Baby wah-wah, and an Echoplex.

Many of your songs have either a phased or a chorus effect.

I like both sounds. Ever since A Farewell To Kings I've used a Roland Boss Chorus. I liked the Maestro phaser as opposed to, say, MXR Phase 90s or 100s; it was a little more subtle than the MXR phase lines. But after I heard the Chorus, I loved it and decided to incorporate it into my music. Hemispheres and Permanent Waves have a lot of Chorus -almost every song has Chorus, since with a three-piece band it tends to widen the guitar sound.

Which guitars did you use on Rush's first LP, Rush?

AL: I used the 335 and a rented Rickenbacker 12-string. That's it for guitars. I played them through my Marshall 50 with a 4-12 cabinet, and I used a Maestro phase shifter, a Cry Baby wah-wah, and an Echoplex.

Many of your songs have either a phased or a chorus effect.

AL:I like both sounds. Ever since A Farewell To Kings I've used a Roland Boss Chorus. I liked the Maestro phaser as opposed to, say, MXR Phase 90s or 100s; it was a little more subtle than the MXR phase lines. But after I heard the Chorus, I loved it and decided to incorporate it into my music. Hemispheres and Permanent Waves have a lot of Chorus -almost every song has Chorus, since with a three-piece band it tends to widen the guitar sound.

Source: Guitar Player Magazine, June 1980.

Used on the song "Hemispheres" ...I remember seeing them on the Permanent Waves tour, and he used this guitar when they played the title track.

id you use basically the same setup on Hemispheres?

All the same guitars, with the addition of a new Gibson ES-345 and a Roland GR-500 guitar synthesizer. I eventually gave the 345 to one of our road crew as a birthday gift and bought a black 78345 to replace it. For amps I used Hiwatt [21750 Main St., Matteson, IL 60443] tops and bottoms exclusively.

Alex Lifeson uses the Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Custom Alex Lifeson 1976 ES-355 Reissue Electric Guitar, as confirmed by its feature in a 2026 Gibson/Epiphone magazine detailing his signature model. This information is supported by the Gibson Gazette's article, "Epiphone launches the Alex Lifeson 1976 ES-355 Reissue."

Neil Peart uses the Latin Percussion M257B Matador Series 14" / 13" Brass Timbales with Stand, as evidenced by Andrewolson's breakdown of Neil Peart's R40 Retro drum kit.

He used the Kit for the Album "Moving Pictures", With such tracks as "Tom Sawyer" and "Limelight", And he also used it for "Permanent Waves". And he also toured from 1980 to 1982.