Riff Tone

Fly By Night

Rush

Guitarrock1970s

Original Gear

GuitarGibson ES-335

AmpFender Twin Reverb (clean sections), possibly Marshall 50-watt for other sections, but Twin Reverb is primary for clean riff

PickupsGibson humbuckers (stock ES-335, likely Patent Number or T-Top humbuckers)

Amp Settings

gain3.5

bass6

mid6

treble7

reverb2.5

presence6

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1974 (album released 1975). Lifeson stated he used the ES-335 and a Fender Twin for clean tones on 'Fly By Night'. Echoplex was his only effect. No evidence of chorus, flanger, or other pedals on the clean riff. Settings estimated based on typical Fender Twin clean usage and era.

Tone Character(10)

bright and articulateclean with slight edgedefined attackmoderate sustainopen and airyslightly scooped midsclassic rock claritydynamic response to pickingnot compressedtouch-sensitive

Difficulty

The riff requires tight, syncopated rhythm and clean articulation, but does not involve advanced techniques or fast playing, making it accessible to intermediate players.

Sources

Rush – Fly By Night - Gear & Equipment Used on the Album Amp for early Rush/Lifeson tones (1974-1977)?Fly By Night - Rush Tone - forum topic

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