Rush (vocalist/bassist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, drummer Neal Peart) is out on a large-scale U.S. tour with gear provided by Clair Bros., including an i4 line array system and a hang of i4B supplemental bass cabs. On the ground are a few Showco double-18 subs; along the front of the stage are small P2 cabs for fill. The sound company's Jo Ravitch is out with the tour as systems tech.
Front-of-house engineer Brad Madix is manning a Digidesign D-Show Profile console, using the onboard plug-ins in addition to Crane Song Phoenix, Eventide Anthology II, Trillium Lane TL Space and Waves' Live Bundle. "Phoenix is a plug-in I'm really excited about," Madix says. "I'm not sure what it's doing, but it makes almost everything sound better. As for the Eventide, the Factory plug-in is still, so far, the only thing I've heard that does harmonization right. I'm also using the Waves SSL 4000 Bundle. The only outboard piece I'm using is a Clair Lake iO as a digital EQ insert on Geddy's vocals. I've made an effort to wean myself away from racks and racks of gear and commit to having everything on the surface in front of me. It really helps me focus on the mix."
Lee and Lifeson sing through Audio-Technica Artist Elite AE6100s. Monitor engineer Brent Carpenter reports that the duo are wearing Sennheiser IEM300 G3 transmitter/receiver systems paired with Ultimate Ears UE-7 Pros. Lifeson is also mixing on a Profile, using onboard McDSP Channel G (inserted on ear mixes for "mastering" EQ and compression), Crane Song Phoenix, TL Space reverb, Eventide Anthology, Bomb Factory comps and Digidesign Smack.
"Neil's drum kit has a large assortment of Audio-Technica and a couple of Shures," Carpenter says. "The bass is direct; the electric guitars are Palmer PDI3 and PDI5 speaker simulators, and Countryman direct boxes."