R50 Gear

A current gear guide for Rush's Fifty Something Tour, updated September 2, 2026. The core lists below now come from the official 2026/27 tour book, supplemented by post-opening-night reporting and artist/manufacturer information.

Tour gear can change night to night

Alex Lifeson — Guitar

Gibson double-necks Tour book Gibson 1275 Alex Lifeson Signature and 1969 EDS-1275 Custom Jimmy Page reissue; the double-neck role is featured in “Xanadu.”

Les Paul collection Tour book 1960 Cherry and Tomato Sunburst reissues, 1959 reissue, and the 2026 “Greeny” gifted by Kirk Hammett.

Gibson semi-hollows Tour book 1958 and 1968 ES-335s, Alex Lifeson 1976 ES-355 Limited Edition, and Epiphone ES-355 “Whitey.”

Two TONEX Anniversary Edition pedals Tour book Signature TONEX captures recreate Alex’s historic amps and song-specific tones in an ampless live rig.

Fractal Axe-Fx III Mark II Tour book Preamp/effects processing controlled from a Fractal FC-12, with presets refined for the original studio character of each song.

Additional electrics and acoustics Tour book SG Junior, Explorer, SG Standard 24, PRS Custom 22 and CE-24, Telecaster, Lerxst “Freewill,” two PRS Angelus acoustics, Alvarez classical, and Martin D12-28.

Pedalboard Tour book / confirmed Lerxst Morley volume/wah, TC Electronic looper, Tech 21 wah, Paul Cochrane Timmy overdrive, and TC Electronic Ditto X2 looper.

Geddy Lee — Bass / Keys

Rickenbackers Tour book 1961 4000 Red, 1975 4080 Jetglo, 1978 4080 Fireglo, and a 2026 custom 4001 in Turquoise Blue Sparkle.

1962 Fender Jazz Bass Geddy's No. 1 The refinished “Turquoise Green” Jazz Bass is Geddy’s current favorite; his longtime black 1972 Jazz remains in rotation.

More Fender basses Tour book 1963 Jazz basses in Sonic Blue and Fiesta Red, 1965 Silver Sparkle Jazz, 2006 Jaco fretless, 1959 Olympic White Precision, and the hand-painted 1961 “Kea” Precision.

Gibson Thunderbirds Tour book 1964 Cardinal Red reverse Thunderbird and 1967 Inverness Green non-reverse Thunderbird.

Core bass signal chain Tour book Tech 21 SansAmp GED-2112 for the main clean/dirty tones, Vintech 273 for clean tone, and Fractal Axe-Fx II XL for EQ and effects.

Analog drive and control Tour book Orange AD200 Mk3 into a Rivera RockCrusher Recording for dirty tone, two Tech 21 Shapeshifter boosts, Amalgamation chorus, Radial SGI, and Shure Axient wireless.

Geddy's keyboards Tour book Oberheim OB-X8, custom-red Minimoog Model D, and Korg MIDI pedals.

Anika Nilles — Drums / Percussion

Tour kit: The largest kit Anika has played, built by Tama and arranged close, tight, and low for her reach, power, and speed.
Sound: Tuned toward the dry concert toms and crisp, snappy snare character of early Rush while remaining tailored to Anika’s own playing style.
Cymbals and percussion: Meinl Cymbals and Meinl Percussion; her artist profile includes Byzance Extra Dry, Vintage, Foundry Reserve, Jazz, Dual, and Traditional families.
Heads and sticks: Evans drumheads and Promark sticks.
Hybrid support: Roland electronics, with digital-percussion programming by Jim Burgess. A Roland SPD-SX Pro has also been identified in show imagery.
Drum tech: Lorne “Gump” Wheaton, Neil Peart’s longtime drum technician, helped refine the kit in rehearsals.

Loren Gold — Keyboards / Vocals

Korg Kronos 3 Tour book The centerpiece of Loren’s rig, handling the primary piano and string sounds.

Viscount Legend One organ Tour book Paired with a Neo Instruments Ventilator II, Analog Alien Rumble Seat, and Wilson Effects wah.

Oberheim OB-X8 Tour book Provides the analog Oberheim character central to classic Rush keyboard parts.

Korg Nautilus Tour book Used strictly as a controller for triggering samples.

Programming Tour book Custom Ableton synth, sample, and digital-percussion programming by Jim Burgess; OB-X8 programming by Marcus Ryle.

Clean Site Summary

The current show is built around four distinct rigs. Alex runs an ampless, song-specific TONEX/Fractal system with a broad Gibson, PRS, Fender, Lerxst, and acoustic guitar rotation. Geddy’s 1962 turquoise Jazz Bass leads a 14-bass tour-book list through a hybrid Tech 21, Vintech, Fractal, and Orange signal path. Anika’s expansive Tama/Meinl kit blends early-Rush acoustic character with Roland hybrid support. Loren Gold carries more of the keyboard and sample work on Kronos 3, Legend One, OB-X8, and Nautilus instruments, freeing Geddy and Alex to focus on playing and singing.

Fifty Something official tour-book transcription Alex Lifeson live rig report August 2026 tour interview IK Multimedia TONEX collection Meinl Anika Nilles page Official Fifty Something tour