I wasn’t happy with how the Hartman flanger sounded so I made the mistake of experimenting with the pots in back. Bad idea! Now, it’s at a friend’s shop and he’s going to try to use a scope in order to get it back to factory settings. I still wasn’t able to get the sound I was looking for and I don’t know if anything can exactly replicate the original sound Lifeson got with the EHX Electric Mistress. Maybe I should have just bit the bullet and started there first. The prices are going higher by the day.

Well, I think I found my answer — at least a partial answer. According to a recent interview with Lifeson himself, he said he used the Electric Mistress on Spirit of Radio, which I presume is the Mistress with the green writing on it?

“The flanger on that song was an Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress, which I still have. I used the Boss Chorus Ensemble, and I had graduated to the Roland Space Echo, which replaced my Echoplex.”

http://www.guitarworld.com/interview-alex-lifeson-dissects-11-key-rush-songs-anthem-test-echo?page=0,3

I had read in other posts and forums that he ran from the Mistress to the Boss Chorus Ensemble (flanger to chorus). Would that make sense or is he just referring to the effects he used in other parts of the Permanent Waves LP?

What is it about the original Electric Mistress that is so different from the modern Deluxe? I see the original units selling on ebay for as much as $400–almost four times as much as a new Deluxe. Can EHX not duplicate the original? Seems like it would be a money maker.

In any case, it’s great to see that he hasn’t let go of his Mistress over thirty years later.