Legendary Tone
David Gilmour of Pink Floyd
David Gilmour's guitar tone is the product of a very extensive and very expensive rig; and while it may seem like a nearly impossible tone to achieve, there are ways of acquiring the right gear on any budget.
The first thing to consider is guitar choice. David Gilmour is known almost exclusively as a Fender Stratocaster player. There are many types of strats out there but the main things to focus on are the pickups. These give the strat its unique tone. The Fender Custom Shop '69 and '50 pickups work best for achieving Gilmour's strat sounds. As far as the authenticity of his Stratocaster, a '57 or '57 reissue model would be ideal.
Next is the Amplifier. Gilmour uses amplifiers that work well guitar effects pedals and have plenty of clean headroom. This means the amp doesn't break up into overdrive so easily. This is important to getting that super clean tone. Gilmour uses Hiwatt Amps because of their clean tone and spacious headroom. Fender amps work as well; Gilmour himself used Fender amps in the studio sometimes. Fender Amps such as: the Fender Twin Reverb, Fender Bassman and Fender Hot Rod DeVille work very well.
Delay is essential to David's tone. Preferably, one delay for analog echo and one for a digital delay. There are a few companies who make one delay pedal that cover all your delay needs such as: the TC Electronic Flashback Delay.
Overdrive and distortion are also essential for Gilmour's rhythm/lead tones. A good transparent clean boost/overdrive unit like the Throbak Overdrive Boost will do great things to your tone. For achieving that singing lead tone heard in songs like comfortably numb a Big Muff is the best option. However, the current versions sold are not the same as Gilmour's. The best bet is buying a clone of a Violet Ram's Head Big Muff. A company called North Effects makes a great clone that can be found here. If you are looking for a more versatile set up the Fulltone OCD and ProCo RAT are excellent choices.
Modulation is key in almost all of Gilmour's sounds. A flanger is the pedal that will give your lead tone that swirl. But only one in particular will give you the right sound: The Electro Harmonix Electric Mistress. However Hartman makes a perfect clone of this because the Electric Mistress is now discontinued. A phaser is another essential Gilmour modulation effect. The vintage MXR Phase90 and EHX Small Stone are the perfect choice for Gilmour's phase tones. And finally the Uni-Vibe is a must for achieving that mellow chorus type tone heard on Dark Side of the Moon's, 'Breathe.' A good clone of this is the Fulltone Deja-Vibe
Finally, a compressor, used in many genres; Gilmour uses a compressor to achieve that sparkling pristine clean tone for rhythm and to add sustain to his lead sounds. A popular choice, also used by Gilmour, is the MXR DynaComp.
The first thing to consider is guitar choice. David Gilmour is known almost exclusively as a Fender Stratocaster player. There are many types of strats out there but the main things to focus on are the pickups. These give the strat its unique tone. The Fender Custom Shop '69 and '50 pickups work best for achieving Gilmour's strat sounds. As far as the authenticity of his Stratocaster, a '57 or '57 reissue model would be ideal.
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David Gilmour Fender Custom Shop Signature Stratocaster
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Hiwatt DG-103 Custom Amplifier Head
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Overdrive and distortion are also essential for Gilmour's rhythm/lead tones. A good transparent clean boost/overdrive unit like the Throbak Overdrive Boost will do great things to your tone. For achieving that singing lead tone heard in songs like comfortably numb a Big Muff is the best option. However, the current versions sold are not the same as Gilmour's. The best bet is buying a clone of a Violet Ram's Head Big Muff. A company called North Effects makes a great clone that can be found here. If you are looking for a more versatile set up the Fulltone OCD and ProCo RAT are excellent choices.
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| EHX 1972 Violet Ram's Head Big Muff |
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| Colorsound Power Boost |
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| EHX Electric Mistress |
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| EHX Small Stone Phaser |
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| Dunlop Uni-Vibe |
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| MXR Script Issue DynaComp |
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