Kit’s Secret Guitar, Gear, and Music Page
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The absolute best source on the web for Gilmour gear is Gilmourish.com. I do not want to repeat the information that can be found there, but I felt since I do my own thing here with sound clips that a general guide to those effects is necessary, but I highly recommend you check out Gilmourish for a comprehensive guide to all of David Gilmour's gear and an album by album gear guide.

Below is a guide to the basic effects gear needed to create a typical David Gilmour lead tone as heard on Pink Floyd studio and live recordings. I have used every one of these effects at one time or another. This is not a comprehensive list of every effect Gilmour ever used, but just a general guide for getting the tones. Includes: compressors, fuzz/distortions, overdrives, equalizer, flangers/chorus, delays, and amplifiers. It goes without saying that you should use a Stratocaster type guitar with vintage style single coil pickups for the majority of Gilmour's tones.

For early Pink Floyd tones, up to the Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, and Animals period, you need: A fuzz face type pedal, a compressor, warm sounding analog type delay, and modulation like a Uni-vibe type pedal or a phaser like a MXR Phase 90 or EHX Small Stone. A vintage style wah pedal can also be used for some very early Pink floyd, for the bird like screams you hear in the middle section of Echoes, and the wailing sounds heard Is There Anybody Out There.

For Pink Foyd tones from Animals/The Wall/Final Cut era you need: A compressor, vintage Big Muff or vintage USA sounding Muff clone, a warm sounding digital delay, and modulation like an Electric Mistress or Boss chorus.

For Pink Floyd tones from the Momentary Lapse of Reason, Division Bell, and Pulse era you need: Sovtek Big Muff or Sovtek Muff clone, Tube Driver or other smooth overdrive type pedal, warm sounding digital delay, and modulation like Boss chorus and a Uvi-Vibe type pedal. Additional pedals like a Digitech Whammy (for Marooned and The Blue) and a volume pedal can be used for certain songs. An EQ pedal like a Boss GE-7 can also be usefull to boost the mids or lows.

Analogman Sunface fuzz face clone with Sundial knob to alter the tone, Skreddy Lunar Module fuzz, and Colorsound Overdriver

David Gilmour used the Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face and a Colorsound Power Boost for most of the fuzz tones in the 1970s, up to the Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, and Animals period. The Big Muff replaced these fuzz pedals for the most part during the Animals tour and after, so if you are not into replcating those exact 1970s era tones these pedals are not necessary. The familiar solo tones heard in the Time and Money solos are the Fuzz Face. The Colorsound Power Boost was used for rhythm work, some, solos, and possibly in conjution with the Fuzz Face for overdrive tones.

The modern Dunlop Fuzz Face pedals do not sound like a good vintage silicon transistor Fuzz Face circuit to me, but there are good boutique replicas available. I use an Analogman Sunface BC108 silicon fuzz (not the NKT275 version) and a Skreddy Pedals Lunar Module silicon fuzz. The Sunface is almost an exact clone of the old silicon Fuzz Face and the Lunar is a custom tailored pedal made by Skreddy to produce the DSOTM fuzz tones from the album, but it works for most Fuzz Face tones from the 1970s. The Lunar Module can go anywhere in the signal chain, and works well on low amp volumes as well as loud, though it does not quite have the same punch and splat that a vintage Fuzz Face has. The Sunface, on the other hand, sounds dead on to the Fuzz Face, but it must be first in line in the signal chain, does not work well with buffered pedals in the chain, can pick up radio stations and CB channels, and must run on non alkaline carbon batteries to sound its best. The Sunface/Fuzz Face tone circuit is also very succeptible to temperature, which alters its tone. But I still love them. I have the Analogman Sunface version with the Sundial, a knob which can be dialed to correct the tone back to normal when too cold or too hot, but it is also just a good knob to color the tone. I keep mine all the way counterclockwise.

The very expensive Colorsound Power Boost is still made today by Macaris of London, as well as the revised version called the Overdriver. The Overdriver circuit is almost exactly the same as the Power Boost, but with more gain on tap and a master volume control. You can also find less expensive clones like the Throbak Overdrive Boost, or even a Boss BD-2 Blues Driver with a Phat mod will work. I use the Overdriver for much of the light overdrive tones and some fuzz tones for DSOTM and WYWH, and as a light boost after the Sunface. I leave the pedal on all the time with a light setting - a trick I learned from Gilmourish.com. It really makes my tube amp sound better.

Vintage Fuzz Face and Colorsound Power Boost

For a comprehensive guide to which songs from each Pink Floyd album these effects were used on, please visit Gilmourish.com.

Shown above (left to right) - MXR Dynacomp, Boss CS-2 Compression Sustainer, Demeter Compulator

David sometimes uses compessors to add some color or clarity to his solos. A comp is a must for songs like Wish You Were Here, Another Brick in the Wall II, Coming Back to Life, as well as using them with any Big Muff solo. Compressors compress the signal (boost lows and compress highs) to add sustain and smooth out the tone. They make the notes a bit more crisp and clear by making light picking and hard picking intensity sound closer to the same volume. The settings Gilmour use create a minimal effect, but it really helps to smooth out a Big Muffs "fizz" or buzzy sound and add warmth to the tone. Some good compressors are the Boss CS-2, MXR Dynacomp, and Demeter Compulator.

I always like to add some compression from an old Boss CS-2 with my Big Muffs to punch up the clarity and smooth the Muff fizz out. It adds a really nice warmth to the tone.

For a comprehensive guide to which songs from each Pink Floyd album these effects were used on, please visit Gilmourish.com.

David's primary fuzz/distortion for solos through the 1980s and 1990s was the Big Muff, but not just any Big Muff. A good Ram's Head Big Muff, early V3 Big Muff, or Civil War Big Muff, (or clones) are the ultimate pedals for these tones. For reference, I have a page of sound clips for every Big Muff HERE. See my Big Muff website HERE for information about every Big Muff ever made.

There are other pedals with Muff based circuits that work as well as the original Muffs. In place of the Civil War Muff you could use a 1990s green Sovtek Big Muff, or a clone like the Stomp Under Foot CWM, Blackout Effectors Musket, or absolutely Analog Green Russian. In place of the Ram's Head Big Muff you could use a BYOC Large Beaver Muff clone, Stomp Under Foot RHM or VRH, Skreddy Pig Mine, or Electro-Harmonix Little Big Muff. If you have money to spend you could go the high end route and get a Pete Cornish Pete Cornish P-1 or P-2, sort of the Ferarri of Big Muffs. The ProCo Rat is a decent Muff substitute if you do not play loud and do not have a tube amplifier, but something like the Boss DS-1 is a bit too thin to get close to that tone. A modern USA reissue Big Muff, small box black Russian Big Muff, or Tone Wicker Big Muff will not handle creating this tone very well. If you can't find or can't afford a vintage Big Muff, see my page HERE for the best Muff clones available, with sound clips.

MAGIC TONE AND MUDDY MUFFS - There is a "magic" area for the tone knob setting on a Big Muff that puts it in the Gilmour territory, and that is around 35-40% /10:30-11:00 from true zero. Too low and it will sound muddy and lack clarity, and too high it will sound brite and harsh. It will vary depending on how bright your amp and other gear is set. Another thing to note is that Big Muffs have a very "scooped" tone, meaning they lack "mids" in the EQ range because they have been scooped out by the circuit. This makes the tone sound huge for solos, but it also means the Big Muff occupies much of the same EQ space as the bass guitar does in a band. This can sometimes cause the Muff to get lost in a band mix and sound muddy. Adding mids with the EQ knobs on a boost pedal like a Tube Driver, adding mids with an EQ pedal, or simply compressing the Muff tone with a compressor pedal to add clarity, can correct that problem. Some Muff like pedals and Muff clones have mids added to the circuit already or mids switches, like the Skreddy pedals. Others have mids knobs built in, like the Blackout Effectors Musket and BYOC Beaver.

For Pink Floyd's Animals/The Wall/Final Cut/Momentary Lapse of Reason tones David used a Ram's Head Big Muff and a Pete Cornish P-1 Ram's Head Muff clone (prior to The Wall recordings and in 2006). For the Delicate Sound of Thunder and Division Bell/Pulse era tones he used a Civil War Sovtek Big Muff and a Pete Cornish P-2 modified Muff clone. In 2006 he used the P-1 and an old Traingle Big Muff. For a comprehensive guide to which songs from each Pink Floyd album these effects were used on, please visit Gilmourish.com.

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Shown above (left to right) - 1973 "Traingle" Big Muff, 1974 "Ram's Head" Big Muff, 1994 "Civil War" Big Muff

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Shown above (left to right) - David Gilmour's Ram's Head and Electric Mistress in 1977, Ram's Head Big Muff from his 1986 board, his Pete Cornish P-2 modified Ram's Head Big Muff clone from the Division Bell/Pulse board, Civil War Big Muff from the Division Bell/Pulse board, and both Ram's Head and Triangle Big Muffs on top of David's On an Island 2006 tour board

Left to Right - The old Chandler Tube Driver made without designer B.K. Butler's authorization, the better B.K. Butler/Chandler Tube Driver ("Pulse" Tube Driver) and the reissue Tube Drivers hand made by B.K. Butler

The Tube Driver replaced the Colorsound Power Boost David used in the 1970s and Pete Cornish ST-2 Booster (Power Boost clone) from the late 1970s. He used this pedal for his light and heavy overdrive tones heard in songs like Coming Back to Life, Marooned, A Great Day for Freedom, and the live versions of Shine on You Crazy Diamond. It was also used to boost his big Muffs. David used two BK Butler/Chandler Tube Drivers in his 1990s live rig. One was set for overdrive, and one was set for a light boost to drive the Muffs a bit harder, and to use alone for a boosted clean tones. Gilmour's 2006 board used two new B.K. Butler hand made Tube Drivers in the same manner. There are many other versions of the Tube Driver. I have played most of them and I suggest staying away from any but the three shown above.

Boss BD-2 Blues Driver with "fat" mod

Tube Drivers are expensive and many people cannot get along with them. They are also large, taking up considerable space on a pedal board. They also use 12AX7 tubes that must be replaced periodically. There are many pedals that offer similar light boost and overdrive tones that work great for Gilmour. Some good ones are the Boss BD-2 Blues Driver with fat mod, Vintage effects ColorDrive, the Throbak Overdrive Boost. The Blackout Effectors Musket and Skreddy Lunar Module also do very nice overdrive tones an addition to great Muff/fuzz tones. Some other good ones, but on the expensive side are the Skreddy Screw Driver, Pete Cornish SS-2, and Pete Cornish G-2 fuzz.

David Gilmour's 1994 custom Bob Bradshaw modded effects rig, with Phil Taylor's pedals-to-rack rack setup. Cornish modded effect pedals are mounted on top of the rig, including two BK Butler/Chandler Tube Drivers. Note the blue tick marks by the knobs in these enhanced photos, indicating that the settings in these press photos are likely Gilmour's actual settings. The tick marks are to ensure the pedal settings are the same from show to show. Gilmour has similar marks on his 2006 all-tube Pete Cornish board.

David sometimes uses an equalizer to alter his guitar tones, adding some subtle tone shaping. Big Muffs have a very "scooped" tone, meaning they lack "mids" in the EQ range. This makes the tone sound huge for solos, but it also means the Big Muff occupies much of the same EQ space as the bass guitar does in a band. This can sometimes cause the Muff to get lost in a band mix and sound muddy. Adding some mids with an EQ can correct this problem.

David's primary EQ was the Boss GE-7. He had three of these in his Division Bell rig and in his custom Pete Cornish pedal boards. I use it to add a bit more bass and highs to my Big Muff tone. Best when used at light settings to avoid adding hiss and noise to your signal. Some people prefer to boost mids and cut bass to make their Big Muff's stand out more in a band mix, or slightly boost the volume for solos.

Left to right - The excellent Boss CE-2, the not so excellent Boss CE-3, and the better CE-5 chorus ensemble with mix knob, Deluxe Electric Mistress flanger, and MXR Phase 90 phaser

David's solo tones are almost always modulated and "liquid" sounding. David first created this sound with rotating speaker "Leslie" type cabinets in the 1970s, then he started using a flanger, then a chorus - but all were used to accomplish the same thing - adding a light modulated warble to create space and depth in the tone. His favorite and most used modulated effect was the Boss CE-2 chorus. It is a very rich and warm sounding modulation. David had one amp dedicated to the CE-2 in his Division Bell / Pulse rig, so it was not 100% in the mix. The CE-2 was used for almost every song on Pulse, especially on his Big Muff solos. For a few songs David has also uses an MXR Phase 90 and a Univox Uni-Vibe. The Uni-Vibe simulated the "warble" of a Leslie type rotating speaker cabinet and the Phase 90 create a phased sweep that oscillated through the tone. A huge part of David's modulated sound both in the studio and live are his Leslie typeand Doppola rotating speaker cabinets, though these are very expensive. In 2006 Gilmour changed his sound to be drier with very little modulation.

The CE-2 is the primary chorus I use, but it is a very dominant effect, almost too much for my liking. To cut the effect back a bit I use a two amp setup, with one amp dedicated the chorus, or I use a bypass pedal with a mix knob to mix the chorus into my signal at 50-70%. Another CE-2 substitutes is the Boss CE-3, but that one is more tinny and digital sounding than the CE-2. The Boss CE-5 is another that is equally as good as the CE-2. The CE-5 is one of the best because it features a mix knob built in. For heavy, more dominant modulation like you hear on The Wall live performances, and some songs on The Wall and Final Cut studio recordings, use a vintage Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress Flanger, or Deluxe Elecric Mistress Flanger (not the stereo Electic Mistress).

Some of the various modulated effects David has used live are:

Yamaha RA-200 rotating speaker cabinet - The Wall studio recordings and live 1980/1981 - a very dominant effect unless parallel mixed.

18v green Electic Mistress flanger - The Wall live tour 1980/1981 - a very dominant effect unless parallel mixed. In the settings David used it almost sounded like a chorus.

Boss CE-3 chorus - About Face tour 1984 - Not the best sounding Boss chorus, but David managed to make it sound good in his rig.

Boss CE-2 chorus - A Momentary Lapse of Reason and Division Bell tours 1987 - 1994. This is perhaps the best chorus ever made, though it is a very dominant effect. David had a separate amp dedicated to the CE-2.

Doppola rotating speakers - Division Bell tour 1994. I think this was used with the CE-2 on some songs. The Doppolas were basically heavy duty rotating speakers that created the "doppler" effect of a smaller Leslie speaker, but the Doppolas were larger with more output volume, and more suitable for live use.

Yamaha RA-200 "Leslie" style rotating speaker cabinet, Vintage Univox Uni-Vibe and Electro-Harmonix 18v green Electic Mistress flanger used by David Gilmour in the 1970s through early 1980s

For a comprehensive guide to which songs from each Pink Floyd album these effects were used on, please visit Gilmourish.com.

Left to right - Boss DD-2 Digital Delay, Boss DD-20 Giga Delay, T.C. Electronic Nova Delay, MXR Carbon Copy delay

An essential part of the Gilmour "wet" sound is delay, or echo. David always uses long delays to help create a his big, liquidy solo tones. Some people may think this is reverb, but David rarely, if ever, used reverb. Delay times can vary from 300 ms - 550 ms depending on the song, with 3-4 repeats. David used the Bison Echorec analog delay in the 1970s. He used an MXR Digital Delay System to simulate the sound of his old Echorec around the time of The Wall, and the Boss DD-2 digital delay. Around 1988 he replaced the MXR delay with the System II version. For the 1987-1990 Momentary Lapse of Reason and 1994 Division Bell tours David used a TC Electronic 2290 digital delay for his primary delay sound. In addition to creating his wet tone, David also used digital delays to play in time with on songs like Another Brick in The Wall I, II, and III, Run Like Hell, The Hero's Return, One Slip, and Take It Back.

I have used several delays for Gilmour tones, my favorite being the TC Electonic Nova delay. Other good digital delays I have used over the years include the Boss DD-2, DD-3 (same as the DD-2), DD-20, and the Ibanez DE-7. All are good, warm sounding digital delays. The DD-2 and DD-3 are great for songs like Another Brick II and Run Like Hell. The Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man, MXR Carbon Copy, and T Rex Replica delays are three other good analog delays that have a warm tape delay sound, though these may be too warm sounding for the DSOT and Pulse tones. Some people are tempted to add amp reverb, but reverb will suck and color all the "Gilmour" out of your tone. If you must use it, I suggest keeping it dialed in low. I always have the reverb on when I use my Fender Twin Reverb, but never set above 3.

Vintage Binson Echorec II, MXR Digital Delay rack unit, MXR Digital Delay System II, and TC Electronic 2290 Digital Delay rack unit

PARALLEL MIXING - David has been running his delay signal parallel with the main signal for many years. The main signal is split so one side goes straight through the pedal chain and one side goes through his delay, then both are mixed back together before they go into the amp. The reason for this is to keep the integrity of the original dry signal as pure as possible so there is no tone lost in the circuit of the delay. It also seems to makes the delay repeats sound smoother. This parallel system has been used from the Division Bell tour rig to David's On an Island rig, and possibly going back to the time of The Wall.

To use a delay for parallel mixing, it needs to be able so send a signal 100% wet, with just the echo repeats and no dry signal. Many delays do this, including the Boss DD-2 (you need a dummy plug for one of the out jacks to get the other to send the wet signal only), Boss DD-3, Ibanez DE7, TC Electronics Nova Delay, Boss DD20 Delay, EHX Deluxe Memory Man, the old MXR Delay system II, and many others. You need a bypass loop mixer pedal that allows the dry signal to be split in two, then remixed back together. One side goes into a loop where you place your delay, then sent back to be mixed with the dry signal going straight through the pedal. These bypass loop pedals usually include a buffer circuit to keep the signal balanced. The delay should be set to 100% wet so only the delay repeats are sent out, and none of the dry signal. There are several mixer pedals that can be used for this. I have tried the Boss LS-2 Line Selector, the Radial Big Shot mixer, and the Barge VB Jr. With these pedals you can set the wet signal to mix 100% with the dry signal or mix for less wet. Be aware that mixing less may reduce your overall output volume because one side of the signal level is being reduced. I have found it is better to keep the mix balanced and use a delay that has a volume control to change the delay level rather than reduce the wet level in the mixer.

For a comprehensive guide to which songs from each Pink Floyd album these effects were used on, please visit Gilmourish.com.

TYPE OF AMPS - For amplification, David typically uses clean, real tube amplifiers with lots of head room. "Clean" meaning the amp does not break up or distort when you turn it up. Sending a Muff signal into a slightly dirty amp generally sounds bad for Gilmour tone from my experience. Solid state amps will work, as long as they are clean, but real tube amps sound better. Pedals like the Big Muff, Fuzz Face, and Tube Driver seem to react with and sound much better with tubes.

HIGH VOLUME - Having the amp vary loud is also important for these tones. The hotter the tubes get in the amp, the more saturated and smooth the tone gets. The louder the speaker is, the more natural breakup will be added to the tone, and having the volume right on the edge of feedback is best. A Hiwatt DR-103 would be the ultimate amp for this tone, and that is David's main live amp. A Reeves Custom 50 or Reeves Custom 100 Hiwatt clone is another option. Modern Hiwatt amps can be used but they are very expensive, and the consensus is that they do not sound as good as the older Hiwatts. David has also used wide a varierty of other tube amps for recording, including a Fender Tweed Twin, and other Fender amps.

LOW VOLUME - Playing at low, home/ apartment/ bedroom playing volumes with a 50-100w amp will NOT give you a very good tone. If volume is an issue, I definitely recommend going with a smaller, single speaker amp for the best tone. I recommend smaller tube amps, 15w or less with one 12" speaker. You can still get the tubes hot and saturated to make the tone sound it's best.

For a comprehensive guide to the amps used for each Pink Floyd album, and a great buyers guide to Gilmourish sounding amps, please visit Gilmourish.com.

Hiwatt DR-103 head, Gilmour signature live amp

I use a Fender Twin Reverb 100w amp in input #2, volume around 5, with the settings above