NOTE: This website is frequently updated. Last update March 2024.
Gilmour's Cornish modified guitar effects rig, amplifiers, and shoulder pads used in 1990
Pete (Cornish) stabilised and altered the power supply for the Bradshaw foot controller board which, minus its audio side, was retained when the system was completely rebuilt for the 'Division Bell' tour. We essentially married the board to a Pete Cornish audio routing system. - Phil Taylor, March 1997 Sound On Stage
1990 - THE KNEBWORTH FESTIVAL CONCERT RIG - Bob Bradshaw/CAE assembled the original version of this pedal board, rack effects, and switching system for the Momentary Lapse of Reason tour. The system had problems during that tour however, resulting in one show being stopped when the system broke down. Around March 1990 effects rig guru Pete Cornish was brought in to rebuild sections of the rig, add new effects, and install a new switching system prior to the one-off performance by Pink Floyd at the Knebworth Festival in June 1990. This version of the rig can be heard and seen in recordings of the televised Knebworth Park Festival performance by Pink Floyd in June 1990, officially released in 2019 on CD and Blu Ray in Pink Floyd's The Later Years boxed set. Below is a selection of Gilmour solos from that concert.
Solos from Kenbworth Festival 1990
David playing the intro to Shine on You Crazy Diamond with his 57V Fender Strat with EMG-SA pickups
David playing Comfortably Numb in the rain at Knebworth Park
The rack effects were changed, including a new Pete Cornish switching system with built in buffers. An Alembic F2-B preamp was added as the master preamp for the rig in place of the Custom Hiwatt AP100 preamps. The F2-B was a bass preamp, similar to the preamp used in the Fender Showman/Fender Twin Reverb. Using the F2-B preamp for the whole rig was something unique to both the 1990 and 1994 Pink Floyd rigs, but it was never used this way after that. David had been using an F2-B in front of his Yamaha RA-200 rotating speaker cabinets since the late 1970s, but in 1990 he decided to try it in place of his Hiwatt preamps. According to Pete, David decided he no longer liked the EQ of the Hiwatt tone stack and prefered the F2-B. In essence, Pete merged the Fender tone stack with a Hiwatt power amp, but with some modifications to make it work better in this rig and with the closed back speaker cabinets being used. David wanted to boost the mid range above the maximum stock range, more like the Hiwatt tone stack, and cut the bass below the minimum stock range. Pete was asked to make the following modifications to the F2-B in 1990:
• change the Bright switch to an upper mid range boost - Note, David did not use this mod
• change the mid range control to allow more mids boost at the top end of the pot sweep - similar to the Hiwatt mid range response
• change the bass capacitor to reduce some of the low frequencies when the bass pot was set to minimum -
...This was because the sound of the Celestion speakers was too boomy through the closed back Marshall speaker cabinets
• move the inputs from the front of the Alembic to the back back in order to better facilitate its use in the rack system
• Bring the F2-B up to current signal voltage and impedance standards, which included adding a master volume control for each channel on the back to lower the output, and adding a ground lift transformer and tube buffer to lower the impedance on the outputsNote that Phil Taylor, David's backline tech, stated in a 1994 interview that an extra preamp tube was added to give the Alembic a slight amount of drive, and this was quoted in several guitar magazines. That seems to be innacurate, according to Pete Cornish. Possibly Phil misunderstood the output tube buffer mod that Pete added.
The F2-B was placed in the effects rack near the end of the signal chain. Since it was used as the master preamp for the whole rig, the three DR103 Hiwatts from the 1988-89 tour were modified by Pete Cornish to add insertion points to bypass the preamps, so only the Hiwatt power amps were used. This allowed a Fender/Hiwatt blend.
The modified Alembic F2-B preamp with hole covers in place of the front input jacks, which were moved to the back of the unit. The preamps in the three Hiwatt DR103 power amplifiers were bypassed in order to use the F2-B as the master preamp for the rig.
A Cornish P-Fuzz (Precision Fuzz, later re-named the P-2) remained the primary distortion pedal for the high gain lead tones. The P-Fuzz in this rig appeared to be a later version than the one used in the 1989 rig. It was housed in an all-black enclosure with a Pete cornish ID label on front end, rather than the gray hammerite enclosure the previous P-Fuzz was housed in. A Rat and extra Boss GE-7 were added to the pedal board. The two Mesa/Boogie amp heads used as overdrives from the 1989 leg of the tour were removed and replaced with a rack mounted 1989 Mesa/Boogie Studio Preamp. In the July 1995 issue of guitarist magazine Pete Cornish described the Boogie's use as "in effect, a preamp." However, the effect signal chains show it was actually used as an overdrive and to blend with the Boss MZ-2 Digital Metalizer and Cornish P-Fuzz, as on the previous tour. The rhythm channel overdrive from the Studio Pre sounds very similar to the Mesa/Boogie Mark III. It was also much easier to incorporate into the signal chain than the Mark III rack head since it required no dummy load on the speaker output.
David Gilmour's rack mounted Mesa/Boogie 2 channel Studio Preamp. The Studio Pre was used as an overdrive and to blend with the MZ-2 and P-2. These photos were shot by Pete Cornish in his shop after completing modifications to the rig, so the settings may not be accurate to what David actually used on the 1989 leg of the tour, but I believe they are close. The lead drive and master knobs are set to 0 and the rhythm channel is set to the on positionon position, so I think the rhythm channel was used when combining with the P-2.
I am a big fan of the Mesa/Boogie Studio Preamp. The design and layout are similar to the Mesa/Boogie Mark III, using circuitry similar to the Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+. It was marketed as a less expensive version of Mesa's Quad Studio Preamp. The Quad was two separate preamps in one box - one identical to the 2 channel Studio Preamp, which is a Mark IIC circuit, and the other based on the original 2 channel Mark III circuit. Obviously the power amp stage of the mark II/III is missing from the Studio, but David was really only using the Boogie for the overdrive from its preamp stage. The fact that David used the single Studio Pre instead of the Quad version is another indication that he ONLY used the Boogie for its rhythm preamp channel, not the lead channel. It has same cascading gain stage design and tone versatility, as well as Mesa's trademark 5 band graphic equalizer.
The clean tone from the rhythm channel is pure Fender tone - very much like a Fender Blackface or early Silverface circuit. Like the Alembic F2-B, the Studio Preamp clean channel circuit is basically the same as the Fender Twin Reverb, minus the tube output stage. I would go as far to say that when the Studio is used as a preamp it matches the Alembic F2-B preamp sound, but with far more versatility. But of course the F2-B was actually used as a preamp, where the Studio was used as an overdrive effect in the signal chain in this rig. Some light overdrive can be dialed in using the rhythm channel, nearly replicating the same sound David got with the Mark III rack head when using the MAIN signal output (not the Recording outs) on the back of the Studio. It really adds a lot to the tone when blending with an EHX Big Muff, Boss HM-2, or Cornish P-2. The 5 band EQ is where the tone of those pedals can be accurately sculpted into Gilmour's high gain lead tones heard from 1988 - 1990.
Gilmour's guitar effects rig and amplifiers used in 1990
The Pete Cornish P-Fuzz, a custom mde Big Muff with a brighter mid range than most of the Electro-Harmonix originals. This version of the P-Fuzz was housed in a black enclosure with a Cornish ID label on the front end, rather than the gray hammerite enclosure of the P-Fuzz in the 1988-89 rig. In the late 2000s it was sold to the public in a larger gray enclosure with a built in buffer stange. It was re-named the P-2 Fuzz, then simplified to just P-2.
The Boss MZ-2 Digital Metalizer was used as an overdrive and blended with the Mesa/Boogie Studio Preamp for Money
David Gilmour's 1990 pedalboard after Pete Cornish modifications (left side top row) two Boss CS-2 compressors, Ibanez TS10 Tube Screamer, ProCo Rat
(left side bottom row) four boss GE-7 equalizers (one for each effect above)
(right side top row) TC Electronic BLD (Booster + Line Driver & Distortion), Boss MZ-2 Digital Metalizer, Pete Cornish P-Fuzz (modified Big Muff), Boss CE-2 chorus (left)
(right side bottom row) three Boss GE-7 equalizers (one for each effect above), Boss CE-2 chorus
(shown above left and midle) David Gilmour's 1990 effects rack - left side
Pete Cornish custom built effects router with each effect-on LED labeled
Alembic F2-B preamp with Pete Cornish modifications
Mesa/Boogie Studio Preamp
(shown above right) David Gilmour's 1990 effects rack - right side
Furman Power Conditioner
TC2290 Digital Delay
TC2290 Digital Delay
MXR Digital Delay System II
Lexicon PCM70 Digital Effects Processor
Gilmour's guitar effects rig and amplifiers used at Knebworth
Gilmour's effects router used at Knebworth
1990 SONG-BY-SONG SIGNAL CHAINS - David's effect router LEDs are visible for each song in the video so it was possible to match those up with the effects labeled in the router photos to determine the exact signal chains for each song. The concert was short, so most of the effects were never used.
Shine On You Crazy Diamond
....Intro Solo – Comp 1 (Boss CS-2) > Mesa/Boogie Studio Preamp > TC 2290 Digital Delay 1 > Boss CE-2 chorus (left)
....Outro Delay Pattern – Comp 2 (Boss CS-2) > CE-2 chorus > TC2290 Delay > Boss CE-2 chorus (left)Great Gig In the Sky
....Slide Guitar – Comp 2 (Boss CS-2) > TC 2290 Digital Delay > CE-2 chorus (left) .Sorrow
....Intro/Outro – Cornish P-2 > Mesa/Boogie Studio Preamp > TC 2290 Digital Delay 1 > CE-2 chorus (left)
.......I think David is switching on the Mesa/Boogie EQ stage with a foot switch for the intro/outro
....Solos – Cornish P-2 > Mesa/Boogie Studio Preamp > TC 2290 Digital Delay 1 > CE-2 chorus (left) .Money
....Intro Riff – Comp 1 (Boss CS-2) > MZ-2 Metalizer > Mesa/Boogie Studio Preamp > Boss CE-2 chorus (left)
....First Solo – Cornish P-2 > Mesa/Boogie Studio Preamp > TC 2290 Digital Delay 1 > CE-2 chorus (left)
....Dry Solo – Cornish P-2 > Mesa/Boogie Studio Preamp > CE-2 chorus (left)Comfortably Numb
....Intro and Solos – Cornish P-2 > Mesa/Boogie Studio Preamp > TC 2290 Digital Delay 1 > CE-2 chorus (left)
.....David kicks on a second delay for the unison bend part of the solo, but I cannnot tell which oneRun Like Hell
....Comp 2 (Boss CS-2) > CE-2 chorus > TC 2290 Digital Delay 1 > CE-2 chorus (left)
....
* Thanks and More Thanks to: Dustin Tiemeier and Carl Fuehrer who authored the old David Gilmour Home Page (now defunct), the first place I read about this rig on the internet, way back in 1998, and one of the first Gilmour resources on the web. Thanks to John Roscoe and Bob Bradshaw for help, notes, and photos of the 1987-88 rig and signal chain, and Pete Cornish of course.
1989-1992 STEREO RIG AND SESSION WORK - From 1989-1993 David used a smaller, simpler stereo rig than his 1984-1989 rigs. The first version of this rig began in 1987 and included a pair of Seymour Duncan Convertible 100 amps with an Alembic F2-B preamp and Hiwat SA212 combo stacked on top. He used that rig for his Saturday Night Live appearance in '87, his performance with Les Paul in 1988, his sessions with Paul Young for the song Heaven Can Wait in 1990, and for his guest appearances in John Martyn's band for his Apprentice tour in 1990. Later in 1990 the Convertible amps were swapped for two 59 Fender Bassmans, which Fender reissued that year. David bought two for his live rig and studio work. The Fender Bassman was one of Fenders all-time classic amps, originally built in 1952. Marshall even knockoff off the Bassman with their JTM-45 "Bluesbreaker," only with 12" speakers instead of 10".
I did a lot of things. I was bored - and flattered to be asked. Some of the things I don’t have a lot of affection for, and some I’ve never even heard. With Grace Jones, I’m on one version of Slave to Rhythm, but I can’t really hear myself on it. I can become a perfectionist when I’m with Pink floyd, but going in, doing a guitar solo and then leaving is great. - David Gilmour, Total Guitar
On a few ocassions the Bassmans were stacked on top of two Hiwatt SA212 50 watt combos, one Fender/Hiwatt combo stack on the left, and one on the right. An MXR Digital Delay System II rack unit usually sat in the middle, on top of the amps, and a Boss CE-2 chorus was in line going to one of the combo stacks, giving it a stereo sound. The first time I remember seeing the four amp version of this stereo setup was the Cali, Colombia 1992 concert, with the two Bassmans and two SA212 Hiwatts. David used this same stereo amp setup for the 1993 Division Bell recording sessions.
The first version of David's 1990s stereo rig - two Seymour Duncan Convertible 100 amps and a Hiwatt SA-212. An MXR Digital Delay System 2 and Alembic F2-B
preamp are stacked on top of the Hiwatt. David is playing an Eric Clapton Strat in the Paul Young session (left image) and in John Martyn's band (middle and right images)
David's pedalboard was also simplified in this period. He used a small board that included a Boss CS-3 compressor, ProCo Rat, Boss GE-7 (or sometimes two) for reducing the mids and boosting the bass of the Rat, a stereo Ernie Ball volume pedal, a Boss CE-2 chorus, and what appears to be a Cornish line driver. A second Boss CE-2 was often seen placed in between the amps, under the MXR delay. A boss DD-2 was also sometimes placed on or between the amps. The first time I remember seeing this small pedalboard was in the Smoke on The Water session video for the Rock Aid Armenia charity in 1989, but it was likely used in 1988 as well, as I think he used if for his performance of Deep in the Blues with Les Paul in 1988.
There are not many photos from this period where David's actual settings can be seen clearly, but below are general settings that work for most of the high gain lead tones, neck pickup overdrive, and clean tones. David likely changed his settings to suit the need. Simply changing the tone knob on the CS-3 and moving the 100Hz (far left) slider up or down on the GE-7 allows for a wide range of tonal adjustment.
That pedal board is actually very versatile. The CS-3 compressor included a tone knob that was great for fine tuning the treble going into the Rat, and GE-7 can be used to sculpt the tone following the Rat. Using the bridge pickup on the guitar, the Rat and GE-7 can be dialed into a Big Muff type sound. The Rat is very mid range heavy, as is the Hiwatt SA-212, so the GE-7 was used to cut the mids, and sometimes boost the bass. Using the neck pickup of the EMG Strat into a clean Fender amp, the Rat creates a beautiful blues tone. Along with the GE-7, the Rat sounds very similar to the BK Butler Tube Drivers David would later use for his neck pickup leads. Using just the CS-3 and CE-2 with some delay into a clean Fender or Hiwatt nails David's clean neck pickup tones from this era.
David standing next to his 1990 pedalboard
There are two unidentified boxes on the pedal board. One is probably a bypass switch for the MXR digital delay and the other is possibly a line driver. Presumably the two outputs of the stereo Ernie Ball volume pedal go to each of the left and right amps in the two amp version, but it is not clear how the signal chain was setup in the three and four amp version. There were several ways to make this setup "stereo," but the simplest one David used was to run a second Boss CE-2 chorus to only the stack on one side. A CE-2 was almost always seen in between or on top of the amps. A Boss DD-2 digital delay was seen on top of the amps in some performances, and the DD-2 has two outputs for stereo, so that may have been another way David split the stereo signal. David may have also used a Y splitter cord, or daisy chained one channel of a Bassman to the Hiwatt input on each stack, or vise versa.
David's simplified 1990 pedal board seenon his floating recording studio, the Astoria (left) and in John Martyn's band (right)
This rig was used extensively for David's many guest guitarist appearances on other musicians recordings and numerous benefit and charity concerts from 1989-1992. This is just a partial list of those sessions recordings and live performances:
Deep in the Blues - with Les Paul. Guitar (1988) This may be David's HM-2 + Mesa/Boogie rig, but it sounds like the Rat rig to me.
Run Straight Down - Warren Zevon. Guitar (1989)
Smoke on The Water - Rock Aid Armenia. Guitar (1989)
Can't Let Go - Vicky Brown. Guitar (1989)
Flowers in the Dirt - Paul McCartney. Guitar (1989)
Como El Agua - Roe. Guitar (1990)
Only One World - Propaganda. Guitar (1990)
Running Up That Hill (cover), Alive - Blue Pearl (1990)
Understanding Women - Elton John. Guitar (1990)
Sasha - Michael Kamen. Guitar (1990)
Heaven Can Wait - Paul Young. Guitar (1990)
Are You Lonely - All About Eve. Guitar (1991)
Stone Cold - The Law. Guitar (1991)
Wishing The Hours Away, Wishing The Hours Away - All About Eve. Guitar (1991)
Hey Joe - David Gilmour with Seal - Live at the Amnesty International's Big 30 (December 1991)
On the Turning Away - David Gilmour - Live at the Amnesty International's Big 30 (December 1991)
Rock Me - Donovan. Guitar (1991)
Once, Once In The Middle Of Nowhere, Berliners, Burn the World - Roy Harper. Guitar (1990)
Purple Rain - live with Tom Jones band (1992)
Way's To Cry - John Martyn. Guitar (1992)
Waiting For The Sunshine, Only Love (Can Bring Us Home) - Jimmy Nail. Guitar (1992)
Standin' Around Cryin - Paul Rodgers. Guitar (1992)
I Put a Spell on You - live with Mica Paris, on Jools Holland's Mr. Roadrunner television Series (June 1992)
In a Broken Dream - Rod Stewart. Guitar (1992)
ECOMUNDO 92 concert in Cali, Columbia, South America - Gilmour performed 4 songs with the house band, and 5 with Roger Daltry (December 4th, 1992)
There are numerous examples of David's stellar playing using this setup , like Warren Zevon's Run Straight Down from 1989, I Put a Spell on You with Mica Paris in 1992, and many others. Here is a 14 minute medley of different Gilmour guitar solos from the 1980s and early 1990s, many of which sound like exactly the same setup. Here is the Song List in the order they are heard.
Gilmour Guest Solos from the mid 1980's - early 1990's.
Most of the time David was using the bridge pickup with this setup, but occasionally he used the neck pickup on songs such as the version of I Put A Spell On You he played with Mica Paris and Jools Holland. This setup sounds great with either pickup, but I suggest turning the guitar volume down slightly and adding a compressor when using the neck pickup.
1991 - AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL BIG 3-0 - David Gilmour, along with Jools Holland, was the musical director for the Amnesty International Big 3-0 anniversary TV special, featuring numerous guest musicians. The concert aired in August 1991. David played guitar with several performers, including with Tom Jones, a rocking performance of Hey Joe with Seal, a performance of On the Turning Away with his house band, and bass guitar on Big Bottom with Spinal Tap. He used his red EMG Strat, two Fender Bassman amps, his small Boss/Rat pedal board, an extra Boss CE-2 going to one Bassman, and MXR Digital Delay System II rack unit. The distortion for his lead tones was the Rat.
Below are a few guitar solos from those performances.
On the Turning Away Guitar Solo 1991
Hey Joe Guitar Solo 1991
David performing On the Turning Away
David performing Hey Joe with Seal
Boss CE-2 chorus and MXR Digital Delay System II on top of the Bassman amps
GETTING DAVID'S HEY JOE TONE - This one is similar to the 1990-1992 STEREO RIG settings shown above. I use a Strat with EMG-SA neck pickup, guitar volume on 7, SPC control on maximum, and EXG control off. Pedals are a Boss CS-3 compressor, ProCo Rat, Boss GE-7 equalizer, Boss CE-2 chorus, and a TC Nova Delay going into a Fender Bassman reissue. The delay time is 440ms, tone dialed to a clean digital sound, around 7 repeats, with the delay volume relatively high. David actually used two CE-2s for this song, the one on his pedalboard that was going to both Bassmans, and one in front one of the Bassmans to enhance the left/right stereo field.
You can also use a Tube Driver instead of the Rat to get a similar tone. This clips is the same setup as above, but with a 1980s Tube Driver.
Hey Joe with BK Butler Tube Driver
GETTING DAVID'S ONTHE TURNING AWAY TONE - This one is similar to the settings shown above, but I think David had the CE-2 chorus on his pedalboard switched off, so you only hear the second CE-2 that was going to one Bassman. That means the chorus was only about 50% in the mix. You can do that with one amp by running the CE-2 through a looper pedal with a mix knob, like the Boss LS-2, or use a Boss CE-2B, which has a mix knob. I use a Strat with EMG-SA bridge pickup, guitar volume on maximum, SPC control on maximum, and EXG control off. Pedals are a Boss CS-3 compressor, ProCo Rat, Boss GE-7 equalizer, Boss CE-2 chorus (50% in mix), and a TC Nova Delay going into a Fender Bassman reissue. The delay time is 580ms, tone dialed to a clean digital sound, around 5 repeats, with the delay volume relatively high.
1991 - LA CARRERA PANAMERICANA - In December 1991 Pink Floyd recorded the soundtrack for La Carrere Panamericana, a film broadcast on the BBC in December 1991. It documented David and Nick Mason's journey in the 3000 mile South American car race. The music was mostly existing and reworked Pink Floyd material. It was released on VHS video in April 1992. David again used his small Boss/Rat pedal board and his Bassman amps. The rig can be seen in session photos from Phil Taylor's excellent book, The Black Strat.
David's Boss/Rat pedal board and one of the two Bassman amps used for the La Carrere Panamericana recording sessions at Olympic Studios in December 1991. Note the Boss CE-2 and MXR Digital Delay Sustem II stacked on top of the Bassman. The unplugged pedal to the right of the volume pedal is a Colorsound Overdriver.
1992 - I PUT A SPELL ON YOU LEAD TONE - Gilmour played some fantastic blues guitar on a version of I put A Spell On You with Mica Paris, recorded in 1992 for Jools Holland's Mr. Roadrunner television series which aired in June 1992. The video performanc eof this song can be found on the David Gilmour In Concert DVD (2002). He played his red Strat fitted with EMG-SA pickups. The effects and amp used are unknown, but almost certainly it was the same stereo rig he had been using throughout 1992 - two Bassmans, or two Bassmans and two SA-212 Hiwatts, with a Boss CE-2 chorus going to one side and an MXR Digital Delay rack unit. He would have used the same Boss/Rat pedal board from this period, which included a Boss CS-3 compressor, ProCo Rat, Boss GE-7 (or two) for EQ'ing the Rat, Ernie Ball volume pedal, and a Boss CE-2 chorus.
I think all he used here was the Rat going into his Bassmans. This was one of the last times he used a Rat for an overdrive before switching to the B.K. Butler Tube Driver. Here is a link to Gilmour's guitar solo.
I Put A Spell on You solo - David Gilmour 1992
GETTING THE TONE - This one is a relatively simple setup. I used a Strat with EMG-SA neck pickup, Boss CS-3 Compressor, and a ProCo Rat going into a Fender Twin Reverb. No chorus or delay needed. It sounds even closer going into a Fender Bassman.
I Put A Spell on You with ProCo Rat
1992 - IN A BROKEN DREAM LEAD TONE - In 1992 Rod Stewart recorded a remake of In A Broken Dream with John Paul Jones (of Led Zeppelin) and David Gilmour. Although the track was recorded in '92 it remained unreleased until the 2009 boxed set The Rod Stewart Sessions 1971-1998. The gear Gilmour used is unknown but it is almost certainly his typical 1992 rig of his red '57 reissue Strat fitted with EMG-SA pickups through a Rat, into a stereo rig of two Bassmans or two Bassmans and two SA-212 Hiwatts. His effects at the time were an MXR Digital Delay rack unit, Boss/Rat pedal board with Boss CS-3 compressor, ProCo Rat, Boss GE-7 (or two) for EQ'ing the Rat, Ernie Ball volume pedal, and a Boss CE-2 chorus going to one of the stereo amp channels.
In A Broken Dream solo
1992 - PURPLE RAIN LEAD TONE - In 1992 David Gilmour joined Tom Jones' band for an episode of Tom's television special called Tom Jones: The Right Time, which aired on June 13th. It was a six episode series broadcast on ITV in the United Kingdom and on VH1 in the United States. David played on a cover of the Prince song Purple Rain, with a very moving 3 minute guitar solo. David incorporated a few of the phrases from Prince's original, but the majority of the solo was pure Gilmour improvisation. Here is just the solo section of the performance.
Purple Rain solo - David Gilmour 1992
David is playing his 1980s cream Strat with EMG-SA pickups, using the bridge pickup only. His amps were the typical stereo setup from this period - two Fender Bassman combos stacked on top of two Hiwatt SA212 combos. The setup was likely a Boss CS-3, Rat, and a Boss GE-7. Although he was using his small Boss/Rat pedal board around this time, I'm not so sure this is a Rat. David had a Boss MZ-2 Metalizer on his pedal board in 1990 and again in 1994, and he may have used that here. The MXR Digital Delay System II is resting on top of the Bassmans in the middle. A Boss CE-2 chorus and what appears to be a Boss DD-2 Digital Delay are stacked in between the amps, on top of David's Conn Strobo tuner. All delay sounds like it is in the left channel only but the chorus effect is very dominant in both channels. I think the MXR delay was running to both left and right amps, and the DD-2 was only going to the left amps, set for a slightly longer delay time.
GETTING THE TONE - Despite the very un-Gilmourish 'Metalizer' name, the MZ-2 is actually very underrated Gilmourish sounding distortion pedal. It works well for late 1980s-early 1990s Gilmour tones all on its own, without needing to blend with boosters or overdrives like the Boss HM-2. Here are clips of my MZ-2 setup using a Strat with EMG-SA pickups, bridge pickup only, into a Fender Twin Reverb. Effects are a Boss CS-2 compressor set for a light boost, Boss MZ-2, TC Nova delay set for 480ms and a digital delay tone, and a Boss CE-2. Settings shown below.
Boss MZ-2
Boss MZ-2 - No Backing track
Below is an alternate setup without the compressor, but adding a light overdrive after the MZ-2 with a BK Butler Tube Driver. It is a bit smoother sounding, but the chorus effect is not as up front.
Boss MZ-2 and Tube Driver
Below is a clip using a Proco Rat, which was another commonly used Gilmour pedal from this period. It was alwasy EQ'd by a Boss GE-7.
Proco RAT
1992 - ECOMUNDO 92 - Gilmour performed a benefit concert in Cali, Columbia, South America on December 4th, 1992. He played four of his own songs, then played guitar on five Who songs with Roger Daltry of The Who. David used a Pete Cornish pedal board that originally belonged to Martin Kemp of Spandau Ballett. It had been completely re-worked by Pete in 1988 and included the following effects: MXR Dynacomp, Cornish SS-2, EHX Big Muff, EHX Electric Mistress, Boss CE-2, Boss DD-2, Boss SP-1 (replaced with a GE-7 in 1993), and a Cornish NB-2 Booster. It was used for the Division Bell recording sessions in 1993, and Cornish made some more modifactions in 1993 and 1994.
(left) Screen caps of Phil Taylor setting up David's Pete Cornish pedal board (that once belonged to Spandau Ballet) and David's Bassman amps with MXR Digital Delay System II on top. Note the Boss CE-2 on top of the Conn Strobo tuner, placed between the amps.
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