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One of David Gilmour's most superbly crafted solos, from the title song of his On and Island album. He supposedly used a Pete Cornish G-2 for the solos on the record, and a Pete Cornish P-1 or G-2 with Tube Driver boost, or possibly just the Tube Driver when playing live (all are on his custom Pete Cornish board). It is likely David used different distortions for different shows depending on the venue sound and his mood at the time. The G-2 is a sort of a Big Muff mixed with a warm germanium distortion tone. The P-1 is a high quality Ram's Head Big Muff clone, and the BK Butler Tube Driver is a tube overdrive pedal. Here are clips of both solos from the studio recording, with isloted parts from the 5.1 mix.
On an Island solo #1 - Isolated guitar mix without delay and reverb. Les Paul and Black Strat.
On an Island solo #2 - Isolated guitar mix without delay and reverb. Black Strat.
On an Island solo #2 - Here is the same, but what sounds like deep room reverb from another mic.
Since I was going for the live tone here, below are clips of Gilmour playing the solo live at different times from 2006 for reference
I found that just about any good vintage sounding Big Muff or Muff clone will give you a similar sound when mixed with a BK Butler Tube Driver and a Boss GE-7 EQ, though I think that “nasal” sound from David's live rig is missing from my gear. David uses some delay here, so you need a warm sounding digital or analog delay. You need a clean tube amp with lots of headroom like a Hiwatt DR103 or Fender Twin, and the amp should be set fairly bright. There is some plate reverb I hear in the studio tracks, but I would stay away from using amp reverb, unless is is set very low. Below are clips I made with the various pedals David has used for comparison.
Signal chain: Am Std Fender Strat w/Seymour Duncan SSL5 bridge pup > Muff (or clone) > BK Butler Tube Driver (12AU7 tube) > Boss GE-7 > TC Electonic Nova delay. Played into a clean '65 Fender Twin Reverb RI. Played with a 2008 American Standard Strat, Seymour Duncan SSL-5 bridge pickup, Fender CS69 neck pickup. Backing track was created by Deck, posted on The Gilmour Gear Forum. The settings on the Tube Driver, EQ, and delay are basically the same on each clip, EXCEPT the Tube Driver overdrive clip, which is just the TD and some delay. Settings used are shown below.
Pete Cornish G-2 (Modified Big Muff clone with Germanium components added) COMING SOON
Solo with backing track
Same as above but without backing track, for exact tone reference
Ram's Head Big Muff
Solo with backing track
Same as above but without backing track, for exact tone reference
Pete Cornish P-2 (Modified Ram's Head Big Muff clone)
Solo with backing track
Same as above but without backing track, for exact tone reference
Pete Cornish P-2 (NO EQ OR TUBE DRIVER)
Solo with backing track
Same as above but without backing track, for exact tone reference
BK Butler Tube Driver overdrive - with “TUBE 2” overdrive settings from David's Cornish board (NO SEPARATE EQ)
Solo with backing track
Same as above but without backing track, for exact tone reference
Here are some clips of this solo using other Gilmourish sounding pedals. Some sound much better for this tone than others, but each have thier own unique character, so this is a good reference for the tonal differences in each pedal. The settings (pictured above) on the Tube Driver, EQ, and delay are basically the same on each clip, except the Pink Flesh, which does not require the Tube Driver boost.
Sovtek Green Big Muff
Solo with backing track
Same as above but without backing track, for exact tone reference
USA Big Muff Re-Issue (current V9 Muff)
Solo with backing track
Same as above but without backing track, for exact tone reference
Skreddy Pink Flesh (Triangle Big Muff clone with some built in boost). The Skreddy Pig Mine is another laternative for this tone.
Solo with backing track
Same as above but without backing track, for exact tone reference
B.Y.O.C. Large Beaver (Triangle Muff clone - 4 Knob Version)
Solo with backing track
Same as above but without backing track, for exact tone reference
Absolutely Analog Green Russian (Green Sovtek Big Muff clone)
Solo with backing track
Same as above but without backing track, for exact tone reference
ProCo Rat 2 (A Muffush sounding distortion)
Solo with backing track
Same as above but without backing track, for exact tone reference
Skreddy Lunar Module (Not a Muff, but more of a Fuzz Face type pedal)
Solo with backing track
Same as above but without backing track, for exact tone reference