Guitarist
David Gilmour's amp settings and rig, album by album
David Gilmour is an English singer and songwriter and Pink Floyd's lead guitarist. His rig on 6 records and periods from The Dark Side of the Moon (1973) on, with the sources for each, and 6 of his songs with starting points.
What amp does David Gilmour use?
David Gilmour's main amp since the early 1970s has been the Hiwatt DR103, a 100-watt head he played through WEM 4x12 cabinets on The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), and he played the Black Strat, the late-1960s Fender Stratocaster he bought in New York in 1970, on every Pink Floyd studio album recorded between 1970 and 1983. On Dark Side his Fuzz Face, Colorsound Power Boost, Uni-Vibe and Binson Echorec were separate pedals; a newly bought Big Muff shaped the raw tones of Animals (1977); and on The Wall (1979) the Strat ran into a Hiwatt and a Yamaha RA-200 rotating speaker side by side for the Comfortably Numb solos. From early 1988 to 2005 his main guitar was a red 1983 Stratocaster reissue with EMG pickups. His main amps on The Endless River (2014) were a 1958 Fender Tweed Twin, a Yamaha RA-200, a Hiwatt and an Alessandro Redbone Special. The table below goes record by record, with the sources for each.
Tonelify's library has 6 songs with David Gilmour on guitar, each with a reference starting point on a generic five-knob amp. They run from Gain 2 on Wish You Were Here to Gain 5.5 on Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2), so set the amp for the song, not for the player.
Sources: Guitar.com: the gear David Gilmour used on The Dark Side of the Moon; Gilmourish: Dark Side of the Moon gear, 1972 to 1975; Wikipedia: David Gilmour; MusicRadar: David Gilmour's guitars, amps and effects, with Phil Taylor; Gilmourish: Animals gear, 1977; Guitar World: the secrets behind Gilmour's Comfortably Numb tone; Gilmourish: David Gilmour's red Stratocaster
David Gilmour's rig by album
| Record | Guitar | Amp | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Dark Side of the Moon1973 | GuitarThe Black Strat, with a 1963 rosewood neck by then; a Bill Lewis custom on the first and third Money solos | AmpHiwatt DR103 100-watt heads into WEM Starfinder 4x12s; a Fender Twin Reverb, by Alan Parsons' account | EffectsFuzz Face, Colorsound Power Boost, Uni-Vibe and Binson Echorec II, used as separate pedals; a Maestro Rover and a Leslie 147 |
| Wish You Were Here1975 | GuitarThe Black Strat; Martin D-35 and D12-28 acoustics | AmpHiwatt DR103 heads on WEM Super Starfinder 200s and a Fender Dual Showman; the opening Shine On solo straight into the desk | EffectsFuzz Face, Colorsound Power Boost, MXR Phase 90, Binson Echorec II |
| Animals1977 | GuitarThe Black Strat with a DiMarzio FS-1 bridge pickup; a 1959 Telecaster Custom tuned down one step for Dogs | AmpHiwatt DR103 heads on WEM Super Starfinder 200s, and a Yamaha RA-200 rotating speaker | EffectsBig Muff, a Pete Cornish pedalboard, a Heil Talk Box on the Pigs sessions |
| The Wall1979 | GuitarThe Black Strat with a DiMarzio FS-1 bridge pickup; a 1955 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop on the Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2) solo | AmpHiwatt DR103 into WEM Super Starfinder 200s, run in parallel with a Yamaha RA-200 rotating speaker; an Alembic F-2B preamp | EffectsMXR Dyna Comp, Big Muff, MXR digital delay |
| A Momentary Lapse of Reason and The Division Bell1987 to 1994 | GuitarA candy apple red 1983 Fender '57 reissue Stratocaster with EMG SA pickups | AmpNot documented in the sources read for this page | EffectsNone documented |
| From On an Island to Luck and Strange2005 to 2024 | GuitarThe Black Strat again and, from 2008, Fender replicas of it; a Gibson ES-335 on Luck and Strange | AmpOn The Endless River a 1958 Fender Tweed Twin, a Yamaha RA-200 with an Alembic preamp, a 1970s Hiwatt SA212 and an Alessandro Redbone Special | EffectsOn Luck and Strange: Origin Effects Cali76 and Demeter Compulator compressors, a Binson Echorec 2, an Electric Mistress, a Zoom 9030 |
From interviews with David Gilmour, producers and guitar techs, and from gear histories. Where they disagree, the table gives both accounts. Each row's sources are in its section below.
1973
What amp did David Gilmour use on The Dark Side of the Moon?
Pink Floyd recorded The Dark Side of the Moon at EMI Studios in London in about 60 days between May 31, 1972 and February 9, 1973. Gilmour played the Black Strat, by then fitted with a 1963 neck with a rosewood fretboard and an extra switch for more pickup combinations, and a Bill Lewis custom guitar on the first and third solos of Money. He used his pedals as stand-alone units during the recording, Guitar.com says, among them a Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face, a Colorsound Power Boost, a Univox Uni-Vibe and a Binson Echorec II. Gilmourish has the Fuzz Face on the solos of Time and Money.
Gilmour recorded from the control booth, connected to his rig in the studio by a long cable that is thought to have knocked out some of the high frequencies. That signal went into a 100-watt Hiwatt DR103 and a WEM 4x12 Starfinder cabinet, his go-to amp of the era. Engineer Alan Parsons also remembers a Fender Twin Reverb so loud that everyone had to leave the studio. A Maestro Rover and a Leslie 147 rotating speaker were both used, mixed lower than the amps for a subtle modulation.
- Guitar
- The Black Strat, with a 1963 rosewood neck by then; a Bill Lewis custom on the first and third Money solos
- Amp
- Hiwatt DR103 100-watt heads into WEM Starfinder 4x12s; a Fender Twin Reverb, by Alan Parsons' account
- Effects
- Fuzz Face, Colorsound Power Boost, Uni-Vibe and Binson Echorec II, used as separate pedals; a Maestro Rover and a Leslie 147
Dark Side songs in the library
- Time · distorted soloStart at Gain 5.5, Bass 5, Middle 8, Treble 5, Presence 5, Reverb 4, with the neck pickup for body, bridge if the lead needs to cut.
- Money · distorted soloStart at Gain 5.5, Bass 5, Middle 8, Treble 5, Presence 5, Reverb 4, with the neck pickup for body, bridge if the lead needs to cut.
Gear pages for this rig or its current versions: Dunlop Fuzz Face Mini, Fender Player Stratocaster.
Sources: Wikipedia: The Dark Side of the Moon; Guitar.com: the gear David Gilmour used on The Dark Side of the Moon; Gilmourish: Dark Side of the Moon gear, 1972 to 1975
1975
What amp did David Gilmour use on Wish You Were Here?
Wish You Were Here was recorded over numerous sessions through 1975 at EMI Studios in London and released on September 12, 1975. Gilmourish lists the session gear: the Black Strat, Martin D-35 and D12-28 acoustics, Hiwatt DR103 heads on WEM Super Starfinder 200 cabinets, a Fender Dual Showman and a Leslie 147, with a Fuzz Face, a Colorsound Power Boost, an MXR Phase 90 and a Binson Echorec II. It is less sure of the overdrive: most likely the Power Boost, "but it could also be an overdriven amp or a bit of both".
Some parts, the opening solo of Shine On You Crazy Diamond among them, were recorded straight into the mixing console, using only input compression to drive the signal and no amp. On the title track Gilmour played the intro on a twelve-string guitar, processed to sound like it was playing through an AM radio, and then overdubbed a fuller-sounding acoustic solo.
- Guitar
- The Black Strat; Martin D-35 and D12-28 acoustics
- Amp
- Hiwatt DR103 heads on WEM Super Starfinder 200s and a Fender Dual Showman; the opening Shine On solo straight into the desk
- Effects
- Fuzz Face, Colorsound Power Boost, MXR Phase 90, Binson Echorec II
Wish You Were Here songs in the library
- Shine On You Crazy Diamond · clean soloStart at Gain 2, Bass 5, Middle 7, Treble 5, Presence 5, Reverb 4, with the neck pickup on the early solos, bridge on the third.
- Wish You Were Here · clean riffStart at Gain 2, Bass 5, Middle 7, Treble 5, Presence 5, Reverb 4, with the neck or middle position.
Gear pages for this rig or its current versions: MXR Phase 90, Dunlop Fuzz Face Mini.
Sources: Wikipedia: Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd album); Gilmourish: Wish You Were Here gear, 1975; Wikipedia: Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd song)
1977
What amp did David Gilmour use on Animals?
Pink Floyd recorded Animals at their new studio, Britannia Row in London, from April 1976. Gilmourish calls the album "very much defined by David Gilmour's raw and aggressive guitar tones", much of that due to his newly acquired Big Muff. The Black Strat got a DiMarzio FS-1 bridge pickup in spring 1976, most likely in time for the sessions, and a 1959 Fender Telecaster Custom was tuned down one step, D G C F A D, for Dogs.
The session amps were Hiwatt DR103 heads, WEM Super Starfinder 200 cabinets and a Yamaha RA-200 rotating speaker, and he played a Heil Talk Box on the Pigs sessions. A Pete Cornish pedalboard was likely used too, alongside stand-alone pedals such as the Big Muff and the Binson Echorec. On the 1977 tour a Marshall Super Lead 1959 sat beside the two Hiwatts, which Gilmourish reads as a spare or a way to color the Hiwatts' sound.
- Guitar
- The Black Strat with a DiMarzio FS-1 bridge pickup; a 1959 Telecaster Custom tuned down one step for Dogs
- Amp
- Hiwatt DR103 heads on WEM Super Starfinder 200s, and a Yamaha RA-200 rotating speaker
- Effects
- Big Muff, a Pete Cornish pedalboard, a Heil Talk Box on the Pigs sessions
Gear pages for this rig or its current versions: Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi.
Sources: Wikipedia: Animals (Pink Floyd album); Gilmourish: Animals gear, 1977
1979
What amp did David Gilmour use on The Wall?
The Wall was recorded between December 1978 and November 1979. Guitar.com describes the Black Strat of the time with stock 1971 Fender single coils in the neck and middle and a DiMarzio FS-1 in the bridge, run through an Alembic F-2B tube preamp and a 100-watt Hiwatt DR103 with four Mullard EL34s, into WEM Super Starfinder 200 cabinets with Fane Crescendo speakers, plus a Yamaha RA-200 rotary speaker.
For the Comfortably Numb solos the Hiwatt half stack and the Yamaha ran in parallel, Guitar World says, with the hot FS-1 and an MXR Dyna Comp giving a strong signal up front and a Big Muff and the Hiwatt, each at moderate volume, stacking the gain; a separate toggle put the neck and bridge pickups together for the first solo. The Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2) solo was played on a recently acquired 1955 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop with P-90s. Gilmourish has it on the neck pickup, the clean signal heavily gated and compressed into the mixing desk, then fed through a Mesa/Boogie amp and back.
- Guitar
- The Black Strat with a DiMarzio FS-1 bridge pickup; a 1955 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop on the Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2) solo
- Amp
- Hiwatt DR103 into WEM Super Starfinder 200s, run in parallel with a Yamaha RA-200 rotating speaker; an Alembic F-2B preamp
- Effects
- MXR Dyna Comp, Big Muff, MXR digital delay
The Wall songs in the library
- Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2) · distorted soloStart at Gain 5.5, Bass 5, Middle 8, Treble 5, Presence 5, Reverb 4, with the neck pickup.
- Comfortably Numb · distorted soloStart at Gain 5.5, Bass 5, Middle 8, Treble 5, Presence 5, Reverb 4, with the neck pickup for body, bridge if the lead needs to cut.
Gear pages for this rig or its current versions: MXR Dyna Comp, Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi, Boss CE-2W Chorus.
Sources: Wikipedia: The Wall; Guitar.com: the gear David Gilmour used to record The Wall; Guitar World: the secrets behind Gilmour's Comfortably Numb tone; Gilmourish: The Wall settings and setups
1987 to 1994
What guitar did David Gilmour use on The Division Bell?
Gilmour and his tech Phil Taylor bought three 1983 '57 reissue Stratocasters in England in January 1984, the candy apple red one among them. It got EMG SA pickups, which Gilmour preferred as low as possible to emulate the output and tone of his passive single coils, and made its stage debut at Live Aid at Wembley Stadium on July 13, 1985.
The red Strat was used extensively on the 1986 and 1987 sessions for A Momentary Lapse of Reason, and by early 1988 it was his primary guitar on stage and in the studio, which it stayed until 2005. On The Division Bell he also played a 1955 Les Paul Goldtop and a 1950s Gretsch Chet Atkins, but the red Stratocaster was the main guitar for the sessions. The amps on these two records are not documented in the sources read for this page.
- Guitar
- A candy apple red 1983 Fender '57 reissue Stratocaster with EMG SA pickups
- Amp
- Not documented in the sources read for this page
- Effects
- None documented
Gear pages for this rig or its current versions: Fender Player Stratocaster.
Sources: Gilmourish: David Gilmour's red Stratocaster; Wikipedia: David Gilmour
2005 to 2024
What gear did David Gilmour use on Luck and Strange?
By 2005 and On an Island, Gilmour was back on the Black Strat; the EMGs on the red one "didn't sound quite as Stratty in some ways", he said. "David didn't use the Black Strat again until I suggested he try it at the Live 8 rehearsals," says Phil Taylor, his guitar tech since 1974, and from 2008 he also used two replicas of it, a battered Relic and a cleaner NOS.
His main amps on The Endless River (2014) were a 1958 Fender Tweed Twin, a 1976 Yamaha RA-200 with an Alembic preamp, a 1970s Hiwatt SA212 and an Alessandro Redbone Special, with a control room rack that turns on any combination of them.
Luck and Strange, his fifth solo album, came out on September 6, 2024. Guitar World's gear list has a 2008 Fender DG6 NOS Black Cat Strat, a Gibson ES-335, the Alessandro Redbone Special and the Yamaha RA-200, with Origin Effects Cali76 and Demeter Compulator compressors, a Binson Echorec 2 and an Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress. "I've not got a huge history with Gibson guitars," Gilmour said of the 335, which he bought "to have a different tone, a different thing." At home he uses a Zoom 9030 that is "now 30 years old"; on tour, physical heads and cabinets.
- Guitar
- The Black Strat again and, from 2008, Fender replicas of it; a Gibson ES-335 on Luck and Strange
- Amp
- On The Endless River a 1958 Fender Tweed Twin, a Yamaha RA-200 with an Alembic preamp, a 1970s Hiwatt SA212 and an Alessandro Redbone Special
- Effects
- On Luck and Strange: Origin Effects Cali76 and Demeter Compulator compressors, a Binson Echorec 2, an Electric Mistress, a Zoom 9030
Gear pages for this rig or its current versions: Fender Player Stratocaster, Gibson ES-335.
Sources: Gilmourish: David Gilmour's red Stratocaster; MusicRadar: David Gilmour's guitars, amps and effects, with Phil Taylor; Guitar World: the gear David Gilmour used on Luck and Strange; Wikipedia: David Gilmour
These are positions on a generic five-knob amp with gain, bass, middle, treble and presence, each running 0 to 10. They are a starting point, not the settings used on the record, and they will not transfer unchanged to an amp with a different gain structure or EQ voicing.
What amp settings did David Gilmour use?
The two sets of numbers named sources have printed are below, with who printed each and how far it reaches. They are kept apart from the starting points above.
What amp settings did David Gilmour use on Comfortably Numb?
Normal volume 7, brilliant volume 4.5, bass 6, treble 5, middle 4, presence 6 and master volume 5 on a custom Hiwatt DR103 with its channels linked, into a WEM Super Starfinder 4x12, alongside an Alembic F-2B preamp with the bright switch on, volume 3, bass 4, middle 4 and treble 5, feeding a Yamaha RA-200 rotating speaker. In front, an MXR Dyna Comp with the output on 7 and the sensitivity on 4, and a Big Muff with volume 4, tone 6 and sustain 6. That is the settings box in Chris Gill's 2020 Guitar World feature on the song, which does not say where the numbers come from, so read them as the magazine's reconstruction rather than a note from the session. The same box has the bridge and neck pickups together for the first solo and the bridge pickup alone for the second.
Source: Guitar World: the secrets behind Gilmour's Comfortably Numb tone · Comfortably Numb page →
What amp settings did David Gilmour use on Shine On You Crazy Diamond?
Guitar World's 2017 Tonal Recall feature gives a Hiwatt DR103 with linked inputs at normal volume 6, brilliant volume 4, bass 7, treble 7, middle 4, presence 6 and master 5 to 7, a Colorsound Power Boost at treble 2, bass 5 and volume 5 to 8, and an MXR Phase 90 at speed 6 for the drone notes and 4 for the solos, all on a 0 to 10 scale. Writer Chris Gill built them from old interviews and photos of the era and dialled them in on his own gear, so treat them as the magazine's reconstruction rather than Gilmour's notes from the session. The same feature hears the opening solo on the neck pickup with its tone control backed off slightly and calls a slow Leslie on the four-note theme likely.
Source: Guitar World: Tonal Recall on Shine On You Crazy Diamond · Shine On You Crazy Diamond page →
How do you get David Gilmour's tone on your amp?
1.Stack moderate gain, not one pedal on full
Guitar World puts the Comfortably Numb sustain down to a strong signal up front, from the hot FS-1 pickup and an MXR Dyna Comp, and gain stacked from a Big Muff and a Hiwatt "each set to moderate volume levels". Set the compressor, the fuzz and the amp each part of the way rather than one of them on full.
Sources: Guitar World: the secrets behind Gilmour's Comfortably Numb tone
2.Add a rotating speaker beside the amp
On The Wall and again on The Endless River a Yamaha RA-200 rotating speaker ran alongside his main amp. Guitar World's suggestion for a pedalboard is a Boss CE-2W in Standard mode with a slow rate and 50% depth, to emulate the Yamaha's modulation.
Sources: Guitar World: the secrets behind Gilmour's Comfortably Numb tone; MusicRadar: David Gilmour's guitars, amps and effects, with Phil Taylor
3.Put a compressor first
Compression runs through his records: the opening Shine On You Crazy Diamond solo went into the console with only input compression driving the signal, the Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2) solo was heavily gated and compressed, and an MXR Dyna Comp fed the Comfortably Numb solos. A compressor before the drive gives the long, even sustain.
Sources: Gilmourish: Wish You Were Here gear, 1975; Gilmourish: The Wall settings and setups; Guitar World: the secrets behind Gilmour's Comfortably Numb tone
4.Time the delay to the song
Gilmourish's reading of The Wall era, from photos, video and interviews, puts his MXR digital delay at 370 ms on most songs, 440 ms on Another Brick in the Wall (Part 1) and 380 ms on Run Like Hell, normally with 5 or 6 repeats and the delay level around 30%. Start there and set the time to the song's tempo.
Tonelify rewrites any of these songs for the amp and guitar you own. Match a David Gilmour song on your gear →
David Gilmour gear questions
What amp did David Gilmour use on The Dark Side of the Moon?
The Black Strat through a 100-watt Hiwatt DR103 and a WEM 4x12, with a Fuzz Face, a Colorsound Power Boost, a Uni-Vibe and a Binson Echorec II used as separate pedals. The Fuzz Face played the solos on Time and Money.
What amp did David Gilmour use on Wish You Were Here?
Hiwatt DR103 heads and a Fender Dual Showman, with a Fuzz Face, a Colorsound Power Boost, an MXR Phase 90 and a Binson Echorec II. The opening solo of Shine On You Crazy Diamond went straight into the mixing console, with no amp.
What amp did David Gilmour use on The Wall?
The Black Strat into a 100-watt Hiwatt and a Yamaha RA-200 rotating speaker run in parallel, with an MXR Dyna Comp and a Big Muff on the Comfortably Numb solos. The Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2) solo is a 1955 Les Paul Goldtop.
What guitar did David Gilmour use on The Division Bell?
A candy apple red 1983 Fender '57 reissue Stratocaster with EMG pickups, used extensively on A Momentary Lapse of Reason and the main guitar of The Division Bell sessions. It was his primary guitar on stage and in the studio from early 1988 to 2005.
What gear did David Gilmour use on Luck and Strange?
The Black Strat again from 2005, then Fender replicas of it, through a blend of a 1958 Fender Tweed Twin, a Yamaha RA-200, a Hiwatt and an Alessandro Redbone Special on The Endless River. On Luck and Strange (2024) he also played a Gibson ES-335.
What is David Gilmour's Black Strat?
A black Fender Stratocaster from the late 1960s that Gilmour bought at Manny's in New York in May 1970, after his first black Strat was stolen, and first played at the Bath Festival that June. He used it on every Pink Floyd studio album recorded between 1970 and 1983. It sold for $3.9 million at a charity auction in 2019, and again in 2026 for $14.56 million.
What pedals did David Gilmour use?
On The Dark Side of the Moon a Fuzz Face, a Colorsound Power Boost, a Uni-Vibe and a Binson Echorec II, used as separate pedals; an MXR Phase 90 on Wish You Were Here; a Big Muff from Animals on; and on The Wall an MXR Dyna Comp and an MXR digital delay with the Big Muff.
What are good amp settings for a David Gilmour tone?
On a generic five-knob amp, Comfortably Numb starts at Gain 5.5, Bass 5, Middle 8, Treble 5, Presence 5, Reverb 4; Time starts at Gain 5.5, Bass 5, Middle 8, Treble 5, Presence 5, Reverb 4; Wish You Were Here starts at Gain 2, Bass 5, Middle 7, Treble 5, Presence 5, Reverb 4. These are starting points for the kind of part, not David Gilmour's own settings. The two sets of numbers named sources have printed are for Comfortably Numb and Shine On You Crazy Diamond, on the songs' pages.