What amp did David Gilmour use on Comfortably Numb?

Gilmour used a Hiwatt DR103 Custom 100 — a very clean, loud amplifier. The distortion comes from pedals (Big Muff), not the amp itself. The Hiwatt provides massive clean headroom and a solid foundation.

What pedals does David Gilmour use for Comfortably Numb?

The core pedals are an Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi for sustaining fuzz and a delay unit (likely a TC Electronic 2290 or similar) set to around 440ms with moderate repeats for the spacious feel.

How to get the Comfortably Numb tone on a budget?

Use a clean amp channel with a Big Muff-style fuzz pedal. Set the fuzz sustain high and tone around noon. Add a delay pedal (400-450ms, 3-4 repeats). Use neck or middle pickup on a Strat-style guitar.

Classic Rock1979The Wall

Comfortably Numb Amp Settings

by Pink Floyd

Comfortably Numb features what many consider the greatest guitar solo ever recorded. David Gilmour's tone is warm, singing, and impossibly sustaining — a Hiwatt amp pushed hard, combined with a Big Muff fuzz and lush delay.

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What Makes This Tone Iconic

Gilmour's tone on this solo is the gold standard for expressive lead guitar. The Hiwatt's clean headroom mixed with the Big Muff's smooth sustain creates a tone that sings like a human voice. Every note blooms and sustains endlessly, with the delay adding a cathedral-like spaciousness. It's emotional, not technical — and the tone is half the emotion.

Key Tone Elements

Hiwatt DR103 Custom 100 — clean and powerful with massive headroom
Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi for smooth, sustaining fuzz
Delay set to rhythmic repeats (around 440ms) for spacious feel
Strat neck pickup for warm, round lead tone
Slow, expressive vibrato and careful note bending

Original Recording Settings

Well-SourcedResearched tone data for "Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd

Original Gear

Guitar: 1955/57 Fender Stratocaster ('Black Strat')
Pickups: Seymour Duncan SSL-1 (neck) (neck)
Amplifier: Hiwatt DR103 Custom 100 into WEM cabinets
Channel: Normal
Tuning: standard
Pickup Selector: neck
Strings: 0.010-0.048 (GHS Boomers)

Hiwatt provides clean headroom while pedals supply overdrive. Also used Yamaha RA-200 rotating speaker.

Amp Settings

Bass

5.0

Mid

5.0

Treble

6.0

Presence

6.0

Volume

5.0

Gilmour ran Hiwatt relatively clean with flat EQ. Overdrive from pedals.

Effects Chain

→

MXR Dyna Comp

compressor

→

Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi (Ram's Head)

fuzz/overdrive

→

MXR Digital Delay

delay

→

Lexicon plate reverb (studio)

reverb

→

1.MXR Dyna Comp — Adds sustain and evens dynamics.

2.Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi (Ram's Head) — Provides smooth, violin-like sustain for solos.

3.MXR Digital Delay — Set to roughly dotted eighth notes.

4.Lexicon plate reverb (studio) — Long, lush reverb added during mixing.

Playing Technique

Slow, expressive bends (full and 1.5 step). Wide, controlled vibrato. Solo builds dynamically. Relatively light picking - lets compression and sustain do the work.

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