# Gilmour Effects



## Plikity (Dec 11, 2007)

Hey guys,

I've been looking to get a few stomp box pedals and I was wondering which you would recommend. I'm looking to get distortion because my amp does not have a channel for it. I'm not looking for so many pedals at the moment...for now I'm thinking distortion and sustain...I want to get the basics of a David Gilmour type sound. For now don't take price into consideration...even though it will come into play... Any recommendations as to which brand and which pedals?

Thanks!


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## suttree (Aug 17, 2007)

hey there

you'll need a phaser (the mxr phase90 with a script mod like i just got off of iaresee is a good one), a basic distortion with a fairly high level of gain (try one or even two sparkle drives), and a decent short analog sounding delay. that'll get you in the ballpark anyways. you'll also need to work on your bending, BIG TIME. it's really tough to get the long singing sustain that gilmour does on large bends. there's people who think his stuff is easy, but they never play it right IMHO.


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## Stratin2traynor (Sep 27, 2006)

You can also checkout http://www.gilmourish.com/ to find out everything you wanted to know about Gilmour's effects and suggested effects. It's pretty comprehensive.


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## Guest (Aug 2, 2008)

Gilmourish.com is great but some times the details are a little overwhelming.

I was coping great Gilmour tones with my Strat and just a few effects into a really great clean, 3D clean amp. For effects: an old Ibanez CP-9 compressor (Gilmour uses one from time to time and it's a very unique compression sound, can also be had for like $50), a big muff clone, that Phase 90 suttree mentioned, and a DD-20 (but anything with a little modulated, analog-sim repeat capability is good here).

Between those four boxes and a Strat with quiet, high output pickups it was all Shine On You Crazy Diamond.


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## NB_Terry (Feb 2, 2006)

Depends on your budget;

For someone on a budget of $300 for a few pedals, I'd recommend;

Boss CS-3, or an Ibanez Compressor
Sovtek Big Muff
Boss Chorus
Ibanez DE-7 delay

For a higher budget;

Diamond Compressor
Analogman NKT275 fuzz
Sweetsound Mojovibe 
Boss DD-20


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## sproul07 (Jun 23, 2007)

I would definatly get a Big Muff. That is the number one important effect to Gilmour's sound. Stay away from the USA Reissues, email Scott at Axe and You Shall Receive and get a BYOC Triangle Version Large Beaver. Hands down the best Muff clone out there. I would then get delay of some kind. The best delay for the money is the Ibanez DE-7. Also check out an older Boss DD-2 or DD-3 or if you can afford it a T-Rex Replica. Look for a overdrive pedal as well. A Blues Driver or Tube Screamer would work fine, but if you can afford it look into a Tube Driver. I would also get an EH Electric Mistress. That should get you started anyway


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## Guest (Aug 2, 2008)

NB_Terry said:


> Diamond Compressor
> Analogman NKT275 fuzz
> Sweetsound Mojovibe
> Boss DD-20


Good call on the budget recommendations. My high-budget recommendation would be:

Retro-Sonic Phaser
empress effects superdelay
Diamond Compressor
Skreddy Lunar Module or Pink Flesh


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## Plikity (Dec 11, 2007)

Thanks for all the replies, I'm getting a better idea of what I'm going to need. If I were to only by only one or two pedals at this time though, which do you think would be the most crucial?


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## Guest (Aug 2, 2008)

Plikity said:


> Thanks for all the replies, I'm getting a better idea of what I'm going to need. If I were to only by only one or two pedals at this time though, which do you think would be the most crucial?


The delay first and foremost. And I'd go Muff next. Then Phaser. Compressor last.


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## sproul07 (Jun 23, 2007)

Ya definatly a delay and Big Muff first. I wouldn't go for a phaser though till later. Its not really an essential part of his sound. Its more of a specialty item for specific songs like Have a Cigar. I would say the next 2 should be an overdrive like a Blues Driver or Tube Screamer and a compressor


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## Guest (Aug 3, 2008)

I say practice bending your strings several orders of magnitude greater than what you're use to. Gilmour's hands are his greatest effect generators. Same goes for EVH. Some of these guys are just monsters.


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## devnulljp (Mar 18, 2008)

I'd stay away from those sovtek big muffs though (if you're talking about the green ones anyway)-- have you ever looked inside one? Maybe I had a bad one but it seriously looked like I built it...on a bad day...blindfolded... The whole thing looked cheap and badly put together. It was also like being run over by a bus sound wise. Couldn't coax any subtlety out of it at all...perfect for that Smashing Pumpkins angst thing but I could never get anything remotely usable out of it. 

I hear good things about the BYOC clones and also the Ron sound hair pie (I know, I know, the names just keep getting worse), and keep meaningot go back and try another better quality muff.

Of course, if you're a realtor or a lawyer D) there's a real vintage bigmuff or chase down a D*A*M Ram's Head.

But for a passable approximation, big muff clone, rat, compressor, delay.

Still don't think you'll ever really sound _like_ him though...he's got that signature sound in his hands thing going on. His phrasing is very tasty, he can play those pentatonic licks and it doesn't sound all tired-bowling-shirt-and-shorts like (just about) everyone else.


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## NB_Terry (Feb 2, 2006)

iaresee said:


> The delay first and foremost. And I'd go Muff next. Then Phaser. Compressor last.


Why a Phaser and not an inexpensive Vibe unit?

AFAIK all the old Dark Side stuff is Univibe. Danelectro's Chicken Salad is supposed to be really good and inexpensive. For a bit more money get the Sweetsound Mo Faux vibe (really it's a phaser, but sounds more vibey).


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## Archer (Aug 29, 2006)

Duplicating effects and stuff is all fine and good but learning the parts and understanding his phrasing will do mor efor you than anything you can buy.


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## Greenbacker (Mar 29, 2007)

Gotta go analog for a delay though! A very sexy AD-900 for sale at a great price in the forum right now!


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## Guest (Aug 3, 2008)

NB_Terry said:


> Why a Phaser and not an inexpensive Vibe unit?


Always found a nicely setup Phase 90 was the right sound for most of the Gilmour stuff I play. But YMMV...


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## Plikity (Dec 11, 2007)

Thanks again for all the replies. I've been looking a little closer at the Skreddy pedals... Between Pink Flesh and Top Fuel, which do you guys feel is better?


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## sproul07 (Jun 23, 2007)

Again it all depends what era of Gilmour stuff you want to play. He didn't start using a Big Muff till '76 so if you are going to be play Dark Side and earlier stuff, then get the Lunar Module from Skreddy. The Top Fuel is more of a modern sounding pedal. If you're going to be playing stuff from Animals to present then go for the Pink Flesh. One thing though about Skreddy pedals, while they do sound amazing and have great tonal depth, I find they dont respond well to other pedals. Like boosters and compressors. They like to be left alone. And as is well documented, David is a big fan of using multiple pedals at once to create his sound. But if it sounds good to your ears just using the one with some delay, then thats all that matters.


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## NB_Terry (Feb 2, 2006)

Greenbacker said:


> Gotta go analog for a delay though! A very sexy AD-900 for sale at a great price in the forum right now!


I don't think DG has used an analog delay for over 30 years. 

Currently he's using modded DD-2s.

The compulator and rackmount Tube Driver aren't that pricey. Find a reasonably priced fuzz, and this setup wouldn't be that pricey at all. 

from gilmourish.com

Demeter Compulator
(send return - Whammy)
Pete Cornish G-2
Pete Cornish P-1 (labeled “Muff”)
BK Butler Tube Driver #1 (clean volume boost)
BK Butler Tube Driver #2 (overdrive)
(send return - UniVibe)
Boss GE-7
(send return - volume pedal)
Pete Cornish T.E.S. Tape Echo Simulator (modified Boss DD-2)
(send return - additional delays)


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## Vincent (Nov 24, 2007)

Some info I found on the net that might help a bit.

GEAR SET UP 


" David Gilmour, like his Pink Floyd predecessor Syd Barrett, played a Telecaster initially, but he soon became one of the first British rock guitar legends to favor the Fender Stratocaster and to create a signature sound with the instrument. His parents bought the Tele for David’s 21st birthday, and he played it for a year (including on the Saucerful of Secrets record) until it was lost by an airline. Upon officially joining Pink Floyd, Gilmour purchased a custom Stratocaster (the first of many) at a Cambridge music store. During the early Pink Floyd years, Gilmour played a Strat almost exclusively, taking full advantage of its wide tonal palette and vibrato bar in his style. He used a Lewis 24-fret electric guitar on rare occasions for its extended range, as in the solo of "Money," and continued to employ a Tele sporadically in the repertory. Gilmour strung his electric guitars with Gibson Sonomatic strings made of a customized light-top (using the standard E and B for the B and G) and heavy-bottom set gauged .010, .012, .016, .028, .038, and .050. He used a Herco heavy-gauge pick. 

David Gilmour’s earliest amp setup with Pink Floyd consisted of a Selmer 50-watt head with a 4x12 speaker cabinet. By 1970, he found his signature sound with a stack made of Hiwatt 100-watt heads with WEM 4x12 cabinets. The Hiwatt/WEM combination can be heard conspicuously on Meddle and Dark Side of the Moon. In the studio, he sometimes added a Fender Twin Reverb combo amp with two 12-inch speakers to his lineup for certain parts, as on Dark Side of the Moon. 

David Gilmour’s early Floyd effects consisted of a Binson Echorec tape delay (like Barrett, he used this device from his first days with the band), a Dallas-Arbiter Fuzzface fuzz box, Uni-Vibe pedal, Vox wah-wah pedal, a DeArmond volume pedal, and Leslie and Yamaha RA-200 rotating speaker cabinets. The latter were routed through the output sections of Hiwatt heads and then to WEM 4x12 cabinets. In 1972, his effects boxes were mounted in a custom cabinet, and his array of processors grew to include a second Binson Echorec and a second Fuzzface, an MXR Phase 90, a Crybaby wah-wah, an Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress flanger, Big Muff fuzz, an Orange treble and bass booster, and a custom-built tone pedal. 

Additionally, Gilmour used studio effects like ADT (Automatic Double Tracking, a favorite studio processor first developed at Abbey Road Studios for the Beatles), Kepex for tremolo, various tape effects, studio echo chambers, and backwards guitar. He also employed an EMS Synthi Hi-Fi guitar synthesizer (heard on "Time" on Dark Side of the Moon), and usually played a lap steel or Fender twin neck pedal steel guitar for slide parts. He used various acoustic guitars on early Floyd tracks, later settling on Martin D-18 and D-35 models in the 1970s, and, depending on the song, alternated between fingerpicking and playing with a plectrum."


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## Guest (Aug 5, 2008)

Archer said:


> Duplicating effects and stuff is all fine and good but learning the parts and understanding his phrasing will do mor efor you than anything you can buy.


That's what I say. If you can sound like that clean, it'll take very little processing of any flavor to nail it. His hands are monsters I say, MONSTERS!


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