INTERVIEWS_DAVID GILMOUR - TRIBUTE ISSUE

“Gilmour comes
from a time where
the development
of an artist meant
something..”

14 Gi_47
 DAVID GILMOUR UNPICKING THE LEGEND PART 1

UNPICKING
THE LEGEND
Of all the guitarists featured in Guitar Interactive, no one has generated more
reader interest than David Gilmour. Research carried out by our sister company,
Lick Library, shows that Gilmour remains one of the world’s two or three most
influential guitarists – the player everyone wants to find out about. No one is
more qualified than Jamie Humphries to delve into the mysteries of what
makes David Gilmour the guitarist other guitarists want to sound like. Jamie’s
pro career really got going when he toured extensively in the world famous
Australian Pink Floyd tribute, before he went on to work with a host of top
bands and players including Brian May, so we asked Jamie to explain the
phenomenon...before he set out to show you how you can play like DG, too.

‘I
‘ve been playing guitar for approximately 40
years now, and have had a career in music
for the past 24 years. Many guitarists have
inspired me, but several really stand out as
an inspiration in so many more ways than just
their playing. One of these guitarists is David
Gilmour, master lead guitarist and composer with
the progressive rock legends Pink Floyd, and also a
highly successful solo artist.

David Gilmour for me was the force who, when he

joined Pink Floyd as the replacement for original
DAVID GILMOUR PERFORMS AT CIRCO MASSIMO
singer/guitarist Syd Barrett, really pushed the band

www.guitarinteractivemagazine.com 15
 INTERVIEWS_DAVID GILMOUR - TRIBUTE ISSUE
into a different musical direction. The coming
together of Gilmour and bassist/singer Roger
Waters was one of those cosmic alignment
of the stars moments, and although the two
musicians clashed, with a somewhat volatile
relationship (full marks for understatement
there, Jamie! - Ed), the writing partnership
of Gilmour and Waters resulted some of the
greatest and best loved songs and albums in
the history of modern music. Even today,
years after the original line-up recorded
together, their fan base continues to grow,
with legions of fans flocking to see the solo
outings of Gilmour and Waters. And then
there’s the catalogue of work that keeps selling
and selling.
So what is it about Gilmour’s guitar style that
is so appealing? What is it that Gilmour has
that still sees his classic solos topping polls in
PINK FLOYD; ANIMALS TOUR
16 Gi_47
Rock publications? How is it that in a world
full of hyper speed shredders Gilmour is
still at the top of his game, and seems to be
getting better with age? Like many of the rock
“elite” Brian May, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page
and Jeff Beck, Gilmour comes from a time
where the development of an artist meant
something, and also a time when there was
money in the music industry to record over
long periods of time in expensive studios -
nothing like a bit of inspiration and seclusion
to get the creative juices flowing!
Look at how albums are recorded now, on
a laptop in a bedroom! Look at how the
music industry has so dramatically changed
in the last 10-15 years, with the growth of
the Internet. Back in the ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s and
‘90s bands were given an opportunity to grow
and evolve, which is very apparent in Floyd’s
 DAVID GILMOUR PERFORMS AT CIRCO MASSIMO

catalogue. You can hear the progression from

the psychedelic pop of “Piper at the Gates
of Dawn”, to the experimental progressive
sounding “Meddle”, and “Atom Heart
Mother”. The blend of these two different
sounding Floyd periods seems to collide with
the explosion of “Dark Side Of the Moon”.
This album not only had the psychedelic
experimental edge, but also oozed perfectly
crafted songs such as Money, and Us and
Them. Let’s look at the time of its release
during the ‘70s; a volatile time, and a time
of historic change; songs such as Breath and
Great Gig in the Sky touched people on
in me and my friend gravitating towards her
many levels.
record collection. I have very vivid memories
I can’t remember a time in my life not of myself and my friend armed with a bass,
listening to Pink Floyd, as I was bought up a guitar and a home keyboard for drums,
on a healthy dose of Floyd courtesy of my experimenting with multi track recording on
Dad’s record collection. My best friend’s sister a twin cassette home hi-fi! At the age of 12
was a huge Floyd fan, resulting we were already trying to compose and record

So what is it about Gilmour’s guitar

style that is so appealing? What is
it that Gilmour has that still sees
his classic solos topping polls in
Rock publications?

www.guitarinteractivemagazine.com 17
 DAVID GILMOUR UNPICKING THE LEGEND PART 1

concept albums replicating pedals, yet switch them using phrasing. His vibrato, often
our heroes Gilmour and a designated board. This generated by the whammy
Water. My love of Floyd and was something that I always bar, was subtle and vocal
Gilmour continued, and I wanted, and eventually got to like. He often embellished
was lucky enough to see them have and still use! his melodies with rakes and
in the late ‘80s on the “A pinched harmonics. Gilmour
Momentary Lapse of Reason”, There was also his playing was also a master at lap steel
and “Delicate Sound of style; what set Gilmour head and pedal steel, inspiring me
Thunder” tours. and shoulders above other to learn to play lap steel.
guitarists for me were his
For me David Gilmour had melodies. His solos were I’m sure that everyone has
the sound; his lead tone was extensions of the songs; their own opinions and views
smooth and full, enhanced melody lines in their own about Gilmour, and I have
with ethereal delays, his right. He would fuse Blues probably overlooked some
rhythm tone was thick lines, slow, melodic extended areas, but for me these were
and rich. But also he had arpeggios, with his signature the things that set him apart
experimental tones using the strings bends. Gilmour is from other guitarists; I guess
rotary speakers, or Univibe, as a master at string bending. also the sheer size of a Floyd
well as the vintage fuzz tones. Inspired by Albert King, show, it was an overwhelming
I was drawn towards his who not only strung his experience. To wind things up
rhythmic delay parts heard guitar upside down so he I have a couple of things that
on Another Brick in the Wall pulled his strings when he really make my connection
Part 1, and Run Like Hell. bent them, he also tuned with Floyd special. The first
Gilmour had such a wide the entire guitar down by was when one of my best
variety of sounds, and for a tone and a half, resulting friends and fellow guitarist
the most part he was using a in less tension so he could David Kilminster became
Strat! achieve much larger string the new guitarist for Roger
bending intervals. Gilmour Waters, a position he still
Gilmour’s rig was also the applied this approach to a holds. I was honoured to have
first “proper” rig I had seen, regular strung and tuned been asked by Dave to mix
and I was fascinated by the guitar, and developed a and produce two of his solo
fact he had pedals in a rack; technique whereby he would albums, sold at Roger’s shows.
‘pedals in his rack?! How the not only bend regular half Through Dave and Roger’s
hell does he turn them on and full tone bends, but also management I ended up
and off?!’ It was from seeing as much as two full tones! filling the position as guitarist
Gilmour’s rig I learnt about Gilmour also had a wonderful in the world renowned
switching systems, and how touch, use of dynamics and Australian Pink Floyd show,
you could mix rack gear and

www.guitarinteractivemagazine.com 19
 ”...and it’s thanks to
my connection to
Dave and my love
of Floyd that I got
to really learn my
craft on the road..”

REMEMBER THAT NIGHT - DAVID GILMOUR LIVE AT THE

ROYAL ALBERT HALL’ DVD LAUNCH, ODEON LEICESTER
SQUARE, LONDON, BRITAIN - 06 SEP 2007

20 Gi_47
 INTERVIEWS_DAVID GILMOUR - TRIBUTE ISSUE
and completed two long American and South
American tours! Through this position I
got to really delve into his style and learn
the parts to such detail. I had a replica rig
built, with a switching system, with a rack
containing vintage pedals and rack effects. I
also started playing lap steel for these tours,
and it’s thanks to my connection to Dave
and my love of Floyd that I got to really learn
PINK FLOYD; DAVID GILMOUR, 1971 - KB HALLEN, COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
22 Gi_47
my craft on the road, and okay some of the
biggest and most famous venues in the world.
Now join Jamie as he takes us on
a journey through the impeccable
Gilmour style in our exclusive David
Gilmour Tech Session, Tone on a Budget
and a short history of the legendary
Black Strat. END >
FISHMAN

www.guitarinteractivemagazine.com 23
 INTERVIEWS_DAVID GILMOUR - DG BLACK STRAT OVERVIEW

AT
R
ST
THE C K
BLACK
A
BL

STRAT
DG

A SHORT HISTORY

24 Gi_47
 B

LA
DAVID GILMOUR UNPICKING THE LEGEND PART 2

CK
ST
RAT
DG
B
LACK STR

A David Gilmour special

issue wouldn’t be complete
without a look at the
legendary Black Fender
Strat that Gilmour has
A

played on some the

T

best-loved songs in Rock

history.

Jamie Humphries takes

a look at the legend played
by the legend.

www.guitarinteractivemagazine.com 25
 INTERVIEWS_DAVID GILMOUR - DG BLACK STRAT OVERVIEW
‘G
uitars can occasionally be
as famous as the guitarists
that play them. Think
of Rock legends like Peter Green,
Brian May, Steve Vai and Edward
Van Halen. David Gilmour’s famous
black Strat is certainly one you can
add to that illustrious list. His black
Fender Stratocaster has been used
on countless classic recordings and
concerts and has to be one of the
most listened to guitars in the world,
responsible for some landmark
recordings. In this brief history we
shall take a look at how the guitar has
evolved and been modified from its
humble beginnings.
It seems fate played a huge part in
this lifelong relationship between
man and guitar when in 1970, Pink
Floyd were force to cut their US
tour short after their equipment
was stolen. Gilmour stopped off
in Manny’s Music in New York
to purchase a replacement Fender
Stratocaster and walked out of the
store with a humble black standard
Stratocaster, The guitar was a CBS
Strat with a maple neck with a
maple “cap” fingerboard and a large
headstock. It also originally had a
white scratchplate.
Like many of the Fender guitars
of the late ‘60s it started out as a
sunburst, and was sprayed straight
26 Gi_47
over by Fender in black as a custom
order. The guitar came fitted with
a three-way switch as standard,
with the regular single volume and
two tone controls. Fitted with a
synchronized tremolo system the
guitar was originally supplied with
a standard length tremolo arm. The
guitar was originally fitted with
chrome tuners, with the Fender “F”
stamped on the back.
Although the back Strat made its
live debut in 1970, David wasn’t
totally satisfied with the new guitar,
and so began a long process of
modifications. He experimented with
various other guitars before finally
settling on the black Strat as his main
guitar, which he used on the 1971
album “Meddle”. From there, he
continued to record with the guitar,
using it on “Obscured by Clouds”,
“Dark Side of the Moon”, “Wish You
Were Here”, “Animals”, “The Wall”,
and “The Final Cut”! The same black
Strat was also used on all of his solo
albums.
For some reason, Gilmour retired the
guitar in the mid-’80s, at which time
he was experimenting with the then
new Fender ‘57 reissue guitars, fitted
with EMG pickups. He was also
toying with the small bodied headless
Steinberger guitar. As a consequence,
the faithful black Strat was displayed
 DAVID GILMOUR UNPICKING THE LEGEND PART 2

“Gilmour retired the

guitar in the mid-’80s,
at which time he was
experimenting with
the then new Fender
‘57 reissue guitars”

David Gilmour Comfortably Numb Guitar Solo in HD!

www.guitarinteractivemagazine.com 27
INTERVIEWS_DAVID GILMOUR - DG BLACK STRAT OVERVIEW
on a semi-permanent loan to the Hard Rock
Café in Dallas, Texas.
Sadly, the guitar wasn’t protected by a glass
a case and many parts were stolen and
damaged. Eventually, the guitar was returned
and restored to its former glory during the
late ‘90s, but it didn’t make its return to a
main stage until 2005, when the original
line up of Pink Floyd reunited for the Live
8 performance in Hyde Park London. Since
then the black Strat has resumed its position
as Gilmour’s main guitar, and a few years
ago recently Fender’s custom shops luthiers
and David’s long term tech Phil Taylor
stripped down the original black Strat and
analysed it to produce two stunning custom
shop replicas, the NOS, (new old stock) and
the Relic version. See our review elsewhere
in this issue!
Today. The Gilmour black Strat is a much
modified guitar but some of the minor
mods really don’t need to concern us for the
purposes of this article as they include things
like different neck plates, knobs and the use
of more traditional Kluson tuners.
However, there are a few key modifications
that altered both the appearance and sound
of the black Strat, resulting in the guitar that
we know and love today. The most visually
striking being the replacement scratchplate,
changing the standard white plate for an
all-black single ply plate which changed the
appearance of the guitar radically, with the
contrast of the white pickups and controls
against the black painted body and newly
fitted black plate. This small alteration has
made this guitar instantly recognisable.
28 Gi_47
Gilmour has also experimented with a
variety of necks at times, including various
Fender necks, rosewood and maple boards,
and even a custom bird’s eye maple 22 fret
Charvel neck! Currently it’s fitted with an
early ‘80s ‘57 vintage replica neck.
The pickups have been through some
changes, too. David has experimented with
various types, including a DiMarzio bridge
single coil, around the “Animals” period.
This was replaced with a Seymour Duncan
pickup for “The Wall”. At one point he
even fitted a Gibson humbucker between
the bridge and middle single coil pickups,
but this modification was later removed.
The guitar is currently loaded with early
‘70s Fender pickups in the neck and middle
positions, and a Seymour Duncan SSl-1 in
the bridge.
As if all that wasn’t enough, Gilmour
also experimented with various electronic
options. One such was having an XLR
socket fitted that sent the signal of the guitar
directly out into a fuzz pedal, and then back
into the guitar. This was engaged with a
small switch, with the volume on the guitar
acting as an overall master volume for the
effected sound. This alteration didn’t work
as he had planned, and the XLR routing
was filled and repaired. One modification
that has lasted, however, and to my mind
one that is a great addition to the guitar, was
the fitting of a small switch that engaged
the neck pickup with both the bridge and
middle pickups. Remember the guitar had
only a 3-way switch, so neck and middle
switching options were not available. The
 DAVID GILMOUR UNPICKING THE LEGEND PART 2

This guitar is steeped

history, and if it
in history
could talk it would tell
many stories.

bridge and neck option was a very unique
modification, and resulted in a very rich
tone.
As you’d expect considering his skilled use
of it, Gilmour has also experimented with
alterations to the tremolo system. In the
early ‘80 the original unit was replaced
with a modern Kahler locking system. The
guitar had the Charvel neck at the time,
and a locking nut was also added. When
the guitar was returned from the Hard Rock
Café, the original bridge was refitted, and a
piece of wood was used to block the Kahler
routing. This battle scar is evident on the
Signature “Relic” version of David’s guitar,
incidentally! For the record, he also began
experimenting with shorter tremolo arms,
which aided his unique “palming” technique
with he employed to achieve vibrato and
fluttering effects.
This guitar is steeped in history, and if it
could talk it would tell many stories. It is
itself an icon, and has carved its signature in
popular culture; the beautiful tones that sing
from it have been heard the world over by
countless people. Like the Red Special, and
the Frankenstrat, it’s earned its place in Rock
n’ Roll history! END >

www.guitarinteractivemagazine.com 31
 TECH SESSIONS_DAVID GILMOUR

TABLATURE DOWNLOADS
BACKING TRACK
GUITAR PRO 6 PDF BACKING TRACK
DOWNLOAD DOWNLOAD

44 Gi_47
 DAVID GILMOUR UNPICKING THE LEGEND PART 3

TECH
SESSION
Just a bluesy melodic player with a Strat? There’s a lot more to
David Gilmour’s style than meets the eye, as anyone who has
tried to get close will have found out! Following the success of
Gilmour’s current solo album Rattle That Lock, in this special
Tech Session Jamie Humphries takes a look at the evolution of
Gilmour’s style, from Pink Floyd to his current solo material.

www.guitarinteractivemagazine.com 45
 TECH SESSIONS_DAVID GILMOUR
‘O
ver the years I’ve written a lot about
David Gilmour and Pink Floyd.
In fact the first ever issue of Guitar
Interactive Magazine featured a full Gilmour
issue where I examined several different
aspects of his playing, from rhythm to lead,
old to modern (Sadly, GI Issue One was
lost due to technical problems, see this issue’s
editorial for more! Ed). I have also produced
several DVDs under the Lick Library banner!
When our editor approached me about
composing and writing another piece on
Gilmour, at first my thoughts were ‘What
else can I do? I’ve looked at Gilmour style in
depth!’ But then I looked at this piece from a
different angle, and as opposed to looking at
Gilmour in context of Floyd, I have chosen
David Gilmour Tech Session Performance
46 Gi_47
to look at Gilmour as a solo artist; although
there is some Floyd inspiration in there!
David Gilmour has released four solo
albums, the self titled “David Gilmour”,
1978’ “About Face”, 1984, “On An Island”,
2006, and “Rattle That Lock”, 2015. The
albums cover a wide variety of styles, as
well as Gilmour collaborating with artist as
diverse as David Crosby, Graham Nash, Jools
Holland, Mica Paris and Pete Townsend!
Gilmour has also collaborated with artists
as diverse as Bryan Ferry, performing on his
album “Boys and Girls”, and The Orb, who
called on Gilmour for his ethereal sonic skills
for the album “Metallic Spheres”. 2014 and
saw the release of the final Pink Floyd album,
“The Endless River”, which was largely an
ambient instrumental album.
Although Gilmour’s playing style has
its feet firmly planted in Blues, his
musical composing style crosses over
into the progressive/art rock genre, with
his compositions featuring extended
arrangements and multiple time signatures.
His playing style is mainly based around
pentatonic and Blues scales, and features
long sustaining melodies, slow melodic
arpeggios, and a subtle whammy bar vibrato.
One of his signature techniques is his use
of string bends, often bending notes as far
as two whole tones. His bending style was
a direct influence from listening to Albert
King.
For our Tech Session track I have drawn
inspiration from such tracks as “On An
Island” and “Mihalis”. I have also included
a “nod” towards some classic Floyd, namely
the “Animals” period and “Shine On You
Crazy Diamond”.
Bars 1-2 kick things off with a raked
Emadd9 chord, performed with sparse chord
arpeggios, reminiscent of the tracks “Breath”
and “On an Island”. Bar 2 includes a G
Lydian chord change, with the A/G to G
triads, (written as A/E on the transcription,
as it’s written in relation to the chords
lowest note, and not what is implied by
the bass guitar). This change is very similar
to harmony movement heard in the track
“Dogs” and “Mihalis”.
www.guitarinteractivemagazine.com
Bars 3-4 include a classic Gilmour chord
figure based around the A7 chord. This
chord is embellished with the shifting minor
7th and major 6th shapes, performed on
the 2nd and 4th strings, with the 3rd string
allowed to ring out. This section concludes
with the Cmaj7/G to B7 chord. Again these
chords feature a fairly sparse rhythm and are
embellished with arpeggio techniques.
Bars 5-8 repeat the previous four bars,
with a few rhythmic and performance
variations. With this verse section really
try to be dynamic, and laid back with the
performance, and try to sit back on the beat.
Bars 9-11 features a bridge section including
the bare chords of E minor, B minor, A
major and G major. This section concludes
with the altered chord of B7#9 shifting
to B7b9, before resolving to the Emadd9
chord. Also pay attention to the shift in time
signature, 12/8 bar to 6/8 bar and back to
12/8 bar.
Bars 12-13 kick the solo off over a new
section, with the accompanying chords of
Em11 and Am. I have given the “Shine On”
chord a huge nod on the backing track, by
performing it a tone higher than normal,
with a capo at the second fret, helping with
the Floydian vibe. The solo kicks off with the
B minor pentatonic over the Em11 chord,
which is a technique often used by Gilmour.
You can add a fresh sound to your pentatonic
soloing by simply using a pentatonic scale a
5th above the chord you’re playing over. This
47
 TECH SESSIONS_DAVID GILMOUR
David Gilmour Tech Session Rhythm Parts
technique outlines the 2nd or 9th, adding
a modal sound without you needing
to know any new scales! We shift back
to the E minor pentatonic over the A
minor chord, which again uses the 5th
above technique.
Bars 14-15 kick off with an extended
E minor arpeggio that is embellished
with whammy bar slurring. This is an
extended arpeggio that covers a wide
portion of the neck, so take care with
the position shifts. We then introduce
the new chord, C/F, aiding an F
Lydian sound, which is outlined with a
climbing series of string bends.
48 Gi_47
Bars 16-18 features some classic
Gilmour bluesy based licks, as well as
a whopping two tone bend! Really pay
attention to the pitch of the bends and
the feel of this section, as we mix searing
bends with fluid lines.
Bars 19-21 conclude with a descending
bending figure that follows the “Shine
On” inspired chords of F major, C/E, D
minor, Dm/C to B7. We outline the B7
chord with an arpeggio that isn’t used
that often by Gilmour, the B dominant
7th arpeggio, but I’ve performed it in
a Gilmour-esque way to show how
you can add flavours of his playing
MUSICMAN CUTLASS GUITAR

www.guitarinteractivemagazine.com 49
 TECH SESSIONS_DAVID GILMOUR
to other techniques and approaches.
We conclude with bends that outline
the chords of E7#9 to E7b9 before
concluding the solo over the final.
THE GEAR
For this track I used a Musicman
Cutlass guitar, which does s similar job
to a vintage Strat style guitar and you
could use a Strat instead, of course. This
was plugged into a Mesa Boogie King
Snake combo, which is based on the
Mark 1 Boogie, which Gilmour had in
his rack in the late ‘70s. For the verse
rhythm part I used an MXR flanger
pedal, and for the solo I added more
gain with a Wampler Tumnus pedal.
David Gilmour Tech Session Lead Parts
50 Gi_47
Some ambient delay was added in the
mixing process.
I would aim for a semi-clean tone for
the verse rhythm, backing off the guitar
volume, and add some modulation,
preferably a phaser or flanger. For the
solo aim for a mild overdrive, that
sustains, and add a healthy dose of
delay, preferably running the delay unit
in the effects loop of your amp, or place
the delay after the amp if you’re using a
software based amp program.
For more on getting that Gilmour
sound, see this issue’s exclusive Tone on
a Budget! END >
 TECH SESSIONS_DAVID GILMOUR

TONE
B BACKING TRACK

54 Gi_47
 DAVID GILMOUR UNPICKING THE LEGEND PART 4

E ON A
BUDGET
Looking to get that classic Gilmour tone from gear you don’t
need to be a multi-millionaire to afford
Jamie Humphries shows you how!

www.guitarinteractivemagazine.com 55
 FEATURES_TONE ON A BUDGET
‘A longside the likes of Brian May
and Edward Van Halen, David
Gilmour has one of the best loved
and most sought after guitar tones in Rock.
His multi-faceted use of sound ranges from
an aggressive fuzz tone, to rich smooth
overdriven tones laced with ethereal delays,
to driving rhythmic clean chorus delay tones.
His unique approach to tone shaping helped
to craft some of the best loved songs in
Rock music including “Shine on You Crazy
Diamond”, “Another Brick in the Wall”,
“Time” and “Comfortably Numb”.
For many years Gilmour has mixed both
stomp boxes and rack effects, often with
multiple amps, with elaborate custom built
56 Gi_47
switching systems, giving him ultimate
flexibility whilst retaining a pure and clean
signal path. Gilmour mainly uses clean amps,
adding drive pedals on top, although he
has used Boogie amps in his rig specifically
for drive. His main amps are Hiwatt heads,
powering WEM 4x12 cabinets. He also
uses modified Alembic guitar/bass pre-
amps to add low end to the system. Effects
include Big Muff fuzzes, Tube Drivers, an
Electric Mistress flanger, an MXR phaser
and compressors, plus a variety of Boss EQ
pedals, and Providence effects.
His rack has included a variety of rack
effects units for delays and reverbs including
MXR, TC Electronics and Lexicon. Gilmour
also uses rotary effects including a
rack Univibe, Leslie cabinets and a

“Gilmour’s tone has to be one of the
most requested tones that I get asked
to analyse...”
Yamaha RA 200 rotary cabinet. His rig has
included a variety of customer routers and
switching systems, built by Pete Cornish, but
more recently he has been using Skrydstrup
loop systems and MIDI board. With his set-
up he can select any amp or stomp box or
rack effect combination, as well as switching
midi patches with one press on his board.
When the effects are not selected they’re out
of his signal chain, resulting in a clean pure
signal.
Gilmour uses a variety of guitars, and lap
steel guitars, although he is most famously
associated with the Fender Strat, namely
his famous ‘Black Strat’ with white pickups
(see our review of the official Fender clone and
Jamie’s history of this unique guitar elsewhere
in this issue - Ed). This guitar has been
heavily modified, and was even donated to
the Hard Rock Café for a period of time,
but thankfully was returned to David. He
also uses Fender Telecasters and Esquires and
occasionally Gibson Les Pauls.
Gilmour’s tone has to be one of the most
requested tones that I get asked to analyse.
When we decided to look at it in this feature,
there were a few ways we could have gone;
a multi effects unit with amp modelling, a
computer or iPad based app, but instead I
choose to go the traditional route, with an
www.guitarinteractivemagazine.com
DAVID GILMOUR UNPICKING THE LEGEND PART 4
amp and a series of stomp boxes. As this
feature is about getting his Tone on a Budget,
I had to make sure that the equipment used
was friendly on the wallet, so to start with I
choose the Marshall Code range amp. This
amp includes plenty of effects and amp
models to choose from, is very well priced
and widely available. I opted to produce a
good rich clean tone to enable me to build
my tones on. For the choice of stomp boxes I
opted for the very budget friendly, but great
sounding, Mooer pedals. We shall discuss
effects in a little more detail later.
We thought hard about the choice of guitar.
Obviously, a cheap Strat, or even a copy,
would have been the easy route, but in the
end I went for something a little different
that wouldn’t just be budget friendly, but also
great sounding, versatile, well set-up, and
look right, so I decided to go for the Sterling
by Musicman Sub Silo.
As I mention in the video, I was also partly
influenced by wanting to use an HSS guitar,
as many readers will have humbucker guitars
and will want to recreate the Gilmour tone
and this guitar lets me do both.
Now let’s move on to effects! When tackling
the Gilmour tone there are going to be
a few ‘must have’ effects which are vital
57
 FEATURES_TONE ON A BUDGET

when trying to recreate his sound. Gilmour Compression. Compression will help even-
obviously has many variations on hand, as out performance, especially when playing
well as other pieces of equipment that help with a clean tone. It can also be used to alter
shape his sound, but the list below forms the attack of a note, producing a smoother
the basis of how we shall achieve a close sound, almost squashed. This effect is very
approximation of his tone and it was also important when performing the “Shine on
how I went about building my rig when I You Crazy Diamond” intro solo, creating
toured with the Australian Pink Floyd Show: a “pop” sound to the picked note. The
compressor also adds sustain, which will
1. Compression help with the clean solo, as well as the intro
2. Fuzz rotary effect chord. Another great use for
the compressor is to push your drive pedals
3. Drive harder. David Gilmour uses several Tube
Drivers with differing levels of gain. With
4. Modulation the compressor you can push a lower setting
5. Delay/echo on your drive pedal into a more saturated
sound. For our lesson I used the very
6. Reverb inexpensive Mooer Yellow compressor, for
a classic smooth optical compressor sound.

Tone on a budget

58 Gi_47
 DAVID GILMOUR UNPICKING THE LEGEND PART 4

Overdrive/boost. Gilmour has used

Gilmour uses several compressors, including
models by Boss and MXR. You could use any
of these.
a variety of drive and boosts, including
Chandler Tube Drivers, and an old
Colorsound drive. He has also used a Rat
pedal, and the Boss HM2. For this session I
chose the Mooer Black Secret pedal, which is
similar in sound to a Rat. If you can afford a
Rat that would be a great choice but as this
is about saving money, the Mooer is a great
alternative. I was looking for a pedal that
would be able to produce a full rich warm
tone, reminiscent of the Tube Driver. Once
again I can set this pedal to a mild over drive
and boost it with the compressor. The Black
Secret is ideal for the solo tone of “Another
Brick in the Wall”, and “Comfortably Numb”
I also used this pedal to add slight break up to
the front end of the “Shine On” chord.

Fuzz. This effect is essential for

the Gilmour lead tone, and can be
used for a mild drive up to a more
aggressive solo tone. Gilmour will
often drive this pedal hard, but
back off the column on the guitar
to clean the sound up, but retain
a biting trebly tone. He favours
the classic Electro Harmonics
Big Muff, the Cornish P1, or
the Sovtech Big Muff, but for
this session I used the Mooer
Triangle Buff pedal, which is a
way to get your cost down! As
I’ve mentioned, we can drive this
pedal harder with the compressor
to achieve a more saturated
sound, ideal for the “Time” solo.

www.guitarinteractivemagazine.com 59
 FEATURES_TONE ON A BUDGET
Modulation. David Gilmour uses a lot of
modulation effects, including rotary effects
such as Univibe, Leslie, Phaser, Tremolo,
Chorus and Flanger. As we needed so
many different modulation effects I have
chosen to use the Mooer Mod Factory,
which is a fantastic multi modulation
“Hopefully from this article and the
accompanying video you can see
how Gilmour uses effects in a very
creative way...”
60 Gi_47
pedal, giving us every modulation
effect we need. This will produce
the Electric Mistress style flanger for
“Comfortably Numb”, the Phaser
effect for “Us and Them” as well as the
Rotary effect on “Shine On You Crazy
Diamond”.
Delay/echo. A huge piece in the
Gilmour tone puzzle is delay and echo.
Gilmour has used a variety of Delay and
Echo units including Binson Echorec,
TC 2290, and a pair of humble Boss
DD2 delays. He uses delay in a variety
of ways, either as adding ambiance to
solos and soundscape effects, or as a
rhythmic effect for tracks such as “Run
Like Hell” and “Another Brick in the
Wall”. As Gilmour uses different types
of delay I have once again opted for a
multi pedal, in the shape of the Mooer
Recho delay, that is a small compact
pedal featuring three classic echo effects.
This pedal was able to produce the “Run
Like Hell” delay and the “Time” echo with
ease!
Reverb. Although this effect isn’t really

featured in Gilmour’s rack, other than being
in multi effects units such as the Lexicon
PCM-70, it’s an essential effect for producing
large ambient space and an ethereal quality.
Much of Gilmour’s studio reverb comes
from the traditional route, recording in large
spaces, and getting distance from the cabinet
with the mic, or miking the room itself!! For
the session I used the Mooer Sky Verb to
produce a clear clean reverb, adding space to
the tones created on the video.
If all this sounds like a Mooer-fest (it does!
- Ed) I apologise but my aim was to keep
the budget down and also to use a brand of
pedal you can probably get your hands on
anywhere where you can read GI. Obviously,
there are thousands of pedals on the market
to choose from, from the dirt cheap to the
frighteningly expensive, and if you have
www.guitarinteractivemagazine.com
DAVID GILMOUR UNPICKING THE LEGEND PART 4
the time to shop around you may find
alternatives that work as well – but they will
probably cost you a bit more! In the end,
you could simply buy a lower priced Strat,
a cheap combo and a bunch of affordable
pedals and still get a decent sound, once
you’d auditioned all your local guitar shop’s
range of FX, but what I have opted for
should be easy to find and will do the job
at a minimal price. The choice, of course, is
yours!
And of course, if money isn’t really an object,
check out the reviews section of this issue
in which we’ve reviewed some of the more
expensive options you can find.
Hopefully from this article and the
accompanying video you can see how
Gilmour uses effects in a very creative way,
sculpting his tone to fit the part in the song.
His tone is very difficult to emulate, and is
one of my most favourite tones, one I had
to emulate on three large tours with The
Australian Pink Floyd Show. I went the route
of an off the shelf switching system made by
Voodoo lab, and a mixture of pedals and rack
equipment. This was still pretty expensive,
but using these relatively low priced pedals
for our feature I have gained some great
results. At the end of the day trust your own
ears and really listen to these classic David
Gilmour recordings. END >
61
 COMPETITIONYOUR CHANCE TO WIN!

WIN A BRAND NEW ORANGE R

FABULOUS FREE ENT

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aunched just a few weeks ago at the NAMM show in the USA, Orange’s new
Rocker 32 combo promises to be the next in this venerable company’s long
line of killer guitar amps! The all-tube Rocker is partnered with the equally
impressive Rocker 15 but it’s a Rocker 32 that we have up for grabs. We also
have it on review elsewhere in this issue and Tom Quayle says of it: “Orange has really
pushed the boat out with the Rocker 32 and has given the fantastic tonal palette of the
Rocker 15 more power, more bottom end and tightness plus the ability to run stereo
effects and even a ‘wet-dry’ set-up from a single amp.” Summing up the newcomers,
Tom says: “Another pair of winners from Orange!”

Just one lucky

winner is going to
scoop the board
this time around,
so don’t forget to
enter this entirely
free competition!

1/ All entries must be received by 12th March 2017. 2/ Only one entry per person is allowed 3/ All entrants must be registered readers of G
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respond to email notification of having won within 10 days, otherwise prizes may be forfeited and alternative winners chosen. 8/ Winners
always be possible. 9/ Prizewinners must consent to having their name and city/country (e.g. ‘Andres Segovia, Madrid, Spain’) published i

64 Gi_47
 YOUR CHANCE TO WIN BRAND NEW ORANGE ROCKER 32

ROCKER 32 COMBO IN OUR

TRY COMPETITION!

How do you win? It’s easy! All you have to do is click to enter, simply answer the simple
questions (tick A, B or C) and fill out the form! One lucky winner with the correct
answers will be chosen at random and will receive an Orange Rocker 32 combo!

Questions
Q1. The Orange Rocker 32 is a valve/ Q 2 This issue’s review of the Orange
tube amp. Rocker 32 reveals the speaker
format. Is it:
A/ True
A/ 1x12”
B/ False
B/ 2x10”

C/ 4x10”

ENTER

1
One lucky winner with the correct answers will win an Orange Rocker
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Guitar Interactive 3/ No cash alternative is offered instead of the stated prize. 4/ Employees of Guitar Interactive or Orange Amplification are
orrect answers. 6/ The judges’ decision is final. No correspondence will be entered into regarding this competition. 7/ Winning entrants must
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www.guitarinteractivemagazine.com 65
 REVIEWS_GUITAR REVIEW

Fender Signature David Gilmour

Custom Shop Relic Stratocaster
Way back in the first issue of Guitar Interactive we reviewed Fender’s NOS Signature
David Gilmour Strat in our Gilmour tribute launch issue. Sadly, that issue was
completely lost in a server crash, which is why we have revisited Mr Gilmour now.
When we decided to try again, we assumed the Fender’s Gilmour relics would
be long gone, all in the hands of collectors. In glass cases. Unplayed. But we were
wrong, as Jamie Humphries found out to his (and our) surprise!

‘F
or the fan, owning a replica of the
guitar played by their favourite is
the ultimate prize in their collection,
and with the guitars being as famous as the
guitarists that play them, there are plenty of
signature guitars on the market to choose
from. Fender has had a very successful
signature series, with models for Yngwie
Malmsteen, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Buddy
Guy and Ritchie Sambora to name but a
few. Now, David Gilmour is one of the
most famous and renowned Stratocaster
players, so it was only a matter of time before
Fender introduced his now famous and
much documented ‘Black Strat’, which the
company duly did, way back in 2008.
I actually reviewed the David Gilmour NOS
signature Strat in the ill-fated first issue of
Guitar Interactive, but if I am honest I wasn’t
very happy with my review; the guitar landed
with us literally just before I was due to film
and there were a few key points I missed.
With this issue heavily featuring David
Gilmour and associated equipment, we had
to feature a Strat but we didn’t expect to be
able to find any of the originals still around.
But we were wrong. In fact I walked into
our local guitar store, DV24/7 in Romford,
Essex, UK, and there was one hanging on the
wall! Needless to say, we borrowed it for this
review.
First, let’s establish that this guitar is an exact
replica of David’s famous Black Strat; and if
you read the piece in this issue I have written
on the guitar you will know how David
chopped and changed parts including the

STAR RATING PROS As close as you’ll get to the original » Extremely

CONS Huge price

78 Gi_47
 THE REVIEWS FENDER SIGNATURE DAVID GILMOUR CUSTOM SHOP RELIC STRATOCASTER

bridge, several necks and pickups. So with that in mind this guitar
represents several eras of Fender Strats all bolted together! This guitar
can be heard on some of Floyd’s most famous recordings including
Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here and The Wall. This
guitar has also been used on many of his solo recordings. Apparently,
to make this replica, the original was stripped down, analysed and
faithfully replicated, with two versions made available, the NOS
and the Relic. As I say, we had no idea these were still available but
checking around it seems they are.

Let’s start at the headstock and work our way down. The neck on
this guitar is a one-piece maple type and is based 1983 ‘57 vintage
reissue neck, featuring a walnut skunk stripe on the back. The neck is
a duplicate of David’s actual neck on his Black Strat. The headstock
features a vintage ‘spaghetti’ style logo and houses the six Kluson
machine heads and a single string tree for the 1st and 2nd strings.
The fingerboard includes 21 vintage style frets and a synthetic bone
nut. Being a faithful replica of DG’s original, the fingerboard
features some wear marks, as well as black dot inlays, and is
finished in beautifully smooth nitrocellulose lacquer. The
neck is attached to the guitar body with a four bold plate
with the serial number stamp.

Now let’s talk about the body. The original guitar body
was from the late 1960s, and was, like many Fender guitars
from that period, a sunburst that was over-sprayed in black.
The body on this relic features accurate wear marks as well
as the signs of modifications made to the original guitar,
including the outline of where a Kahler bridge was
fitted and also evidence of where an XLR socket was
once added. The body is constructed from alder, and is
also finished in nitrocellulose lacquer and it sports the
famous single ply black scratch plate which houses the
three white single coil pickups.

y well made » Extras are nice

www.guitarinteractivemagazine.com 79
 REVIEWS_GUITAR REVIEW

The pickups are: bridge,

Seymour Duncan SSl-5 single
coil, middle, a custom wound
Strat single coil and, for the
neck position, a Custom
Shop Fat 50’s single coil. The
guitar includes a single master
volume and two tone controls
for the neck and middle
pickups, as well as a five-way
selector switch. There is also an
additional switch that engages
the neck pickup with the bridge
and middle pickup. Originally

Fender Signature David Gilmour Custom Shop Relic Stratocaster

80 Gi_47
 REVIEWS_GUITAR REVIEW

“Overall, the guitar sounded fantastic

used both clean and distorted, with the
bridge pickup sounding huge and thick
with saturated tones.”
the Strat had only a three-way switch, so this modification allowed additional combinations.
Although the three way was replaced, this additional switching makes this Strat unique, by
allowing both the bridge and neck pickup to work together. The pickups, knobs, and scratch
plate have all been authentically aged. The guitar includes a vintage synchronised tremolo

82 Gi_47
 THE REVIEWS FENDER SIGNATURE DAVID GILMOUR CUSTOM SHOP RELIC STRATOCASTER
unit with a bevelled tremolo block and a
shortened arm.
On test, the guitar performed fantastically,
in both sound and playability. The guitar has
a good weight and, unamplified, it sounded
very resonant. Like most Strats it was very
well balanced, and the “C” profile neck felt
very played in, with no rough fret edges or
sloppy finishing.
I loved the short whammy bar. Being a
Gilmour fan I am aware of the ‘palming’
technique he uses for vibrato and flutters,
which I find slightly tricky on a regular
sized arm but these techniques were a lot
more comfortable, and I found I was able to
control the bar a lot better.
Overall, the guitar sounded fantastic used
both clean and distorted, with the bridge
pickup sounding huge and thick with
saturated tones. The ability to engage the
neck pickup with the bridge really adds
weight to the sound, and great for thickening
up solo tomes, when swapping from rhythm
crunch.
FIND THIS PRODUCT ON
Check THE SPEC
www.guitarinteractivemagazine.com
I was slightly disappointed with the NOS
version that I tried before, but this Relic
surpassed all my expectations. The guitar
looks fantastic, the Relic work and ageing
is exceptionally well done, and I have to
applaud Fender’s fanatical attention to detail.
As you might expect this is quite an
expensive guitar, but you do get a lot more
than just the guitar. It comes with a custom
case with lots of extras including the Black
Strat book, by Gilmour’s long time tech Phil
Taylor, custom leather strap, DG’s GHS
Boomer strings, a David Gilmour “Live
in Gdansk” CD/DVD package, and an
Evidence Audio guitar cable. This really is a
great guitar and commemorative package for
the Gilmour fan.
Is it worth the money? For the devoted fan,
it has to be. There’s no doubt that Fender
has put a lot of work into it and it’s as close
as you are going to get to the original unless
you plan on a career in burglary! END >
Our grateful thanks to DV247 for the
loan of his review guitar:
www.dv247.com
GO
VIEW
83