Here is my example of this sound. Pink Floyd is known for their use of soundscapes and textures that would later characterize genres such as progressive rock and psychedelic rock. The first delay is set to 570ms, which is the 4/4 time, and the second is set to 428ms, which is the 3/4 time. I think what makes the solo stand out is that it is dead on the beat which isn't as typical for Gilmour. *While I did a ton of work figuring out many of these delay times, a big thanks goes to Raf and the fine folks at the Gilmour Gear Forum for providing some of the delay times and to Will for compiling a list of the 2015/16 tour delay times seen on David's digital delays! To add space to your tone, add a clean digital delay at the end of your signal chain. Below is an isolated excerpt of this part. David and Roger Waters each had one of these amps but I think the only other recorded example of it being used was for the BBC performance of Embryo in 1968. For example, take 450ms divided by 3 = 150ms. Occasionally David may be using a long repeat time on one delay, and a shorter repeat time on another delay simultaneously. Many of the sound effects youll hear on the earlier albums were created with this machine. This is a big part of Pink Floyds sound. Regardless, it is the combination of both delay and reverb that makes the delay sound so smooth in some instances. This creates a different bouncy feel to the delay rhythm. If you put it in a 3/4 time it has an interesting bounce to it. Time intro - Isolated guitar from studio mix. He did sometimes use the Swell mode. As the magnetic tape began to wear out and stretch over time, the repeats would start to degrade and sound dirty and warbly. The trick is not to overdo it. The Mooer Elec Lady is a good, inexpensive clone of the Electric Mistress that sounds much closer to the original large box Mistress. Free shipping for many products! I also use it to add some of the bigger room and concert hall sounds. The S-O-S rig allowed him to play sustained chords on the guitar which he could then play melody on top of. Dave likes it because even though it's a digital unit, it still sounds a little dirty, like a tape unit. This would not only be one of the only times David is known to have used a tape delay effect live, but he seems to have used it much earlier than other guitarist more well known for this effect. - first is 380ms delay in the left channel, then 380ms+254ms in the right channel. Below is an example of the Syd's Theme section of Shine on You Crazy Diamond from Pink Floyd's 1994 tour. They averaged from 290-310ms. The delays are set in series like this: MXR DIGITAL DELAYS - David began using digital delays in 1977. 650ms delay first, with 2 repeats, and 1400ms delay second with 1 repeat. fourth solo: 40-50-ms slapback delay -- feedback: 1 repeat, Echoes Depending on your second delay EQ, you may need to experiment with the number of repeats and repeat volume. SHINE ON YOU CRAZY DIAMOND 1-5 settings. for providing some of the delay times and to Will for compiling a list of the 2015/16 tour delay times seen on David's digital delays! Make David Gilmour's Shimmering Sustained Delay in Live. A second and third guitar repeat similar slide phrases, playing slightly behind the first guitar. For David's 2006 rig one output from his Mk 2 Cornish-built pedalboard went to his main Hiwatt amp and 4x12 speaker cabinets. That ADT slapback sound can also be heard on other Run Like Hell concert recordings, like Delicate Sound of Thunder, Pulse, and David Gilmour Live at Pompeii, but to a lesser effect. 2nd delay 165ms. With that said, the rest of the article is designed to . The first delay is definitely set to 470ms, which is the 4/4 time. All of the settings for this tone can be found in this PDF download below. 234ms and 150ms also works. We are a participant in several affiliate programs including but not limited to the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. For the studio albums however, there is definitely reverb in many of the recordings, and in some cases much more so than delay. That delayed chord would ring on through the second Hiwatt for approximately 20-30 seconds before decaying, simulating a sustained keyboard chord. However, it is possible to play this one one guitar. Using Program position 3 for that part also works. Two guitars were multi tracked in the left and right channels. Give Blood The Binson Echorec is an analogue echo unit made by Binson in Italy. I have occasionally used spring reverb from an amplifier, but set very low so there is just a hint of that sound. Some duplicate the studio album delay times and some duplicate the live delay times. 5 Pedals or Less: How to Sound Like Dave Gilmour Back at it again, the hunt for tone never ends. The main rythm in the left and right channels of the studio recording is domantly the 3/4 time. It's actually a metallic disc that spins around. The delay time must also be precisely in time with the song tempo. This may be a form of Automatic/Artificial Double Tracking (ADT) or simply a short slapback delay. Great Gig Slide Guitar Breakdown, Here's another, starting with the dry guitar in the left channel, then the right channel with the 440ms delay. I don't think I'll ever stick to one instrument - but the great thing about life is you don't have to. bass guitar rhythm delay (two bass guitars): 294ms, 7-8 repeats David usually sets his delays in time with the song tempo, which helps hide the echo repeats. I don't care how I get it. 380 divided by 3 = 126.7ms. It was strange because it didn't utilize tape loops. There is an EMT 140 plate reverb on David's floating Astoria recording studio and the four famous EMT 140 plate reverbs at Abbey Road studios can be heard on early Pink Floyd recordings, especially Dark Side of the Moon. This is the primary delay time you hear in the song. In the studio recording the 4/4 delay is not very obvious, so it was low in the mix, possibly only in one channel, or both. David would play a two note chord, then fade the volume in as he slides to the next position. The Mode switch is in position 7, which is Head 3 + Head 4. On the left is my standard setting range for the early 1970s Gilmour Echorec sound. Playing the RLH Rhythm Fills - with and without the delay, Playing the RLH Verse Chords - with and without delay. He became known for this effect as he used it for his guitar solo in practically every queen concert. 1 2. Next cut that delay time in half so you hear two repeats per beat, or 2/4 time. The other output went to a Sound-on-Sound interface built into David's rack, which fed a second Hiwatt amp and 4x12 speaker cabinet. - David often has a big, watery delay tone, as if he were playing in a large hall, but the actual audible echo repeats in his solos are almost absent in many cases. For the multi-head Echorec sound needed when performing the intro to Time and the four-note Syd's theme section of Shine on You Crazy Diamond he used two delays, and sometimes three! Run Like Hell with 380ms and 254ms delays in series - first is 380ms delay in the left channel, then 380ms+254ms in the right channel. Here is a clip of a single 330ms delay playing the Blue Light riff. intro: 425ms But fear not, if you want a semi-authentic Echorec experience, Catalinbread makes an Echorec pedal that sounds very close to the original. Brian May (of Queen) did the same effect a few years later on, - The 1983 Boss DD-2 was one of the first, and best sounding digital delays to come out of the early days of digital effects pedals. When using both the mono and stereo outputs together (each running to a separate amp) the DD-2 produces a very defined stereo field, with one channel being the dry signal only, and one being the delayed signal only. Gilmour uses this type of delay setting on several songs in the Pink Floyd catalog, most famously in "Run Like Hell." Here is the tab for Another Brick In The Wall pt. It was my very first delay and one of my favorite pedals for Gilmour-ish delay. REVERB OR NO REVERB ? That equates to 428ms, which we will call the 4/4 time. He set the time to 310ms for most everything. first solo: 450ms -- feedback: 4-5 repeats -- delay level: 20% -- delay type: analog Head 2 = 2/4 His tone is instantly recognizable and unique. David's Echoes delay time of 300ms, one for the delay in Time, and 423ms in the display. I have managed to nearly replicate what a Binson will do using a combination of modern digital unitsthe multi-head sounds, as well as the Swell settingwhich is what I use on the beginning of Time, for example - David Gilmour, Guitar World March 2015. 240ms and 165ms actually sound more like David's delay times, but there are other times that have the same feel. Dan's Pick No.1: Pro-Co RAT (79) David Gilmour, or Dave to his friends, has had a constant development of tone over the four decades he's been knocking around making classic album after classic album. If you are playing at home on your amp with delay, the delay sound will be much more apparent than when you are playing with a full band, where the delay repeats will blend in the band mix much better. Questa guida al setup di David Gilmour vuole essere d'aiuto per tutti coloro che volendo ricreare il sound che David ha utilizzato in un'album, in un tour o in una specifica canzone, sono alla ricerca dei setting precisi di ogni effetto usato da Gilmour. You just tap along to the song tempo with your keyboard and it calculates the BPM tempo for you. Brain Damage - Pulse version (TC2290 Digital Delay): Breathe - studio version (several duplicated multi track recordings offset to create the long delay repeats): Breathe - Pulse version (TC2290 Digital Delay): Coming Back To Life - Pulse version (MXR Digital Delay II and TC 2290 Digital Delay): Coming Back To Life - 2015/16 live version: Comfortably Numb - 1986 live version / Columbian Volcano Appeal Concert: Comfortably Numb - Pulse version and most Division Bell tour performances: Eclipse Using two delays to simulate the multi head Echorec effect - 470ms and 352ms. I turn each effect on one at a time so you can hear how they add to the tone. USING TWO DELAYS TO MIMIC AN ECHOREC - David stopped using the Echorec live after 1977. Assume a 100% delay level means the delay repeat volume is exactly the same as the original signal volume, so the dry signal and the delay repeats will be exactly the same loudness. solo: 400ms, Raise My Rent: He notoriously used a Binson Echorec for his delays, and many other vintage pedals and studio outboard gear to achieve his tone. Gilmour used the TC Electronic 2290, but any digital delay will do. David Gilmour adjusting his MXR rack effects from April 1984, including the MXR 113 Digital Delay, and MXR Digital Delay System II. Blue Light Riff - with and without delay. delay 1 time: 430ms -- feedback: 5-7 repeats - delay level: 30% -- delay type: warm digital Often during the live songs that do have very loud delays, you do hear the repeats clearly. solo: 420ms The slide parts actually were played on a pedal steel, a Fender 1000, but David just used it as a slide guitar and removed the foot pedals. extended version solo: 430ms, Rattle That Lock - 2016/15 Live version: - In general, no - but sometimes, yes. He would do this for each chord change in the intro to, David did an early version of sound-on-sound way back in October of 1970, in one of the few times Pink Floyd performed Alan's Psychadelic Breakfast live. If you listen to some of the better bootleg recordings and compare them to the official live releases, you will find David's real live sound is typically drier, with less delay. David bought an Echorec PE 603 model in 1971 that had a maximum delay time of around 377-380ms. R channel -- 1400ms with two repeats. Listening to this track helped me realize how delay and reverb trails interact with what I'm playing in a way that makes unintended diads that could . This website is frequently updated. Here is a breakdown from the Great Gig multi tracks. Below is a breakdown of how to play this effect. I have one for specific time settings, for things like, , so I know in numbers (delay time in milliseconds) what setting I need to use. For his 2015 tour he used a Providence Chrono Delay and two Flight Time delays. delay time to simulate offset multi track recordings: 930ms -- feedback: 4-5 repeats -- delay level: 30-35% -- delay type: analog, Breathe - Pulse version (TC2290 Digital Delay): Copyright Kit Rae. outro solo: 430-450ms, One of These Days studio version (Binson Echorec): - Delay Rhythm Guitars Mixed Up Front - both channels. Adjust the tone to suit your amp/speaker tone. There are so many different delays available now that it can be confusing to know which one is appropriate for Gilmour tones. If running both delays in series, set the repeats however long you can go before oscillation starts, which is 8-10 repeats on most delays. The SDE 3000 was set for a 1500ms delay, giving approximately 20-30 seconds of regenrated delay repeats. Some duplicate the studio album delay times and some duplicate the live delay times. second solo: 480ms -- feedback: 6-7 repeats Its not rare to see Pink Floyd play 10-minute long solos over what can only be described as atmospheric playing from the band. David is using two delays from a PCM70 rack delay to simulate the Echorec sound. So why don't you hear the repeats most of the time? That sounds complicated, but to recreate this sound all you really need is one digital delay set to 380ms, as David did whenever he played it live. DELAY SETTINGS - Most of the delay times David Gilmour used in the early 1970s with Pink Floyd were around 300ms long, since that was the approximate delay time of head 4 on the Binson Echorecs he was using at the time. intro: TC 2290 Digital Delay and PCM 70 Delay: Delay 1= 470ms / Delay 2 = 94ms Verse / Chorus : TC 2290 Digital Delay: 430ms It was surrounded by a record head and four playback heads that gave it a wide range of double-tapped delay sounds. Below is an example of me using an Echorec style delay in a cover of Pink Floyd's 1969 song Dramatic Theme form the More album. I use the MXR with the read-out on it, so I instantly have the right tempo. 3rd solo: delay 1 = 240ms / delay 2 = 435ms, Mother solo - 1980-81 live version: The shorter delay fills in the gaps between the longer delay repeats, creating a smooth delay sound, but the delay time on both makes the repeats fall inline with the song tempo. A good chorus like the Boss CE-2 or CE-5 can also be used in place of the flanger. I have a slight roll off of the high frequencies on the repeats to mimic the Echorec sound. This is something us Gilmour fans have sought to recreate in our own playing. It helps to have the echo repeats of the first delay fall right in between, or on the repeats of the second delay, so it has a rhtmic feel. For most of his 2016 tour he used multiple delays for those parts, but switched to using a Boonar Multi-Head Drum Echo digital delay from Dawner Prince Electronics for the last few concerts. It was used for the early live version of On the Run in 1972, the third Money solo, and used on Pink Floyd tours until 1975. He would do this for each chord change in the intro to Shine On You Crazy Diamond, effectively doing both the keyboard and guitar parts all by himself. intro: 440ms solos: 440ms -- feedback: 7-8 repeats - delay level: 15% -- delay type: analog You may also want to try setting the second delay at 760ms, double the triplet time delay (380 x 2 = 760ms). You might be tempted to make it ear piercingly loud, but trust me on this, a little goes a long way, especially when playing with other people. delay 2: 275-290ms -- feedback: 5-7 repeats - delay level: 25% -- delay type: analog, Short and Sweet - David Gilmour live 1984 version (Boss DD-2): The second delay is set for 254ms, 1 repeat, with the delay volume set at 50%. It has a digital readout, but it's really nowhere close to being accurate. The 3/4 time delay is 380ms and the second 4/4 delay time is 507ms, or one repeat on every quarter note (one beat). Another option is to run two delay pedals simultaneously. The third and final (that we know of) delay he usd was the TC Electronic 2290 rack unit. Remember that these settings should just be used as a starting point. Then I play just the muted note rhythm so you can hear what it sounds without the delay, then I turn the delay on while playing. The delay and reverb are usually not mixed particularly loud, but the overall combined wet delay/reverb mix is very effective. Digital delays Gilmour used several digital delay units trough time, starting from the Wall in 1979. The MXR 113 was released in 1976 and David first used it for Pink Floyd's Animals tour in 1977. alternate: 380ms, High Hopes - 2015/16 live version: He has a 2.2 second delay on the guitar so he can play over his repeats, building up layer upon layer of guitar repeats. The second delay should just be accenting the first, filling the space between the 3/4 repeats. He used both in his 1980s live rigs, and continued to use the MXR System II up until 2016. - Phil Taylor, David's backline tech. For the wet 1st and 3rd solos from Money I use basically the same settings, but I dial the mix knob up a bit for the third section after the dry solo. The other is more natural sounding because it is added post amplification, which is more like what real reverb does. 5 A.M. : It is impossible to achieve the exact same tone as a player without using the same equipment. If using a 2 amp setup, you can try running one 380ms delay to each amp and keep the volume and delay repeats about the same for each, or you can run the 380ms delay to one amp and the 507ms dealy to the other for a slightly different feel to the stereo separation. If you want this sound and have a delay that shows the time in milliseconds, follow these steps. Because the notes all intertwine, it doesn't matter anyway, but I find that I usually set them on a triplet. You can also do the volume swells with the guitar volume knob, although it is much easier with a volume pedal. You may also want to try setting the second delay at 760ms, double the triplet time delay (380 x 2 = 760ms). fills under second and fifth solos: 507ms -- feedback: 4-5 repeats A large part of that comes from Davids use of delay. This the dominant delay, but there is also a 300ms delay low in the mix L channel -- 650ms with a single repeat, then another single repeat at 1850ms. Delay volume 85% David maintained his Echorecs well and replaced them often however, so his sound only had minimal high end roll-off in the repeats. - David Gilmour, Guitar World March 2015, As I recall, he (David) used a Hiwatt stack and a Binson Echorec for delays. This is actually not quarter-note triplets. It was set for a light overdrive setting and was most likely an always-on pedal. All rights reserved. David often uses long echo delays to help create a his big, smooth, and liquidy solo tones. For his general ambient delays, choose the most tape flavored setting and use 50%-ish feedback (or 7-8ish repeats) and mix it fairly low so it sounds more like a subtle reverb. Pink Floyd is deemed as one the all-time best bands to ever exist on this planet. second solo delay #1 TC2290 Digital Delay (whole solo): 480ms For the delay, my favorite for this song is the old Boss DD-2, but any good digital delay will work. Echorec Style Delay Jamming - 428ms and 570ms. The 4/4 delay thickens space between the main delay repeats by double tapping your 3/4 repeat with a 4/4, creating a more bouncy rhythm. Below are examples from 2016 of David using three digital delays in series for Syd's theme from performances of Shine of You Crazy Diamond. Fat Old Sun- 2015/16 live version: David played the first bass guitar you hear and Roger Waters played the second that comes in immediately after. Let's do some "Echorec math." E.g the RATE for most settings had been about 22 more clockwise (slightly faster sweep) on the Wall compared to the Animals tour. NOTE: This website is frequently updated. second solo: 660ms -- feedback: 5 repeats, Comfortably Numb - 2015/16 RTL Tour: There is a 440ms delay on the guitars in the studio recording. The S-O-S unit was basically a buffered interface with two send/returns. You can also add a second delay in series to thicken the sound, combining the 3/4 time with a 4/4 time delay. 525ms, Sorrow Solo - 2016/15 live version: Although it is not often that this roll-off effect was heard in David's use of the Echorec, you can clearly hear it in the echo repeats in the very beginning of the song, I started off with a Binson Echo unit, which is like a tape loop thing.