Gilmourish

A new year means new gear and as usual there were lots of cool releases during the annual NAMM winter show last week. Here’s a couple of great items for your Gilmour rig!

Squier Classic Vibe Telecaster Custom
Fender’s Squire has released many impressive models for low prices and has proved to be a great alternative to the more expensive Fenders. This year Squier released three new Telecasters in the Classic Vibe series. The Classic Vibe concept is very similar to the Fender Classic/Classic Player series - reissues of old classics with the most popular features from each decade. The Classic Vibe Telecaster Custom is a reissue of a late 50s/early 60s Custom, the same model David used on Dogs in 1974-77. The guitar feature a sunburst alder body with that classic binding, a rosewood neck and two vintage style Tele pickups.

Compared to a Fender US/CIJ ‘62 Custom reissue, the Classic Vibe has a more glossy finish and the binding looks kind of cheap but it’s a faithful reproduction nonetheless with a nice vintage tone. The guitar is extremely light weight making it easy to play but personally I’d like a bit more to work with.

All in all I think this is a great alternative to the Fender ‘62 Custom reissue if money is an issue or if you just want a cool looking guitar to have at home. My general opinion is that the guitar looks and sound like a 62 but some of the features makes it feel more like Standard. Replace the pickups with a couple of Custom Shops or Duncan and you’ll have a great instrument.

It’s also worth mentioning the Classic Vibe Stratocasters released last year. Although not available in typical Gilmour finishes both the 50s and 60s reissues makes great starting points for creating your own killer vintage style Strat.

Fender Road Worn
Last year Fender released the Road Worn series with Strats, Teles and bass guitars all beaten and worn out just as if they’de been on tour for 40 years. Each instrument has been sanded down, scratched up, poked, cracked up and worn down to make it look like the real deal. These are genuine Fender US Custom Shop items assembled in Mexico with high quality alder wood, hardware and Custom Shop Tex/Mex pickups. The thin nitro lacquer and the distressed finish adds warmth, sustain and tons of mojo.

The Strats with alder body and maple (50s) or rosewood (60s) necks are great alternatives for creating your very own Gilmour Replica Black Strat. Replace the pickups with CS69 or Duncans, slap on a black pickguard and you’re done. My favourite is the Olympic White 60s Strat… it will be mine!

MXR Re-Releases
MXR/Dunlop has expanded their lineup with several new pedals lately. The first offerings from their Custom Shop was the ‘74 Phase 90 and ‘76 Dyncaomp - stunning replicas of the original pedals with the sweetest tone imaginable. Both pedals has found their way to my boards of course!

New in line is the ‘75 Phase 45, which some might not even have heard of before. The Phase 45 had a short life in the late 70’s and this new reissue is a true reissue of the original with hardwire bypass, no led and battery power only. Compared to a Phase 90 the 45 has a slight narrower phasing sounding like something between a Phase 90 and a UniVibe.

MXR has also re-released two fairly obscure pedals - the Micro Chorus and Micro Flanger. Both were originally released with the block logo in the early 80s. I’ve always considered these highly underrated and although I’d prefer a Boss CE2 chorus and the Mistress for David’s tones both pedals are great alternatives for those sounds.

The Micro Chorus is basically a stripped down version of the MXR Stereo Chorus housed in the small sized Phase 90 box, with only one knob controlling the rate. The pedal has a smooth, warm analog tone much like the Boss CE2 and EHX Small Clone. The Micro Flanger is equally a stripped down version of the bigger M117 Flanger with two knobs controlling rate and regen. The pedal is 100% analog with a warm, liquidy tone that fits those Animals/Wall solos nicely.

It’s also worth mentioning the new MXR Black Label Chorus - Zakk Wylde’s latest signature for MXR/Dunlop. It’s basically a beefed up Boss CE5 with a fat, liquidy chorus ideal to spead out overdrive and distortions.

ProCo RAT
ProCo has just released a limited edition ‘85 RAT reissue. The pedal is a faithful reproduction of the original small box RAT with the old logo and the essential LM308 chip for those super smooth creamy tones. The RAT has always been one of my favourite distortion pedals for its versatile tone. You can pretty much plug it into any amp and it will give you that same great tone over and over. David featured the RAT in his 1988-90 and 1994 rigs and used it on many songs. Check out this article for some tips on choosing the right distortion for your Gilmour rig.

I’m pleased to announce that Gordon Jones (Malaysia) was the lucky winner! A DG20 set is heading your way!

The correct answers were (as most of you knew of course):
1. Jedson lap steel with EMG H
2. Gibson PAF humbucker
3. L.R. Baggs M1 active

This has been the most popular contest on this site by far! A big thanks to everyone for participating!
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Now you have the chance to win your very own EMG DG20 set! These are the same pickups David has in his legendary candy apple red 1983 ‘57 reissue Strat - his main guitar in the 80’s and 90’s including Delicate Sound of Thunder and PULSE! The set feature three EMG SA single coils, a 5-way pickup selector and the EMG SPC and EXG active tone controls all prewired on a 11 hole 3-ply pearl pickguard! See the my in depth review below.

As usual you must answer these three questions to enter the competition (you’ll find the answers here on the site of course):

1. David’s blonde and candy apple red 1983 ‘57 reissue Strats feature the EMG SA pickups with the SPC and EXG active tone controls but there’s another red guitar that’s played an important role ever since 1974. Name the guitar and it’s current pickup.
2. The Black Strat has featured many different pickups. One of these needed some extra work done to the guitar’s body when being installed. What kind of pickup is this?
3. Name the pickup David used for his steel string acoustics on the 2006 On an Island tour.

The winner will be announced February 1.

Good luck!

It’s easy to forget David’s red Strat after the Black’s triumphant return but the guitar and not least its tone is a favorite among many fans. The magic behind its tone is created by the unique active EMG SA pickups with the SPC and EXG tone controls. Love them or hate them - here’s my review.

It’s been awhile since I last tried the SA pickups. It was during a period when I was trying out new pickups for my main Strat and I was quite honestly very disappointed by their sound. I settled for Fender Custom Shop 54 and later the 69s with the Duncan SSL5 bridge pickup. A setup that suited my style and taste better. But after all these years I thought it was in its place to refresh my memory. I installed the set in my new Fender CIJ 62 Strat and gave it a new shot.

Contrary to what one might think, the DG20 is not designed for David or his specifications. They originate from 1979 when EMG introduced the SA pickups. The SA is an active single coil pickup with alnico 5 magnet, internal shielding and a slightly higher output than the typical vintage style single coils like CS69 or CS54. After several tours dealing with noise interference and signal loss due to growing rigs David installed the SA’s in several of his new Fender American Vintage reissue 57 Strats that he’d bought in early 1984 (both of the cream/blondes and at least two candy apple reds). He also equipped the guitars with the SPC and EXG active tone controls. The set was “premiered” at the Live Aid concert in 1985 where David played guitar with Bryan Ferry. Since then the pickups have been used on A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987), Delicate Sound of Thunder (1988), Division Bell (1994), PULSE (1995), On An Island (2006), Remember That Night (2007), Live in Gdansk (2008) and countless guest appearances and recordings.

The DG20 comes neatly packed in a box with a picture of David on it. The first thing you notice though when you open the box is the ugly pearl pickguard. I have no idea why EMG chose this but I soon replaced mine with a white 3-ply. The whole setup is super easy to install with EMG’s Solderless Install System. Every wire feature a clip that’s easily fastened. No messy soldering needed. The 9V battery fits nicely into the guitar’s cavity and if you remember to unplug the jack cable when you don’t use the guitar you’ll have the battery for ages.

I plugged the guitar straight into my trusty Sound City with the EXG and SPC controls neutral (set to 0, 10 is max) and hit the first chord. I must admit that my first thought was that they sounded much more like regular Strat pickups than I remembered. Still my impression is about the same as I got all those years ago. With the SPC and EXG set neutral these pickups sounds dull and flat. I know many disagree with this but it’s my honest opinion. In the neutral position I would have wanted them to sound a bit more open with more character. A huge plus though is that they’re dead silent.

The EXG (Guitar Expander) tone control acts just like a “smiling” EQ. The more you increase the control the more you boost the treble and bass while scooping the mids. This works great for cleans and mild overdrives where you want to add a bit more brightness and balls without having to use a compressor squeezing the hell out of your tone. Again I would have wanted the effect to compensate a bit more for the fact that the pickups alone sound dull but it really makes a difference. One thing I’ve noticed though is that when you turn past 6-7 you’ll get a lot of hiss due to the increased treble so you might not want to go that high. On my rig the sweetspot is around 5 where the EXG adds just enough brightness without the boosted bass making everything muddy. All in all this is a feature I don’t use that much.

The main reason I wanted to try the DG20 once more was the SPC (Strat Presence Control) feature. Is the legend true? Does it really create the magic everybody keeps raving about? It’s obviously been too long since I last played with the DG20. After setting the SPC control (lower tone knob) to about 7, as David mostly does, I was instantly brought back to when I saw Pink Floyd performing in Earl’s Court on my TV in late 1994. I was totally mesmerized by seeing and hearing David play the opening on Shine On You Crazy Diamond. That fat, smooth, warm bluesy tone was now coming out of my amp! Without wasting anymore time I plugged my guitar into my pedal board, kicked in some compression, mild overdrive and delay and started on the top of the list - Coming Back to Life, Another Brick in the Wall, Breathe… all with PULSE in mind. This is the tone!

The SPC boosts the mid range while slightly reducing the highs. The effect creates a tone similar to a humbucker with a single coil flavor. Much like the P90s although not quite. The effect is just incredibly versatile adding more presence, power and character to most of my tones. One of my issues with the Tube Driver has always been that it lacks a bit mid range. The SPC adds just the amount the pedal needs and smoothes out the sometimes harsh overtones. The SPC also works great with a Big Muff (triangle especially) adding that little extra that makes the Muff sing. The SPC is extremely responsive and while I mostly keep it around 7-8 it can be used as an expression control adding dynamics while you play (as David is seen doing).

There’s a couple of things you can do if you’re not a DG20 fan but still want some of the PULSE tone. Pickups like Fender CS69, 54, Fat 50s, Duncan SLL5 and all similar lack that slight humbucker touch and the boosted, creamy mid range. This can be achieved by using pedals with a boosted mid range character. Switch the Big Muff with a RAT for your leads and the Tube Driver, Colorsound Powerboost or Boss BD2 with a Maxon OD808/Ibanez TS808 or TS9 for the overdrive tones. You can also add an EQ pedal in your rig either after the gain effects or more effectively first in your chain (or after any fuzz units) set to boost the mid range with a hint of treble cut (keep in mind that if you place one EQ first in the chain, you should have a second unit placed after the gain pedals if you want to effectively EQ these). These substitutes won’t be the actual thing but you’ll get a tone somewhat similar.

So, have I become a believer? Well, I still prefer my CS69s but the DG20 is still in my 62 Strat. I’ve often had a hard time recreating some of the sounds I’ve recorded with humbuckers (with my band Airbag) and the SPC in particular allows me to use a Strat on stage and get the fat tone I need. I also see my self using the guitar on a lot of stuff on our new album that we’re about to record. As for David’s tones I still stand by my initial opinion that the DG20 is not suited for the 70s and present tones, i.e. the Black Strat. As David him self discovered in 2005 they just doesn’t sound Straty enough and you’d want that vintage flavor for Pompeii, Dark Side, Animals etc. However, the DG20 are essential for recreating that authentic Delicate/PULSE tone. If you’re a fan of this era - the moment you try them you’ll realize that you’ve struck gold. One of my favorite DG20 moments is when David cranks the Tube Driver, turn the SPC all the way up and switches over to the neck pickup. The tone he gets is simply indescribable!

First of all I want to wish everyone a happy new year! The christmas went by all too fast but I hope you’ve enjoyed the week and that you got many hard presents!

Gilmourish.Com is kicking off 2010 with an all new feature covering David’s Gibson Les Pauls. Although mainly associated with Fender Strats and the occasional Tele David has recorded many of his guitar parts over the years with Les Pauls - the most famous of course being the solo on Another Brick in the Wall (part 2).

Check out the new feature here - David Gilmour’s Gibson Les Pauls.

I’ve also updated the Black Strat, the Red Strat, Slide Guitars and Telecasters features. All with lots of new info, historical facts and new pictures!

Just wanted to wish everyone a merry Christmas and all the best for 2010! A big thanks for your support and for keeping this site alive. I’m enjoying every minute of it and I hope you do as well!

2009 hasn’t been without “sings of life”. In May he did the Crisis gig with Amadou & Mariam and of course joined Jeff Beck on stage in Royal Albert Hall in July. A truly classic performance! David also put his stamp on the rerecording of the old Graham Nash song Chicago for the Gary McKinnon benefit. No news of a new album though but perhaps 2010 will prove to be an even more exciting year?

Essential Christmas reading:

Designing the Rig - All the basics whether you’re a newbie or pro.
Equalizers and compressors - All the dos and don’ts.
Keeping the guitar tuned - A handful of tips on how to make your axe stand the heaviest beating.
Overdrive and distortions - Does your Big Muff sound like a bee on the run? Check this out!

Check out David’s setups and settings in the David Gilmour Gear Guide after you’ve opened up all the pedals and guitars you got for Christmas. If you didn’t get anything be sure to check out the ultimate David Gilmour shopping list!

A special thanks to everyone who’s contributed to the site with gear tips, recommendations for new topics and articles, images, general info, inspiring chats and donations. I don’t have any staff or fees so every contribution from you is much appreciated.

Gilmourish.Com will live on in 2010 with new gear reviews, competitions, song examinations, YouTube tutorials and guitar maintenance/technique articles. Feel free to suggest topics and things you want me to write about.

Enjoy the holidays with your family, friends and guitars and we’ll talk next year!

Bjorn

Loved by some and hated by others, The Wall will always be remembered as one of Pink Floyd’s greatest musical achievements. Although mainly a Waters/Ezrin project, David Gilmour played an important role in shaping the music and not least providing some of the best guitar work he’s ever produced.

My relationship with The Wall is mixed. I must confess that the album can be quite a challenge at times. Still, there’s something about it that amaze me every time I listen to it. The sheer power of the production, Roger’s semi-autobiographical, no frills lyrics, the beautiful arrangements by Kamen and of course David’s guitar. Some of the songs on the album will always stand out as some of Floyd’s finest. I can find inspiration and strength from listening it but it’s also one of the most depressing albums ever made. Its honesty and gloom can really mess up your head.

I remember very well when I first heard the album – an experience that truly had a great impact on a young mind. I was in 6th grade, barely 13 years old, and our teacher played this handful of songs and she wanted us to draw what came natural. I remember distinctly that we listened to Another Brick in the Wall 1 and 2 and The Trial as well as a couple of other songs that I now have forgotten. I’d never heard these songs before – not even Brick 2 – but it totally blew me away. I drew helicopters, marching soldiers and cruel teachers. I was totally freaked out when I saw the album cover and realized that I’d drawn many of the same images while the other students had bored them selves to death or drawn flowers and cats. The music had touched me and I’ve been a devoted fan ever since.

I’ve always been a huge fan of David’s Animals tones and Wall comes as a close second. It’s hard to tell where Animals begins and Wall starts… or ends. I’ve always considered 1976-1983 to be a period where David experimented and found his tone but at the same time repeated himself quite a lot. Animals was, to some extent, very similar to WYWH. Now David had his first Cornish pedal board which featured a Big Muff and his tones got heavier along with the album’s darker, more aggressive sound but his playing was very similar to what’s on WYWH. If you listen to recordings from the Animals tour, you’ll recognise much of the same stuff on his ’78 solo album. Songs like There’s No Way Out of Here is Pigs all over and it’s very interesting to hear how he used more or less the same setup on the album as on the prior tour.

When recording Wall, David went again back to basics and produced tones very similar to Animals. Gone were much of the liquidy, swirly sounds from his solo album and his guitar was more in line with the pristine super clean production… although songs like Thin Ice sure sounds like a washing machine! It’s actually interesting to go back and listen to the Wall demos and hear how David used a MXR Phase 90 on almost all the songs. This effect was never picked up on the final recording sessions apart from the barely audioable use on Another Brick 2 and Don’t Leave Me Now.

Back on the road, David once again employed the Yamaha rotating speakers, which now were even more dominating than on the Animals tour. Together with the Electric Mistress flanger, they put a soft blanket over his tones, all liquidy and swirly. As if this wasn’t enough, his signal was also split in two from the Cornish board via two Boss CE2 chorus pedals for a wide stereo effect!

Relevant reading:
- A complete list of David’s guitars, amps and effects on The Wall album and tour.
- A detailed look at the Pete Cornish pedal board.
- The historty of David’s Black Strat.
- A close look at the Yamaha RA200 rotating speaker cabinet.
- Create your own killer Comfortably Numb tone!

Like David’s first solo album, Final Cut is also a testimony of the tone he used on the prior tour. For the sessions he used more or less an identical setup to what he’d been using on the Wall tour and you can really hear that swirly, liquidy tone from the Is There Anybody Out There live album on songs like Possible Pasts and the title track.

The Wall tour also marks the last time David used his classic Hiwatt/WEM/rotating speakers/Cornish board setup until the 2006 tour. 1984’s About Face saw a complete transition to a more modern setup, which evolved on the Momentary tour in 1987-90. Although David slowly incorporated more and more of his 70’s rigs, he never really went all the way until On an Island.

The funny thing about David’s playing on the Wall is that when you listen to the album it sounds fresh and quite innovative. There’s some guitar stuff on it that’s just amazing and parts that’s defined David as a guitarist. However, if you start analyzing everything it’s perhaps one of the more repetitive albums he’s ever recorded. The echo guitars on another Brick is based on the build up from the mid section on Echoes. Young Lust is a clone of The Nile Song and Have a Cigar. Run Like Hell is more or less the same as the outtro on Sheep and Is There Anybody Out There even features the ”seagull screams” from Echoes…. and that’s just David’s parts. Still, the magic lies in how it was recorded and produced using guitars much more as an effect rather than the usual rhythm or lead instrument. David used a lot of time experimenting with ways of recording his guitars from traditional micing of the cabinets, blending amps and rotating speakers and recording straight into the mixing desk.

1978-1981 was also an interesting period in terms of the Black Strat. In late summer 1978 David installed the mini pickup switch and replaced the old 1963 rosewood neck with a custom birds eye Grover Jackson/Charvel maple neck. In late 1979 the Black Strat was fitted with a custom Seymour Duncan SSL1 bridge pickup, replacing the DiMarzio FS-1.

Every band has a youthful ”I don’t give a shit” period. Beatles had their’s around the White Album, where they grew beards and pretty much strayed as far away from the musical formula as they could. The album stands out as perhaps their best. Pink Floyd had their White Album period with Animals. This was a time where they looked like hell and played music like madmen. Animals is definitely one of their best album (if not THE best album). When Wall came out, Pink Floyd had grown up. They cut their hair and wore ironed, white shirts on stage. They’d become professionals and way too big to act like they belonged in a riot, rather than a band. Wall was big business and Waters was the captain of the new enterprise. It turned out to split the band and crash land into bankruptcy but what the hell. Comfortably Numb earns more money per year from airplay that what it cost to produce the album anyway.

The Wall will always be Roger’s. David’s no big fan and he had little input on the writing process. Still, Wall will always remain as one of the biggest achievements in music history and I think it will continue to inspire future generations, just like it inspired Radiohead, Porcupine Tree, Dream Theatre, Queensryche and the whole idea of making concept albums. It’s not just the music but the genius way of blending music, lyrics and art into a story that’s universal. The Wall is as much a classical suite or an opera as a rock album - you can hear Mozart and Wagner looming in the background. Waters and Floyd managed to give the listener an experience that went way beyond the normal way of making music. A lot of this mentality inspired Radiohead’s OK Computer and Porcupine Tree’s Fear of a Blank Planet (to name a few) where music, lyrics and artwork goes hand in hand to give the listener a complete experience. This is an art form and way of making music that’s almost forgotten in today’s music industry but still sustained by bands that has a close relationship with their fans and a genuine sense of making the music they believe in.

Join me in celebrating the 30th anniversary of The Wall and feel free to share your experience and thoughts.

I get a lot of questions about why I haven’t bought the Gilmour Signature Strat or at least a US Strat. It seems like it’s almost unbelievable to some that I haven’t. And why Japanese??? Well, the only thing that’s 100% certain is that guitars are very personal and subjective. What may work for me may be shit to you. Or vice versa. I’ve had this intrument for over a decade now and I feel it’s a huge part of my technique and playing. We’ve sort of grown together and really don’t feel that I need to replace it.

Check out this article with all the details about my main Stratocaster.

David’s 1994 Division Bell tour rig featured custom made rotating speakers called Doppola. The speakers were based on the old Maestro Rovers that David had used on the Division Bell recording sessions. The swirling rotary effect added a rich character to his tone - one often hailed as his greatest tone ever.

Tolerance Sound has, with a lot of dedication and love for David’s tones, come up with clones of this unique speaker - first ever clones. The result is quite impressive and the speakers are already a hit among Gilmour fanatics. The “Revolver” is available with both one and two 6″ 100w speakers in a very limited run. I’m sure they’ll start making these at a larger scale when the PULSE fans start sliding their credit cards!

Read more about David’s PULSE rig and his Leslies, Doppolas and Rovers.

From the Tolerance Sound site:
Built with David Gilmour’s Doppolas in mind, these speaker cabinets give a fantastic liquid tone, adding a mix of doppler effect, tremolo and phasing all together to your regular sound in a unique and complex way.

The best results are obtained when using two units, with each running at a slightly different speed, in addition to a normal non-revolving cabinet. These three elements supply an always changing phase pattern that makes the sound feel totally alive. It really makes a difference.

One of the very first “eureka!” moments I had when I started doing research on David’s gear was when I learned how he did the seagull screams during the mid section in Echoes. I’d been using slides, overkill fuzz and just about anything that could nail the effect but nothing came close to David’s unique tone. In this article we’ll look at how the effect is achieved and the different techniques.

First… a little history lesson.
David explains in an interview with Guitar Player (January 09): “We discovered it as the result of a serendipitous accident that happened in about 1969 or 1970, when a roadie had plugged the wah in the wrong way, and I stomped into it and got this incredible screaming noise. “ The brilliance of this effect isn’t really the effect in it self but the fact that David went ahead and explored how he could tame and integrate the effect in a song after obviously having heard something that must have sounded quite horrible. Actually, David employed the effect long before Pink Floyd wrote Echoes. It can be heard during early live versions of the unreleased song Embryo. One of the earliest known sources is from a performance at the Town Hall in Birmingham, UK February 11 1970. The effect can also be heard on a performance for ORTF Studios (French TV) December 4 1970 as a part of an instrumental often referred to as Corrosion. In this clip David is using the legendary Bill Lewis guitar that he’d bought in Canada only a couple of months earlier. Another great source for the seagull effect with the Bill Lewis is the Super Pop 70 VII festival, Casino de Montreux, Montreux, Switzerland November 22 1970. Listening to these clips you can hear that the effect behaves a little differently on humbuckers (more on that below). The seagull effect can also be heard on Is There Anybody Out There from the The Wall album.

Echoes was premiered April 22 1970 in Norwich UK (introduced as Return of the Son of Nothing). The seagull sequence was now moved to Echoes from Embryo, which now featured echo swells produced with the Binson Echorec. Although the effect pretty much stayed the same throughout the years, David would sometimes experiment like in 1974 when he would add a MXR Phase 90 for an even more dramatic effect (Colmar, France 22 June 1974). Echoes was also performed on a handful of shows during the beginning of the Momentary Lapse of Reason tour in 1987. David used the blonde 1983 ’57 reissue Strat with EMG pickups and since these can’t be used for the effect it’s uncertain how he did it (and there was no wah wah in his rig either). Echoes was once again performed on David’s last solo tour in 2006. Now his wah was hooked up to a custom Cornish unit that allowed David to switch the in/out put signal on the wah with a single stomp. This was also done on David’s Animals/Wall Cornish pedal board where the wah had a custom switch on its heel for switching the input/outputs (Echoes was never performed with this board though). On the early 70’s David would manually switch the cables on the wah to be able to play both Echoes and stuff like Set the Controls. It’s not documented whether his first pedal board (1973-75) had a switch but there doesn’t seem to be any visible cables so there might have been a similar solution as on the Cornish board.

Pink Floyd’s quadraphonic sound system was used to spread the seagull effect around the concert venue or stadium. Listening to bootlegs from the 70’s and 1987 you can hear that some parts are louder than others. This is because the loudest parts are from the front stage PA, while the lower parts are from the rear PAs.

The technique
To get the right pitch and tone, the seagull effect is best achieved with a Stratocaster with vintage style pickups – note that the effect won’t work with the EMG DG20 pickups since these have active EQ controls instead of tone pots. You also need a vintage style wah wah pedal like a Vox or Cry Baby. Some newer models do not work. I also recommend echo for a rich warm tone. Digital delay will obviously give you the delays but not the same almost reverb-like tone.

Stratocaster with vintage style pickups
1. Reverse the connections on your wah wah pedal. Plug the guitar into the output and the cable that goes into the next effect or the amp into the input.
2. Set up for a clean tone with lots of echo/delay (aprox. 300ms) with long feedback.
3. Set the guitar volume at 10, the upper tone control at 10 and the lower tone control all the way off. Set the pickup selector in the fourth position, combining the middle and bridge pickups.

- Before you go on to the next step it’s extremely important that you set the volume pedal as low as possible so that you just barely hear the guitar.

4. Turn on the wah wah and let it stay with the heel all the way down. Slowly turn the lower tone knob up towards 10. You should now hear the feedback. Adjust the volume pedal for the desired volume.
5. Adjust the pitch of the feedback by carefully turning up and down the lower tone knob. Somewhere between 3-2 the tone fades and by making a really slow fadeout you can achieve the “laughing” effect.
6. Combine these techniques with switching the pickup switch up and down from position 1-5 and by adjusting the pitch on the wah wah.

Humbuckers
Set the pickup selector in the middle position and use the lower/bridge tone knob to control the effect. Repeat the stages above.

I’m sure most of you already master the effect but I hope this tutorial made it even clearer. Don’t forget the Examining Echoes article for more details on how to create a killer tone for the rest of Echoes. Start cracking some windows!

There’s a buzz on the net about this new Big Muff clone that’s been compared to a Cornish P2. A Cornish? Do they dare? The DriveGate DG1 from Toptone seems to have stirred up quite a controversy. I recently got my hands on one and with a sceptic grin I gave it a good shootout. Here’s my review.

Toptone is a fairly new Brazilian company that has set their mind on cracking the Muff code. Their little informative website claims that the DriveGate is the flagship pedal, hinting that they might have a range of clones but the DG1 is the only one they afford… for now.

I got the chance to try the pedal on our last Floyd tribute show. In a dare move I replaced my faithful BYOC Large Beaver triangle clone and crossed my fingers that the DG1 was up for the task. I’m really not that interested in whether the DG1 is a P2 clone or not. The YouTube clip that seems to have started the debate suggests that it’s indeed a clone while the Toptone site clearly expresses that it’s not but rather a take on many models. The YouTube clip fails to give the pedal justice though and should by no means be taken as a reference for the tone. However the resemblance is quite noticeable and although it’s been some years since I tried a P2 myself, I have no trouble appreciating their likeness.

The DG1 has an incredibly fat tone with lots of gain, just like the old Sovteks and the P2. The tone spectrum is perhaps a bit limited but so is my old green Sovtek. It works for stadium type solos and not much more than that but that’s the intention with these high gain models anyway. The tone is extremely pristine and even with the highest gain settings you can hear every string when you strum a chord, which is quite rare among Muffs. What surprised me about the DG1 was the rich dynamics in the tone. The mid range is well balanced making the pedal cut nicely through a mix or a band setting, something that can be a challenge with Muffs like the triangle. The top frequencies are smooth without any ear pinching overtones although not as warm as the triangle model and it’s also slightly brighter than both the P2 and green Sovtek (perhaps closer to the AA Green Russian). The lower frequencies are tight punchy character but I still miss some of the growling thunder from the green Sovtek. Still, less bass makes it easier to blend with other pedals. The Like the P2 you can easily use the DG1 alone without any booster but I prefer having the Colorsound behind it just to blend in a bit more character (perhaps it’s just a habit).

The DG1 is housed in a rugged metal box about the size of a BYOC with cool graphics. It runs on 9V and you can use your Boss adaptor. The adaptor plug on mine was a bit tricky and I’ve seen others complain about this too. The pedal is of course hand wired with high quality components (read more about the technical details on the TopTone site) and it’s true bypass. The pedal is a bit noisy but nothing to loose your mind over. It’s easy to tweak and works nicely with most other pedals (like Boss BD-2, Colorsound Powerboost, Tube Driver, Electric Mistress etc).

My opinion is that this is not a P2 clone but rather based in it. The fact that the DG1 has a true bypass switching while the P2 has the preamp buffers makes a difference (in addition to all the other technical differences). But as I’ve already said, the tonal similarities are definitely there. I guess you could say that the DG1 is a high-end version of the green Russian with the flavour of the P2… if that makes any sense at all. The DG1 got me impressed and it produced some very fine tones on our Floyd tribute show. We did a lot of Wall tunes this time and I was mainly looking for a mix between David’s hard edged Wall album tones mixed with all the wonderful liquidy rotary sounds from the 1980-81 tour. The Combination of the DG1 + Colorsound Powerboost + Electric Mistress was dead on. Personally I’d choose a triangle or ram’s head for the Animals and Island tones while the DG1 is great for Wall, Delicate and PULSE. It sounds huge on stuff like Sorrow and On the Turning Away.

I think the one thing that leaves a big question mark is the price, which is a bit steep to say the least. 340USD is a lot for a distortion pedal and I’m not sure that’s a good idea for a new, fairly unknown company - especially considering that most other Muff clones on the market is half the price. It’s a shame though because I think it will keep many from getting one.

I know a lot of people have thrashed this pedal without even trying it and as I’ve already said, the YouTube clip doesn’t come close to describe this pedal. Perhaps it’s the Cornish claim that has given it a rough start – and Cornish seems to have more defenders than other brands – but I strongly urge anyone to always try new pedals with an open mind. Consider what you need and what may suit your rig and make up your own mind. I still prefer my old BYOC triangle though. It’s suits my Airbag tones better and I’ve always preferred David’s milder Muff tones but I won’t hesitate on using the DG-1 for another of our Floyd tribute show - perhaps having both on my board for more variety. I think the DG1 is a good start for Toptone and a welcomed addition to the ever-growing Muff family and I’m eager to see what they come up with next.

I’m sorry that I can’t record anything now. I’ve tried to find the best reference for the tone and to me it sounds like a mix between Comfortably Numb album and PULSE versions (keep in mind though that PULSE is very much coloured by the EMGs and chorus).