Live at Pompeii 1971

Read more: settings and setups

Pink Floyd’s classic concert film was shot on location in the Roman amphitheatre in Pompeii, Italy in early October 1971. It’s a great documentation of both the band’s and David Gilmour’s sound and gear for the period.

Additional photage was filmed in a studio in Paris, France, in early December. This is recognised by what appears as night scenes and green screeen overlays. It should be noted that Pink Floyd didn’t have a hand in the editing and mixing of the recorded soundtrack, which resulted in a somewaht raw and unprocessed sound but one that also lack the full depth of the band. Including David Gilmour’s Leslie speaker, which is absent in the mix.

Effects at Pompeii outdoor sessions and Paris studio sessions

Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face (BC108)
Vox wah wah
Binson Echorec II
DeArmond volume pedal

Note: A spare Fuzz Face can be seen lying next to David’s amps in the amphitheatre.

David Gilmour playing his Black Strat for the filming of the Live at Pompeii concert film.
1. WEM Starfinder speaker cabinets, 2. Hiwatt DR103 heads (one possibly a spare), 3. Leslie 147 rotating speaker cabinet, 4. Binson Echorec 2, 5. on/off pedal for the Binson, 6. DeArmond volume pedal, 7. Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face, 8. Vox Wah Wah.
(left) A close-up of David Gilmour’s Black Strat during A Saucerful of Secrets. Notice the pickup height and David using a tone bar typically used by pedal steel players.
(right) David Gilmour’s rig for the Paris sessions in December 1971. Notice the Binson Echorec 2 on top of two HH IC-100 amplifiers, which again are placed on top of the three Hiwatt heads.

Guitars and amps at Pompeii outdoor sessions and Paris studio sessions

Fender Stratocaster The Black Strat
– 1969 all stock with a black alder body, white pickguard and a maple neck with a large headstock. The guitar is seen with a short-lived chrome volume knob at the Paris studio sessions in December.

3 Hiwatt DR103 All Purpose 100W heads
– with Mullard 4xEL34 power tubes and 4xECC83 pre-amp tubes (one head was a spare)
2 HH Electronic IC-100 100W solid state heads
– Paris studio location
4 WEM Super Starfinder 200 cabinets
– with 4×12 Fane Crescendo speakers with metal dust caps

It is not know how the two HH amplifiers were used. This was a short-lived setup David employed in late 1971. They could have been used as pre-amps for the entire rig or as pre-amps for the Leslie cabinet, similar to how David later would set up the Alembic pre-amp in combination with the Yamaha RA-200 rotary cabinet.

The HH IC-100 solid state amplifier was also used to record the tremolo sound for the bass solo on the opening of One of these Days.

Acknowledgements and credits
Live at Pompeii (concert film 1971) and thanks to Rafal Zychal for additional research.