Ummagumma 1969
| Effects, guitars and amps | Settings and setups |
The studio section of Ummagumma was recorded between January and June 1969, while the live portion of the album feature recordings from the very last leg of the Saucerful of Secrets tour in April and early May.
David Gilmour used his blonde Stratocaster, natural brown Telecaster and Selmer Stereomaster amps for both the studio and live recordings. However, for his solo tracks (studio section), David would experiment with Leslie speaker cabinets for the first time, as well as multi layered guitars and backwards tape effects.
Effects recording sessions and live performances
Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face (germanium transistor)
Vox wah wah
Cry Baby wah wah
Binson Echorec II
Note: David often swapped back and forth between Vox and Cry Baby wah wahs in the early 70s up until 1977, when he settled for the Cry Baby. 1968 performances shows a VOX, while footage from Royal Festival Hall, London UK in April 1969 shows a Cry Baby.
Guitars and amps recording sessions
Fender Stratocaster
– 1966-67 all stock with a white ash body, white pickguard and a rosewood 4-bolt neck with a large headstock.
Fender Telecaster
– Natural brown body, with maple neck and white pickguard. The neck pickup has no cover – either modified or replaced by a Stratocaster pickup.
Levin western acoustic steel string guitar
Selmer Stereomaster 100w head
Selmer 1×18″ Goliath speaker cabinet
Leslie speaker cabinet
– Narrow Way part III recording session.
Note: There’s no available footage or sources indicating which amps that were used for the Ummagumma studio sessions. The sessions took place before David started using Hiwatts, so it’s fair to assume that he either used the Selmer Stereomaster 100w heads with matching cabinets, or amps that were available in the studio.
The Ummagumma album cover feature pictures of Pink Floyd’s equipment shot around August/September 1969. On the image to the left is David natural brown Telecaster and his blonde Stratocaster. Behind Floyd’s roadies Peter Watts and Alan Stiles you can spot two Sound City and two Hiwatt heads. The Sound Citys were most likely either Roger’s or Rick’s while the Hiwatts were newly purchased by David sometime in the summer months. (right) A detailed picture of the Hiwatts.
Guitars and amps live recordings
(Kent, UK April 26, Birmingham, UK April 27 and Machester, UK May 2. 1969)
Fender Stratocaster
– 1966-67 all stock with a white ash body, white pickguard and a rosewood 4-bolt neck with a large headstock.
Fender Telecaster
– Natural brown body, with maple neck and white pickguard. The neck pickup has no cover – either modified or replaced by a Stratocaster pickup.
Selmer Stereomaster 100w head
Selmer 1×18″ Goliath speaker cabinet
Miscellaneous equipment
The back of the Ummagumma album cover, shot in August/September 1969, shows two Sound City L100 amp heads on top of two Hiwatt DR103 head (behind roadies Peter Watts and Alan Stiles). It’s been speculated whether the Sound Citys were used by David in a transition period between Selmer and Hiwatt. However there is no footage supporting this and it’s more likely that these were either used as spares or in either Roger’s or Rick’s setups.
The Hiwatts in the picture are most likely David’s that were purchased during the summer. The first commercially available Hiwatts emerged around March/April 1969 so David was together with Who and Jethro Tull among the very first to use these amps.
Further reading
See these in-depth features for more on David’s gear: Early Years 1968-69, Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face, Binson Echorec, The White Stratocaster, Telecasters and Hiwatt amps & WEM cabinets.
Acknowledgements and credits
Ummagumma (album 1969), BBC Top Gear performances 1968-69, Sound Magazine (Guitar Heroes 1983), Binson.Com, VintageHofner.Co.Uk, WatkinsGuitars.Co.Uk, Inside Out Pink Floyd biography by Nick Mason, In the Flesh by Povey/Russell. See feature for other references.