Riff Tone

Mother

Pink Floyd

Guitarrock1980s

Original Gear

GuitarFender Stratocaster (Black, 1969, alder body, late-'70s Charvel birdseye maple neck)

AmpHiwatt DR103 100-watt head into WEM Super Starfinder 4x12 cabinet

PickupsDiMarzio FS-1 single-coil (bridge), 1971 Fender Stratocaster single-coils (middle and neck)

Amp Settings

gain3

bass6

mid7

treble6.5

reverb2.5

presence5.5

Effects & Signal Chain

flangerElectro-Harmonix Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress Flanger/Filter Matrix

delayUnknown Delay pedal (likely Binson Echorec or MXR Digital Delay, model not confirmed for this track)

compressionMXR Compressor pedal (likely MXR Dyna Comp, model not confirmed for this track)

Notes

Studio recording, 1979-1980. Gear confirmed for The Wall sessions. For the riff section, Gilmour used his Stratocaster into the Hiwatt amp, with effects pedals for modulation and time-based effects. No evidence of alternate guitars or amps for the main riff. Pickup selection likely neck+middle or neck for clean, chimey tone.

Tone Character(10)

chimey and glassywarm and roundedslightly compressedlush, subtle modulationstudio clarityarticulate pickingdynamic responsenot overdrivenmodulated shimmerclassic Gilmour clean

Difficulty

While not technically demanding in terms of speed or advanced techniques, the riff requires precise clean picking, careful dynamic control, and sensitivity to modulation and delay effects for authentic tone.

Sources

David Gilmour's guitar tone on Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb: how he got his sound | Guitar World Australian Pink Floyd Show guitarist on how to nail David Gilmour's tone | Guitar World Guitar players of r/pinkfloyd, what gear should I get to ... - Reddit Gilmour solo tone: Part 2. Trying to dial in "Mother." Lots of Clips.Mother, Comfortably Numb, ABITW pt 2 just to name a few. I know that a lot of the tone comes from the fingers so just what pedals/pups/general

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