Buy their sound: David Gilmour

Introduction

David Gilmour is an anomaly. Compositionally, the Pink Floyd guitarist references rootsy blues scales in his solos and places a similar emphasis on vibrato and string bends - nothing atypical in that.

"The real secret lies somewhere between his brain and his hands"

But there is something in Gilmour’s approach, his meticulous use of vibrato and precision bending, that ethereal delay punctuated by pinched harmonic squeals, to suggest a more astrologically incredible influence. It’s as if he is a blues player answerable to a wholly alien set of physical laws. Few, if any, guitarists phrase a lick better.

He has used a variety of Les Pauls, Strats (his signature Strat was spec’d from his famous Black Strat) and Gretsch electrics, running these clean through 50-watt Hi-Watt or Fender combos, with a fuzz pedal providing the extra dirt for solos. And no self-respecting prog psychonaut could fail to appreciate his use of Maestro Rover rotating speakers for his Leslie effect.

We might have chosen a selection of gear that’ll bring you within touching distance of Gilmour’s tone, but with a guitarist who has an instinct for perfect note choice and placement, the real secret lies somewhere between his brain and his hands.