🎸 Rock · 1970s

Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd (Solo · Distorted) — Guitar Tone

by Pink Floyd · solo

The Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd guitar tone is built on a Hiwatt DR103 100-watt head, dialed in at gain 5/10, bass 6.5, mid 7.5, treble 7, presence 6 (community-researched baseline). Full breakdown below — then adapt every knob to your exact guitar and amp, free.

🎛️ These settings are for the original rig — re-dial them for YOUR amp in 10 seconds. Free, no signup →

Amp settings (0–10)

GAIN

6.5

BASS

7.5

MID

TREBLE

PRESENCE

2.5

REVERB

Community-researched baseline. Your rig is different — GuitarToneAdapt re-dials every knob for your specific guitar, amp and pickups.

How these settings compare

Measured against the 540 rock tones in our researched catalog: Gain 5 sits right around the rock average (4.8); mids at 7.5 are above average (6.2).

Guitar controls

VOLUME

TONE

Original gear

Guitar: 1969 Fender Stratocaster (alder body, late-'70s Charvel birdseye maple neck) · Amp: Hiwatt DR103 100-watt head (studio, parallel with Yamaha RA-200 rotating speaker cabinet)

Studio recording, 1979. Used bridge pickup only for second solo (main solo section). Parallel amp setup with Hiwatt and Yamaha RA-200 rotary speaker. No evidence of Mesa/Boogie or other amps on the original studio recording.

Gear used on this tone

🎚️ Mesa/Boogie songs & tones →🎚️ Fender Stratocaster songs & tones →🎚️ single-coil guitars songs & tones →🎚️ Big Muff songs & tones →🎚️ Hiwatt songs & tones →🎚️ Leslie rotary speaker songs & tones →

Don’t own this gear? GuitarToneAdapt re-creates the sound on the rig you actually have.

Pickups

Bridge pickup

Signal chain

1969 Fender Stratocaster (alder body, late-'70s Charvel birdseye maple neck) → Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi (Ram's Head) → Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress → Delay pedal (model unknown, likely Binson Echorec or MXR Analog Delay) → Hiwatt DR103 100-watt head (studio, parallel with Yamaha RA-200 rotating speaker cabinet)

Effects

fuzz, flanger, delay, reverb, rotary speaker

Amp effects: Reverb (plate, level 2)

Tone character

singing sustain, smooth, violin-like fuzz, lush modulation, long, ambient delay trails, rich harmonic overtones, wide stereo image, clear note separation, powerful, dynamic phrasing, thick, saturated lead sound, liquid lead tone

Recording context

studio

How it’s played

straight, slow tempo, loud dynamics · fuzz distortion. This shapes how hard the amp is pushed and where the EQ sits for the Comfortably Numb sound.

Difficulty

4.5/5 · Solo

The solo requires advanced control of bends, vibrato, and sustain, as well as dynamic phrasing and emotional nuance, making it challenging even for experienced players.

Worth knowing

No official numeric amp knob settings for the studio recording found; settings estimated based on typical Hiwatt usage for Gilmour in this era and genre.
Pedal settings for Big Muff and Electric Mistress are sourced from forum posts and gilmourish.com, not official studio notes.
Rotary speaker effect is emulated in some modern guides with chorus pedals, but original studio used Yamaha RA-200 rotary cabinet.
Delay and modulation settings are based on forum and enthusiast reconstructions, not direct studio documentation.
Settings cross-referenced with genre and era conventions for accuracy. David Gilmour's 'Comfortably Numb' solo tone is achieved with a Hiwatt amp set for edge-of-breakup to light crunch, boosted mids for sustain and vocal quality, full but not boomy bass, and smooth treble with moderate presence for clarity. Reverb is present but not overwhelming, matching the lush, spacious production of late-70s Pink Floyd.

⚡ Same tone, YOUR gear — re-dials the gain & EQ for your amp and pickups, free →

Chords

🎼 Comfortably Numb chords — key, capo & the main progression →

🎸 All Comfortably Numb guitar tones — every part & section →

🎧 Can you guess the tone?

Recognise famous songs from just the amp dials — a quick 10-round game. Beat your friends. Play free →

🎸 Which guitar legend is your tone twin? Take the quiz & share your result →

Comfortably Numb guitar tone — FAQ

What amp settings do I need for the Comfortably Numb guitar tone?

Set your amp to roughly: gain 5, bass 6.5, mid 7.5, treble 7, presence 6, reverb 2.5. These are community-researched baselines — GuitarToneAdapt re-dials them for your exact guitar and amp.

What gear was used for the Comfortably Numb tone?

Original gear/effects: Guitar: 1969 Fender Stratocaster (alder body, late-'70s Charvel birdseye maple neck) · Amp: Hiwatt DR103 100-watt head (studio, parallel with Yamaha RA-200 rotating speaker cabinet); fuzz, flanger, delay, reverb, rotary speaker.

Can I get the Comfortably Numb tone on a different guitar or amp?

Yes. Different guitars and amps need different knob positions to sound the same. GuitarToneAdapt models pickup output and wood brightness, then compensates so you match the record on your own rig.

How do I sound like Pink Floyd on Comfortably Numb — what gear and pedals?

Start with Bridge pickup, the amp EQ above (gain 5, bass 6.5, mid 7.5, treble 7, presence 6, reverb 2.5), and fuzz, flanger, delay, reverb, rotary speaker. Then let GuitarToneAdapt compensate for the guitar, amp and pedals you actually own so it sits like the record.

Share this tone

Sources

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More like this

🎸 How to get Pink Floyd’s guitar tone → · 🎸 more Rock guitar tones → · 🎚️ Hiwatt settings → · 🎛️ best rock amp settings → · 🎸 more iconic guitar solos → · 🎚️ Fuzz tone guide → · 🎯 more singing sustain tones → · 📖 New to amp settings? What every knob does →

Settings are community-researched estimates, not official. GuitarToneAdapt adapts them to your gear. guitartoneadapt.com