🎸 Rock · 1970s

Echoes by Pink Floyd (Riff · Distorted) — Guitar Tone

by Pink Floyd · riff

The Echoes by Pink Floyd guitar tone is built on a Hiwatt DR103 Custom 100 Head into WEM Super Starfinder 200 4x12 cabinet, dialed in at gain 4.5/10, bass 6.5, mid 7, treble 6.5, presence 5.5 (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)

4.5

GAIN

6.5

BASS

MID

6.5

TREBLE

5.5

PRESENCE

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 4.5 sits right around the rock average (4.8); mids at 7 are right around average (6.2).

Guitar controls

7-8

VOLUME

6-7

TONE

Original gear

Guitar: Fender Stratocaster (early 1970s, black, maple neck, stock single-coil pickups) · Amp: Hiwatt DR103 Custom 100 Head into WEM Super Starfinder 200 4x12 cabinet

Studio recording, 1971 (Meddle album). The riff section uses the Stratocaster into the Hiwatt DR103, with a Binson Echorec delay and Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face for mild overdrive/fuzz. Pickup selector is typically neck or neck+middle for this section. No chorus or flanger on the original studio riff. All effects are pedals, not amp-based.

Gear used on this tone

🎚️ Fender Stratocaster songs & tones →🎚️ single-coil guitars songs & tones →🎚️ fuzz songs & tones →🎚️ Hiwatt songs & tones →

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

Pickups

Neck pickup (sometimes neck + middle)

Signal chain

Fender Stratocaster (early 1970s, black, maple neck, stock single-coil pickups) → Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face → Binson Echorec 2 → Hiwatt DR103 Custom 100 Head into WEM Super Starfinder 200 4x12 cabinet

Effects

fuzz, delay, reverb

Amp effects: Reverb (spring, level 2)

Tone character

smooth, singing sustain, warm and ambient, slightly fuzzy attack, rich, tape-like echo repeats, dynamic, touch-sensitive response, mildly compressed, not heavily saturated, classic British amp crunch, expressive slide phrasing, lush, atmospheric delay

Recording context

studio

How it’s played

straight, medium tempo, medium dynamics · crunch distortion. This shapes how hard the amp is pushed and where the EQ sits for the Echoes sound.

Difficulty

3.5/5 · Riff

The riff requires intermediate slide technique, careful control of dynamics and delay, and subtle use of fuzz for sustain. The timing and expressive phrasing make it more challenging than a basic riff.

Worth knowing

No direct numeric amp settings for 'Echoes' studio riff found; settings estimated based on typical Hiwatt/Strat/Fuzz Face/Binson Echorec setup for this era and genre.
Pedal models confirmed by multiple sources, but exact knob settings for Fuzz Face and Echorec are not specified; delay time inferred from Gilmour's typical Binson settings (300-310ms).
Pickup position inferred from tone and live footage; some sources mention neck+middle, but neck alone is most common for this section.
Amp reverb is minimal or off; most ambience is from delay and studio room.
No evidence of chorus, flanger, or phaser on the original studio riff section.
Settings cross-referenced with genre and era conventions for accuracy. For the 'Echoes' riff, Gilmour used a Hiwatt amp set clean with edge-of-breakup warmth, boosted mids for British character, and moderate bass for fullness. The treble is slightly rolled off for smoothness, presence is neutral, and reverb is moderate, reflecting the natural room and plate reverb of the era.

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Echoes guitar tone — FAQ

What amp settings do I need for the Echoes guitar tone?

Set your amp to roughly: gain 4.5, bass 6.5, mid 7, treble 6.5, presence 5.5, reverb 3. These are community-researched baselines — GuitarToneAdapt re-dials them for your exact guitar and amp.

What gear was used for the Echoes tone?

Original gear/effects: Guitar: Fender Stratocaster (early 1970s, black, maple neck, stock single-coil pickups) · Amp: Hiwatt DR103 Custom 100 Head into WEM Super Starfinder 200 4x12 cabinet; fuzz, delay, reverb.

Can I get the Echoes 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 Echoes — what gear and pedals?

Start with Neck pickup (sometimes neck + middle), the amp EQ above (gain 4.5, bass 6.5, mid 7, treble 6.5, presence 5.5, reverb 3), and fuzz, delay, reverb. Then let GuitarToneAdapt compensate for the guitar, amp and pedals you actually own so it sits like the record.

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Sources

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More like this

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