Gilmour, Guitars & Gear


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Front Cover

Compressors

In this column, I'll be examining Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour's gear and playing techniques from a musician's point of view. Please feel free to e-mail me with questions and ideas for future articles if you feel you have an idea that readers of Spare Bricks might find of interest. Past articles are now posted at http://web.tampabay.rr.com/richm/sbarchive.htm.

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The MXR DynaComp compressor pedal.

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The Boss CS-2 compressor pedal.

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The Ibanez CP-9 compressor pedal

A compression pedal is one of the most overlooked pedals in shaping a guitar sound and has always played a large role in David Gilmour's sound. Gilmour's setup for the 1994 tour included three different compression pedals, each pedal serves a different purpose, adding its own unique characteristics to his guitar sound. This is why three were used.

The compressor is the first piece of equipment to shape the guitar sound. It's used first in a chain because every other effect that follows is affected by the compression. In essence, a compressor takes the loud portions of the sound spectrum and makes them softer and the softer portions of the sound spectrum and makes them louder. The result is an even sound wave. As an example, compression before a distortion pedal results in a smoother distortion sound.

The following is an examination of the three compression pedals David Gilmour used during the 1994 Pink Floyd tour.

MXR DynaComp - The MXR DynaComp is one of the few pedals that dates back to Gilmour's tours with Pink Floyd during the 1970s. It has two knobs: Output and Sensitivity. The role of the Output is obvious. The key to the pedal is the Sensitivity, which was rolled back on the 1994 tour. In raising the Sensitivity, you raise all of the nuances of the sound coming out of your guitar. This covers everything from fingers sliding to the placement of the guitar pick. It brings out the pop in the strings of a Fender Stratocaster. One of the tone characteristics of the DynaComp is the way in which the pedal adds a warmer, darker tone to the guitar sound. Of the three compressors, the MXR has the most noticeable effect on the sound and has most likely been used on the majority of the guitar solos during Gilmour's recording sessions with Pink Floyd.

Songs used: The MXR was reportedly used in unison with the Boss CS-2 during "The Great Gig in the Sky" during the 1994 tour.

Boss CS-2 - Gilmour started using the Boss CS-2 when he ran an all Boss effects pedal board for his 1984 About Face solo tour. He continued to use this compressor on his subsequent Pink Floyd tours. The pedal has three controls: Level, Attack and Sustain. The Attack knob controls the pedal's compression, and is usually set high, while the Sustain is self-explanatory. The key to the Boss compressor is its smoothness. Unlike its successor, the CS-3, the CS-2 doesn't have a tone control and consequently producers a warmer tone. The CS-2 is more likely to be heard on clean rhythm tones. The CS-2 also serves as a sustainer. The CS-2 was the compressor of choice for the Pete Cornish all-tube effects board that was used for Gilmour's most recent series of concerts at the Royal Festival Hall.

Songs used: The CS-2 was reportedly used during "The Great Gig in the Sky" (in unison with the MXR DynaComp,) and "Us and Them". The pedal was reportedly used during "Any Colour You Like", "Brain Damage", and "Eclipse" from the live 1994 performances of The Dark Side Of The Moon.

Ibanez CP-9 - The Ibanez is a bright pedal that doesn't add any of its own tonal characteristics to the signal. This is what makes it different than the other two compressors. The Ibanez has three controls: Level, Threshold and Attack. The tone is crisp and clear, on its own. Therefore, the Attack knob doesn't need to be set high. Turning the Attack up will produce a "twang" effect, similar to that heard in country music. The Ibanez includes a limiter, which is controlled by the Threshold knob. This allows you to set the volume level where the compressor kicks in. The limiter can be set up to have the compression kick in when the volume knob of the guitar reaches a certain level. This allows you to keep quiet sounds quiet, an option that is not available with the other two compressors. A good example of the Ibanez CP-9 would be the cleaner guitar sound heard in the live versions of "Coming Back To Life."

Songs used: Reportedly, the Ibanez was used in unison with the other two compressors for the intro to "Time" on the 1994 tour.

Richard Mahon is a staff writer for Spare Bricks. Special thanks to John Roscoe for his contributions to the information used to detail the compression pedals used by David Gilmour.


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