Comfortably Numb - David Gilmour

[Justaguyin_nc]

David Gilmour has "The Sound" there is no doubt..
Comfortably Numb...wooohooo..
Although it took him 25 years to turn down the Phaser..
I can't decide which sounds better...
Can you?


1980 live:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fU3zhhBJp5c

Live 25 years later:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJOyykaFfnU

I'm stuck right now messing with my own solos on this!
Using Leslie sounds.. phasers.. flangers.. fun fun fun!!!

Here is the loop to make your own Gilmourish:
Bm-A-G-G/F#-Em-Bm

[warren0728]

choosing between just those two live performances i would have to choose the more current sound....both are great though....i love me some pink floyd!!

ww

[Cranium]

My vote goes to the newer sound, although the old one was a bit noisy, I always thought Gilmour looked funny with hair .

[t_ross33]

I'm goin' with the new sound, but the sound quality on the old clip is pretty poor, so it's hard to decide.

Oddly enough, I was never in AWE of guitar players (we all know that bass players are the glue that hold it all together ), but these particular solos have always moved me in ways I can't really explain. Every note seems to tear at my soul... I always feel a bit drained after listening to this song

As I pursue this six-stringed beast, I do have newfound appreciation for git-slingers, but I must say Dave was truly a first for me 20+ years ago.

[Spudman***]

Don't forget to factor in the Sissor Sisters hit version of Comfortably Numb. It rawks! Not really. But it did bring more attention to Floyd from a younger generation sans solo.

[jpfeifer]

I vote for the newer sound, but after watching both clips I think that the sound is somewhat the same. It just that the second clip has better audio quality in general. His guitar tone is very similar in both. But I think today's technology is better so he is probably getting a better tone in the second clip from using better effects that are less noisy overall. But his playing is great in both.

-- Jim

[duhvoodooman***]

It just that the second clip has better audio quality in general.

I agree completely. The sound quality of the second clip is far better than the first, making impossible, IMO, to make a fair comparison. But he still sounds great in both....

[SuperSwede]

Hard to tell, just as you others have said. But the drummer doesnt seem to enjoy Gilmours new sound (he is throwing away his headphones just before Gilmours first solo).

[Justaguyin_nc]

I'm sorry..I didn't mean between those two clips alone..
Gilmour's early sound up to and including some of the Wall seems like he has used more Phaser-Flanger sounds
with the dirtier Fuzz-Face.. After the wall he seems to tone it down and uses different distortions mainly the tube driver by butler.. so there is a obvious difference in young gilmour compared to the tweaked new Gilmour.. which
is great in both respects..old and new.. and probably due to technologies and the fact Gilmour is a pedal freak imho..

here compares echoes.. from Pompeii to now... which at least to me sounds completely different.. (I know not pink floyd as a whole group here..).. newer is so much more mellow and warmer to me..

Live From Pompeii
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56ck0Rw-e-Y (Solo starts about the 3 min mark)


Now live from Venice:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR8qo47hCfc part1 (Solo starts about the 4 min mark)


Umm Swede..I think Mason throws off the headphones cause they are about to get loud...

[Katastrophe]

I like the newer Gilmour tone better. Of course, his style is so distinctive he could play a jazzbox through a solid state Randall amph and still sound like Gilmour.

[Cranium]

Tube driver is such a cool pedal btw, I wanted one but its $300, you can order one here http://butleraudio.com/tubedriver.php.
Its a limited "reproduction" from the the creator himself since they stopped making the original pedal a while ago, its a very cool pedal.
Sorry for getting off topic there, out of the Echoes videos I like the one in Pompeii better!

[Spudman***]

I like his older sound. The new one is edgier with more pronounced upper mids. The old one seemed to have a rounder tone. More pleasant on the softer Strat side of the spectrum.
I'm just amazed that his trem bar is still solid after all these years.

[duhvoodooman***]

Coincidentally, I was over at the Seymour Duncan forums to post a pickup wiring question, and while looking around the forum, came across this link. It was posted by a forum regular over there who was apparently home from work with a cold and got noodling around with the "Comfortably Numb" solo to pass the time. I was very impressed by the quality of the recording, the superb tone he achieved, and (especially!) how well the guy plays. Thought the "Gilmourish" fans around here would enjoy it:

Comfortably Numb Solo Jam

[Tinky-Winky]

Thanks a lot for that one voodooman, that man played really well.

[Robert****]

Wow, I love that tone! Great playing too. What gear did he use?

I'd love to try play over that backing track if it's available somewhere.

[duhvoodooman***]

Wow, I love that tone! Great playing too. What gear did he use?

His website is HERE, with gear pix. According to the posting, he used the white Jacaranda Strat copy into a Boss GT-8.

I'd love to try play over that backing track if it's available somewhere.

So would I! He didn't say where he got it, though.