GILMOUR’S
GEAR
Guitarist David Gilmour used a
small arsenal of gear for the Dark
Side of the Moon sessions. Given
his penchant for changing his
rig—and the fact that the sessions
were scheduled around live gigs
and stretched over the course of
a year—it’s difficult to pin down
an exhaustive list of his Dark Side
setup. However, the following pieces of gear are generally believed to
be the main tools for the sessions.
Photos by Laurens Van Houten, Frank White Photo Agency
GUITARS
Gilmour’s famous black Fender Strat was his main axe during the Dark Side of the Moon
sessions. At the time of the recording, the oft-modified 1969 Fender Strat would have had
a ’ 63 neck with a rosewood fingerboard, stock single-coils, and an extra mini switch for
extra pickup combinations. In early ’ 73, a Gibson PAF humbucker was installed between
the bridge and middle pickups, but it is doubtful that pickup is heard on the album.
Gilmour also played a Fender 1000 pedal-steel guitar tuned in G6 (D–G–D–G–B–E, low to
high). He also used a custom guitar built in 1970 by Canadian luthier Bill Lewis for parts of the
“Money” solo. It had a mahogany body, ebony fretboard, 24 frets, and custom humbuckers,
and it may have been used for other tracks, as well.
AMPS
During the Dark Side period, Gilmour used Hiwatt DR103 100-watt heads through 4x12
cabinets. Alan Parsons recalls the cabinets being Hiwatts, while some sources (such as
Gilmourish.com) suggest they may have been WEM cabs. The latter source also suggests
that a Fender Twin combo was used on Dark Side, though Parsons does not recall that amp
being used. A rotary-speaker cabinet—either a Leslie or a Maestro Rover—was also used.
Photo courtesy of Nicholas Harris
at Catalinbread
Photo courtesy of Analog Man
EFFECTS
Gilmour is famous for his masterful use of effects,
both live and in the studio. Among those used
for Dark Side were a Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face, a
Binson Echorec II, a Colorsound Power Boost, a
Univox Uni-Vibe, a Kepex tremolo, and an EMS
Synthi HiFli.
