In this section we will see some comparison, between pedals to start with, and pedals to end with. 

NB: ALL I write is based on my experience. I will not talk of pedals I never used.

I will suggest how to build a good setup starting from zero, as I did.

In the next section "My Gear" I will put the timeline of my pedalboard and the most important pedals I used.

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Why the compressor

Into a gilmourish pedalboard a compressor is a must, because Gilmour has been using it immensely. For the clean sound, the attack of the note and the boost of volume.

Virtually always on.

We distinguish three different families, the Boss compressors, the MXR and the Compulator. Of course, we know these models, but the Boss CS2 stands out because it is the one that characterized its golden moments, between 86 and 95. Now, the CS2 costs a lot, is it worth it? I found one on sale, from 87 and I did not let it slip away. The edition currently on the market is the CS3, everyone hated it and put it aside. Personally, I do not understand all this, having tried both and, having had the CS3 for one year, I found it more versatile, even if a bit colder and a little chewy especially if overloaded with attack and sustain. The CS2 has its own sound and it gives to you that Gilmour's attack immediately, but given the price and given the difficulty in finding a good sounding one, I recommend the CS3 that, in addition to the fundamental tone control, does not need the boring DC power supply. 12 volts.

It is a compressor that, however, must be tried and used.

My standard settings for the CS3 are:

VOLUME  - ore 13:00

TONE       - ore 11:30

ATTACK   - ore 14:00

SUSTAIN - ore 11:30

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Another compressor I have is the MXR Dynacomp, which characterized the 70s era. It has an harder attack, a bit noisy (if overloaded) and definetely darker.

I have the block logo, but I heard that the vintage reissue is way better.

By the way, a good pedal though.

OUTPUT       - 14:30

SENSIVITY   - 11:30

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AN OVERDRIVE FOR EVERY NEED

Let's start with the TS9 type. 

When you choose the overdrive, the Ibanez TS9 model is a reference, but it also costs a lot. So we need an overdrive with a vintage stamp, transparent and not too intrusive. Why? Because it will come in handy for phrases like Money's riff, Time's verses, and to boost Big Muff (which we'll talk about later).

I owned the NUX OD3, and I still use it sometimes. I found it incredible, especially considering the price! 

Then we have the Tube overdrives and the Powerboost. To replicate those sounds, we need different pedals. The stock Blues Driver is perfect for both. 

Closing the tone it becomes a nice overdrive, while opening the tone it becomes powerful but also a bit acid. I modified my BD2, and you can find more informations in the "MCE LAB" section. The BD2 is the pedal that I currently use as boost and mild drive rhythmic parts.

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We all know that the B.K. Butler Tube Driver is the main Gilmour's overdrive since early 90s. It is a pedal with its specific sound, but I have to say that, having tried several, they are somehow noisy and different sounding. 

Gilmour's Tube Drivers have been modified, and each Tube Driver has a different mod depending on his need.

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Below I write a list of other good Tube Driver alternatives, with the percentage of similarity to the BK TD for Gilmour tones:

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DIGITECH CM2 TUBE OVERDRIVE

Great sounding pedal, with also treble and Bass EQ. I had one casually, but I used it for many months. Good only as drive pedal.

Percentage of similarity for solos: 70%

Percentage of similarity for volume boost 20%

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BOSS BLUES DRIVER 

One of the best alternatives, as alredy specified. Better if well modded.

Unfortunately you don't have more than a tone control.

Percentage of similarity for solos 80%

Percentage of similarity for volume boost 90%

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DV MARK TUBE MARKER

Surpisingly versatile and useful for Tube Driver tones but also similar to the RAT and G2 Cornish if set with high gain. The amount of distortion you can get is huge, but only one tone control. However a great alternative.

Percentage of similarity for solos 85%

Percentage of similarity for volume boost 50%

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MAXON ROD880

Based on the vintage TK999 Tube King (identical sounding) The ROD880 is the best pedal you can find to replicate the Tube Driver sound. It is a tube pedal, and works with 9v. I find this one even better than the stock BK Butler, because it has a noise gate (which I don't use because the pedal is totally silent) and the MID control. So if it is known that the Tube King is almost identical to the BK Butler, the ROD880 has the same common features.

Percentage of similarity for solos 99%

Percentage of similarity for volume boost 99%

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DISTORTIONS, BIG MUFF AND HOW TO BOOST IT

We all know the Muff, a legendary sound that is hard to tame. First of all, which one to take? Gilmour used versions that are too rare and dated to research. Models like Civil War or Ram's Head, 40 years old, cost a fortune and you do not know how they sound. My advice? Go with the clones, you can't go wrong. Or the Muff currently in production but you would need to modify it.

My first Big Muff was a normal one, then modified according to the Civil War model with small adjustments to the tone to get something from the "Ram's head". The Civil War is great for Floyd post Waters era, but the Ram's is perfect for everything else, from Animals to Final Cut. I'm sorry if I don't talk about other fuzz pedals but I never used one.

Returning to the Muff, we all know that the secret lies in boosting it, or "pushing it", with what? An overdrive, a tube driver, a volume booster, depending on your needs. Now, I usually push from behind, and in fact placing boosters BEFORE the Muff you will open the tone,  giving more presence and definition and great sustain. By placing the booster after, the sound is crushed, closed and weaker. Imagine the Muff as a mountain of sound that must pass in a small gallery like the overdrive. In my opinion (and believe me that I tried in every way) the booster must be put before. I get great results. Gilmour maybe puts it after as many say, as many do and it will also be true, but Gilmour has stadium systems and equalization systems too perfect to be able to get the same result by simply putting the pedals as he puts them. Follow your ear and do not feel limited by patterns dictated by others, Take an overdrive, set it until you like it and if you don't,  try and try again all the combinations. You will have a great sound. With the same pedals,  I have tried out whole months before having a whit of result. Sometimes even a little more or less tone makes the difference and with Big Muff in your hands you will understand why. Another tip, the bass muff (also nano) sounds a lot like the Civil War, but today nothing beats the Green Russian reissue, perfect to get those Sovtek tones. Another important pedal is the ProCo Rat. Not much used by Gilmour but useful on your pedalboard if you want to play solos with less power than Muff or simply to vary. It works a lot on Money, What do you want from me, Time, Have a cigar (with less distortion) and much more. I own one and I was really impressed. A full and defined sound. Avoid Turbo or other versions, take the standard one. A good distortion used by Gilmour between the late 80s and early 90s is the Boss MZ-2, which sometimes even replaced the Muff. Many consider it a sort of "jolly pedal" and I like it a lot.

Unfortunately in this space I will not talk about the Cornish pedals, which Gilmour has used almost always from Pulse onwards. Let's say that these pedals were going to replace distortion and overdrive, created according to Gilmour needs. I've never tried them, since you would pay them as a whole pedalboard.
 

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Phaser, Chorus, Flanger and Uni-vibe (AND ROTARY)

These are the main modulations used by Gilmour and its use varies according to the periods. Generally, we have the uni-vibe in Dark side of the moon (and sporadically in recent times); the phaser in Wish you were here; the flanger in the early solo works, in the tour following Animals, in The Wall, The Final cut and last Rattle that lock tour; we have a little Chorus in The Wall and mainly from "A momentary lapse of reason" until PULSE. 

The Rotary speaker is not considered as a modulation, but Gilmour used it as a mild chorus sound and, especially, to give liquidity to his sound.

He used the Yamaha RA200, from Dark side, to The Wall live, until The Final cut, and the Doppolas system during Pulse. You can replicate these sounds with the Boss RT20 (and you will see how)

Let's analyze the pedals. Having never come into contact with a uni-vibe, I reach its sound through the mix of phaser and chorus with excellent results. As chorus the choice is wide, and the model to follow is definitely the boss CE2 of Gilmour, father of every other Chorus. I own one from 1989 to my great fortune and the sound is that there. As cheap pedals, being the CE2 difficult to find well sounding, I had the Mooer ensamble king, which reproduces the CE2 very faithfully, better than the Boss of last production. As a flanger, the reference pedal is the electric mistress of the 76 from Gilmour. Being a pedal also modified by Cornish, I discourage the spend a heritage to go and take one of those pedals. The mistress currently produced is anything but my choice; following the advice of Bjorn from Gilmourish, I fell on the Mooer E-Lady. Then I bought a deluxe electric mistress (silver box), also recently modified according to the V2 Green Mistress by MCE Lab. You can find information about this mod on the MCE section on this space.

Let's move to the phaser, used less than the other effects, but still important. Have a cigar, the third solo and the magical four notes of Shine. Gilmour uses an MXR Phase 90 script logo. Indicating the Vintage version. It costs much, and being a secondary pedal I opted for a cheap Behringer Vintage Phaser that humbly approaches that sound. The result was not bad at all.

I recommend you to put the Phaser after the compressor and before the overdrives.

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ROTARY SPEAKER 

The Boss RT20 is the one I use to work on Gilmour's rotary sound.

This pedal needs a deep study, because you have to find at least two different configurations. The secret of this pedal is the combination of "Effect" and "Direct", using it in mode 1. Gilmour mainly used rotary speakers during Dark side of the moon, Animals, The Wall live, PULSE and other situations.

Here follow the two configurations I found for the Boss RT20:

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CONFIGURATION 1 - Yamaha RA200

DSOTM, WYWH, Animals, The Wall Live, The Final cut

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Mode 1 / Mode 4 (Breathe)

Effect  - 10:30

Direct  - 13:00

Balance - 11:30 (13:30 for Breathe)

Slow mode - 13:00 (Fast mode for Any color - 10:30)

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CONFIGURATION 2 - Doppolas

PULSE

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Mode 1

Effect  - 9:00

Direct  - 12:30

Balance - 11:00 

Slow mode - 13:30     

 

Pay attention, these are the settings that work very well on my setup.

I read on the internet different configurations, as "everything on 12 o'clock"

which makes the pedal effect very unwieldy. This is the simulation of an amp,

must be placed at the end of your pedalboard with mild effect. 

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DELAY UNITS

David Gilmour is extremely famous for his innovations in regards of delay and echo systems. My experience on this section is not that big, since I only used two delay pedals. 

My first one is the NUX Time Force. It seems not to be on the market anymore, but when I bought it years ago it was very cheap, with a nice display and timing only with BPM. You could store your settings in 9 different banks and recall them or go through them. The quality of this unit is very undervalued.

After more than a year I moved on the famous TC Nova Delay because I simply needed something more professional. In terms of sound, there's not a big difference between them.

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