They averaged from 290-310ms. The early Boss DD-3 pedal had exactly the same circuit as the DD-2. David Gilmour has always made a very precise use of delays, since the early eras, even combining two delays to create his textures. Some duplicate the studio album delay times and some duplicate the live delay times. delay time for both solos: 465ms or 480ms - feedback: 15-20% -- delay level: 20% (30-35% for waving part) -- delay type: digital, Comfortably Numb - Pulse version and most Division Bell tour performances: David Gilmour, as many guitarists will agree on, is an absolute legend. It can be simulated with a short 40-50ms digital delay with one repeat, like this: PARALLEL MIXING DELAYS - Stacking one delay after another in your signal chain can degrade your tone because your original signal travels through, and is altered by, two delay circuits before coming out the other end. 310ms -- feedback: 3-4 repeats There are numerous modern delays that try to replicate this multi-head delay sound, like the Catalinbread Echorec, Strymon Volante, and Boonar Multi-Head Drum Echo from Dawner Prince Electronics, which David himself has used. A) All those pictures out there of David Gilmour's tours have the settings knobs shown, but you can not go by that and insist it is bible. second solo: 660ms -- feedback: 5 repeats, Comfortably Numb - 2015/16 RTL Tour: To figure a 4/4 dealy time to work with any 3/4 triplet delay time, you can split the 3/4 time delay into thirds. Brian May (of Queen) did the same effect a few years later on Brighton Rock and Son and Daughter using his modified Echoplexes. It was usually set for single head and a fixed time at about 310ms. Volume 85% His delay times typically ranged from 300ms-550ms, with 5-8 repeats, but some songs required more specific delay times and settings, as detailed below. The repeats had a warm high end roll off, similar to David's Binson Echorecs. As technology was progressing, the use of rack effects units became more and more efficient. Pink Floyd's "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" is a classic, thanks in large part to David Gilmour's otherworldly guitar playing. It had a maximum delay time of 320ms, but could be expanded to 1280ms by adding additional memory chips. - engineer Alan Parsons, on the 1973 Dark Side of the Moon sessions, (left to right) Gilmour's Binson Echorec 2 and Echorec PE 603 stacked on top of his Hiwatts from 1973, and an Echorec 2 from 1974, Binson Echorec PE 603 like the one Gilmour used from 1971-74 in his live rigs. The fact that these two delays were studio effects may explain why David never played the slide parts live in the original Dark Side of the Moon concerts. intro: 780ms, Coming Back To Life - Pulse version (MXR Digital Delay II and TC 2290 Digital Delay): intro: He would do this for each chord change in the intro to, David did an early version of sound-on-sound way back in October of 1970, in one of the few times Pink Floyd performed Alan's Psychadelic Breakfast live. Set the delay time so the repeats are in time with the song tempo (beats per minute) or drum beat, approximately one repeat for every beat. You just tap along to the song tempo with your keyboard and it calculates the BPM tempo for you. But which delay pedal (s) does/did he use? Brian Eno did something similar later in the early-mid '1970s with his famous reel-to-reel frippertronics tape delay effect. I set the vibrato to more or less the same tempo as the delay. The mode should always be set at 800ms, unless you want a short slapback delay for something like the dry solo in, Kits Secret Guitar, Gear, and Music Page. second solo: 560ms -- feedback: 3-4 repeats, On An Island - 2006 live versions: Great Gig Slide Guitar Breakdown, Here's another, starting with the dry guitar in the left channel, then the right channel with the 440ms delay. David also had an MXR 113 Digital Delay System that could do that delay time. In this video I'm demonstrating how to set up your David Gilmour delay sounds and settings. That keeps you from getting a loud, double-tappy mess. Its a core part of Pink Floyds earlier sound, and not just for Davids guitar. Below are a few of the rare examples of David using the Echorec in multi-head mode from 1973 and 1975. Both delays are in series with the delay volume around 75% and about 9 repeats. It sounds very complex because the delay is filling in and creating a rhythm in between the notes David plays, but it is actually rather simple to do. - David Gilmour from Guitar for the Practicing Musician, 1985, We also have an old MXR DDL (MXR Digital Delay System II) digital delay unit built into a rack unit. The second send went to a Roland SDE 3000 digital delay in his rack, with individual level controls for both the send and return, along with a mute switch. This website is frequently updated. From the 1972-74 period he used the PB first in line in the signal chain for his live rigs. 8-10 repeats on the first delay and as many repeats as possible on the second, or as long as it can go without going into oscillation, which is around 3-4 seconds on most delays. The original band demo, heard in The Wall Immersion Set, has a much bouncier, more disco-like feel, so I think the 4/4 delay is much more prominent in that mix. 2. Try playing the Comfortably Numb solo with a 380ms delay with 4-6 repeats, versus a longer 540-600ms delay to hear the difference. That second delay should just barely be audible, as too much volume can make a double tapped mess of the main delay. Divide 240 by 3 and you get 80. middle keyboard section: 340ms -- feedback: 8-9 repeats For his 2015 tour he used a Providence Chrono Delay and two Flight Time delays. solo: 580ms, On The Turning Away - Pulse version (TC 2290 Digital Delay): If you have a second delay, set that one in series to 930ms, 4-5 repeats, 30-35% volume. It takes some practice, and you have to be very precise with your timing or you can easily get out of step with the song tempo. It's just like the old Echoplex unit - David Gilmour from Guitar for the Practicing Musician, 1985, The Binson was an Italian made delay unit. - Phil Taylor, David's backline tech. He did sometimes use the Swell mode. - David often has a big, watery delay tone, as if he were playing in a large hall, but the actual audible echo repeats in his solos are almost absent in many cases. My sound has everything to do with what sounds good to me. 1st delay 470ms. Most analog type delays have a lower quality repeat decay that rolls off more high end on each repeat. He then upgraded to an MXR Digital Delay System II. Parallel is better than in series because the one delay does not repeat the other, and the repeats can run longer without going into oscillation. Using spring or digital reverb does not even get close, but some people struggle getting a delay pedal to sound right. Head 2 = 150ms (or 75ms x 2)..Head 2 = 190ms (or 95ms x 2) For his general ambient delays, choose the most tape flavored setting and use 50%-ish feedback (or 7-8ish repeats) and mix it fairly low so it sounds more like a subtle reverb. All those divisions and subdivisions will be in time with the song. Delay volume 50%. You can simulate the amp tremolo with just about any tremolo pedal or tremolo amp with a square wave shape. To figure a 4/4 delay time to work with any 3/4 triplet delay time, you can split the 3/4 time delay into thirds. There are so many different delays available now that it can be confusing to know which one is appropriate for Gilmour tones. In the studio recording the 4/4 delay is not very obvious, so it was low in the mix, possibly only in one channel, or both. This effect seems like reverb, but it is much different and less tone-robbing than reverb (reverb was almost never used in a Gilmour rig). 1st delay 240ms. I use chorus, little delay and some reverb on my amps clean setting. The 4/4 delay can barely be heard on the studio recording and is really not necessary, but it is fun to experiment with two delays. Again, I'll simulate that with only two dominant delays. You must remember this, Those settings are used for a stadium show, set to produce for a huge arena, not your 8 x 10 bedroom, and not your 100 x 100 bar. It helps to have the echo repeats of the first delay fall right in between, or on the repeats of the second delay, so it has a rhtmic feel. Too much can severely alter your guitar tone before it hits the amp, washing out the definition and clarity. You can also get something similar with one 650ms delay set for 2 repeats. Set it to about 370 milliseconds, mix it low, and set the repeats to about 3-4 times. Below are some specific Gilmour settings I use. There are several reasons. slide solo: 550ms -- feedback: 4-5 repeats I was able to dismantle them, put them back together, and change the head positioning. slide guitar solos: 400ms, On the Run (The Traveling Section) - early live guitar version from 1972 (Echorec PE 603): The effect actually works fine with only two delays. Kits Secret Guitar, Gear, and Music Page. Occasionally David may be using a long repeat time on one delay, and a shorter repeat time on another delay simultaneously. There are lots of different ways to use two delays at once for an integrated rhythm like this, so use your ears and experiment. Let's see some of the units he used over time. solos: 660ms -- feedback: 6-7 repeats, Time: delay 2: 375ms, Run Like Hell - two guitars multi-tracked (delay used was likely the MXR M113 Digital Delay): You can simulate the verse delay with two delays in-line going to one amp. The S-O-S rig allowed him to play sustained chords on the guitar which he could then play melody on top of. The trick is not to overdo it. As the chord rang on, David could then play the melody lines through his main Hiwatt. Digital Delays tend to be avoided by many guitarists, but the belief that analog is always better than digital stems from when digital gear wasnt very good. solo: 580ms, A Great Day For Freedom - Pulse version (TC2290 Digital Delay): The delay used must have a "kill dry" or "dry defeat" mode, which means ONLY the 100% wet delay signal is sent to the output of the delay, none of the dry signal. Bass: 5-6. During the tour a T-Rex Replica was added specifically to use for "Echoes". The slide parts actually were played on a pedal steel, a Fender 1000, but David just used it as a slide guitar and removed the foot pedals. HH IC-100 amplifier with built in tremolo. David and Roger Waters each had one of these amps but I think the only other recorded example of it being used was for the BBC performance of Embryo in 1968. The MXR Digital Delay System II was an upgraded version of the 113 that showed the delay time in milliseconds on the front panel and featured additional fine tuning controls. Solo: 440ms ? David Gilmour is famous for his unique use of delay and echo. The repeats are bright and shimmery but not brighter than the original signal. verse: 360ms The 4/4 delay thickens space between the main delay repeats by double tapping your 3/4 repeat with a 4/4, creating a more bouncy rhythm. But delay is not the only effect that Gilmour tends to use. Below is an example of me using an Echorec style delay in a cover of Pink Floyd's 1969 song Dramatic Theme form the More album. - David Gilmour, Guitar World magazine. NOTE: This website is frequently updated. He would do this for each chord change in the intro to Shine On You Crazy Diamond, effectively doing both the keyboard and guitar parts all by himself. Its not rare to see Pink Floyd play 10-minute long solos over what can only be described as atmospheric playing from the band. verse/chorus sections: 310ms -- feedback: 3-4 repeats But the delay was in 3/4 increments of the beat and the vibrato went with the beat. The SDE 3000 was set for a 1500ms delay, giving approximately 20-30 seconds of regenrated delay repeats. Shown below are my Boss delay time settings to replicate the Run Like Hell band demo recording sound. Then I play just the muted note rhythm so you can hear what it sounds without the delay, then I turn the delay on while playing. David was very much in control of his sound system We rarely added effects to his guitar in the control room. Find the proper delay time for the song as described above, then let's do some "Echorec math". Run Like Hell with 380ms and 254ms delays in series - first is 380ms delay in the left channel, then 380ms+254ms in the right channel. You can also do the volume swells with the guitar volume knob, although it is much easier with a volume pedal. - Some of Gilmour's most commonly used delay times are 300, 380, 440, 480, 540, and 630ms. Below is a link to a song-by-song list of Gilmour's delay settings, compiled from measuring the echo repeats in official releases and bootlegs of live recordings, and from delay times visible on the LCDs of his digital delays.