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Hey You — Pink Floyd1 / 2
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Hey You Riff Guitar Tone Settings — Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd · 1970s · rock

studio

Original Recording

Guitar
Fender Stratocaster (1970s, Black, maple neck, stock single coils)
Pickups
Fender single-coil pickups (1970s stock)
Amp
Hiwatt DR103 Custom 100 Head with WEM Super Starfinder 4x12 cabinet
Pickup Position
Position 4 (neck + middle)

Studio recording, 1979. This is the clean, arpeggiated riff section of 'Hey You' from The Wall. Gilmour used his main Black Strat with stock single coils for the clean parts. The amp was a Hiwatt DR103, as confirmed by multiple sources for The Wall sessions. No evidence of live/tour gear or alternate guitars for this section.

Amp Settings

Mids
7
Bass
6.5
Gain
0
Reverb
2.5
Treble
6.5
Presence
6

Effects Chain

  • Electric Mistress Flanger/Filter Matrix · flanger
  • Delay pedal (model unknown, likely Binson Echorec or MXR Analog Delay) · delay

Fender Stratocaster → Electric Mistress Flanger → Delay pedal (Binson Echorec or similar) → Hiwatt DR103 → WEM 4x12 cabinet (studio plate reverb added)

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Tone Character

  • crystal-clear and glassy
  • lush and spacious
  • slightly compressed
  • bright but not harsh
  • full-bodied lows
  • sparkling highs
  • gentle attack
  • subtle stereo width
  • shimmery modulation
  • very clean, no breakup

Notes & Caveats

  • ⚠️Gain adjusted to 0 for clean tone
  • ⚠️No direct numeric amp settings for 'Hey You' clean riff found; settings estimated based on typical Hiwatt DR103 clean tones for Gilmour in this era.
  • ⚠️No explicit mention of effects for the clean riff in sources, but subtle chorus/flanger and delay are clearly audible in the recording.
  • ⚠️Pickup position inferred from Gilmour's typical clean tone setup and the sound on the track.
  • ⚠️No evidence of compression pedal or other effects for the clean riff; all effects are likely rack or studio-based.
  • ⚠️If more precise amp settings or pedal models are found in future, update accordingly.
  • ⚠️Settings cross-referenced with genre and era conventions for accuracy. David Gilmour's 'Hey You' riff tone is clean but with a touch of breakup, using his Hiwatt amp with a scooped yet present midrange, full lows, and smooth highs; subtle plate reverb from the studio adds space but doesn't dominate. These settings reflect Gilmour's typical late-70s/early-80s amp voicing and production approach.

Sources