Tone library / Pink Floyd / Comfortably numb

Comfortably numb amp settings — Fender Champion 50XL

The Pink Floyd guitar tone for “Comfortably numb”, dialed in for a Fender Champion 50XL with a Fender Player Stratocaster. Studio version, The Wall (1979) — Outro Solo

Original rig

1969 Black Strat (DiMarzio FS-1 bridge pickup) -> MXR Dyna Comp -> c.1974 EHX Ram's Head Big Muff Pi -> Hiwatt DR103 100W Head into WEM 4x12 & Yamaha RA-200 rotary cabinet

Singing, thick high-sustain fuzz lead with smooth top end and ambient delay/reverb
Amp settings — Fender Champion 50XL
CHANNELClean channel (Voice off)
GAIN 2 BASS 6 TREBLE 5 REVERB 4 MASTER 5
KnobSetting (0–10)
Gain2
Bass6
Treble5
Reverb4
Master5
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Guitar
PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10
Signal chain

01Electro-Harmonix Ram's Head Big Muff Pi

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned

Volume 5 · Tone 6 · Sustain 7

02MXR Dyna Comp

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned (place before fuzz for endless sustain)

Output 7 · Sensitivity 4

03Digital Delay (approx 370ms)

RECOMMENDED — not currently owned or use Champion built-in Delay+Reverb FX

Time 5 · Repeats 4 · Level 3
Why these settings

The Fender Champion 50XL faceplate has a 2-band EQ (Bass and Treble only, no dedicated Mid or Presence knob). Gilmour's iconic sustain comes from a Ram's Head Big Muff into a high-headroom clean amp; per double-gain rules, the Champion is kept on its cleanest channel at Gain 2 to allow the recommended fuzz to provide all clipping without flubby preamp distortion. Treble is trimmed to 5 and the Strat's tone knob rolled to 8 to avoid the harsh top-end typical of an 8-inch/12-inch open-back combo speaker.

PRO TIPGilmour used heavy 1.0mm Herco nylon picks and relied heavily on aggressive index-finger pinch harmonics mixed with wide, extremely deliberate multi-step string bends that settle directly into slow, wide vibrato.

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These settings are for a Fender Champion 50XL. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

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