Tone library / Pink Floyd / Comfortably Numb

Comfortably Numb amp settings — FirstAct MA155

The Pink Floyd guitar tone for “Comfortably Numb”, dialed in for a FirstAct MA155 with a Spectrum AIL-95. Studio version, The Wall (1979) — second solo

Original rig

1969 Fender Stratocaster (DiMarzio FS-1 bridge) → MXR Dyna Comp → EHX Big Muff Pi (Ram's Head) → Hiwatt DR103 Custom 100 (linked channels, near-clean) → WEM 4x12 + Yamaha RA-200 rotary

Singing, sustained lead with warm fuzz saturation, vocal-like sustain, and spacious delay trails
Amp settings — FirstAct MA155
GAIN 2 BASS 6 MID 5 TREBLE 4 PRESENCE 0 REVERB 0 MASTER 6
KnobSetting (0–10)
Gain2
Bass6
Mid5
Treble4
Presence0
Reverb0
Master6
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Guitar
PICKUPbridge TONE8 VOLUME10
Signal chain

01NUX MG-300 Mk2 — Compressor Block

Emulates Dyna Comp — provides front-end squash and sustain boost before fuzz

Sustain 6 · Level 7 · Attack 4

02NUX MG-300 Mk2 — Big Muff Fuzz Model

Critical: Sustain at noon (5), NOT maxed — preserves note definition and attack shape. Volume hot to push amp. Tone at 7 recovers upper-mid presence.

Sustain 5 · Tone 7 · Volume 8

03NUX MG-300 Mk2 — Delay Block (set to ~400ms)

400-420ms delay time, 2-3 repeats fading. Analog or tape-style delay model preferred if available.

Time 6 · Feedback 3 · Mix 4

04NUX MG-300 Mk2 — Reverb Block (Hall or Plate)

Large hall or plate reverb, 2-2.5 second decay. Ambient but not washy.

Decay 6 · Mix 4 · Tone 5
Why these settings

The FirstAct MA155 is a small solid-state practice amp with limited headroom and no channel switching — it cannot replicate Hiwatt clean headroom, so keep amp gain at 2 to stay clean and let the MG-300's Big Muff model do ALL the gain work. Bass raised to 6 (vs Hiwatt's 5) because small speakers lack low-end body. Treble dropped to 4 because the MA155 gets harsh quickly. The Spectrum AIL-95 has lower-output pickups than Gilmour's hot FS-1, so the compressor block is essential to boost the front-end signal into the fuzz.

PRO TIPThe secret to Gilmour's sustain is NOT maxing the fuzz — keep Sustain at noon, push the Volume knob hot, and let notes SWELL by holding them and adding gentle vibrato after the initial attack. Play slow, let the delay fill the gaps.

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