Comfortably numb amp settings — Hughes & Kettner Attax 80
The Pink floyd guitar tone for “Comfortably numb”, dialed in for a Hughes & Kettner Attax 80 with a PRS SE Custom 24. Studio version, The Wall (1979) — Outro Solo
1969 Black Stratocaster (DiMarzio FS-1 bridge pickup) -> EHX Ram's Head Big Muff Pi -> MXR Dyna Comp -> Pete Cornish ST-2 Boost -> Hiwatt DR103 (linked channels) + Yamaha RA-200 rotary cabinet
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 2 |
| Bass | 6 |
| Mid | 7 |
| Treble | 5 |
| Presence | 4 |
| Reverb | 3 |
| Master | 5 |
01Donner Ultimate Comp
Compresses and evens out attack into the gain stages for endless sustain
02Boss BD-2 Blues Driver
Acts as a Pete Cornish ST-2 style warm EQ pre-boost into the main distortion
03Boss DS-2 Turbo Distortion
Gain source — set Turbo to Mode I (off) to emulate the thick, smooth midrange of a Ram's Head Big Muff
04Donner Mod Square II
Select Rotary (or slow subtle Chorus) to mimic the Yamaha RA-200 rotating speaker
05Donner Yellow Fall Delay
Set to roughly 370ms with moderate repeats for Gilmour's studio delay spread
Gilmour derived his towering sustain from a Big Muff driving high-headroom clean Hiwatt amps, so the Attax 80 must stay strictly on the Clean channel at low gain to prevent mud. The PRS humbuckers hit harder and darker than Gilmour's single-coil Strat, so we tame the DS-2 tone knob to avoid harshness while running the BD-2 as a mild low-gain driver to replicate his Cornish boost. Tone on the guitar is backed down to 8 to soften the modern pickup treble bite into the vintage violin-like lead.
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These settings are for a Hughes & Kettner Attax 80. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.
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