Tone library / Pink Floyd / Comfortably Numb

Comfortably Numb amp settings — Marshall MG10 GOLD

The Pink Floyd guitar tone for “Comfortably Numb”, dialed in for a Marshall MG10 GOLD with a Ibanez GS250602541. Studio version, The Wall (1979) — second solo tone (the iconic melodic solo)

Original rig

Fender Stratocaster 'Black Strat' with DiMarzio FS-1 bridge pickup, Hiwatt DR103 100W heads into WEM 4x12 cabs, Electro-Harmonix Ram's Head Big Muff, Boss CE-2 Chorus, Maestro Echoplex delay

Creamy, singing sustain with thick mids, violin-like smoothness from the Big Muff into a clean amp, light modulation shimmer
Amp settings — Marshall MG10 GOLD
CHANNELClean (only channel available)
GAIN 7 BASS 4 TREBLE 6 MASTER 6
KnobSetting (0–10)
Gain7
Bass4
Treble6
Master6
Don’t have a Marshall MG10 GOLD? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →
Guitar
PICKUPbridge TONE7 VOLUME10
Why these settings

The original tone comes from a Big Muff into a CLEAN Hiwatt — Gilmour's amp gain was near zero with the Muff providing all saturation. Your MG10 has no dirt pedal and only one channel, so I've pushed gain to 7 to extract as much smooth sustain as the amp can give, but this will sound thinner and grainier than the original. Bass dropped to 4 because the MG10's small speaker muddies quickly; treble at 6 preserves note definition. The MG10 lacks mid, presence, and reverb knobs. To truly reach this tone, you need a Big Muff-style fuzz pedal — with one, set amp gain to 2-3 and let the pedal do the work.

PRO TIPRoll your guitar's tone knob to 7 to tame the Ibanez humbucker's brightness and get closer to Gilmour's vocal, singing sustain — he kept his Strat tone around 35-40% open for the solos. Slow, wide vibrato on held notes is essential to the vocal quality of this solo.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Marshall MG10 GOLD. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

Get ToneAdapt on Google Play
More tones for the Marshall MG10 GOLD
Beat ItMichael Jackson
Find your amp
Browse
Marshall MG10 GOLD settingsALL SONGS FOR THIS AMP Comfortably Numb on other ampsSAME SONG, YOUR AMP Pink Floyd tonesALL SONGS Tone libraryEVERYTHING

Song, artist and gear names are used to identify the tone being matched; ToneAdapt is not affiliated with or endorsed by the artists or manufacturers mentioned. Settings are AI-generated starting points — trust your ears.

Get ToneAdapt — first match free