Tone library / Pink floyd / Comfortably numb

Comfortably numb amp settings — Zoom G5

The Pink floyd guitar tone for “Comfortably numb”, dialed in for a Zoom G5 with a Ibanez RG421. Studio version, The Wall (1979) — second solo

Original rig

Late '60s Fender Stratocaster ('Black Strat') with DiMarzio FS-1 bridge pickup → Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi (Ram's Head V2) → Colorsound Power Boost → MXR Dyna Comp → Hiwatt DR103 Custom 100 into WEM 4x12 cabs with Fane Crescendo speakers + Yamaha RA-200 rotary cabinets, tape delay

Singing, vocal-like sustain with creamy fuzz saturation, warm mids, and ethereal delay-washed depth
Amp settings — Zoom G5
CHANNELMS 800 amp model (Marshall-style for Hiwatt-like clean headroom with presence)BRIGHToffBOOSToff
GAIN 2 BASS 5 MID 6 TREBLE 5 PRESENCE 5 REVERB 0 MASTER 7
KnobSetting (0–10)
Gain2
Bass5
Mid6
Treble5
Presence5
Reverb0
Master7
Don’t have a Zoom G5? See this song on other amps → Match your own rig →
Guitar
PICKUPbridge TONE7 VOLUME10
Signal chain

01Zoom G5 Compressor Block (DynaComp model)

Adds sustain and evens out dynamics before the fuzz

Sense 4 · Level 7 · Attack 5

02Zoom G5 Fuzz Block (Big Muff model — 'FZ BM' or similar)

Core of the tone — provides all the gain and singing sustain

Sustain 7 · Tone 5 · Level 8

03Zoom G5 Booster Block (clean boost)

Emulates Colorsound Power Boost pushing the signal

Gain 3 · Level 6

04Zoom G5 Delay Block (Analog Delay model)

Set delay time around 380-440ms for the iconic swell; moderate repeats

Time 5 · Feedback 4 · Mix 4 · Level 6

05Zoom G5 Modulation Block (Rotary Speaker model)

Slow rotation — adds the swirling dimension from Yamaha RA-200 cabinets

Speed 3 · Depth 4 · Mix 3
Why these settings

Your Ibanez RG421 has hotter humbuckers than Gilmour's single-coil Strat with FS-1, so I dropped the fuzz sustain slightly to prevent mud and rolled the guitar tone knob to 7 to tame the extra high-end bite. The Zoom G5's MS 800 model provides the clean headroom the Hiwatt offered — amp gain stays low because the Big Muff block handles all distortion. The rotary effect is subtle but essential for that three-dimensional studio shimmer.

PRO TIPGilmour's legendary sustain comes from his touch and controlled feedback — stand closer to your monitoring source and let notes bloom naturally rather than picking harder. Roll your volume knob to 8 for the verse arpeggios, then punch it to 10 for the solo to mimic his dynamics.

Get this tone on your amp

These settings are for a Zoom G5. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.

Get ToneAdapt on Google Play
Find your amp
Browse
Comfortably numb on other ampsSAME SONG, YOUR AMP Pink floyd tonesALL SONGS Ibanez RG421 tonesSAME GUITAR 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