David Gilmour's Animals Era Tone: How The Wall Sound Evolved

Start Here: The Animals album (1977) represents a transitional moment in Gilmour's tone — heavier, more abrasive, and more mid-forward than the layered textures of Wish You Were Here or the refined sustain of The Wall. The key differences from the Comfortably Numb era: different Strat, different Big Muff configuration, different amp setup, and a more aggressive playing approach that shows up in how the guitar sits in the mix. The settings and context are below.

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Why Animals Sounds Different

If you've spent time with Comfortably Numb and the The Wall sessions, and then put on Animals, there's an immediate tonal shift. "Dogs," "Pigs (Three Different Ones)," and "Sheep" all have a guitar presence that's rawer, more present in the upper midrange, and less smoothly sustained.

This isn't the same Gilmour who would refine the singing neck-pickup lead tone to its highest expression on The Wall two years later. The Animals guitar tone is fighting for space in a denser, more aggressive album — a Roger Waters album in terms of compositional intent — and the guitar sounds like it knows it.

Several things changed in the gear and approach. Understanding them separately helps you understand the system.

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The Guitar: A Different Strat

The Comfortably Numb tone is associated with Gilmour's black Stratocaster (serial number 0001, a 1969 body with a 1963 neck). For Animals, Gilmour was primarily using a white Stratocaster — a 1969 model with different pickup wiring and slightly different tonal character.

The white Strat has a more aggressive quality compared to the black Strat's warmer, more vocal characteristics. The pickup construction, the fret wear, and even the body wood variation between individual 1969 Strats can produce meaningfully different high-frequency content and picking attack definition.

On the Animals recordings, you hear the guitar bite more — there's a mid-forward, slightly nasal quality to the sustained notes that differs from the black Strat's rounder harmonic content.

For replication: A Strat with a slightly brighter pickup character gets you closer to the Animals tone than the darker, warmer voice that suits The Wall lead work. The bridge/middle pickup combination at positions 2 and 4 produces a quacky quality on clean passages; the neck pickup was Gilmour's primary lead position on both records, but the white Strat's neck pickup has a different character.

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The Big Muff: Different Configuration

The primary fuzz on Animals was the EHX Big Muff Pi — the standard reference point for Gilmour's 1970s lead tone. But the specific configuration differed from the Comfortably Numb approach.

On Animals, the Sustain control was pushed higher than the moderate settings Gilmour used on The Wall sessions. The Ram's Head variant (the version associated with the mid-1970s recordings) has a character that's somewhat different from the NYC version — slightly more midrange present, different clipping behavior.

Big Muff settings for the Animals approach:

Control	Position	Notes
Sustain	11–12 o'clock	Pushed further than Comfortably Numb — more fuzz, less clean blend
Tone	9–10 o'clock	Still warm, rolling the ice-pick frequency out
Volume	Set to push amp input	Enough to drive the Hiwatt front end

The higher Sustain creates more compression and midrange scooping from the Big Muff circuit — but into the Hiwatt's input, this scooped character partially fills back in via the amp's natural midrange character and cabinet response. The interaction produces a tone that's heavier and less transparent than the Comfortably Numb setup, while still retaining singing sustain.

The Ram's Head variant is the most historically accurate choice. Reproductions include the Stomp Under Foot Ram's Head and various boutique options. The standard EHX Big Muff Pi gets in the neighborhood; if you're using the NYC version (the current standard production model), the settings above still work — you may find yourself pushing the Sustain slightly further to achieve similar compression character.

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The Amp Setup: Volume and Configuration

For the Animals sessions and touring period, Gilmour was running Hiwatt DR103 100W heads — the same amplifier platform as the Comfortably Numb era. However, the amp configuration and drive level differed.

For the Animals recording approach, the Hiwatts were running at higher front-end drive levels, with the input pushed harder by the Big Muff's Volume control. This creates a different power amp response — the compression from the power tubes is more present, and the cabinet interaction is more aggressive.

The speaker cabinets remained WEM Super Starfinder 200 4x12 units — the British cabinet with a warm, mid-forward character distinct from Marshall 4x12s. This cabinet choice shapes the final sound significantly. Through a Celestion-loaded Marshall 4x12, the same signal produces a brighter, more scooped result.

Amp settings for the Animals approach (Hiwatt DR103):

Control	Position	Notes
Normal Volume	7–8	Front end pushed harder than Comfortably Numb setup
Brilliant Volume	Off or low	Not the primary channel for lead tones
Bass	6	Fuller than on cleaner-config setups
Middle	7	Gilmour keeps mids up — this is the sustain control
Treble	6	Moderate — the cab does some of this work
Presence	5	Controlled — let the speaker characters define the air
Master	As high as practical	The power section contribution matters

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Complete Signal Chain for Animals Lead Tone

White Stratocaster (neck pickup)
→ Colorsound Power Boost (Gilmour used this as a booster/treble control)
→ EHX Big Muff Pi (Ram's Head, Sustain 11–12 o'clock)
→ Electric Mistress (flanger, sometimes engaged)
→ Hiwatt DR103 (Normal input, front end pushed)
→ WEM Super Starfinder 200 4x12

The Colorsound Power Boost is significant and often missing from analysis. Gilmour used it as a variable boost and EQ tool — it can add treble presence and drive level before the Big Muff, which affects how the fuzz circuit clips and responds. With the Power Boost in front, the Big Muff sees a slightly hotter input, which changes its gain structure.

For players without a Power Boost, a clean boost (MXR Micro Amp, TC Electronic Spark) or a treble booster approximates the function. Set it for additional level and slight treble emphasis, not distortion.

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How This Differs from The Wall Approach

The tonal differences between Animals and Comfortably Numb are systematic, not accidental. Here's the breakdown:

Element	Animals (1977)	Comfortably Numb (1979)
Guitar	White Stratocaster ('69)	Black Stratocaster (0001)
Pickup position	Neck pickup, sometimes middle	Neck pickup primarily
Big Muff Sustain	Higher (11–12 o'clock)	Moderate (9 o'clock or lower)
Amp drive	Front end pushed harder	Moderate — amp provides compression
Overall character	Aggressive, mid-forward	Singing, smooth, elastic sustain
Mix context	Fighting for space	Feature of the arrangement

The Wall tone is more refined — Gilmour pulled back the fuzz and let the amp's power section do more work, creating that singing, elastic quality. The Animals tone is more aggressive by design. Both are the same signal chain philosophy; different calibrations of the same controls.

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Song-by-Song Tone Notes

"Dogs"

The lead guitar in "Dogs" (1977) is the most studied Animals tone. The sustained, feedback-adjacent lead lines on the extended solo section use the Big Muff at higher Sustain settings into the Hiwatt pushed harder. The slightly nasal, vocal quality on the longer notes is the power tube compression working in combination with the Ram's Head clipping character.

The clean acoustic-adjacent section in "Dogs" uses the electric guitar's neck pickup with the volume rolled back, partially cleaning up the Big Muff circuit — the same guitar-volume-as-gain-control technique Gilmour used throughout his work.

"Pigs (Three Different Ones)"

The talk box is the famous element here, but the underlying guitar tone before the talk box processing is the same Big Muff + Hiwatt configuration — perhaps with slightly less fuzz for the rhythm parts to let the talk box processing work clearly. The sustain-heavy lead fills between vocal sections use the full fuzz setup.

"Sheep"

The rhythm guitar in "Sheep" demonstrates Gilmour's ability to use the Big Muff for something less than full lead mode — partial clean-up from the guitar volume control creates a thicker rhythm tone that doesn't swamp the bass and keyboards but still has fuzz character.

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Achieving the Animals Tone on a Modeler

Helix / HX Stomp

1. Amp: "Brit Hiwatt" or "Brit 2204" (the Hiwatt model is closer; if not available, the 2204 with gain pulled back)
2. Fuzz: "Big Fuzz" block, Sustain higher than Comfortably Numb settings — 55–65% of range
3. EQ: Slight mid presence boost at 500–800Hz to compensate for the cab model differences
4. Boost: A clean boost block in front of the fuzz at low drive, moderate level
5. Cab: Any British 4x12 cab model; WEM-style isn't directly modeled but the Greenback 4x12 gets close

Quad Cortex

The Quad Cortex community has published Hiwatt-based presets in the Cortex Cloud. Search for Hiwatt or Gilmour capture packs — several high-quality captures of Hiwatt DR103s are available. The advantage here is a captured power amp response that better approximates the real amp's behavior at volume.

Pedalboard (no modeler)

A standard pedal rig targeting this tone:

1. Guitar: Strat with relatively bright single coils, neck pickup position
2. Boost: Clean boost (low gain, level up) before the fuzz
3. Fuzz: Big Muff Pi (any modern variant; Ram's Head variants preferred) — Sustain ~50–60%
4. Modulation: Electric Mistress clone (Hartman, Moog MF Flange) for the textured passages
5. Amp: Any medium-power tube amp with enough clean headroom to take the fuzz — a Fender Twin, Vox AC30, or Hiwatt-style amp. The specific Hiwatt character is the hardest thing to replicate without the actual amplifier or a high-quality capture/model.

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The Most Important Thing

The difference between the Animals tone and the Comfortably Numb tone isn't primarily about different gear. It's about different calibrations of the same gear to serve a different musical purpose.

Animals needed a guitar that pushed. The sustain is still there, but the attack is more present, the midrange is more aggressive, and the whole rig is working harder. Those are choices, not accidents.

When you're chasing this tone, the Big Muff's Sustain control and the amp's front-end drive level are the two variables that move you between the two eras most reliably. Push both slightly further than you'd use for Comfortably Numb. Let the pedal and the amp work harder. The result is more aggressive, slightly less refined — which is exactly what the Animals recordings need.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What guitar did Gilmour use on the Animals album? Primarily a white 1969 Fender Stratocaster. This differs from the black Strat (serial 0001) most associated with Comfortably Numb and The Wall tour.

What Big Muff version did Gilmour use in 1977? The Ram's Head variant, the standard EHX production version from the mid-1970s. It has slightly different midrange character than the NYC Big Muff and the Op-Amp version.

Why does the Animals guitar tone sound different from Wish You Were Here? Multiple factors: different Strat, higher Big Muff Sustain settings, harder-driven amplifier front end, and intentionally more aggressive playing approach suited to Waters' compositional direction on the album.

What is the Colorsound Power Boost used for in Gilmour's rig? Gilmour used it primarily as a variable boost and treble-shaping tool before the Big Muff. It adds level and can add treble presence, changing how the fuzz circuit responds to its input.

How do I get the Animals tone without a Hiwatt? A tube amp with significant clean headroom works — Fender Twin Reverb, Vox AC30, or any medium-to-high headroom British-style amp. The Hiwatt's specific character (exceptionally clean, very tight low end, different frequency response than a Marshall) is hard to replicate exactly without the amp or a quality model/capture. The Big Muff's settings matter more than the amp brand.