No. 0491975·progressive-rock·4 blocks
Shine On You Crazy Diamond
The four-note opening motif of Shine On You Crazy Diamond is one of the most recognizable guitar phrases ever played. Gilmour's Stratocaster through a Hiwatt with a compressor and delay produces a tone of infinite sustain and crystalline clarity. The notes ring out with an almost vocal quality, each one sustaining until the next is played. The tone relies on precise gain staging: enough sustain to carry each note but not so much distortion that clarity is lost.
Wish You Were HereSignal path · input → output · 8 blocksLive values · Fractal Axe-Fx
Guitar
Fender Stratocaster (Black Strat)
Pickups
SSS
Tuning
neck
Strings
standard
Studio Comp
FAS Boost
Hipower
4x12 Green 25W
Tape Mono
Plate
Filter Tilt
Studio Comp
← Studio compressor (parallel)
Threshold
-32dB
Ratio
3:1
Attack
38s
Release
200s
Mix
0.6
Level
5dB
FAS Boost
← Colorsound Powerboost
Drive
4
Tone
5
Level
7
Hipower
← Hiwatt DR103
Drive
5
Bass
5
Mid
5
Treble
5
Presence
5
MV
7
4x12 Green 25W
← WEM 4x12 with Fane speakers
LowCut80Hz
HighCut8500Hz
Level
0dB
Tape Mono
← Binson Echorec
Time
500ms
Feedback
45
Mix
0.3
Plate
← Studio plate (EMT 140)
Mix
0.3
Decay
3s
Predelay
50ms
Filter Tilt
← Tilt EQ (global brightness)
Tilt
0.5
CenterFreq
1000Hz
Level
0
Engineer's note
File 049
The four-note opening motif of Shine On You Crazy Diamond is one of the most recognizable guitar phrases ever played. Gilmour's Stratocaster through a Hiwatt with a compressor and delay produces a tone of infinite sustain and crystalline clarity. The notes ring out with an almost vocal quality, each one sustaining until the next is played. The tone relies on precise gain staging: enough sustain to carry each note but not so much distortion that clarity is lost.
— David Gilmour
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