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Studio control room with a mixing console, monitor speakers, and MIDI workstation.

A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties (acoustic isolation or diffusion or absorption of reflected sound that could otherwise interfere with the sound heard by the listener). Recording studios may be used by record musicians, voice over artists for advertisements or dialogue replacement in film, television or animation, foley, or to record their accompanying musical soundtracks. The typical recording studio consists of a room called the "studio" or "live room", where instrumentalists and vocalists perform; and the "control room", where sound engineers operate professional audio for analogue or digital recording to route and manipulate the sound. Often, there will be smaller rooms called "isolation booths" present to accommodate loud instruments such as drums or electric guitar, to keep these sounds from being audible to the microphones that are capturing the sounds from other instruments, or to provide "drier" rooms for recording vocals or quieter acoustic instruments.

Design and equipment[link]

Allen & Heath GS3000 analogue mixing console in the control room

Recording studios generally consist of three rooms: the studio itself, where the sound for the recording is created (often referred to as the "live room"), the control room, where the sound from the studio is recorded and manipulated, and the machine room, where noisier equipment that may interfere with the recording process is kept. Recording studios are carefully designed around the principles of room acoustics to create a set of spaces with the acoustical properties required for recording sound with precision and accuracy. This will consist of both room treatment (through the use of absorption and diffusion materials on the surfaces of the room, and also consideration of the physical dimensions of the room itself in order to make the room respond to sound in a desired way) and soundproofing (to provide sonic isolation between the rooms). A recording studio may include additional rooms, such as a vocal booth - a small room designed for voice recording, as well as one or more extra control rooms.

Equipment found in a recording studio commonly includes:

• Mixing console
• Multitrack recorder
• Microphones
• Reference monitors, which are loudspeakers with a flat frequency response
• Keyboard
• Acoustic drum kit

Equipment may include:

• Digital audio workstation
• Music workstation
• On Air or Recording Light
• Outboard effects, such as compressors, reverbs, or equalizers

Digital audio workstations[link]

General purpose computers have rapidly assumed a large role in the recording process, being able to replace the mixing consoles, recorders, synthesizers, Samplers and sound effects devices. A computer thus outfitted is called a Digital Audio Workstation, or DAW. Popular audio-recording software includes Apple Logic Pro, Digidesign's Pro Tools— near standard for most professional studios—Cubase and Nuendo both by Steinberg, MOTU Digital Performer—popular for MIDI. Other software applications include Ableton Live, Cakewalk Sonar, ACID Pro, FL Studio, Adobe Audition, Audacity, and Ardour.

Current software applications are more reliant on the audio recording hardware than the computer they are running on, therefore typical high-end computer hardware is less of a priority unless midi is involved. While Apple Macintosh is used for studio work, there is a breadth of software available for Microsoft Windows and Linux. The majority of both commercial and home studios can be seen running PC-based multitrack audio software.

If no mixing console is used and all mixing is done using only a keyboard and mouse, this is referred to as mixing in the box ("ITB"). "OTB" is used when mixing with other hardware not just the PC software.

Project studios[link]

A small, personal recording studio is sometimes called a project studio or home studio. Such studios often cater to specific needs of an individual artist, or are used as a non-commercial hobby. The first modern project studios came into being during the mid 1980s, with the advent of affordable multitrack recording devices, synthesizers and microphones. The phenomenon has flourished with falling prices of MIDI equipment and accessories, as well as inexpensive direct to disk recording products.

Recording drums and electric guitar in a home studio is challenging, because they are usually the loudest instruments. Conventional drums require sound isolation in this scenario, unlike electronic or sampled drums. Getting an authentic electric guitar amp sound including power-tube distortion requires a power attenuator (either power-soak or power-supply based) or an isolation box or booth. A convenient compromise is amp simulation, whether a modelling amp, preamp/processor, or software-based guitar amp simulator. Sometimes, musicians replace loud, inconvenient instruments such as drums, with keyboards, which today often provide somewhat realistic sampling.

The capability of digital recording introduced by the Alesis ADAT and its comparatively low cost, originally introduced at $3995, were largely responsible for the rise of project studios in the 1990s.^[1]

Isolation booth[link]

An isolation booth is a standard small room in a recording studio, which is both soundproofed to keep out external sounds and keep in the internal sounds and, like all the other recording rooms in sound industry, it is designed for having a lesser amount of diffused reflections from walls to make a good sounding room. A drummer, vocalist, or guitar speaker cabinet, along with microphones, is acoustically isolated in the room. A professional recording studio has a control room, a large live room, and one or more small isolation booths. All rooms are soundproofed such as with double-layer walls with dead space and insulation in-between the two walls, forming a room-within-a-room.

There are variations of the same concept, including a portable standalone isolation booth, a compact guitar speaker isolation cabinet, or a larger guitar speaker cabinet isolation box.

A gobo panel achieves the same idea to a much more moderate extent; for example, a drum kit that is too loud in the live room or on stage can have acrylic glass see-through gobo panels placed around it to deflect the sound and keep it from bleeding into the other microphones, allowing more independent control of each instrument channel at the mixing board.

All rooms in a recording studio may have a reconfigurable combination of reflective and non-reflective surfaces, to control the amount of reverberation..

History[link]

1890s to 1930s[link]

Watching a trumpet player from the control room, during a recording.

In the era of acoustical recordings (prior to the introduction of microphones, electrical recording and amplification), the earliest recording studios were very basic facilities, being essentially soundproof rooms that isolated the performers from outside noise. During this era it was not uncommon for recordings to be made in any available location, such as a local ballroom, using portable acoustic recording equipment.

In this period, master recordings were made using a direct-to-disc cutting process. Performers were typically grouped around a large acoustic horn (an enlarged version of the familiar phonograph horn). The acoustic energy from the voices and/or instruments was channeled through the horn's diaphragm to a mechanical cutting lathe located in the next room, which inscribed the signal as a modulated groove directly onto the surface of the master cylinder or disc.

Following the invention and commercial introduction of the microphone, the electronic amplifier, the mixing desk and the loudspeaker, the recording industry gradually converted to electric recording, and by 1925 this technology had replaced mechanical acoustic recording methods for such major labels as RCA Victor and Columbia, and by 1933 acoustic recording was completely disused.

1940s to 1970s[link]

The Siemens Studio for Electronic Music ca. 1956.

Electrical recording was common by the early 1930s, and mastering lathes were now electrically powered, but master recordings still had to be cut direct-to-disc. In line with the prevailing musical trends, studios in this period were primarily designed for the live recording of symphony orchestras and other large instrumental ensembles. Engineers soon found that large, reverberant spaces like concert halls created a vibrant acoustic signature that greatly enhanced the sound of the recording, and in this period large, acoustically "live" halls were favored, rather than the acoustically "dead" booths and studio rooms that became common after the 1960s.

Because of the limits of the recording technology, studios of the mid-20th century were designed around the concept of grouping musicians and singers, rather than separating them, and placing the performers and the microphones strategically to capture the complex acoustic and harmonic interplay that emerged during the performance. Modern sound stages still sometimes use this approach for large film scoring projects today.

Because of their superb acoustics, many of the larger studios were converted churches. Examples include George Martin's AIR Studios in London, the famed Columbia Records 30th Street Studio in New York City (a converted Armenian church, with a ceiling over 100 feet high),^[2] and the equally famous Decca Records Pythian Temple studio in New York (where artists like Louis Jordan, Bill Haley and Buddy Holly were recorded) which was also a large converted church that featured a high, domed ceiling in the center of the hall.

Facilities like the Columbia Records 30th Street Studio in New York and EMI's Abbey Road Studio in London were renowned for their 'trademark' sound—which was (and still is) easily identifiable by audio professionals—and for the skill of their staff engineers.

In New York City, Columbia Records had some of the most highly respected sound recording studios, including the Columbia 30th Street Studio at 207 East 30th Street, the CBS Studio Building at 49 East 52nd Street, Liederkranz Hall at 111 East 58th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues (a building built by and formerly belonging to a German cultural and musical society, The Liederkranz Club and Society),^[3][4] and one of their earliest recording studios, "Studio A" at 799 Seventh Avenue.^[2]

Electric recording studios in the mid-20th century often lacked isolation booths, baffles, and sometimes even speakers, and it was not until the 1960s, with the introduction of the high-fidelity headphones that it became common practice for performers to use headsets to monitor their performance during recording and listen to playbacks.

It was difficult to isolate all the performers—a major reason that this practice was not used was simply because recordings were usually made as live ensemble 'takes' and all the performers needed to be able to see each other and the ensemble leader while playing. The recording engineers who trained in this period learned to take advantage of the complex acoustic effects that could be created through "leakage" between different microphones and groups of instruments, and these technicians became extremely skilled at capturing the unique acoustic properties of their studios and the musicians in performance.

The use of different kinds of microphones and their placement around the studio was a crucial part of the recording process, and particular brands of microphone were used by engineers for their specific audio characteristics. The smooth-toned ribbon microphones developed by the RCA company in the 1930s were crucial to the 'crooning' style perfected by Bing Crosby, and the famous Neumann U47 condenser microphone was one of the most widely used from the 1950s. This model is still widely regarded by audio professionals as one of the best microphones of its type ever made.

Learning the correct placement of microphones was a major part of the training of young engineers, and many became extremely skilled in this craft. Well into the 1960s, in the classical field it was not uncommon for engineers to make high-quality orchestral recordings using only one or two microphones suspended above the orchestra.

In the 1960s, engineers began experimenting with placing microphones much closer to instruments than had previously been the norm. The distinctive rasping tone of the horn sections on the Beatles recordings "Good Morning Good Morning" and "Lady Madonna" were achieved by having the saxophone players position their instruments so that microphones were virtually inside the mouth of the horn.

The unique sonic characteristics of the major studios imparted a special character to many of the most famous popular recordings of the 1950s and 1960s, and the recording companies jealously guarded these facilities. According to sound historian David Simons, after Columbia took over the 30th Street Studios in the late 1940s and A&R manager Mitch Miller had tweaked it to perfection, Miller issued a standing order that the drapes and other fittings were not to be touched, and the cleaners had specific orders never to mop the bare wooden floor for fear it might alter the acoustic properties of the hall.

There were several other features of studios in this period that contributed to their unique "sonic signatures". As well as the inherent sound of the large recording rooms, many of the best studios incorporated specially-designed echo chambers, purpose-built rooms which were often built beneath the main studio.

These were typically long, low rectangular spaces constructed from hard, sound-reflective materials like concrete, fitted with a loudspeaker at one end and one or more microphones at the other. During a recording session, a signal from one or more of the microphones in the studio could be routed to the loudspeaker in the echo chamber; the sound from the speaker reverberated through the chamber and the enhanced signal was picked up by the microphone at the other end. This echo-enhanced signal—which was often used to 'sweeten' the sound of vocals—could then be blended in with the primary signal from the microphone in the studio and mixed into the track as the master recording was being made.

Special equipment was another notable feature of the "classic" recording studio. The biggest studios were owned and operated by large media companies like RCA, Columbia and EMI, who typically had their own electronics research and development divisions that designed and built custom-made recording equipment and mixing consoles for their studios.

Likewise, the smaller independent studios were often owned by skilled electronics engineers who designed and built their own desks and other equipment. A good example of this is the famous Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles, the site of many famous American pop recordings of the 1960s. Co-owner David S. Gold built the studio's main mixing desk and many additional pieces of equipment and he also designed the studio's unique trapezoidal echo chambers.

During the 1950s and 1960s the sound of pop recordings was further defined by the introduction of proprietary sound processing devices such as equalizers and compressors, which were manufactured by specialist electronics companies. One of the best known of these was the famous Pultec equalizer, which was used by almost all the major commercial studios of the time.

With the introduction of multi-track recording, it became possible to record instruments and singers separately and at different times on different tracks on tape, although it was not until the 1970s that the large recording companies began to adopt this practice widely, and throughout the Sixties many "pop" classics were still recorded live in a single take.

After the Sixties the emphasis shifted to isolation and sound-proofing, with treatments like echo and reverberation added separately during the mixing process, rather than being blended in during the recording. One regrettable outcome of this trend, which coincided with rising inner-city property values, was that many of the largest studios were either demolished or redeveloped for other uses.

In the mid 20th century, recordings were analog, made on ¼-inch or ½-inch magnetic tape, with multitrack recording reaching 8 tracks in the 1950s, 16 in 1968, and 32 in the 1970s. The commonest such tape is the 2-inch analog, capable of containing up to 24 individual tracks. Generally, after an audio mix is set up on a 24-track tape machine, the signal is played back and sent to a different machine, which records the combined signals (called printing) to a ½-inch 2-track stereo tape, called a master.

Before digital recording, the total number of available tracks onto which one could record was measured in multiples of 24, based on the number of 24-track tape machines being used. Most recording studios now use digital recording equipment, which limits the number of available tracks only on the basis of the mixing console's or computer hardware interface's capacity and the ability of the hardware to cope with processing demands.

Analog tape machines are still well sought, for some purists label digitally recorded audio as sounding too harsh, and the scarcity and age of analog tape machines greatly increases their value, as does the fact that many audio engineers still insist on recording only to analog tape. This harshness is incorrectly attributed by some of them^[who?] to the belief that digital recording will sample a sound wave many times per second allowing an illusion of solid sound waves to be created, where in contrast analog tape captures a sound wave in its entirety.

However, others^[who?] simply argue that the lack of high frequency noise and the higher fidelity of the digital medium make the recorded higher frequencies more prominent, which results in such perceived harshness in contrast to analog recording. Still others^[who?] point to problems of early digital recordings caused by the inexperience of sound engineers with the new medium as the cause for critics to the digital systems. Finally, another possibly relevant effect derives from the fact that, since CD-quality audio uses a sampling rate of 44.1 kHz, no frequencies above the Nyquist frequency of 22050 Hz are acceptable for recording (otherwise, aliasing occurs). Because of that, very steep low-pass filters are used on frequencies above 20 kHz (the theoretical limit of human hearing) that may introduce slight distortions into the audible-range signal. This is one of the several reasons for the push on high-end equipment towards higher sampling rates, such as 48 kHz (used in video production), 88.2 kHz, 96 kHz and even 192 kHz.

Radio studios[link]

Radio studios are very similar to recording studios, particularly in the case of production studios which are not normally used on-air. This type of studio would normally have all of the same equipment that any other audio recording studio would have, particularly if it is at a large station, or at a combined facility that houses a station group, but is designed for groups of people to work collaboratively in a live to air situation (see Ahern, S, Making Radio).^[5]

Broadcast studios also use many of the same principles such as sound isolation, with adaptations suited to the live on-air nature of their use. Such equipment would commonly include a telephone hybrid for putting telephone calls on the air, a POTS codec for receiving remote broadcasts, a dead air alarm for detecting unexpected silence, and a broadcast delay for dropping anything from coughs to profanity. In the U.S., stations licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) also must have an Emergency Alert System decoder (typically in the studio), and in the case of full-power stations, an encoder that can interrupt programming on all channels which a station transmits in order to broadcast urgent warnings.

Computers are also used for playing ads, jingles, bumpers, soundbites, phone calls, sound effects, traffic and weather reports, and now full broadcast automation when nobody is around. For talk shows, a producer and/or assistant in a control room runs the show, including screening calls and entering the callers' names and subject into a queue, which the show's host can see and make a proper introduction with. Radio contest winners can also be edited on the fly and put on the air within a minute or two after they have been recorded accepting their prize.

Additionally, digital mixing consoles can be interconnected via audio over Ethernet, or split into two parts, with inputs and outputs wired to a rackmount audio engine, and one or more control surfaces (mixing boards) and/or computers connected via serial port, allowing the producer or the talent to control the show from either point. With Ethernet and audio over IP (live) or FTP (recorded), this also allows remote access, so that DJs can do shows from a home studio via ISDN or the Internet. Additional outside audio connections are required for the studio/transmitter link for over-the-air stations, satellite dishes for sending and receiving shows, and for webcasting or podcasting.

See also[link]

An audio production facility at An-Najah National University

• Audio engineering
• Isolation cabinet (guitar)
• Re-amp
• Room acoustics
• Sound recording
• Soundproofing
• Sound baffle
• Talkback (recording)

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Cogan, Jim; Clark, William, Temples of sound : inside the great recording studios, San Francisco : Chronicle Books, 2003. ISBN 0-8118-3394-1
• Ramone, Phil; Granata, Charles L., Making records: the scenes behind the music, New York : Hyperion, 2007. ISBN 978-0-7868-6859-9

External links[link]

• The History of Sound Recording Technology

David Gilmour
Gilmour playing his trademark black Fender Stratocaster in concert in Munich, Germany on 29 July 2006
Background information
Birth name	David Jon Gilmour
Also known as	Dave Gilmour
Born	(1946-03-06) 6 March 1946 (age 66) Cambridge, England, United Kingdom
Genres	Rock, progressive rock, psychedelic rock, art rock, blues rock, experimental rock
Occupations	Musician, Songwriter, Producer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, saxophone, harmonica, slide guitar, programming
Years active	1963–present
Labels	Capitol, Columbia, Sony, EMI
Associated acts	Pink Floyd, Jokers Wild, Deep End, Richard Wright
Website	www.davidgilmour.com
Notable instruments
'The Black Strat' Fender Stratocaster 'The Red Strat' Fender Stratocaster 'The 0001 Strat' Fender Stratocaster Fender Telecaster

David Jon Gilmour,^[1] CBE (born 6 March 1946) is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. It is estimated that as of 2010, the group have sold over 250 million records worldwide^[2][3], including 74.5 million units sold in the United States.

In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of artists, and has enjoyed a successful career as a solo artist. Gilmour has been actively involved with many charities over the course of his career.

In 2003, he was appointed CBE for his charity work and was awarded with the Outstanding Contribution title at the 2008 Q Awards.^[4] In 2011, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked him number 14 in their list of the greatest guitarists of all time.^[5]

Early life[link]

Gilmour was born in Cambridge, England. His father, Douglas Gilmour, was a senior lecturer in zoology at the University of Cambridge and his mother, Sylvia (née Wilson), was a teacher and film editor who raised her family at Grantchester Meadows, later immortalised by a Roger Waters song on Pink Floyd's Ummagumma.^[6] He has a younger brother who is also a musician.

Gilmour attended The Perse School on Hills Road, Cambridge, and met future Pink Floyd guitarist and vocalist Syd Barrett, along with bassist and vocalist Roger Waters who attended Cambridgeshire High School for Boys, also situated on Hills Road. He studied modern languages to A-Level and, along with Barrett, spent his lunchtime learning to play the guitar. They were not yet bandmates however, and Gilmour started playing in the band Joker's Wild in 1962. Gilmour left Joker's Wild in 1966 and busked around Spain and France with some friends. However, they were not very successful, living virtually a hand-to-mouth existence. In July 1992, Gilmour stated in an interview with Nicky Horne on BBC radio that he ended up being treated for malnutrition in a hospital.^[7] In 1967, they returned to England.

Pink Floyd[link]

Gilmour was approached in late December 1967 by drummer Nick Mason, who asked if he would be interested in joining Pink Floyd, which he did in January 1968, making Pink Floyd briefly a five-piece band. He filled in for Syd Barrett's guitar parts when the frontman was unable to take a consistent part in Floyd's live performances. Syd Barrett "left" the group due to his erratic behaviour—commonly believed to have been caused by excessive use of LSD—when the band chose not to pick Barrett up one night for a gig; and Gilmour by default assumed the role of the band's lead guitarist. He took over most of the band's lead vocal duties with bassist Roger Waters and keyboard player Richard Wright also occasionally singing in Barrett's stead. However, after the back-to-back successes of The Dark Side of the Moon and then Wish You Were Here, Waters took more control over the band, writing much of Animals and The Wall by himself. Wright was fired during The Wall sessions and the relationship between Gilmour and Waters would further deteriorate during the making of The Wall film and the 1983 Pink Floyd album The Final Cut.

Gilmour, in the early 1970s with Pink Floyd

After recording Animals, Gilmour thought that his musical talents were being underused, and channelled his ideas into his self-titled first solo album (1978), which showcases his signature guitar style, as well as underscoring his songwriting skills. A tune written during the finishing stages of this album, but too late to be used, became "Comfortably Numb" on The Wall.^[8]

The negative atmosphere surrounding the creation of The Wall album and subsequent film, compounded by The Final Cut's virtually being a Roger Waters solo album, led Gilmour to produce his second solo album About Face in 1984.^[9] He used it to express his feelings about a range of topics, from the murder of John Lennon,^[9] to his relationship with Waters. He has since admitted that he also used the album to distance himself from Pink Floyd. He toured Europe and the US along with support act The Television Personalities,^[9] who were promptly dropped from the line-up after revealing Syd Barrett's address on stage.^[9] Mason also made a guest appearance on the UK leg of the tour,^[9] which despite some cancellations eventually turned a profit.^[10] When he returned from touring, Gilmour played guitar with a range of artists, and also produced The Dream Academy, who had a top ten hit with "Life in a Northern Town".^[11]

In 1985, Waters declared that Pink Floyd were "a spent force creatively".^[9][12] In 1986, Gilmour and drummer Nick Mason issued a press release stating that Waters had quit the band and they intended to continue without him.^[9][12] Gilmour assumed full control of the group and produced A Momentary Lapse of Reason in 1987 with some contributions from Mason and Richard Wright.^[9] Wright officially rejoined the band after the release of the album for a lengthy world tour and helped create 1994's The Division Bell.^[9] Gilmour explained:

I had a number of problems with the direction of the band in our recent past, before Roger left. I thought the songs were very wordy and that, because the specific meanings of those words were so important, the music became a mere vehicle for lyrics, and not a very inspiring one. Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here were so successful not just because of Roger's contributions, but also because there was a better balance between the music and the lyrics than there has been in more recent albums. That's what I'm trying to do with A Momentary Lapse of Reason; more focus on the music, restore the balance.

In 1986, Gilmour purchased the houseboat Astoria which is moored on the River Thames near Hampton Court, and transformed it into a recording studio.^[12] The majority of the two most recent Pink Floyd albums, as well as Gilmour's 2006 solo release On an Island, were recorded there.^[12]

Gilmour at Live 8 in July 2005

On 2 July 2005, Gilmour played with Pink Floyd—including Roger Waters—at Live 8. The performance caused a temporary 1343% sales increase of Pink Floyd's album Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd.^[13] Gilmour donated all of his resulting profits to charities that reflect the goals of Live 8 saying:

Though the main objective has been to raise consciousness and put pressure on the G8 leaders, I will not profit from the concert. This is money that should be used to save lives.^[13]

Shortly after, he called upon all artists experiencing a surge in sales from Live 8 performances to donate the extra revenue to Live 8 fund-raising. After the Live 8 concert, Pink Floyd were offered £150 million to tour the United States, but the band turned down the offer.^[14]

On 3 February 2006, he announced in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica^[15][16] that Pink Floyd would most likely never tour or write material together again. He said:

I think enough is enough. I am 60 years old. I don't have the will to work as much any more. Pink Floyd was an important part in my life, I have had a wonderful time, but it's over. For me it's much less complicated to work alone.

Regarding agreeing to play at Live 8, he said:

There was more than one reason, firstly to support the cause. The second one is the energy consuming an uncomfortable relationship between Roger and me that I was carrying along in my heart. That is why we wanted to perform and to leave the trash behind. Thirdly, I might have regretted it if I declined.

On 20 February 2006, Gilmour commented again on Pink Floyd's future when he was interviewed by Billboard.com, stating, "Who knows? I have no plans at all to do that. My plans are to do my concerts and put my solo record out."

In December 2006, Gilmour released a tribute to Syd Barrett, who had died on 7 July of that year, in the form of his own version of Pink Floyd's first single "Arnold Layne".^[12] Recorded live at London's Royal Albert Hall, the CD single featured versions of the song performed by Pink Floyd's keyboard player (and Gilmour's band member) Richard Wright and special guest artist David Bowie.^[12] The single entered the UK Top 75 charts at number nineteen and remained steady for three weeks.^[17]

Since their Live 8 appearance in 2005, Gilmour has repeatedly said that there will be no Pink Floyd reunion. With the death of Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright in September 2008,^[12] another reunion of the core group members became impossible. Gilmour said of Wright

In the welter of arguments about who or what was Pink Floyd, Rick's enormous input was frequently forgotten. He was gentle, unassuming and private but his soulful voice and playing were vital, magical components of our most recognised Pink Floyd sound. Like Rick, I don't find it easy to express my feelings in words, but I loved him and will miss him enormously. I have never played with anyone quite like him.^[18]

In May 2010 Roger Waters told the Associated Press that Gilmour "is completely disinterested in anything like [another reunion]. After Live 8, I could have probably gone for doing some more stuff, but he's not interested, so it is what it is."^[19]

Solo projects[link]

David has recorded four solo albums, all four of which charted in the US Top 40 (2006's On an Island peaked at No. 6 in 2006, 2008's Live in Gdansk peaked at No. 26, his 1978 self-titled solo debut peaked at No. 29 in 1978 and 1984's About Face peaked at No. 32 in 1984).

The 1970s & 1980s[link]

Gilmour performing in Brussels in 1984, on his About Face tour

Taking time off from Pink Floyd's schedule, Gilmour also took up various roles as a producer, sideman and even concert sound engineer^[9] for a wide variety of acts which included^[9] former bandmate Syd Barrett, Paul McCartney, Kate Bush, Berlin, Grace Jones, Tom Jones, Elton John, Eric Clapton, B. B. King, Seal, Sam Brown, Jools Holland, Bob Dylan, Pete Townshend, The Who, Supertramp, Levon Helm, Robbie Robertson, Alan Parsons, and various charity groups among others.

In 1985, Gilmour was a member of Bryan Ferry's band. He played on Ferry's album Boys and Girls, as well as the song "Is Your Love Strong Enough" for the US release of the Ridley Scott-Tom Cruise film Legend. A music video for the latter was created, incorporating Ferry and Gilmour into footage from the film^[9] (released as a bonus on the 2002 "Ultimate Edition" DVD release). Later that year, Gilmour played with Ferry at the London Live Aid concert;^[9] his first meeting with Ferry's keyboard player Jon Carin, later to tour with Pink Floyd.

David Gilmour also took part in a comedy skit titled "The Easy Guitar Book Sketch" with comedian Rowland Rivron and fellow British musicians Mark Knopfler, Lemmy from Motorhead, Mark King from Level 42, and Gary Moore. Guitar tech Phil Taylor explained in an interview that Knopfler used Gilmour's guitar rig and managed to sound like himself when performing in the skit.^[20]

The 1990s[link]

In 1994, Gilmour played guitar for the video game Tuneland, along with the additional saxophonist for Pink Floyd, Scott Page.

On 14 December 1999, Gilmour played a show at the Cavern Club in Liverpool with Paul McCartney, Mick Green, Ian Paice & Pete Wingfield.

The 2000s[link]

In 2001 and 2002, he performed a small number of acoustic solo concerts in London and Paris, along with a small band and choir, which was documented on the In Concert release.^[12] In 2003, Rolling Stone placed Gilmour at number 82 in a list of the hundred greatest guitarists of all time.^[21]

On 24 September 2004, Gilmour performed a three song set (tracks 28–30) at The Strat Pack concert at London's Wembley Arena, marking the 50th anniversary of the Fender Stratocaster guitar.

Gilmour in performance, Frankfurt 2006

On 6 March 2006, his 60th birthday, he released his third solo album, On an Island,^[12] and a day later it was released in the US; it debuted at No. 1 in the UK charts.^[22] The album reached the top five in Germany and Sweden, and the top six in Billboard 200.^[23][24] Produced by Gilmour along with Phil Manzanera and Chris Thomas, the album features orchestrations by renowned Polish composer Zbigniew Preisner.^[12] The album features David Crosby and Graham Nash performing background vocals on the title track, Robert Wyatt on cornet and percussion, and Richard Wright on Hammond organ and vocals.^[12] Other contributors include Jools Holland, Phil Manzanera, Georgie Fame, Andy Newmark, B. J. Cole, Chris Stainton, Willie Wilson, Rado ‘Bob’ Klose on guitar and Leszek Możdżer on piano.^[12] The album also features Gilmour's debut with the saxophone.^[12]

Gilmour toured Europe, US and Canada from 10 March to 31 May 2006 to promote On an Island. There were 10 shows in the US and Canadian leg of the tour. Pink Floyd alumnus Richard Wright, and frequent Floyd collaborators Dick Parry, Guy Pratt and Jon Carin, also accompanied him on the tour. More shows took place in Europe from July to August in 2006.

In a press release to promote the tour, David Gilmour stated:

I'm rather hoping that with this tour announcement, people will believe me when I say, honestly, this is the only band I plan to tour with!

On an Island reached number one on the UK charts. On 10 April 2006, the album was certified platinum in Canada, with sales of over 100,000 copies. The album also gave Gilmour his first US Top 10 album as a solo artist.

A video recording of a show from Gilmour's solo tour, titled Remember That Night – Live At The Royal Albert Hall^[25] was released on 17 September 2007.^[12] The double DVD, directed by David Mallet, contains over five hours of footage, including an on-the-road documentary and guest appearances by David Bowie and Robert Wyatt.^[12] The two and a half hour concert features band members Richard Wright of Pink Floyd, Phil Manzanera of Roxy Music, Steve DiStanislao on drums, and various Pink Floyd regulars such as Dick Parry, Guy Pratt and Jon Carin.^[12] The 20-page booklet accompanying the DVD, features over 80 photos selected from studio recording and touring.^[12]

The final show of David Gilmour's On an Island tour took place at the Gdańsk Shipyard on 26 August 2006.^[12] The concert was held before a crowd of 50,000, and marked the twenty-sixth anniversary of the founding of the Solidarity trade union.^[12] The concert was notable for the inclusion of "A Great Day For Freedom" as part of the encore.^[12]

The show was recorded, resulting in a live album and DVD release: Live in Gdańsk.^[12] The concert was the only occasion on which Gilmour performed the tour material with an orchestra, using the 40-strong string section of the Polish Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Zbigniew Preisner, who was responsible for On An Island's orchestral arrangements.^[12]

On 25 May 2009, he participated in a concert at the Union Chapel in Islington, London. The concert was part of the 'Hidden Gigs' campaign against hidden homelessness, which is organised by Crisis, a UK-based national charity campaigning against homelessness. In the concert he collaborated with the Malian musicians Amadou and Mariam.^[26]

On 4 July 2009, he joined his friend Jeff Beck onstage at the Royal Albert Hall. David and Jeff traded solos on Jerusalem and closed the show with Hi Ho Silver Lining.

The 2010s[link]

On 11 July 2010, Gilmour gave a performance for the charity Hoping Foundation with Roger Waters in Oxfordshire, England.^[29] Also performing were Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Nick Cage and Tom Jones. The performance was presented by Jemima Khan and Nigella Lawson. According to onlookers, it seemed clear that Gilmour and Waters had ended the their long-running feud and seemed to be the best of friends, laughing and joking together along with their respective partners. Waters subsequently confirmed via his Facebook page that Gilmour would play "Comfortably Numb" with him during one of his shows on his upcoming The Wall Live tour – Gilmour performed the guitar solo on 12 May 2011 at the O2 Arena, London and, with Nick Mason, played with the rest of the band playing "Outside The Wall" at the conclusion of the show.

Gilmour released an album with The Orb in 2010 entitled Metallic Spheres,^[30] on which he co-wrote every track and their subsequent parts, and produced, played guitar and sang.

Personal life[link]

Gilmour in 2005

Gilmour's first marriage was to American-born model and artist Virginia "Ginger" Hasenbein, on 7 July 1975.^[31] He had four children from this union, Alice (born 1976), Clare (born 1979), Sara (born 1983, a fashion model^[32]), and Matthew (born 1986). The children originally attended a Waldorf School, but Gilmour called their education there "horrific".^[33] In 1994, he married journalist Polly Samson, and the couple have four children, Charlie (Samson's son with Heathcote Williams whom Gilmour adopted), Joe, Gabriel and Romany. Charlie's voice can be heard on the telephone to Steve O'Rourke, at the end of "High Hopes" (The Division Bell).

Gilmour has been associated with various charity organisations. In May 2003, Gilmour sold his house in Little Venice to the ninth Earl Spencer and donated the proceeds worth £3.6 million to Crisis to help fund a housing project for the homeless. He has been named a vice president of the organization.^[34] Other charities to which Gilmour has lent support include Oxfam, the European Union Mental Health and Illness Association, Greenpeace, Amnesty International,^[9] The Lung Foundation, Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy,^[9] Teenage Cancer Trust, and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).^[35] He also donated £25,000 to the Save the Rhino foundation in exchange for Douglas Adams's name suggestion for the album that became The Division Bell.^[12]

Gilmour is also an experienced pilot and aviation enthusiast. Under the aegis of his company, Intrepid Aviation,^[9] he had amassed a collection of historical aircraft. He later decided to sell the company, which he had started as a hobby, feeling that it was becoming too commercial for him to handle. In a BBC interview, he stated:

Intrepid Aviation was a way for me to make my hobby pay for itself a little bit, but gradually over a few years Intrepid Aviation became a business because you have to be businesslike about it. Suddenly I found instead of it being a hobby and me enjoying myself, it was a business and so I sold it. I don't have Intrepid Aviation any more. I just have a nice old biplane that I pop up, wander around the skies in sometimes...^[36]

On 22 May 2008, Gilmour won the 2008 Ivor Novello Lifetime Contribution Award.^[37]

In autumn 2008, he was awarded for outstanding contribution for music by the Q Awards. He dedicated his award to his bandmate Richard Wright, who died in September 2008.^[4]

On 11 November 2009, Gilmour received an honorary doctorate from the Anglia Ruskin University.^[38]

Musical style[link]

Gilmour on piano, in Düsseldorf during his About Face tour in 1984

Gilmour is best known for his lead guitar work. Gilmour's solo style is often characterised by blues-influenced phrasing, expressive note bends and sustain. In 2011, Gilmour was rated the 14th greatest guitarist by Rolling Stone. In January 2007, Guitar World readers voted Gilmour's solos, "Comfortably Numb", "Time" and "Money" into the top 100 Greatest Guitar Solos ("Comfortably Numb" was voted the 4th, "Time" was voted the 21st and "Money" was voted the 62nd greatest solo of all time).^[39]

In his early career with Pink Floyd, Gilmour played a multitude of Fender Stratocasters. One of his popular guitar solos ("Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2") was played on a 1955 Gibson Les Paul Gold Top guitar equipped with P-90 pick-ups.^[40][41] In 1996, Gilmour was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pink Floyd. Gilmour's solo on "Comfortably Numb" was voted as one of the greatest guitar solos of all time in several polls by listeners and critics.^[42]

Although mainly known for his guitar work, Gilmour is also a proficient multi-instrumentalist. He also plays bass guitar (which he did on some Pink Floyd tracks),^[12][43] keyboards, synthesiser, banjo, harmonica, drums (as heard on the Syd Barrett solo track "Dominoes",^[12] and other songs where he opted to play all the instruments) and lately, the saxophone.^[44]

Music equipment[link]

Some of the equipment Gilmour has used either on his solo or Pink Floyd records and tours.

Main electric guitars[link]

Gilmour playing a Fender Stratocaster in 1984

• Fender
  • Stratocaster
    • Gilmor's main stage and studio guitar is a 1969 Fender Stratocaster. Black with a black pickguard, it has white pick-up covers and knobs. It does not have the original neck. The guitar has a added switch that combines the neck and bridge pick-ups. It has a Seymour Duncan SSL-1C (SSL-5 Prototype) bridge pick-up. The guitar strap that Gilmour pairs with this instrument once belonged to Jimi Hendrix.
    • His main guitar for the post-Roger Waters era Pink Floyd tours was a red 1984 '57 Stratocaster reissue. It had a set of EMG SA active pick-ups. This guitar still continues to be used for specific songs during Gilmour's live performances.
    • David Gilmour owns Stratocaster # 0001. This is not the first model made.
    • Cream coloured '57 reissue Stratocaster. This guitar was used on Gilmour's 1984 solo tour and also during the early part of the 1987–1990 Pink Floyd tour. During the 1994 Pink Floyd tour it was used as a spare guitar. During Pink Floyd's Live 8 set sidesman Tim Renwick was seen playing it. It has the same EMG setup as his red '57 Reissue model. After it was used for Live 8 the neck from the cream Stratocaster was transferred to Gilmour's main black Stratocaster.
    • '57 Lake Placid Blue. (Serial number #0040). This guitar was used during The Wall recording sessions.
    • Double-neck Stratocaster. Custom made body by guitar builder Dick Knight and using standard Fender necks. It was used in the early 1970s.
    • 1959 sunburst Stratocaster body with a 1963 neck with a rosewood fingerboard. This guitar was given to Gilmour by Steve Marriott. David didn't like the guitar enough to use it for very long but did like the neck better than the original one on his black Stratocaster and the two were switched. The sunburst model was used as A spare and for slide guitar in subsequent years.
    • White with white pickguard. Used in the late 1960s. Received as a gift from the rest of the band.^[45] It was stolen in 1970.
    • Gilmour used a Stratocaster equipped with the Doug Wilkes 'Answer' sliding pick-up system on the 'Momentary Lapse of Reason' recording.
  • Telecaster
    • Blonde body with white pickguard. Used on the On an Island tour.
    • '52 Butterscotch Reissues with black pickguard. Used between 1987 and 1995. The first guitar was tuned in Dropped D rather than a standard tuning and was used for "Run Like Hell". The second served as a backup instrument and had a regular guitar tuning. Gilmour used this guitar for Astronomy Domine.
    • '59 Custom Telecaster with sunburst ash body, white binding on the body, rosewood fingerboard, and a white pickguard. A Gibson Humbucker was briefly placed in the neck position but this was removed before it was used on the Animals' recording sessions. Last seen at rehearsals during the On an Island tour.
    • '61 Telecaster used during The Wall recording sessions. Also used live in the post-Waters era for "Run Like Hell". Last seen on the Syd Barrett memory concert in 2007.
    • 1960s brown-faded body. Used in the late 1960s.
    • 1960s blonde ash body with white pickguard. This was Gilmour's main guitar during his first year with Pink Floyd, but it was lost by an airline company in 1968, prompting Gilmour to buy the brown-faded Telecaster.^[46]
  • Esquire '55 Sunburst body a.k.a. "The workmate Tele". Neck pick-up added. Used at the recording sessions for his first solo album, and The Wall recording sessions and subsequent tour. Also seen when Gilmour performed with Paul McCartney in the late 1990s.

Other electrics[link]

Along with the Fender models (his primary choice for electrics), Gilmour has also used: a Gibson Les Paul goldtop model with P-90 pick-ups and a Bigsby vibrato bridge. It was used for the guitar solo on 'Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2' and the solo in 'Comfortably Numb.' Gilmour also plays a Gretsch Duo-Jet and a Gretsch White Falcon (as well as a 'White Penguin'), a Bill Lewis 24-fret Guitar (used during Meddle and Dark Side of the Moon recording sessions) and a Steinberger GL model which was his main guitar during A Momentary Lapse of Reason recording sessions.

Acoustics[link]

Gilmour has used many different acoustic guitars throughout his career including a Gibson "Chet Atkins" classical model, a Gibson J-200 Celebrity acoustic guitar.^[47] Gilmour's list of Ovation models including a Legend 1619-4, a Legend 1613-4 nylon string guitar, both used during The Wall recording sessions.^[47][48] Martin models used include: a D-35.^[47][48] a D12-28 12-string.^[47] and a D-18.^[47] Gilmour's large acoustic collection also includes many models from Taylor, Takamine and Guild.

Steel guitar[link]

Gilmour playing lap steel guitar, 26 January 1977

Throughout his recording career David Gilmour has added a different element to his guitar style with his use of steel guitars. A 1950s Fender 1000 twin neck pedal steel guitar was used frequently in the early 1970s. Originally purchased from a pawn shop while Gilmour was in Seattle in 1970, it was used during recording of "One of These Days" from "Meddle" and "Breathe" and "Great Gig in the Sky" from The Dark Side of the Moon.^[49] Other Fenders owned by Gilmour include a Deluxe lap steel (seen during The Division Bell tour in 1994.^[49] ) and also a Champ lap steel model. Along with the Fender steel models Gilmour has also used: a Gibson EH150, and two Jedson models: one red (1977-tuned D-G-D-G-B-E for Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Parts 6–9, 1987–2006: Tuned E-B-E-G-B-E for High Hopes) and one blonde.^[49] He also uses a ZB steel model.^[48]

Bass guitars[link]

Gilmour has played bass both in the studio and onstage at different times and has played many different bass models including: an Ovation Magnum, a Fender Bass VI, Fender Precision and Jazz bass models and a Charvel fretless.(all used during The Wall recording sessions.^[48] ). He also has a Doug Wilkes built Precision-style single pick-up bass which was used on the 'Momentary Lapse of Reason' sessions. During the 1991 Amnesty International concert Gilmour used a Music Man Fretless Stingray bass while conducting the house band and again during Spinal Tap's performance of "Big Bottom". (All guitarists played bass on this song, and Gilmour played the solo)

Fender Signature Stratocaster[link]

David Gilmour Signature Stratocaster NOS in its case

In November 2006, Fender Custom Shop announced two reproductions of Gilmour's "Black" Strat for release on 22 September 2008. Gilmour's website states the release date was chosen to coincide with the release of his Live in Gdansk album.^[50] Both guitars are based on extensive measurements of the original instrument, each featuring varying degrees of wear. The most expensive is the David Gilmour Relic Stratocaster^[51] which features the closest copy of wear on the original guitar. A pristine copy of the guitar is also made, called the David Gilmour NOS Stratocaster.^[52]

Discography[link]

Pink Floyd[link]

Pink Floyd portal

• A Saucerful of Secrets (1968)
• More (1969)
• Ummagumma (1969)
• Atom Heart Mother (1970)
• Meddle (1971)
• Obscured by Clouds (1972)
• The Dark Side of the Moon (1973)
• Wish You Were Here (1975)
• Animals (1977)
• The Wall (1979)
• The Final Cut (1983)
• A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987)
• Delicate Sound of Thunder (1988)
• The Division Bell (1994)
• P•U•L•S•E (1995)

For the full discography, see Pink Floyd discography.

Solo[link]

Albums[link]

Soundtracks[link]

• Fractals: The Colours of Infinity, Documentary (1994)^[53]

Singles[link]

• "There's No Way Out of Here" (1978)
• "Blue Light" (March 1984)
• "Love on the Air" (May 1984)
• "On an Island" (6 March 2006)
• "Smile" (13 June 2006)
• "Arnold Layne" (Live) (26 December 2006)

Filmography[link]

• David Gilmour Live 1984 (VHS) – September 1984
• David Gilmour in Concert (DVD) – October 2002
• Remember That Night (DVD/BD) – September 2007
• Live in Gdańsk (DVD) – September 2008

Collaborations and work for other artists[link]

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: David Gilmour

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: David Gilmour

• Official website
• Official blog
• Bootleg recordings