Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb Pt.2 - Main Solo - Guitar Lesson

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Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb Pt.2 - Main Solo - Guitar Lesson

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Comfortably Numb Pt.2 - Main Solo


Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd features one of the most celebrated guitar solos in rock history, performed by David Gilmour. The track appears on the band's 1979 album The Wall, but the excerpt here focuses on the main solo from Part 2, a passage renowned for its sustained, singing tone and expressive bends. For electric guitarists, learning this solo is a masterclass in phrasing, vibrato control, and using space to convey emotion rather than relying on speed or technical complexity.

  • Gilmour's solo relies heavily on pentatonic minor phrasing, making it approachable yet deeply expressive for intermediate players.
  • Sustain and vibrato are the defining techniques here, a compressor and light overdrive closely replicate Gilmour's iconic tone.
  • The solo is played over a slow, spacious chord progression, giving guitarists room to focus on note quality rather than speed.
Fender Stratocaster
Guitar

Fender Stratocaster

Gilmour's 1969 Black Strat is his primary instrument, offering glassy neck pickup tones perfect for his singing bends and the warm, rounded character that defines Pink Floyd's melodic solos without harsh brightness.

Fender Telecaster
Guitar

Fender Telecaster

This workhorse guitar provided Gilmour with a brighter, more cutting tone for rhythm work and alternative textures, offering the snap and clarity needed for Pink Floyd's diverse sonic palette across studio and live performances.

Gibson Les Paul Standard
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Standard

Gilmour's 1955 Les Paul Goldtop, fitted with original P-90 pickups, delivers the thick, gritty midrange essential for iconic solos like Comfortably Numb's outro, providing tonal weight and sustain that Strats cannot match.

Gibson Les Paul Custom
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Custom

Though less documented than the Goldtop, this model would offer similar thick, sustained tones with enhanced versatility through multiple pickup switching, supporting Gilmour's need for varied textures within complex Pink Floyd arrangements.

Fender Twin Reverb
Amp

Fender Twin Reverb

Gilmour used Twin Reverbs for their exceptional clean headroom and built-in reverb, creating spacious, shimmering textures that complement his delay-heavy effects chain and define Pink Floyd's atmospheric, three-dimensional soundscapes.

Dunlop Cry Baby Wah
Pedal

Dunlop Cry Baby Wah

The Cry Baby opens Gilmour's effects chain, allowing expressive vocal-like phrasing on solos, integral to Pink Floyd's emotional delivery and creating dynamic dynamic tonal sweeps that enhance the band's psychedelic and progressive character.