Gear history
The boards behindthe records
What was actually on the floor when those records were made, why each pedal was there, and what it costs today. Assembled from interviews, rig rundowns and live photography.
- Rigs
- 23
- Records
- 58
- Tracks
- 128
- Pedals
- 55
3 rigs, filtered to Phaser and chorus, 1970s.
- David GilmourPink Floyd · 1971 to 1983
The most copied board in the history of the instrument, and the one that proves ambience is a compositional choice rather than a coat of paint. Big Muff into a modulated, heavily delayed clean amp, with a compressor keeping every bent note singing.
Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi
5 pedals · 3 records · 5 tracks
- Brian MayQueen · 1973 onward
One treble booster, one AC30, and a guitar he built with his father out of a fireplace mantel. The whole orchestral guitar sound on those records comes from stacking that single voice, not from a big board.
Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster
3 pedals · 3 records · 5 tracks
- Robin TrowerSolo · 1973 to 1976
The clearest demonstration on record of what a Uni-Vibe actually does. Trower runs it slow and deep under a fuzz, so the whole tone breathes rather than pulsing, and the songs are written around the effect rather than decorated by it.
Univox Uni-Vibe
3 pedals · 2 records · 3 tracks
This is editorial gear history, the same kind every guitar magazine and rig-rundown video publishes. No artist, band or manufacturer listed here is affiliated with Gear Avail, and nothing on these pages is an endorsement. Rigs change between tours and between takes, so each one is scoped to a documented era rather than presented as a career-long setup. Where only the sessions are documented, the record is listed without specific tracks.