Roger Waters

Roger Waters started using his Pete Cornish custom pedalboard during In the Flesh tour (1977) and he continued using it on The Wall tour (1980-81). Surprisingly enough, this pedalboard could also be seen on stage during some of The Dark Side of the Moon Live shows in 2006 (see photos at Neptune Pink Floyd) and during the Wall shows, where it was kept in the back and controlled by Roger's guitar tech Colin Lyon.

Roger's pedalboard contains only two effects - Electro Harmonix Bassballs and MXR Phase 90, send/return switch for MXR Digital Delay, switch for spare amp, volume pedal, and output for Floyd's typical Conn Strobotuner ST-11. He now primarily uses the Bassballs, while the delays are controlled manualy via rackmounted TC Electronic D-Two units (Another Brick in the Wall, part II).

In the interview for Total Production International (TPi) magazine, Gilmour's guitar tech Phil Taylor explains the role of pedalboards in the original concert production of The Wall: “I was with the band while they were recording in America, and had to work out how many pedalboards I needed for the show. I ended up with 11, and because there were no faxes back then, I had to send drawings to Pete Cornish [famed custom equipment designer] by express mail and discuss them with him on the phone."

“We were not only adding a second guitarist — we also now had a second bass player who needed his own board, plus we had a complete second stage to equip and I needed another four mini pedalboards for this. I already had some spare send and return units to cover unseen eventualities. I put it all together by working out with David and Roger exactly which effects would be needed for the songs performed on each stage, and then making the boards as compact as possible by including only the necessary effects for each situation."

“Getting all those made when we were thousands of miles away from Pete was a bit of a headache, but he is someone who can always be relied on to deliver the goods.”

The original MXR Phase 90 was released in 1974, and it was the first pedal sold by MXR. Roger Waters used it during the 1974-75 and 1977 tours, mainly for Raving and Drooling (an early version of Sheep).