How was the introduction to the song 'Wish You Were Here' recorded?

Question

Pink Foyld

Answer 1

it was done in a studio

Answer 2

In the original album version, the song segues from Have a Cigar as if a radio had been tuned away from one station, through several others, and finally to a new station where "Wish You Were Here" is beginning. Gilmour performed the intro on a twelve-string guitar, processed to sound like it was playing through an old transistor radio, and then overdubbed a fuller-sounding acoustic guitar solo. This passage was mixed to sound as though the guitarist was sitting in a room, playing along with the radio; it also contains a barely-audible whine that slowly changes pitch, as if receiving AM radio interference.

The intro riff is repeated several times and reprised when Gilmour plays further solos with scat singing accompaniment. At the end of the recorded song, the final solo crossfades with wind sound effects (reminiscent of "One of These Days" from the 1971 album Meddle), and finally segues into the second section of the multi-part suite "Shine On You Crazy Diamond".

During the opening solo, about 0:43 into the recording, a small cough can be heard, followed by a faint sniff at 0:48. It is often rumored that at the time of recording, David Gilmour's smoking habit caused him to cough during the solo and that he quit after hearing it played back during mixing; this was initially denied on Gilmour's official website in 2006 but the denial was removed shortly after it first appeared; it is also possible that the cough and sniff were intentionally or accidentally recorded and left in to bring character to the song.