The Black Strat

Fender Stratocaster "David Gilmour"
The Black Strat at the Pink Floyd: Their Mortal Remains exhibition in Toronto.
Manufacturer	Fender
Period	CBS
Construction
Body type	Stratocaster
Neck joint	Bolt-on
Woods
Body	Alder
Neck	Maple
Fretboard	Maple
Hardware
Bridge	Standard Fender Synchronized
Pickup	S-S-S

The Black Strat is a black Fender Stratocaster guitar played by the English guitarist David Gilmour of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. It appeared for the first time with Gilmour at the 1970 Bath Festival. Gilmour used it on many albums with Pink Floyd and his solo records, including "Money", "Comfortably Numb" and "Shine on You Crazy Diamond". ^[1]

History

Gilmour purchased the guitar, a 1969 Fender Stratocaster with a maple cap fingerboard and large headstock, in 1970 from Manny's Music in New York City to replace a similar guitar his parents bought him for his 21st birthday, which had been lost while touring with Pink Floyd in the United States in 1968. The Black Strat was originally a sunburst colour, but had been repainted black at Manny's.. ^[2]

Modifications

David Gilmour playing the Black Strat, 2006.

Gilmour and the Black Strat, fitted with a rosewood fingerboard neck and white pickguard, during the 1974 "French Summer" tour.

Throughout the 1970s, Gilmour alternated between using necks with maple and rosewood fingerboards on the Stratocaster. In 1972, Gilmour installed an XLR connector to eliminate the hum coming from his Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face; however, this was quickly removed. He also replaced the original tuners with Kluson tuners. In 1973, a Gibson PAF Humbucker was installed between the bridge and middle positions of the Strat, but he took out the original single coils and put them in the black pickguard later on. In 1976, the original bridge pickup was replaced by a DiMarzio FS-1. This in turn was replaced by a Seymour Duncan SSL-1. In the 1980s he replaced the bridge with a Kahler Tremolo System, which again was later removed. The installation of the Kahler bridge required a section of wood being cut out to accommodate the larger unit, which in turn meant a new piece of wood had to be inserted and sprayed black when the old bridge was returned. He also replaced the original tremolo arm with a shortened one.

During the post Roger Waters era, David Gilmour switched to several vintage reissue Stratocasters from Fender. The most notable one being a candy apple red Stratocaster fitted with EMG pickups. The Black Strat was promptly retired and put on display at the Hard Rock Cafe in Dallas, Texas. The guitar was returned to Gilmour in the late 1990s, but having not been displayed in a glass case during its time at the Hard Rock Cafe, it sustained significant damage and the theft of many of its parts. Due to the constant modifications, the only original part on the guitar, apart from the body, is believed to (possibly) be the bridge plate.

Performance

After its repair and restoration, Gilmour played the Black Strat again. This includes his On an Island tour of 2006, at Pink Floyd's reunion at Live 8 in 2005, his Rattle That Lock Tour of 2015–2016, for solos on Pink Floyd's final album The Endless River , and his 2015 album Rattle That Lock .

Fender Custom Shop David Gilmour Signature Stratocaster

In 2008, Fender announced that their Custom Shop would be making a David Gilmour Signature Black Stratocaster. Technicians worked with both Gilmour and his guitar technician Phil Taylor to recreate the Black Strat. The finished model featured in the Custom Shop lineup until 2019. ^[3]

Taylor is also the author of a book The Black Strat which covers in depth all the modifications and changes made to the Black Strat, along with its use on Pink Floyd tours and albums.

Sale

In June 2019 Gilmour auctioned several of his guitars at Christie's with the proceeds going to the environmental law charity ClientEarth, including the Black Strat and the #0001 Strat. ^[4] It became the most expensive guitar ever sold, selling for US$3.975 million to the Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, who exhibited it as part of the Jim Irsay Collection. ^{[5] [6] [7] [8]} The record was broken in June 2020, when Kurt Cobain's 1959 Martin D-18E sold at a Beverly Hills auction for US$5,000,000 (US$6,100,000 after buyer's premium and related expenses) to Peter Freedman, co-founder of Røde Microphones. ^[9] Along with the rest of Irsay's collection, the Black Strat is set to be auctioned again in 2026 following the death of Irsay. ^[10]

See also

• The 0001 Strat
• List of guitars

References

1. C, Liam (29 January 2019). "David Gilmour : Interview with Rolling Stone on Why He's Selling 120 Guitars: 'Everything Has Got to Go". Pink Floyd - A Fleeting Glimpse. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
2. Taylor, Phil (2017). Pink Floyd: The Black Strat - A History of David Gilmour's Black Fender Stratocaster - Fourth Edition. www.theblackstrat.com. ISBN   978-0955663512.
3. https://www.fuzzfaced.net/david-gilmour-stratocaster.html
4. "David Gilmour's collection of guitars sells for $21.5 million at Christie's". www.christies.com. Christie's. 21 June 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
5. "What is the Most Expensive Guitar in the World?". Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
6. Grow, Kory (20 June 2019). "David Gilmour's Guitars Sell for Millions at Charity Auction".
7. "Jim Irsay sets auction record by spending $3.975 million for David Gilmour guitar". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
8. Larsen, Peter (12 January 2024). "How Abraham Lincoln and David Gilmour's guitar collided at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
9. Martin, Guy. "Kurt Cobain's Ultra-Rare 1959 Martin D-18E Guitar Sells For $6 Million At Auction". Forbes. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
10. Borg, Janelle (9 January 2026). "'Jim Irsay was an incredible collector with an eye for rare treasures': Details emerge of the historic guitars in the Jim Irsay Collection auction – including David Gilmour's Black Strat and Kurt Cobain's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" Mustang". Guitar World . Retrieved 25 January 2026.

• Taylor, Phil (1 September 2008). The Black Strat – A History of David Gilmour's black Fender Stratocaster. Hal Leonard. ISBN   978-1-4234-4559-3.^{[ page needed ][ volume & issue needed ]}
• Guitar World, 2006^{[ page needed ][ volume & issue needed ]}
• "Guitar Heroes", Sound Magazine (1983) ^{[ page needed ][ volume & issue needed ]}