Featured Gear

David Gilmour’s original black Fender Stratocaster has become the stuff of legend among guitarists and discerning Pink Floyd fans. Heavily modified and experimented on over the decades – often by David Gilmour himself – the guitar became a cornerstone of Pink Floyd’s surreally psychedelic sound as soon as David Gilmour got it, and it was featured prominently on seminal chart-topping albums such as “The Dark Side Of The Moon”, “Wish You Were Here”, “Animals”, “The Wall”, in addition to David Gimour’s acclaimed solo albums “David Gilmour”, “About Face” and “On An Island.”

Gilmour bought the stock original at Manny’s Music in New York in May 1970, in time to use it on Pink Floyd’s fifth album, “Atom Heart Mother”. It quickly became his main guitar onstage and in the studio, and, famously, he and longtime guitar tech Phil Taylor were constantly modifying and experimenting with its neck, hardware and electronics. The black guitar acquired a black pickguard in the summer of 1974, thus assuming its darkest and most famous incarnation, plus an enduring nickname – the Black Strat.

The Fender Custom ship worked closely with David Gilmour and Phil Taylor in recreating the Black Strat as the new David Gilmour Signature Series Signature Series Stratocaster. Main features include an alder body, black over three-color sunburst finish (for the Relic version), black nitrocellulose lacquer (for the N.O.S version), a black pickguard, a one-piece straight-grain maple neck, custom pickups and electronics, a a shortened vintage tremolo arm. The guitar is available in N.O.S. (new old stock)  and Relic treatments.

This very special instrument comes with a custom case, an Evidence high-end guitar cable, the Live In Gdansk CD/DVD set and Phil Taylor’s 2007 book about the guitar’s history, “The Black Strat.” The first 500 sold in either finish will include a limited edition copy of the “The Black Strat” autographed by Phil Taylor.