"Implementing best practice is copying yesterday, innovation is inventing tomorrow."
― Paul Sloane
Actually, David Gilmour's Black Stratocaster ultimately ended up more like this (above), than this. NOS (new old stock) and Relic Custom Shop signature versions of this guitar were made over a decade ago and sold for something like $4,000 new, however since being discontinued used ones sell for $10,000 to $20,000 depending on condition.
While it's pretty obvious I spend way too much money on Fender guitars, I don't have ten or twenty grand to throw down for a David Gilmour Custom Shop Black Stratocaster, so I built one at a fraction of the cost — 100% Fender components, too. It lacks the S1 switch Gilmour's has, but I might yet install that to make it more authentic. I used Eric Johnson Signature Pickups because they're a favorite of mine, and not EMGs Gilmour uses. Personalize it, right? However, I did put Gilmour's signature GHS Boomer .10 gauge strings on it.
Here's Gilmour playing the final version of his Black Strat before it was sold for almost $4 million at an auction — he gave all the money to charity. In fact, it was more like $20 million because he sold nearly his entire guitar collection at the auction.
Just how many changes did Gilmour make to this guitar since acquiring it in the early 70s? Check out this video by Five Watt World to find out:
Though Gilmour sold his historical guitar, I've recently seen on his wife's Facebook page that he still has one of the NOS Custom Shop versions of the Black Strat. Gilmour and some of his musician friends are in the studio recording something, but Polly has been silent as to what's going on. I hope it's a new solo album because I'm a big fan and I just love all of his albums since Roger Waters left Pink Floyd in 1985. Waters may have been an important creative force from Dark Side to The Wall, but he's an absolute putz today. If you've not heard Dark Side of the Moon Redux, save your ears and mind — it's just awful.
Black Strat image © 2024 Mike McDowell