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What Kind of Strat is That? Recycled

by Richard Mahon

In this column, I'll be examining Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour's gear and playing techniques from a musician's point of view. Please feel free to e-mail me with questions and ideas for future articles if you feel you have an idea that readers of Spare Bricks might find of interest. Past articles are now posted here.

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In the mid 1970s, Gilmour's black Strat had a rosewood 1966 neck.

As a Pink Floyd and David Gilmour fan, my quest for information is never-ending. In issue #2 of Spare Bricks, I elaborated on the history of David Gilmour's black Stratocaster, which he used on stage and in the studio between 1974-1984.

In the time since the first article was written, I've had the opportunity to learn a few more interesting details about this guitar.

Gilmour's guitar tech, Phil Taylor, has stated that the body of this guitar is an early 1970s model and that it has had several different necks through the years. In each case, the neck was a 4-bolt neck, which would make the body a 1970 or early 1971 since Fender switched to a 3-bolt neck in late 1971. If the guitar was a completely original 1970 or 1971 Stratocaster it would have a large headstock with "Fender Stratocaster" in bold.

The guitar was first used on the 1974 British Winter Tour. The guitar can be seen on page 135 of the book "In The Flesh" by Glenn Povey and Ian Russell. Photographs clearly show the neck with a 1966 headstock. The neck is rosewood, the headstock is large, the Fender logo is large and dark, but the word "Stratocaster" is small.

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The guitar sported a maple 1965 neck during the Wall shows.

The guitar, with this neck, can be seen in various photographs taken during this era, including a photograph from Abbey Road Studios during the Wish You Were Here sessions. The guitar neck was unchanged in the time leading up to the five promotional videos that David Gilmour filmed for his first solo album, David Gilmour in 1978.

There was a different neck on the guitar for the live performances of The Wall. This time, the neck is flamed maple, with a small headstock, and with what certainly appears to be a silver "transition" logo. This logo was only used in 1965, during Fender's ownership transition to CBS that year. Most 1960s Fender necks were rosewood. A 1965 maple neck is a rarity but Fender was known to make produce maple necks in the 1960s as a custom request.

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By 1984, Gilmour had installed a Kahler tremolo.

In 1984, a 22-fret neck was used during the About Face tour. A Kahler tremolo system can be seen on this guitar. Kahler tremolos are noticeably larger than standard Fender tremolos and called for space to be cut into the body to accommodate the tremolo.

The same body can be seen in the recent Classic Albums: Dark Side of the Moon DVD release. At approximately 19:09 into the DVD, during the solo for "Time," a black square block of wood reflecting in the light, where the body had been routed for the Kahler, can also be seen. It's most likely that the neck is a either a 1950s style replacement neck or a genuine 1950s neck. The guitar was most recently on display in Paris as part of the Pink Floyd Interstellar Exhibition.

Now if we can only get someone to turn that guitar around and get the serial number from the back plate...

Richard Mahon is a staff writer for Spare Bricks. His book about Pink Floyd-The Wall, co-authored with Vernon Fitch, will be published by Genesis Publications later this year.



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