This guitar is a commission sale - if you have a high end guitar you are interested in selling, please contact us via our easy to find website - search: Sell Us Your Guitar.
 
This item is offered for sale to UK BUYERS ONLY.
 
Here for sale we have A Fender Custom Shop David Gilmour Relic Stratocaster. An instrument which needs no introduction, this is a painstaking replica of Gilmour's famous 'Black Strat' - a guitar which he bought from Manny's Music in New York in 1970 after his were stolen. Used extensively throughout the Waters era of Pink Floyd, the Black Strat went through many modifications in its working life, including being used with seven different necks. 
 
The original guitar was a 1969 Stratocaster. Well into the CBS era but before the advent of the 3-bolt neck plate, the headstock would have been the larger design associated with '70s Strats. The Black Strat also pre-dates the use of polyurethane finish on the body. Interestingly, the body was originally finished in 3-Color Sunburst before being painted over in Black at Manny's as a custom colour. Evidence of this is apparent through the Relic work where patches of Red and Yellow paint are visible. 
 
Further evidence of Gilmour's modifications are recreated in this astonishingly accurate replica. The XLR output which was routed into the guitar around 1972 was repaired, and can be seen on the treble side lower bout. During the '80s a Kahler Tremolo system was fitted, which required the body to be routed to accommodate it. When the original Fender tremolo was re-fitted, the routing had to be filled in, and this can be seen behind the bridge. 
 
The neck which Gilmour eventually settled on was from a 1983 U.S Vintage '57 Strat. This Thin Shouldered 'C' profile feels exceptionally easy to manoeuvre and facilitates easy reach across the register, certainly feeling thinner than you might expect from a '50s specification neck. The 7.25" fingerboard radius and vintage style frets are accurate to the '50s spec and provide a smooth and comfortable playing surface which is practical for both chord playing and lead techniques. The shortened tremolo arm- a modification that Gilmour made in the '80s is actually very practical, ensuring that the arm doesn't get in the way when playing, but remaining within easy reach. 
 
The trio of single-coil pickups installed in the guitar came after Gilmour experimented with different pickups and combinations for decades- at one point even having a Gibson PAF humbucker installed between the bridge and middle positions. The bridge pickup is a Seymour Duncan SSL-5, a staggered overwound medium-output single-coil which was developed for Gilmour by Seymour Duncan. It treads the very fine line between increased output and classic Stratocaster tones, delivering the distinctive tone that we all know so well. The neck and middle pickups are also staggered and feature a more vintage-accurate output. Along with the 'Gilmour Switch' toggle, this combination of pickups offers a varied set of tones which can accurately recreate Gilmour's tone equally as well as it can allow you to explore sounds for yourself. 
 
Since its discontinuation by Fender in 2020, this guitar has become even more highly sought after. Alongside the sale of the original Black Strat for almost $4 million, these instruments appear to only be appreciating in value. This example is in exceptional original condition, with all of the original accessories and case candy included. A fantastic investment. 
 
This guitar is a commission sale - if you have a high end guitar you are interested in selling, please contact us via our easy to find website - search: Sell Us Your Guitar.
 
This item is offered for sale to UK BUYERS ONLY.
 
Please be aware that for international buyers import fees are not included in our postage and packaging cost, this only covers the cost of the guitar being sent to you. Import fees will be charged by Customs upon the guitar's arrival in the recipient country. Due to Brexit, this also applies to EU buyers. We advise checking the total import cost with Customs as this is not information we are able to accurately provide.