Are you one of the people who’ve been waiting patiently for Fender’s Custom Shop to release the high-profile Stratocaster made famous by David Gilmour of Pink Floyd fame? If so, we’re happy to report that we have Fender Custom Shop David Gilmour Stratocaster Relics in stock! This iconic instrument is based on David’s famous “Black Strat,” which has long been closely identified as one of the key components of Pink Floyd’s unmistakable sound. This guitar was featured extensively on The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals, and The Wall, along with his critically acclaimed 2006 solo effort, On An Island. Working closely with Gilmour and his longtime tech Phil Taylor, the Custom Shop re-created the distinctive features and finish on the Gilmour Stratocaster Relic to match those on the original guitar as closely as possible – right down to David’s preferred short tremolo arm!
To replicate this classic, the Custom Shop first applied black lacquer over a 3-color Sunburst alder body, then added a black pickguard, a one-piece maple neck, three custom-voiced pickups, and David’s now-famous electronics. Then, they proceeded to accurately reproduce every single scratch, dent, ding, chip, and nick, exactly as it appears on David’s own guitar. By now, the Custom Shop has proven itself so good at this that many feel the end product is indistinguishable from the original instrument. Particular attention was paid to the 1983 thin-shouldered C-shaped maple neck, with a special tint applied to the nitro-lacquer finish to give it the look of a true 25-year-old Strat neck that’s seen about a million miles worth of touring. The pickups also match Gilmour’s, with a fat ’50s Strat pickup in the neck, a ’69 in the middle, and a Seymour Duncan SSL-5 single-coil in the bridge position. The David Gilmour Signature Series Stratocaster is as beautiful, powerful, and idiosyncratic as David’s playing. What’s more, it comes with a custom case, an Evidence Audio high-end guitar cable, David’s 3-disc Live in Gdansk CD/DVD package, and a copy of Phil Taylor’s The Black Strat book.
