THE BLACK STRAT

An iconic instrument heard on Pink Floyd albums, including The Dark Side of the Moon, David Gilmour’s Black Strat underwent its fair share of modifications over the years. Here we explore its storied life and many mods.

- MICHAEL LEONARD

OF ALL THE guitars David Gilmour has played, none is more famous than the so-called Black Strat. A mongrel of sorts, the instrument made numerous appearances in concert and on Pink Floyd albums, including the solos for The Dark Side of the Moon’s “Money,” The Wall’s “Comfortably Numb” and “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” from Wish Y ou Were Here. Gilmour sold the guitar at auction for a record sum in 2019, but not before our sister publication Guitarist explored its storied life and many mods at Gilmour’s Medina Studio near Brighton, where Phil Taylor, Gilmour’s guitar tech, took the magazine through his studio setup.

Gilmour’s journey with the Black Strat began at Manny’s Music store in New York in May 1970 during Pink Floyd’s American tour. Gilmour had, just weeks earlier, bought his first black Fender Strat at Manny’s, but it was soon stolen, along with much of Floyd’s rig. Floyd canceled their remaining U.S. dates, but he again visited Manny’s and bought this before returning to the U.K.