How David Gilmour’s guitars made history at auction
What makes a musician? Is it the player or the instrument? Ask any artist, and they’ll probably tell you it’s a mix. Even if the instrument itself doesn’t really make a difference to their skill, people get attached or even superstitious, daring to touch a certain guitar or only wanting to play on their own instruments bought in special moments. In David Gilmour’s case, his love for his own instruments was an expensive attachment.
By the time Pink Floyd hit the height of their success, Gilmour could’ve had anything he wanted. He probably still can, let’s be real. As one of the most well-known and influential British artists and one of the most formative guitarists in the whole of rock, I’m sure Gilmour has guitar brands begging at his door for him to merely snap a string on one of their guitars.
It meant that over time, the player built an incredibly impressive collection. He’s best known for brandishing a simple, classic Fender Stratocaster, most commonly in a fuss-free but endlessly slick black colour. “It’s been on pretty much, well, most Pink Floyd recordings,” he said on his podcast, recalling the moment he bought that guitar. “I believe it was made in 1969, and I bought it at Manny’s on 48th Street in New York in 1970.”
Sometimes, it is switched out for a candy apple red version, but it is still a Strat, picked out from the Fender warehouse now that his fame allowed him those kinds of privileges. “I played through a lot of guitars and picked the best two,” he said of that day, with this red number being one he took.
There are countless other guitars he’s been seen with over the years – some old, some heavily modified just for him, sometimes Fender Esquires, sometimes even a Gretsch. But essentially, he’s almost exclusive to the Stratocaster, the beloved guitar chosen by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Jerry Garcia and more.
Sitting high up in those ranks of iconic Strat players, that’s probably how Gilmour got access to what was a history-making guitar simply because of its eye-watering price. At some point, in his collection, Gilmour owned one of the guitars with the production number ‘0001’ – suggesting it was the first ever Stratocaster made.
It wasn’t, though. From some research the player did, it looks as though the first were production models given away to workers or testers, but his one was certainly a very early model. “It’s a 1954 Fender Stratocaster, and they don’t get much better than this. I mean this is about as perfect as a guitar can be,” he told the BBC about the instrument, a white guitar with modified gold detailing that makes it look as luxurious as it would go on to be.
It was already luxurious, given the look, feel, and now the hands that had held the guitar. But when Gilmour decided to auction it off for charity, it became luxurious in the true monetary sense. It broke a record, selling for more than $1.81m at a 2019 auction and becoming the most anyone had ever paid for a guitar at auction.
That is, until moments later when Gilmour beat his own record. In a room full of fans keen to get their hands on a bit of his history, this special original Fender was one thing, but Gilmour’s signature black Strat was another. That one sold for $3.97m, proving just how much Pink Floyd fans would be willing to pay for a slice of their legacy.
