“I've not got a huge history with Gibson, but this one I bought to have a different tone”: From a forensic Black Strat replica to a Gibson that caught his ear and a ‘90s Zoom unit, here's everything David Gilmour used on his new solo album, Luck & Strange
Gilmour's tech, Phil Taylor, provides GW with an exhaustive list of the guitar gear used to record the prog icon's first solo album in nine years – and there are some surprising pieces of kit
“I've not got a huge history with Gibson guitars, but this one [the ES-335] is one I've bought comparatively recently to have a different tone, a different thing,” Gilmour explained recently on his YouTube channel. “This is a very, very different sort of guitar to what I'm used to.”
For home demos, though, things were a bit more familiar.
“I will be using physical heads and cabinets on the tour – but at home I have this thing that’s now 30 years old called a Zoom,” Gilmour explained to Guitar World.
“It’s a tiny little gray box, and I use that most of the time when I’m working on the early version of songs. Because I know how to work it – it’s got lots of good sounds and I know how to adjust them.”
Below is a full list of the gear David Gilmour used to record Luck and Strange. You can thank Phil Taylor, who has been Gilmour’s guitar tech since 1974, not to mention Pink Floyd’s warehouse and studios manager.
Taylor also oversaw Fender’s 2008 introduction of the David Gilmour Signature Strat and is the author of The Black Strat: A History of David Gilmour’s Black Fender Stratocaster (2008).
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Guitars, lap steels, and ukes
(Image credit: Polly Samson)
2008 Fender DG6 NOS Black Cat Strat
1958 Gretsch Duo Jet
1956 Gibson Les Paul
1961 Gibson ES-335
1930s Rickenbacker A-22 “frying pan” lap steel
1930s Martin ukulele
(Image credit: Polly Samson)
1945 Martin D-18
2021 Martin DG D-35
2021 Martin DG D-35 12-string
2019 Cordoba C10 Crossover
1978 Zemaitis 3/4 acoustic
1977 Ovation 1619-4 “high-strung”
Amps
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David Gilmour's Alessandro Redbone Special(Image credit: Future)
David Gilmour's Yamaha RA-200(Image credit: Future)
Hiwatt Custom 50 SA212
Alessandro Redbone Special
Fender Bandmaster
Fender Tweed Twin
Yamaha RA-200
Lazy J 20
That Pedal Show – Our Guitars & Gear: Dan’s Lazy J 20 Combo - YouTube
“I have this thing that’s now 30 years old, called a Zoom [9030]. It’s a tiny little grey box, and I use that most of the time when I’m working on the early version of songs” (Image credit: Zoom)
Henry Yates is a freelance journalist who has written about music for titles including The Guardian, Telegraph, NME, Classic Rock, Guitarist, Total Guitar and Metal Hammer. He is the author of Walter Trout's official biography, Rescued From Reality, a talking head on Times Radio and an interviewer who has spoken to Brian May, Jimmy Page, Ozzy Osbourne, Ronnie Wood, Dave Grohl and many more. As a guitarist with three decades' experience, he mostly plays a Fender Telecaster and Gibson Les Paul.
