Pink Floyd: The Black Strat: A History of David Gilmour's Black Fender Stratocaster

Pink Floyd: The Black Strat: A History of David Gilmour's Black Fender Stratocaster
by Phil Taylor

Pink Floyd: The Black Strat: A History of David Gilmour's Black Fender Stratocaster
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Book Summary Information

Author: Phil Taylor
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2008-09-01
ISBN: 1423445597
Number of pages: 160
Publisher: Hal Leonard

Book Reviews of Pink Floyd: The Black Strat: A History of David Gilmour's Black Fender Stratocaster

Book Review: Fantastic for guitarists, but written by a guitarist.
Summary: 4 Stars

The first page I opened to in this book had a detailed layout of the original 1960's Stratocater wiring. Gleefully I turned to book back a bit, started right on page one and continued from there.

The book is a history of David's famed 'Black Strat' through all it's nicks and surgeries and general makeovers. Being a guitarist for many years I could easily relate to all the modifications David went through and I ammused me how the author (Phil Taylor) just would explain a modification by saying, "David didn't like the way this looked... so he changed it." Or, "The sound was to thin, so he shoved this in there." All in all any guitarist could relate to it and know where he's coming from.

In regards to guitarists looking for David's actual setup, there is not much here. His amps and pedals are mostly forgotten along with any settings he would use on specific songs. You will not hear of his Hiwatt amps or his Germanium transistor Fuzz boxes that were eventually switched for smoother silicon based ones. Or the techniques used to cull the psychedelic sounds of song such as A Saucerful of Secrets or Set The Controls For The Heart of The Sun. They will not tell you that if you switch the inputs on your Vox wah-wah that you can get those "seagull" sounds for Echoes and Is There Anybody Out There? No you won't get that. But here is what you will get: The history of a legendary guitar through all the crap that is has gone through by it's owner.

Now a reviewer remarked that you didn't get the specific's for David's EXACT setup regarding his strat, to this I say: By reading the book and looking through the last few pages you get a pretty much spot on idea of what this guitar is culled from. Hell you can even call Seymour Duncan up today and say, "Yo man, I want a David Gilmour bridge pickup." You will drop a few hundred, but you'll get it by George.

The book is positively stunning to look at and the pictures are phenominal. Phil Taylor is not much of a writer, but that is not the point. It is a factual account of a guitar written by the man who handled it (you can even see a letter signed by Phil requesting new necks for the guitar). Given that Phil is not a professional writer I can let that slide.

The book is fantastic for any fans of guitars and any fans of Floyd will love the pictures in the book. Throw it on your coffee table next to 'A Visual History of Pink Floyd' and 'Inside Out' to impress anybody who comes in.



Summary of Pink Floyd: The Black Strat: A History of David Gilmour's Black Fender Stratocaster

The Black Strat book is the first and only accurate and knowledgeable account of David Gilmour's favorite Stratocaster guitar. Written by Phil Taylor - David's personal guitar technician since 1974 - to coincide with the release of the long awaited and much requested Fender 'David Gilmour Signature Strat': an instrument replicating the look, set-up, sound and feel of David's famous black guitar as it is today. The chronological story begins with David Gilmour joining Pink Floyd in early 1968, his guitar at that time, his subsequent instruments leading to the purchase of the Black Strat in 1970, and the other guitars that have come and gone. The book details all of the changes and modifications made to the Black Strat, its use on Pink Floyd tours and iconic albums, David's solo projects, and various guest appearances throughout the years.

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