Pink Floyd: David Gilmour Owned 1 of the World’s Rarest Guitars That Sold for Almost $2 Million

Some classic rock guitarists are known as much for their instruments as they are for their music. David Gilmour and his Fender Stratocasters fall into that category. The Pink Floyd guitarist amassed a huge collection of instruments he used on the band’s hits and underrated songs. Gilmour owned and played one of the world’s rarest and most coveted guitars, which eventually sold for $1.8 million.

Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour owned and played a one-of-a-kind rare Fender guitar

There’s a certain cache that comes with being first at anything, as some internet commenters of the early 2000s would remind you. It’s proof of being someone who got in the elevator at ground level before something exploded in popularity. Gilmour owned what might be the rarest Fender guitar ever, though he wasn’t the first guitarist to play the model.

The Pink Floyd maestro counted a white 1954 Strat with gold accents — pickguard, output jack, tuning pegs — among his many guitars. Gilmour’s instrument carried a 0001 serial number, but it wasn’t a production instrument. The instrument Gilmour owned was likely a showpiece or a custom-built gift for a Fender employee, according to Guitar.

As he said on his YouTube channel, his Stratocaster was a custom-built instrument for Rex Gallion, who collaborated with Leo Fender on creating the Strat. According to Gilmour, Gallion suggested sculpting the Stratocaster body to make it more comfortable to play. 

Gilmour’s rare Fender Stratocaster might not have been the first one, but it was probably the most unique one ever made. And since the famous Gilmour owned it, played it, and cared for it over the years, the instrument brought in nearly $2 million when it went up for auction.

Gilmour’s rare Stratocaster set a record when it sold for $1.8 million at auction

Gilmour saw his guitar collection swelling and decided to do something about it. Specifically, he auctioned off a large part of his collection for charity in 2019, including that rare gold-trimmed 0001 Fender Stratocaster. 

The guitarist said that Strat provided the rhythm track on the misunderstood “Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2,” which was Pink Floyd’s only No. 1 song in the United States. Despite being made in the mid-1950, the incredibly well-built instrument never let him down when he wanted to play it. Selling It might have been one of the hardest decisions Gilmour ever made. He cherished it so much that he declined to let Fender make a replica of the model to sell.

“One of the nicest guitars I’ve ever had or played. It’s got a beautiful tone,” Gilmour said on YouTube. “There’s really been no improvement on the Stratocaster and on the electric guitar since that guitar came out in 1954.”

The instrument sold for more than $1.81 million at a 2019 auction. That was the most ever paid for a guitar at auction. That is, until Gilmour’s all-black Strat, his primary instrument on the impactful album The Dark Side of the Moon and other 1970s hits, fetched over $3.97 million moments later. Still, Gilmour raised more than $21.4 million for charity when he sold the 0001 Stratocaster and several other instruments. He also unloaded an all-gold Gibson Les Paul and the 12-string acoustic on which he wrote “Wish You Were Here.”

David Gilmour owned a rare, vintage Fender Stratocaster guitar with a 0001 serial number. It was one of the world’s most coveted guitars, but he didn’t keep it hidden away. He played it on several Pink Floyd records and unloaded it at a charity auction when he decided he didn’t need it anymore.

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