Product Description

"The Black Strat" is the first and only accurate and knowledgeable account of David Gilmour's favourite 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 guitar as it is today. The chronological story begins with David Gilmour joining Pink Floyd early in 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. This 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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #26271 in Books
• Model: 332391
• Published on: 2008-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 160 pages

About the Author
Phil Taylor (London) has been working for Pink Floyd continuously since he was 22 years of age. In 1974 he was employed by Pink Floyd to take care of the band's personal equipment used on stage and in the studio. He has worked on every Pink Floyd and David Gilmour project for over three decades.

Customer Reviews

An excellent book for guitar afficionados and Pink Floyd fans alike
"The music created with this humble Strat has entered into the homes and lives of quite literally billions of people..."

This book, written by Phil Taylor, David Gilmour's long-term guitar technician, studio manager, production director and much more, takes a careful and detailed look at one of rock's most iconic instruments. Rather than a dry, technical manual, suited only to those who already know guitars inside and out, it is a rewarding and accessible book that Pink Floyd fans the world over will thoroughly enjoy.

Phil explains that the book explores the history of DG's black Strat from its early days as David's primary guitar in Pink Floyd.

Through the pages, one finds out how and why the various modifications have taken place, changing the instrument pretty comprehensively from the standard model bought in 1970 at Manny's Music in New York. For those that understand the phrase, it seems a real "Trigger's broom"!

The first thing that strikes you is the sumptuous design and quality of the book. It is laid out in a fresh, clear and clean format, balancing text nicely with the fine array of pictures. These come from various sources, including the archives of Nick Mason, Jill Furmanovsky, Polly Samson, and Phil's own behind-the-scenes shots.

From pictures of David at Abbey Road during the sessions for A Saucerful Of Secrets, in 1968, right up to the recent Live8 and On An Island activity, every aspect of David's career is covered in an enthralling text. With Phil's enviable position at the heart of things, plenty of detail is revealed on events which has not been shared before.

The book also covers some of David's other guitars, explaining where and why they were used, and how they were more suitable in some circumstances than the black Strat. Indeed, for a while, the guitar fell out of favour and it took a special event to get it back into action. All of this discussion is fitted into a good summary of the band's key tours, albums, and performances. The text never delves into fiendishly technical minutiae, making it very accessible for all of us who are not guitarists.

For all those who thought an interesting book couldn't be written focusing on one guitar (and this would seem to include David himself, based on a quote from him at the start of the book!), this will prove a nice surprise.

And, with the book (now hardback) given an overhaul with technical and factual information uncovered since the first edition, and a nice selection of additional, newly unearthed and previously unseen pictures, it is also a very tempting proposition for those who already own the first edition paperback...

Not such a daft idea!
The first page has a quote from the owner of the black Strat in question, Mr David Gilmour: "....It seems a daft idea to me, writing a book about an ordinary guitar....". Fortunately, Mr Gilmour's erstwhile guitar technician, Phil Taylor did not agree and went ahead with the book. It is more than just a book about one guitar. It details several of Gilmour's early guitars and includes numerous photographs which I, as a Gilmour/ Floyd fan of over 30 years, have never seen before. True, this may not appeal to mainstream Floyd fans, but to those of us guitar nuts who rate Gilmour as one of the finest guitarists ever, this book was well worth waiting for. Fascinating. Thanks, Phil Taylor!

Perfect Pick-Lit
I got this for Christmas and put it straight in the loo. Since then I've hardly even glanced at the Christmas edition of Playboy. The result being, my girlfriend (who bought it for me) got a lot more attention than usual this Christmas. There is no doubt, The Black Strat is a brilliant boys book for the bog and it could improve your love-life into the bargain!