David Gilmour’s Black Stratocaster is one of the most iconic electric guitars of all time, but it was by no means the only notable Strat to have been owned by the Pink Floyd legend.
When Gilmour sold the Black Strat at auction back in 2019, he also put another one of his go-to Fenders under the hammer: a hugely sought-after, unusually styled Stratocaster from 1954, which bears the serial number ‘0001’.
The 0001 Strat is often overlooked by casual guitar fans in favor of the more recognizable Black model, but for Fender CEO Andy Mooney, the 0001 model – which had previously belonged to Leo Fender, Seymour Duncan, and Gilmour’s personal guitar tech, Phil Taylor – was the one for him.
In fact, as Mooney reveals in a new interview with Zak Kuhn, he once attempted to convince Gilmour to let Fender build a Custom Shop reissue of the elusive model – and even had plans to buy the original when it went up for auction.
However, when he eventually got his hands on the guitar he had been pining over for so many years, Mooney was left feeling rather underwhelmed by the whole experience.
Speaking of his guitar collection, Mooney explains, “The one I lusted after is a guitar that David Gilmour owned with the serial number 0001. I asked after I joined the company if he would be willing to give it to us to do faithful reproductions, as he did with his Black guitar from Dark Side of the Moon.
“He wasn't willing to do it, and then they went up for auction,” he adds. “He auctioned them all off. So, I actually got a chance to play that guitar, because it went on tour with his creme de la creme of his collection.
“I played it down at Christie’s Auction House in LA. The Black guitar is really something special, and then I played the 0001 and I was actually disappointed in it, relative to what I really thought it was. My expectations were a little too high.”
Nevertheless, Mooney’s heart was set on owning the 0001 Strat, so when the auction eventually rolled around, he went in with a pre-set budget with the hopes of acquiring his dream guitar.
“I had to have it,” Mooney goes on. “So I agreed a price with my wife, which was pretty darn high, and it went for double that. I think the same guy who bought the Black guitar paid about $1,000,005 for the 0001.”
While he might not have the real deal, Mooney does have the next best thing: a meticulous Custom Shop recreation, which has even been set up precisely the way he likes it.
“I went out and collected every photograph that had ever been taken off that guitar and gave it to the Custom Shop builders,” Mooney says. “And not only does it look exactly like 0001, now it plays exactly the way I want it. It's in my collection, but it's a little bit of a fake.
As mentioned, 0001 is often overlooked ahead of the Black Strat, but the white-finished, gold-hardware'd Strat was comfortably one of Gilmour's most prized and historic instruments.
It made its first appearance in live promo clips filmed for Gilmour's first solo album in 1978, and saw action during The Wall sessions – including the rhythm guitar on Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2).
Gilmour also used it to help record Paul McCartney's Back to the Egg Wings album, and played it live at London's Wembley Arena during a 50th anniversary celebration of the Fender Stratocaster in 2004.
In related Gilmour guitar news, the Pink Floyd icon recently revealed he can't tell the difference between his signature Fender and his original Black Strat.
