Gilmour Tribute Strat

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Gilmour Tribute Strat

Ah I do not think it will be worth the trouble??
Curves do not always tell the whole story.....
I have the same thing with cd's, eventhough they are convinient, I can hear those high feeds in the upper end, digital is not all that nice in 16bit or more.
Got the same thing with EMGs...hearing something unpleasent all the time.
But it will be fun to see something about it
Niels

 

[jmh151]

Re: Gilmour Tribute Strat

I believe (at Live 8 at least) that the maple neck is the same one from the Red EMG Strat. (So 57 RI... )

I think it's funny how much attention is given to that Strat with the EMGs. It was a completely utilitarian creation, when he was touring in the early 80's he didn't want to take his vintage axes on tour, so he bought new American Strats to tour with. At that time the 57 RI was basically what became the American Standard and American Series in the Fender line. (Not like the painstaking reissues of the past 10 years or so) He just needed some reliable, decent quality guitars to play on the road. Also, the EMGs came out of necessity to reduce noise and drive the massive effects rack he was building up. I'd bet that most of the tracks on DB and MLoR were his vintage Strats. Now that he's touring smaller venues and a much smaller signal path, a vintage Strat pickup is fine.

Now, regarding the Fender Artist Signature guitar, of all sig guitars out there, it's obviously this one that I'd be interested in, but I won't get it obviously. One of the great things about Strats is that you CAN build your perfect guitar...

hmmmm..... you're a bit wrong about the Fender 57 RI line. The 57 RI came with the 6 point Vintage Fender trem, some vintage tuners. It had 57 reissue pickups, which he eventually swicthed out anyway. They neck- it had a V shaped neck, but also had the vintage correct 7.5" radius and small vintage frets. The tiny radius and frets made the reissues difficult to play, but they were vintage correct. More attention is paid to the selection of woods and initial setup on the American Vintage or Signature Series line than the Standard line. The entire guitar was said to be finished in nitro, though in reality only the neck was, and the body had some nitro poly mix.

The American Standard line at the time were made of poplar bodies, had the 2 point modern trem, 9.5" radius, C shaped neck, swimming pool route, thick poly finish all the way, and are generally undesireable. The best of both worlds is the current Vintage Hot Rod strat- though I don't like the selection of pickups.

I agree with your assessment of the EMG's and why he's back to using vintage pickups.

Most of us associate him with the Red strat/EMG combo because we're in the MTV generation, and we had a chance to see Pink Floyd's live videos, starting with Learning to Fly, which turned us on to the older Floyd as well. I just remember seeing the Comfortably Numb video off Delicate Sound of Thunder on MTV and the tone, trippiness of the song sent chills down my spine- same reaction I get when I watch Pulse.

I loved the Live 8 performance, but felt it was mixed very poorly, and Gilmour's guitar during the solos were too far in the background, and Roger Waters bass was higher.

 

[J Moose]

Re: Gilmour Tribute Strat

Has anybody ever done a 'sterile' scientific frequency response comparison of various manufacturers Active Vs. Passive pickups?

Nah, but 'ya know... every time I've A/B'd two similar guitars like two Pauls, two Strats etc. One with EMG's and one with good passives...the passives always sound "bigger" and wider then EMG's which sound small & 'tight'.

Biggest difference is in the 'attack' though. Actives respond MUCH faster. Good for 'angry bee' style gain or pushing through a large rack rig... not so good plugged right into a Marshall or old Fender IMO.

 

[WhoFan]

Re: Gilmour Tribute Strat

hmmmm..... you're a bit wrong about the Fender 57 RI line. The 57 RI came with the 6 point Vintage Fender trem, some vintage tuners. It had 57 reissue pickups, which he eventually swicthed out anyway. They neck- it had a V shaped neck, but also had the vintage correct 7.5" radius and small vintage frets. The tiny radius and frets made the reissues difficult to play, but they were vintage correct. More attention is paid to the selection of woods and initial setup on the American Vintage or Signature Series line than the Standard line. The entire guitar was said to be finished in nitro, though in reality only the neck was, and the body had some nitro poly mix.

The American Standard line at the time were made of poplar bodies, had the 2 point modern trem, 9.5" radius, C shaped neck, swimming pool route, thick poly finish all the way, and are generally undesireable. The best of both worlds is the current Vintage Hot Rod strat- though I don't like the selection of pickups.

I agree with your assessment of the EMG's and why he's back to using vintage pickups.

Most of us associate him with the Red strat/EMG combo because we're in the MTV generation, and we had a chance to see Pink Floyd's live videos, starting with Learning to Fly, which turned us on to the older Floyd as well. I just remember seeing the Comfortably Numb video off Delicate Sound of Thunder on MTV and the tone, trippiness of the song sent chills down my spine- same reaction I get when I watch Pulse.

I loved the Live 8 performance, but felt it was mixed very poorly, and Gilmour's guitar during the solos were too far in the background, and Roger Waters bass was higher.

those 1983/84 57 reissue strats are said to be of amazing quality... i have a pickup set out of one and they sound great.... wish i had the whole axe....

Gilmour spend a lot of time trying to find a back up for his original red 57 reissue.... he wanted the same red colour and year.... all he could find was a white one.... he was not too fond of white... anyways it is said a guitarist he worked with in 1984 had walked into a music store with him and they both bought 57 reissues in red... turns out down the road a few years later Gilmour found that other 57 reissue for sale in a shop.... stopped in to grab it and it was indeed the strat his friend had bought with him.... so Gilmour had 3 1983/84 57 reissues... 2 red and one white..

they must of been special if Dave spent that much time looking for a backup in the same finnish and everything

 

[veryhungrycaterpilla]

Re: Gilmour Tribute Strat

EMG SAs are fantastic pups. Best notch positions I have heard.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Gilmour Tribute Strat

hmmmm..... you're a bit wrong about the Fender 57 RI line. The 57 RI came with the 6 point Vintage Fender trem, some vintage tuners. It had 57 reissue pickups, which he eventually swicthed out anyway. They neck- it had a V shaped neck, but also had the vintage correct 7.5" radius and small vintage frets. The tiny radius and frets made the reissues difficult to play, but they were vintage correct. More attention is paid to the selection of woods and initial setup on the American Vintage or Signature Series line than the Standard line. The entire guitar was said to be finished in nitro, though in reality only the neck was, and the body had some nitro poly mix.

The American Standard line at the time were made of poplar bodies, had the 2 point modern trem, 9.5" radius, C shaped neck, swimming pool route, thick poly finish all the way, and are generally undesireable. The best of both worlds is the current Vintage Hot Rod strat- though I don't like the selection of pickups.

Really? I swear I heard otherwise because it was during another transistional period for Fender. I believe you though, interesting.

 

[Rich_T]

Re: Gilmour Tribute Strat

if that is the new live Albert Hall that is coming out on DVD in North America i would figure his black strat has Duncans.... does he also use the old Red Strats with the EMG's on that video? I've never seen it....

That David Gilmour dvd and a new Bio Movie on the Who called Amazing Journey are being shown at the Toronto Film Festival next weekend

He used the red one with EMGs for a couple of numbers. The black one had something passive in though.

 

[Arkitkt]

Re: Gilmour Tribute Strat

Here is a link to the whole story of the black Strat.

Here is another site. I always wondered what guitar he was using on "Brain Damage" (as seen on "Live in Pompeji). That site answered that question.

 

[fenderiarhs]

Re: Gilmour Tribute Strat

Also, the EMGs came out of necessity to reduce noise and drive the massive effects rack he was building up. I'd bet that most of the tracks on DB and MLoR were his vintage Strats. Now that he's touring smaller venues and a much smaller signal path, a vintage Strat pickup is fine.

No.....on the division bell as well as on the MLoR album he used his emg equipped CAR strat and a gretch duojet for some rythm parts......on MLoR he even used a Steinberger..........definately not something we would call vintage :13::13::13:

 

[jmh151]

Re: Gilmour Tribute Strat

Really? I swear I heard otherwise because it was during another transistional period for Fender. I believe you though, interesting.

I could be wrong. I know all the specs on the '57 RI because I wanted one every seeing Gilmour around 1986, then disappointed when I played one and felt the tiny radius and frets.

I don't know what year the American Standard line came out, maybe you're partially right and are thinking of the period when they experimented with different bridges and other changes that no one liked.

 

[Bludave]

Re: Gilmour Tribute Strat

According to Wikipedia:

In November of 2006, Fender announced that they will be issuing a replica of Gilmour's modified black Stratocaster. David's official blog confirmed that it will be released in late 2007, to coincide with the release of the 'Remember That Night' DVD.


Does anyone plan to run out and get one of these? I think letting Gilmour play his own and buying the DVD makes more sense, but I am partial to black Strats.

I was just curious.

No....... but I might get the DVD!!

 

[Philcguitars]

Re: Gilmour Tribute Strat

I gotta get round to that Pup comparison!

 

[ErikH]

Re: Gilmour Tribute Strat

Really? I swear I heard otherwise because it was during another transistional period for Fender. I believe you though, interesting.

I could be wrong. I know all the specs on the '57 RI because I wanted one every seeing Gilmour around 1986, then disappointed when I played one and felt the tiny radius and frets.

I don't know what year the American Standard line came out, maybe you're partially right and are thinking of the period when they experimented with different bridges and other changes that no one liked.

The American Standards were introduced in 1986. They are a totally different animal from the RI's of the early 80's (late CBS era). The only thing they share is the name on the headstock.

There was no experimenting with the public with the American Standards because after the buyout from CBS until their introduction, there were virtually no American Fenders made. Just a handful were let out the doors to let the buying public know that they were still around but they did not have the features of the soon-to-be American Standards. That allowed Dan Smith and George Blanda to really hone in on the then new American Standards as well as Bill and the clan to get the new facility up and running (the old facility was not included in the deal).

Bodies at the time were alder, not poplar. In the early 90's they used poplar but it wasn't for very long. http://www.stratcollector.com/newsdesk/archives/000204.html About half way down, Dan and George talk about the woods. Quoted below:

Since 1956, most Strats had been made of alder, except for the ash-body transparent finishes.

Dan Smith: “For a while, the environmentalists didn’t want us cutting alder. There was an endangered species controversy, with some logging restrictions up in Oregon, so we had to use poplar. Leo had used it on many guitars — Musicmasters and others — and we later used it for the Bullet guitars. It’s a good wood. We used it on some American Standards in the early ’90s. From the beginning, poplar was spec’d to be used on the American Standard as a substitute.”

George Blanda: “All the Strat bodies were alder up until about 1990. When it got so hard to get alder, we were faced with either using poplar or not making guitars. There’s a misconception that poplar is not a good tone wood. Actually, it’s fine. James Burton actually specified it for his signature Tele in the late ’80s, after trying a lot of different bodies. We never regarded poplar as a second-rate wood, but a lot of people preferred alder so when the restrictions eased, we were able to go back to alder in ’93 or ’94.”

In a way I'm kinda tired of seeing these tribute Strats but at the same time I think it's a cool way for someone to get the axe their hero used, one like it really, if they choose to do so. My favorite artist Strat is still the SRV. That neck is just perfect for my big hands. The Eric Johnson comes in a close second.