“No brand new guitar sounds as good as an old one”: David Gilmour thinks vintage guitars are superior
While people may clamour to get their hands on the latest Fender or Gibson, there’s a reason why older models still fetch premium prices. A vintage guitar has a history – and, as David Gilmour insists, newer guitars just can’t capture the same spirit as their worn-in counterparts.
In the eyes of the Pink Floyd legend, a guitar is like a fine wine. The sound gets finer with age, almost taking on the spirit of all those who have played it before.
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Gilmour shared these beliefs on his most recent instalment of David’s Guitars. The YouTube series is providing insight into the guitars featured on his upcoming solo album, Luck and Strange.
The reflection was sparked by Gilmour’s 1945 Martin D-18. “It’s even older than me,” he explains. “I think a guitar like this gets better and better with age.”
“Maybe something about the glue that’s holding it all together, and all these pieces of different wood gradually become in harmony with each other over years of playing,” he muses. “No brand-new guitar sounds quite as good as an old one in my experience.”
Gilmour’s love of a solid vintage guitar is well known. Back in 2019, he expressed similar sentiments to Guitar World. “I do unrepentantly like the old [guitars],” he admits. “Older instruments have a tonality of their own that often takes years to develop.”
That same year, Gilmour auctioned off a bunch of his guitars through auction house Christie’s. The David Gilmour Collection offered a record-breaking number of guitars – including his iconic ‘69 Black Strat, which went for $3,975,000, the third most expensive guitar ever sold under the hammer.
The auction also saw Gilmour selling off his ‘54 Strat which went for nearly $2 million. Elsewhere, the Martin D-35 that featured on every single Pink Floyd record was also sold.
Back in 2003, Gilmour praised his Martin D-35, naming it a luxury item he would take with him to a stranded desert island. Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, he praised it, saying: “It’s the best guitar I own. It’s the guitar that’s always by my side. I’ve written just about every piece of music using that guitar. My ideas come through that guitar.”
While Gilmour has sold off a bulk of old guitars for charity, he still loves an old school, reliable guitar. There’s sure to be a bulk of vintage tones on his upcoming record.
Gilmour’s Luck and Strange is out 6 September.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
