GIBSON INCORPORATED, NASHVILLE, 2009

On the instruction of David Gilmour’s longtime guitar technician Phil Taylor, David Wilson of guitar magazine The ToneQuest Report purchased this Les Paul 57 Gold Top directly from Gibson Custom Shop in late 2009, with a view to optimizing the standard model in line with Gilmour’s preferences. Wilson oversaw considerable modifications to the guitar including the replacement of the standard Burstbucker pickups with a J.M. Rolph ’58 PAF Humbucker, replacement of the standard tuners for Grover Rotomatics and modification of the wiring to preserve the treble when the volume is cut. On receipt of the guitar in January 2010, Taylor commissioned additional alterations to further optimize the feel and tone of the instrument, later making additional refinements in February 2011. According to Taylor, Gilmour really liked the modified guitar, which was unusual as humbuckers would not generally be his preference, and went on to use it during a recording session at his West Sussex studio in July 2013, playing through a 1958 Fender Tweed Deluxe and then a Tweed Champ amplifier. Gilmour’s 2013 solo recording sessions developed into his first solo project in almost a decade, the 2015 album Rattle That Lock.