David Gilmour’s 1950s Gretsch 6128 Duo Jet

David acquired this guitar sometime before he recorded his first solo album, and used it on a couple of songs there. The guitar however mostly remained in the studio, and David only began using it regularly during the 2006 On an Island Tour. He also used it 2002 at Royal Festival Hall to play the solo on “Comfortably Numb”.

I’ve got an old black Duo Jet I’ve had for a very long time. I actually used it on a couple of tracks on my first solo album in 1978. It’s quite hard to play, but it’s a real beauty, and it’s a beautiful-sounding instrument that fits perfectly for some things. I played it on “Where We Start.”

David Gilmour Talks Guitars, Tone and Tunings | GP Flashback

As far as the exact year of manufacture – David’s guitar has two toggle switches on the upper horn, a Bigsby tremolo, and Filltertron humbucking pickup, which would indicate that it was made no earlier than 1958.

It’s also interesting to note that this was one of the few guitars that David refused to part with when he decided to auction off most of his guitar collection.

There are a few things. I’m keeping a lovely old Gibson steel guitar that has a really beefy sound. I’m holding on to a black Gretsch Duo Jet that I really love, along with a 1945 Martin D-18. I also couldn’t bear to part with my ’55 Fender Esquire that I nicknamed ‘The Workmate’. It’s the one you see on the cover of my About Face album, and it was used on “Run Like Hell” from The Wall among other things.

David Gilmour : Guitarist Magazine Interview April 2019

He did however auction off the backup guitar for this one, which was a 2005 Gretsch Duo Jet with identical specs. That guitar ended up selling for $62,500.