Syd Barrett’s 1960s Hofner Committee

Syd was seen playing this guitar with the band Those Without sometime in early 1965. At that time he was already a member of Tea Set (aka early Pink Floyd), but he was known for playing with different people and never really being a strict member of one until Pink Floyd started getting serious.

It’s not perfectly clear whether this was his first guitar when he joined Pink Floyd as he switched from playing bass, or the first one to come was the Framus Sorella mentioned below. Not that it’s particularly important really, since both guitars were used very briefly anyways.

Although the only photo of Syd playing this guitar is black and white, Syd’s Committee seems to have been finished in a dark sunburst. It is also apparent that the guitar featured two “toaster” pickups, which were fitted on models made post-1960, so that gives us somewhat of an idea of when Syd’s guitar was made (read more on this at VintageHofner.com – a really excellent source of information on Hofner guitars).

What happened to this guitar after Syd switched to playing a Telecaster is unfortunately a mystery as with most of his guitars. If you happen to know anything, please leave a comment below.