David Gilmour's guitar strings: the Black Strat rig, sourced
Documented string gauges, brands, and tunings David Gilmour uses with Pink Floyd and on his solo records. GHS Boomers David Gilmour Signature (.010–.048). With citations.
Pink Floyd / Solo · reviewed by the Change Your Strings editorial team ·
David Gilmour uses GHS Boomers David Gilmour Signature strings (.010, .012, .016, .028, .038, .048), a custom hybrid set built around his Black Strat rig. He's been a GHS Boomers user since 1979, when he switched during the studio sessions for Pink Floyd's *The Wall*. The signature gauge configuration uses a heavier .048 low E and a lighter .010 high E than a stock 10–46 set, giving him smooth bend feel on the high strings and tight low-end response that suits his vocal lead style.
At a glance
Role
Active
Based
Affiliations
- Pink Floyd (founding member)
- GHS Strings (David Gilmour Signature set)
- Fender (Black Strat custom shop replicas)
Notable credits
- Pink Floyd, The Dark Side of the Moon (1973)
- Wish You Were Here (1975)
- The Wall (1979)
- The Division Bell (1994)
- Solo, On an Island (2006)
- Solo, Rattle That Lock (2015)
Official media
Who David Gilmour is
David Gilmour joined Pink Floyd in 1968 and became the band's primary lead guitarist and (alongside Roger Waters) co-vocalist. The Pink Floyd catalog from The Dark Side of the Moon (1973) through The Division Bell (1994), plus his solo records On an Island (2006) and Rattle That Lock (2015), is one of the most identifiable lead-guitar bodies of work in classic rock, vocal phrasing, long sustain, and the bend-and-vibrato feel that the Black Strat / DG sig string combination is built to deliver.
What he plays
GHS Boomers David Gilmour Signature (.010, .012, .016, .028, .038, .048) on his Black Strat, the GHS-issued signature set sold under part number GB-DGF. It's a custom hybrid: lighter high E than a stock .011 set, heavier low E than a stock .010 set, and a plain G string (.016) rather than a wound G. The combination is built specifically for his lead-line vocabulary.
He has been on GHS Boomers since 1979, when he switched during the studio sessions for The Wall. The brand relationship is documented and endorsement-formal.
Why this fits the rig
The Black Strat is a 25.5-inch-scale Stratocaster with a custom pickup configuration tuned for high-headroom clean-to-edge-of-breakup work. The .048 low E sits at meaningful tension in E standard, enough that the dense layered rhythm passages on Comfortably Numb or Sorrow don't go floppy, while the .010 high E preserves the bend-light feel his lead lines depend on. The plain .016 G string is the part most beginners-replicating-the-rig miss: a wound G has a different attack envelope and less consistent bending pitch, both of which compromise his vocal phrasing.
Sustain is amplifier-side (his Hiwatt and Fender clean platforms compress the long tail of a Strat note into the cathedral-style note length his style depends on), but the gauge configuration sets up the right input feel.
If you want this rig
Boomers David Gilmour Signature Blue (GB-DGF, .010–.048)
Why this one: David Gilmour's official GHS Boomers signature, the Blue version. Custom hybrid: .010 high E for bend-light feel, .048 low E for tight rhythm response, plain .016 G for vocal-style bending. The exact set the Black Strat ships with.