GHS Boomers David Gilmour Signature GB-DGF (.010–.048): Gilmour's hybrid Strat gauge

GHS Boomers David Gilmour Signature GB-DGF is the custom hybrid gauge David Gilmour has played on his Fender Stratocaster since 1979, sold by GHS as the "Blue" set. GHS's own product page describes the construction as nickel-plated steel wound over a round core, the same wrap material as the rest of the Boomers line, but the gauge progression itself is unique to Gilmour: .010, .012, .016, .028, .038, .048.

That gauge combination is not sold under any other GHS product name; it exists only as this signature set. A stock Light electric set like GHS's own Boomers GBL keeps a uniform step between strings and a wound G. Gilmour's set keeps the light .010 high E of a standard Light set but jumps to a heavier .048 low E, and swaps the wound G for a plain .016 G, per GHS's own gauge chart and Elderly Instruments' spec sheet ("010 012 016 028w 038w 048w"). GHS also sells a second, heavier "Red" set (GB-DGG, .0105 to .050) for his Gibson Les Paul, but the Blue GB-DGF reviewed here is the Stratocaster set.

The two nonstandard pieces of this set explain the rest of Gilmour's tone. The .048 low E is heavier than the .046 a stock Light set ships with, which tightens up rhythm passages and keeps dense, layered parts like the ones on Pink Floyd's The Wall from going floppy under a heavy pick attack. The .010 high E, on the other hand, stays as light as a standard Light set, so bends on the top strings feel identical to what most electric players already know.

The plain .016 G string is the detail that separates this set from GHS's own standard Light gauge. A wound G, standard on GHS Boomers GBL, has a different attack envelope and a less predictable pitch curve mid-bend than a plain string. Gilmour's phrasing, the long, vocal-style bends heard on "Comfortably Numb" and across his solo catalog, leans on a G string that bends the same way a B or high E does. Swapping in a plain .016 gets him that consistency without going to a full extra-light set across the board.

Players chasing Gilmour's specific lead feel on a Stratocaster, especially the long vocal-style bends across the middle strings. Rhythm-heavy classic rock and progressive rock parts that benefit from a tighter, heavier low E than a stock .046 gives. Anyone who has tried a plain-G hybrid set on another guitar and wants the same feel on a Strat-scale instrument.

Players who want a predictable, easy-to-set-up first electric set. A hybrid gauge with a nonstandard G string can need a small truss rod or intonation tweak coming from a uniform-gauge set, so a standard GHS Boomers GBL or Ernie Ball Regular Slinky is the safer starting point. Also not the set for a Gibson Les Paul specifically built around GHS's Red GB-DGG spec.

This is a genuinely custom gauge, not a repackage of GHS's standard Boomers Light set. The plain .016 G and heavier .048 low E are real, functional choices that shape how the set bends and how it responds to a heavy right hand, and GHS doesn't sell this exact combination under any other product name. If you play a Stratocaster and want to get closer to Gilmour's exact feel rather than just his tone, this is the set, not the standard GHS Boomers GBL.

If a hybrid gauge feels like too much of a leap, start with the closest off-the-shelf equivalent, GHS Boomers GBL, and step up to the signature set once you know you like the brand's nickel-plated steel voice.

GHS

Boomers David Gilmour Signature Blue (GB-DGF, .010–.048)

.010 – .048

Price tier: $$

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