How Much is Strat #001 Worth?

I've always been curious about something, and I was hoping some of you guitar experts could shed some light:

How much is the Fender Stratocaster (serial number 001) that David owns worth these days?

How much did he pay for it?

Thanks!

On this subject, I am also curious as to whether it is just the serial number that lists it as the first, or if it actually IS the first Strat.

(Do pardon my ignorance if that turns out to be a silly or irrelevant question!)

Good Q, FWr. I'd also like to know that tidbit, too.

He bought it for $900.
I don't know how much it's worth today...
I would say that since the guitar has gold-plated parts, that it is probably the first numbered Strat.

Although I don't think anyone is entirely sure...all evidence points to the fact that #001 is not the first strat made, or the first strat with a number...but it was meant to be a special guitar (as someone else said, it has gold plating).

Apparently something in the serial number (or something else...initials perhaps) indicates who the craftsman was/is responsible for most of the work on each strat. The number/signature on this guitar belongs to someone who didn't start working for Fender until a year or so after they began.

I read in an article that Dave bought the guitar from Phil Taylor (his backline cheif) in return for a house loan (not sure how much that was...$900 doesn't sound enough). Dave is quoted as saying he doesn't know how much it would be worth, and that he doesn't care 'cause it isn't for sale.

Same article suggests that opening solo to Coming Back to Life is played on this guitar. This claim is made shortly after the article quotes Dave as saying the guitar makes you sound like no-one else (and that solo DOES NOT sound like any of the others).

I think that's the extent of my knowledge on the issue, besides the fact that you shouldn't bother making a bid unless your a multi-millionare!

Just read the Pink Floyd Encyclopedia...
Apparently, David got it from his guitar technician. The technician bought the Strat from Seymour Duncan (pickup designer, guitar maker, etc.) for $900.
My mistake.

I thought $900 was a little low for a house loan!!!!

I think so, too... I don't know what I was thinking when I did that first post!

Driven's right... though I heard that it is #1 because, although a few strats were made before it, it is the first one with a serial no.

The value would be two-fold. An Stratocaster officially serialised as "001" would have enormous value on the open market, however, this guitar now has another 'intrinsic' value; it is one of Dave 'he's a quintessential Strat-player' Gilmour's guitars. Beyond many of the guitars that you see at places like the Hard-Rock Cafe, which have merely been autographed and strummed a couple of times, these other instruments are imbued with another vibe. Often, they're used to realise and record the music we know and love. How much is the Strat that DG used on WYWH worth (# 001 ?) ? How much is one of Jimmy Page's road Les Pauls worth ? Steve Howe's ES175 rides next to its owner (in its own seat) during airflight - how much is this axe worth ? A 'Hendrix Strat' - say no more ! One thing is possible: they're worth more to the current owner than to a collector.

I personally own a guitar with a (little) story: A Hammer 'Sunburst', oddly named as it's a black guitar - great sounding, not unlike your garden-variety Gibson Les Paul. I purchased it in 1988 from a fellow who played in a notable Australian band called 'The Numbers' ... he purchased it from a member from another notable Australian band called 'The Angels' .... now, while The Angels were touring America in 1980, in support of Cheap Trick, they had much their gear stolen in Chicargo - the story goes that Rick Neilson donated several guitars so that they could continue working on that tour. My guitar is, apparently, one of those. Does it have any 'mystical' qualities, having been owned by a line of good guitar players - I doubt it, but it was played by them and that means something to me. It's a great 'hand-me-down' and it still has a 'life' of its own.

Speaking of 'imbued mystical qualities', I once knew an American guy who was a bit of a 'weekend strummer' - anyway, I visited him one time and he pulled out of his guitar case an old string in a plastic bag. His story was that this was a string which came from a guitar that Jimi Hendix smashed at a gig in the 1960s. I unravelled the string and pulled it along it's length between my thumb and first finger ... anything mystical ? No, just rust. Actually, it was pretty cool (I was 17 at the time !), but I guess you had to be there ...

Interesting stories, lifemask.

I would guess that if Dave was willing to sell 001, he could get 7 figures without any trouble from some collector.

not that it's related to anything. But my father once told me he sold an accoustic guitar to G.E. Smith (of Saturday Night Live Band fame...erm, well, you know) who was purchasing for Bob Dylan at the time. My dad really liked that guitar, too.

Maggie's in the basement, mixing up the medicine.

Anecdote antidote, I hope.

Alas, there is no antidote.