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A few of Syd's favorites by Richard Mahon
In this column, I'll be examining Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour's gear and playing techniques from a musicians point of view. Please feel free to e-mail me with questions and ideas for future articles at RichM66@Compuserve.com if you feel you have an idea that readers of Spare Bricks might find of interest. Past articles are posted here. In keeping with the theme of this issue I'll be looking at some of the equipment used by Pink Floyd co-founder Syd Barrett. There is much more information available about Barrett's choices of gear than one would expect. Barrett began with a ukulele and banjo (purchased in 1957) before starting on guitar. His first guitar was a Hofner acoustic guitar that was purchased between 1958-59. In 1962 he purchased a Futurama 2 guitar that he used in the band Jeff Mott & the Mottes. He also purchased a Hofner bass guitar between 1963-64.
The guitar that is most associated with Syd Barrett was a Danelectro. This guitar was used through his time in Pink Floyd and afterwards, during his solo career. Barrett was constantly changing the guitar, experimenting with pickup combinations and alternate tunings. The guitar was black with a white pickguard and a rosewood fretboard. There are filmed appearances of Barrett with the guitar on the Pink Floyd video London 1966-67: at the UFO Club in 1966 and the band's first recording session at Sound Techniques Studios, London on January 11-12, 1967. The guitar is also appears in a televised performance of "Interstellar Overdrive" from the UFO Club on January 21, 1967. In a televised appearance on BBC-TV's Look Of The Week on May 14, 1967, Barrett is playing a Fender Esquire guitar with plastic sheeting with mirrored silver discs. In a photograph taken at Alexandra Palace in 1967 Barrett is playing a white Fender Stratocaster. On a November 6, 1967 appearance on US television's American Bandstand Barrett is miming to "Apples And Oranges" with a white Fender Telecaster with a rosewood fretboard. In the studio, a 1963 Sovereign acoustic guitar was used during sessions for Piper At The Gates Of Dawn. Barrett also owned a Yamaha 12 string guitar.
Barrett's amplifiers included a Selmer Piggyback amplifier and a 100-watt Selmer stereo amplifier. His use of sound effects began with a Binson Echorec that he used in Pink Floyd from 1965-67. He can be seen experimenting with the devise most notably during the Sound Techniques, January 11-12, 1967 sessions. Barrett also owned a home made fuzz box and used various slide techniques with everything from a conventional bottleneck slide to a Zippo lighter and ball bearings. An example of these unique effect combinations can be heard at the end of "See Emily Play" where, in the studio, he used a bottleneck through an echo for the Hawaiian slide effect at the end of the song. Richard Mahon is a staff writer for Spare Bricks. This article was updated Dec. 30, 2000.
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