David Gilmour’s Black Strat Smashes Record as Most Expensive Guitar Ever Sold
Historic Guitar Fetches Unmatched Price
The electric guitar known as the Black Strat used for decades by David Gilmour on key Pink Floyd albums and his solo work sold for $14.55 million US at auction on Thursday. That figure sets a new record for the most expensive guitar ever sold in an auction. The sale took place at a live event hosted by Christie’s, where intense bidding lasted about 20 minutes before an unnamed buyer secured the instrument.
The Black Strat left behind the previous record, which was set in 2020 when a Martin D‑18E played by Kurt Cobain during his MTV Unplugged performance sold for $6.01 million at a Julien’s auction. The new price nearly triples that amount, showing how much collectors value iconic instruments tied to music history.
Gilmour first bought the guitar in 1970 in New York after much of Pink Floyd’s gear was stolen early in a U.S. tour. At the time, it was an off‑the‑shelf Fender Stratocaster model that he chose as a replacement instrument.
In a 2018 interview with BBC Radio broadcaster Matt Everitt, Gilmour explained how the Black Strat became central to his sound. “It became my main guitar … the one I used pretty much on everything unless there was a reason to want a different sound,” he said. Over the years, the instrument was modified many times, reflecting how Gilmour experimented with its setup and electronics to find tones that fit different recordings.
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From Display Piece to Auction Highlight
After years of use, the Black Strat spent time on loan for display at a Hard Rock Café. It returned to public attention when Pink Floyd reunited for a performance at Live 8 in London’s Hyde Park in 2005, where Gilmour played the guitar again. The instrument also saw a major auction in 2019 when Gilmour decided to sell it to raise money for charity.
At that earlier sale, the guitar was bought by Jim Irsay, owner of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts, for $3.975 million. Irsay passed away in 2025, and his collection of guitars and music memorabilia has since been featured in multiple auctions. Thursday’s sale was one of four auctions this month offering items from his eclectic holdings, which many have called among the greatest collections of guitars in the world.
The Black Strat was not the only instrument to make headlines at the event. Several other guitars also entered the ranks of the most expensive ever sold at auction. Among them was a custom guitar played by Jerry Garcia for over a decade and during his final performance with the Grateful Dead, which fetched $11.56 million. A guitar used by Kurt Cobain on the albums Nevermind and In Utero and seen in the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” music video brought in $6.9 million.
Two instruments connected to Eric Clapton also made the top list: a Cream‑era Gibson SG nicknamed “the Fool,” which sold for $3.003 million, and the Martin acoustic he played during his MTV Unplugged performance, bringing $4.101 million. All 44 lots offered on Thursday sold, pushing the evening’s total to just over $84 million, including the auction house’s commission.
