pickups used in early fender lap steel guitars

The blonde Jedson was used for Great Gig in the Sky during the 1987-90 tour, with an open G6 tuning (D G D G B E). The red was again used for One of These Days and High Hopes during the 1994 Division Bell tour, High Hopes during the 2006 On An Island tour and last, for One of These Days during the 2015-17 Rattle That Lock tour.

David would play the red during One of these Days with an open Em chord (E B E G B E). The red Jedson was used on the 1987-90 A Momentary Lapse of Reason world tour, now custom fitted with an EMG H humbucker. The red Jedson was once again featured on the 1977 Animals/In the Flesh tour for the slide solos on Shine On You Crazy Diamond (parts 6-9).ĭavid Gilmour’s red Jedson lap steel pictured at the 2003 Interstellar Exhibition. The guitar had an open G6 tuning (D G D G B E) and was probably hooked up to a volume pedal (although no footage can confirm this).Īccording to the 2019 David Gilmour Christie’s auction catalog, both guitars were modified by luthier Roger Giffin, with Fender pickups and upgraded electronics. The red Jedson was placed behind Richard Wright’s keyboard rig, so that David could swap between playing slide and Hammond organ during Great Gig in the Sky. The guitar had an open G6 tuning and it was hooked up to a volume pedal and a Dallas Arbiter (silicon transistor) Fuzz Face. The blonde was positioned behind Gilmour, in front of his speaker cabinets and used for the band’s new piece Shine On You Crazy Diamond. These were early 1970s copies of the Fender Deluxe table/lap steel with six strings, volume and tone controls and two custom single coil pickups.ĭavid Gilmour employed both the blonde and red Jedson lap steels on the British Winter tour of 1974 and the North American tour of 1975 after retiring the Fender 1000 pedal steel. The most well known and sought after Jedson is no doubt the lap steel guitars made famous by David Gilmour. Right – the red Jedson during the 1994 Division Bell tour. Left – the blonde Jedson during the 1974-75 leg of the Dark Side of the Moon tour. Perhaps what would later be known as counterfeits.ĭavid Gilmour pictured with his two Jedson lap steel guitars. These were mainly copies of well known models. By late 1969, the brand was marketed by Dallas Arbiter in London, with a wide range of acoustic and electric guitars manufactured at different factories in Japan. Jedson is an older brand dating back to the 1920s. They were about 60 quid each.” Phil Taylor, Guitarist 1995 I went off to Sound City, which was the in place to go in the west of London, and they had two Jedsons, a blonde one and a red one. “…but one of the first jobs I had to do was to go out and buy two lap steel guitars for the different tunings needed on Great Gig in the Sky and One of These Days, which was an alternative encore but in the end they opted for Echoes. The guitar was featured on the 2003 BBC Dark Side of the Moon documentary and at the Interstellar Exhibition (2003) and Their Mortal Remains (2017).

The Fender 1000 twin neck is still in David’s possession (not part of the 2019 David Gilmour Christie’s auction). Both with an open G6 tuning (D G D G B E). The Fender 1000 was also used on Great Gig in the Sky. By this point, Pink Floyd had written and premiered a new song, Shine On, which would later turn into two separate pieces on Wish You Were Here (1975). While David wouldn’t perform slides on the first leg of the Dark Side of the Moon tour in 1973, he is seen using the Fender 1000 on stage in France, June 1974. Both songs recorded with an open G6 tuning (D G D G B E). Notably on Breathe and Great Gig in the Sky. The Fender 1000 twin neck pedal steel was again extensively featured on the 1972 – 1973 Dark Side of the Moon recording sessions. David did however, perform One of these Days on a Fender Stratocaster, with an open Em chord (E B E G B E), on subsequent tours between 1971 – 1973, including the filming of the Live at Pompeii performance in October 1971, as the pedal steel apparently was too inconvenient to drag around on tours. The Fender 1000 pedal steel was first used for the recording of One of These Days and possibly Pillow of Winds (Meddle 1971). Right – David recreating his performance on Breathe, with the Fender 1000 pedal steel, for the 2003 Classic Albums documetary. Note the pedals attached to the frame and legs. David Gilmour pictured with the Fender 1000 pedal steel.

Pickups used in early fender lap steel guitars