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 A few of Syd's favorites by Richard Mahon 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 "Intersteller Overdrive" from the UFO Club on January 21, 1967.
In a photograph taken at Alexandria 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.
Richard Mahon is a staff writer for Spare Bricks. This article was updated Dec. 30, 2000.
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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 
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. 
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.