To the left is “Pearl,” my 60th Diamond Anniversary Strat. Until recently, Pearl had been sitting in her case because I just wasn’t playing her. I actually would’ve sold her a long time ago, but that guitar is earmarked for my youngest child.
One day, about 10 years ago, he was sitting quietly in my home studio, listening to me lay down tracks. I finished a section and put down my guitar, at which point, he got out of his chair, and reached up to me for me to pick him up. He gave me a big hug, then said, “Daddy, when I grow up, I want to play just like you.” OMG! I started tearing up right then and there. I gave him a big kiss and a hug and thanked him. Then he pointed to Pearl and said, “And can I have Pearl when I’m a big boy?” How could I refuse?!!
I played Pearl quite a bit for the next couple of years, but then I got my first Les Paul and a couple of other guitars and I just let her sit. And she sat in her case with little play time for over five years. I know, what a shame, but that’s how it goes sometimes. But a couple of weeks ago, I was going through my stock and took her out of her case. Just feeling that neck compelled me to use it at my next band rehearsal. So I did a quick setup to make sure the neck was straight (it wasn’t), and gave her a nice rub-down.
I really didn’t know what to expect because I literally hadn’t played Pearl for years. But I lugged her out to my rehearsal, set up my rig, got my volume and tone set up on my amp and pedals, then started playing. Oh man! I had forgotten how tonally versatile a Strat was!
It helps that I’m a much better player now than when I put her away those years ago. And even though I was playing leads and solos at the time, my role as both bandleader and lead guitarist kind of limited the scope of what I could do with soloing. But since I joined my classic rock band where my role is strictly lead guitarist, I’ve really had to work on my soloing chops over the last couple of years.
What this has meant as far as playing Pearl is that I have a new perspective on her because I realized that I just didn’t have the chops to take full advantage of what she had to offer. For instance, I really didn’t know how freakin’ awesome that middle pickup was! A few years ago, I was like, “Meh” about it. But now, it’s one of my go-to positions. A few years ago, Doug Doppler told me that for real Strat players, the middle position was the “secret” position. I was still like, “Meh” at the time. But truth be told, I just didn’t know how to take advantage of it. I know, it sounds a bit silly but I really had no idea about its sound until literally a few weeks ago! Well, better late than never…
The point to all this – as I’ve entitled this article – is that sometimes you just have to take a break, and as long as you’ve got the patience, that break could be good. But now it makes me wonder if I should’ve sold my American Standard. But no, I won’t second guess myself on that. It was a great guitar and had a gorgeous rosewood fretboard, but I never really bonded with it for some reason. It was weird, but I just couldn’t dial in a pleasing tone with my rig with it.
Actually, that was a concern about Pearl when I took her to rehearsal. My amp is a vintage-Marshall-style amp made by Aracom Amps. My American Deluxe just didn’t sound right with it and I realize now that that was probably a contributing factor to my putting Pearl away for so long as I thought that Strats, in general, wouldn’t work. But Pearl sounds amazing through that amp! It just goes to show that certain rig combinations work and some don’t.
Guitar Gear 
GREAT STORY, I’VE FOUND DIFFERENT GUITARS SOUND BETTER WITH DIFFERENT AMPS AND VICE-VERSA, THEN WE PURCHASE ALL KINDS OF GUITAR AND AMP COMBINATIONS. I’M IN THE MIDDLE OF SIMPLIFYING MY LIFE. ONE GUITAR (FENDER STRAT) ONE AMP (FENDER BLUES DELUXE RE-ISSUE) AND CALL IT A DAY. WE SOMETIMES FORGET THE PURE JOY OF JUST PLAYING.
Totally with you on that James. I’ve thinned out my stock significantly over the last few years. I will always have Pearl until I give her to my little boy, and I will always have my main Les Paul and my custom Slash L. As for the others (there are not many left now), I’ll probably eventually sell them off. As far as amps are concerned, my Aracom Amps just do it for me, though I’d really like to get a Fender ’65 DRRI. Was looking at a Twin a few months ago, but that’s just way too much amp for what I need.