Hello All,
I just wanted to share with every one the story of one lucky '98 Fender Hard tail stratocaster of mine. I'm a long time strat player (semi-retired right now, which is even a longer story for another time) and have been on a hard tail quest for the last couple of years. I don't really enjoy the CBS '70s hard tail strats too much, but I do enjoy the late '90s MIA models (go figure!). Anyway, I finally found a very nice white blonde, two piece ash "Big Apple"/"Double Fat" model online right before Christmas '08.

Well, it played so well that it inspired me to do some modifications to make it "one of kind", something that would stay in my collection for a long time. I've always loved the "Mary Kay" color scheme, and since this guitar was just missing the gold hardware, I spent the next couple of weeks scouring online dealers for gold Fender replacement parts. It took a while find them all (bridge, tuners, screws, jack plate, neck plate and strap locks) but about the first week of March, I had swapped out all the chrome hardware for gold, and took it to my favorite local guitar tech for a setup/intonation and some wiring TLC.  Getting it back was wonderful, it played like a dream and sounded hotter than dice, with the hum buckers, which was also a new sound for me, at least with a strat.

Anyways, a couple of weeks go by, and I'm just returning to work after my lunch break, when I receive a phone call. It is our local Fire Department.

"Sir, this is Capt. Scott* with the fire department. I have your wife with me and I hate to inform you that you have had a pretty major house fire. Can you please come home as soon as possible?"

Yes. Yes, I can.

By the time I get to my house from work, the fire is out. The wife is slightly hysterical. Luckily, the kids were at school, so everyone was safe. Almost everything in the house is destroyed, including the aforementioned guitar, as it was in the living room, with some other recording gear, and a couple of small combo amps. After a house fire, it takes a few days or so of investigation by the powers to be, to determine the cause. In this case, it was old electrical wiring that started in the master bedroom. During the clean up & inventory process, I pulled the guitar out from a pile of debris in the corner and did a quick assessment. The neck - toasted, frets & fret markers had popped out, the low tone side of the neck burn so badly wood was actually missing. The pick guard & pups had melted into a horrid bulb of plastic and metal. The beautiful white blonde "Mary Kay" finish was bubbled and melted as well.

Was it salvageable, could it be rebuilt? Heck Yes!

So I want to introduce everyone to "Smokie", a truly "one of kind" guitar. Several hours are spent sanding and chipping off pieces of the finish. Surprisingly, I was able to save almost all of the gold hardware. And back to EBay I went for replacement neck - had to be the right year, I'm a stickler for details like that, and then down street to Bellevue American Music for new Seymour Duncans, pots & posts, etc.

I'm happy that I was able to recover this guitar, because playing is one of the things that I truly live for, and once again, just a few months after the fact, the guitar is tuned up and ready to go.

Thanks for reading.

Well, as we close in on the end of summer, the walls in the house now have drywall & insulation installed, and it is starting to look like a real house again. It is a bit disconcerting at this point, but because the images of the house as a burnt out shell are still fresh in everyone’s memories. It will take a little of getting used to, once we get moved back in. It will all be new and fresh, but those memories will be with us for while. for me personally, I hope everyone can feel comfortable in the “new old” house, since we have quite a bit of history there. I have tried to keep up with photos of the progress of the reconstruction, and I’ll definitely being posting pictures of the finished place as soon as it is completed.

On a separate note, it feels like my health is back on track, and while I’m still having stomach issues, the bigger hurdles seem much easier these days. This fall will really be a great time to enjoy every “silver lining” that comes my way. I plan to continue working on my music, though not having a stable residence does make recording tricky. I do feel a creative surge building up, and I’m sure that I can get all of the musical ideas down onto media before the end of the year.

Much love,

SG.