A quiet five-minute loop between me and a guitar.
I picked up the Squier Bullet Strat — the S$80 one I modded with Fender Japan pickups. I’d just fixed a no-sound issue on the neck pickup with some simple soldering. Nothing fancy. But once it came alive again, I plugged in and let it speak.
Guitar: Squier Bullet Strat with MIJ pickups
Signal Chain: Broadcast-AP (red knob at 1pm, black at noon) → GFI System Orca (echoey delay, dreamy)
Amp: Fender Pro Junior IV
Pickup: Neck only
The loop was simple: E major to A major, over and over. I started playing a melody high on the fretboard—somewhere near the 17th fret—and gradually walked it down, note by note, until I reached the first fret. A descent in sound, but somehow a rising in soul.
It was clean, but not sterile. The Orca’s delay turned everything into a soft shimmer. The Broadcast added just enough harmonic weight. And the neck pickup—now resurrected—felt like it was meant for this.
That’s all.
Just a loop.
Just a song.
Just a birthday.
And somehow, just enough.