Today, Red went back into her case for a rest.
Out came Regent — my Gibson Custom Shop Historic Collection ’56 Les Paul Goldtop Reissue R6.
Before any pedals. Before any signal chain complexity.
Just Regent straight into the Fender Pro Junior IV.
And she rocked.
P90 + Small Tube Amp = Truth
Natural P90 drive into a Pro Junior on the edge of breakup is something special.
There was wobble. There was harmonic bloom. There was that chewy midrange push.
No pedals. No enhancement. Just wood, wire, and valves doing what they were designed to do.
Regent has two pickups, of course — proper P90s — and three toggle positions. Bridge. Neck. Middle.
All three positions sounded alive.
The neck pickup on its own?
Thick. Warm. A little woolly, maybe.
Some might call it muddy.
I call it authority.
Then the Pedals
After appreciating her raw voice, I ran Regent through the full chain:
ThorpyFX Team Medic (drive)
VOX Straight 6 Overdrive (drive)
VOX Cooltron Bulldog Distortion (drive)
Danelectro Cool Cat Tremolo
Black Country Customs Secret Path
Each drive gave a different flavour.
Interestingly, all three added a touch of clarity to the neck pickup. Not because it needed fixing — but because a bit of gain reshapes the EQ and tightens the low end. Upper harmonics poke through just enough to sharpen the image.
Still, the biggest revelation?
Regent didn’t need any of it.
Playing Feel
Regent made me play differently.
More deliberate. More dynamic. Less fiddling. More digging in.
P90s don’t let you hide. They respond to touch like a living thing.
Small tube amps reward that honesty.
Tonight reminded me of something simple:
If a guitar sounds fantastic straight into a small amp, everything else is optional.
Regent is staying out for a while.
Red can rest.
And sometimes, the best tone is the one that needs the least help.