Tonight was one of those sessions that reminded me why I play in the first place.
The setup was simple:
Lady → Dorcas → Phil Jones Bass X4C → Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro
No speakers. No room interaction. Just me, the guitar, and a pair of headphones.
I spent sixty minutes running notes at slow to mid tempos, with a little strumming here and there. There was no fast rock, no chasing licks, and no grand musical objective. It was simply an hour of playing.
The pedals took turns throughout the session. The JHS Legends of Fuzz Bender and ThorpyFX Team Medic alternated duties up front, while the H.B.E. Mimic Mock I and Black Country Customs Secret Path traded places in creating space and atmosphere.
One thing became immediately apparent: the Bender sounded wonderfully thick through the DT 770 Pro. Thick enough that I instinctively reached for Lady’s volume knob and rolled it back whenever the Bender came on. That’s the beauty of an old-school fuzz circuit—the guitar’s controls become part of the pedal itself. Nothing felt compressed or forced. It simply responded.
The session also made something crystal clear for me.
Lady is my number one go-to guitar.
Not because she is the most expensive guitar I own, nor because she is the rarest. She has simply become the guitar I reach for first. The one that asks for nothing and quietly invites me to play.
The Empire ’67 still sits nearby, faithfully keeping her place until a certain yellowish Stratocaster named Joy eventually arrives. But tonight belonged entirely to Lady.
After thirty-five years with the guitar, perhaps this is where I’ve naturally settled:
An unhurried hour, a trusted guitar, a handful of notes, and tones that live somewhere between clean and natural breakup.
No audience.
No expectations.
Just home.