Finding Peace With A Silver Sky SE
When I started learning to play guitar I knew I would be in trouble. I quickly dove into the rabbit hole, looking for new ideas and sounds and tones…knowing all too well that I would rest whenever I would find my tone, my voice. In the two years I’ve been learning, I’ve gone through two Epiphones, which were beautiful guitars, before landing on a Squier Stratocaster that I bought so my daughter and I could have matching guitars, a Gretsch G-2215 P-90 that pushed me towards blues rock tones, and a Fender Duo Sonic that gave me the confidence to dive into different genres because of its flexibility.
I modded the Squier, changing the neck and pegs and pick-ups, and blocking out the bridge. Even utilized several pickguards until I found the look that matched what I wanted in a tone.
It wasn’t until I landed on a PRS Silver Sky SE, however, that I found peace. I can’t explain it. All I can describe it as is this: a moment of calm where I stopped chasing and experimenting, and started enjoying all that I had. The tones, pushing my amp with different pedals, letting the notes slowly decay over extended time instead of a quick and almost immediate stop. Something about that guitar allowed me to simply be comfortable, to embrace the mistakes of a beginner-ish player, to embrace the learning process of something I had never done before.
I know it may not make much sense, yet here I am, swimming in the tranquility that allows me to push a little further each time I plug any of the guitars I have into an amp, pedals or no pedals. If I were to compare it to rowing, it is going from a 15-minute fast-paced session, rushing to keep up, to a 45-minute session where at times I slow down and others I speed up, and it all feels…natural. It was because of that comfort that I started exploring the other guitars I have, and even a few (at a local shops) that I don’t own and can’t afford to buy just so I can hear what they bring. I am a better player for it now, not a professional…but someone who simply is enjoying the full journey.
