2025-04-01: gradual relicing: just add neglect

i have a few electric guitars — when i started playing, it was on electric first, classical being something i started later. one of these, which my partner got for me when i turned 30, is a red stratocaster.

it's gorgeous: a glittering crimson, maple fretboard, a real player. i just haven't played it much. i've mostly been playing classical, for years now.

but today, again, something said to pick it up, so i did. and i noticed the white pickguard is yellowing a bit with age. i didn't really notice it last time. it's kind of subtle: somewhere between white and the colour of the text on this page. and while it's not a new guitar, it was when i got it nearly fifteen years ago. i keep it out, so i guess it's seen a bit of sun, if not actual use. the neck's darker than i remember it being when i got it, too. sunlight's magic.

it looks good. shamefully, like it's actually been played. i used to use it to mess around learning alternative and bluesy stuff. feels like a lifetime ago.

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