In addition to owing a vintage 1957 Fender Tweed amp, the enigmatically named A Sharp, also uses another family hand me down. His uncle gave him a custom Strat. I want to be adopted by this family; dad gives him a ’57 Tweed and his uncle gives him a custom Strat? His mom probably has a vintage Black Beauty hidden in the cupboard for Christmas. He modified the guitar with a Seymour Duncan JB Junior bridge pick-up.

Tell me about the custom Strat -- all the details, year, etc.

The custom Strat is a hand-me-down from my uncle. He had bought the guitar as an investment but when I graduated high school he gave it to me as a gift. I actually played the Star Spangled Banner on that guitar at my graduation ceremony!

How have you modified it and why?

I decided to go with the JB Junior just to give the Strat tone some extra dirt while the Sustainiac was more of an experiment. Saint Motel singer and guitarist A/J Jackson and I are always experimenting with different sounds and the Sustainiac seemed like an interesting candidate. Right now I am just using it as an under active pick up for quiet guitar passages.

Talk to me about the Duncan JB Junior you put in.

The JB Jr. is a twin coil design pick-up in a single coil size which will give you a Humbucker-like tone with sweet harmonics and a clippy high-end. I decided to go with the JB Jr. because I wanted my tone to break up at lower volumes for a cleaner type of distortion. It's great to have the ability to switch from a cleaner single coil Strat pick up to a beefier harsher twin coil, or combine the two.

Why that pick up? Tell me about the tone you get with it in the Bridge position.

When in the bridge position, the JB Jr. can deliver that classic “Les Paul” sound, but the fun starts when you combine it with the single coil pick ups.

How does your Strat sound different from the average "off the rack" Strat?

The obvious difference would be my pick ups and my personal set up. But, the only real difference is I can smash an “off the rack" Strat but I've put way too much money into my axe to destroy it. Someday though.

A Sharp’s band, Saint Motel, have just released a debut EP, "ForPlay," and are planning a tour in support.