Tommy Castro has by no means been a lot for sitting with a guitar instructor, preferring as an alternative to depend on good ol’ time within the saddle to hone his craft. However this 1966 Stratocaster has taught him a pair classes.

The guitar entered Castro’s universe within the palms of San Francisco music legend John Newton – recognized on the scene as Johnny Nitro – when he walkedw in to host his Monday evening jam on the Grant & Inexperienced Saloon in North Seaside in the future in 1991. Warming up on his cream three-bolt Strat was Castro, who’d been tolerating – not loving – the tones it was giving him. Inquisitive about Nitro’s guitar, he grabbed it and plugged in. It was love at first notice.

“It felt nice in my palms, and had the tone I used to be attempting to get out of mine,” mentioned Castro (see interview on web page 56).

Having all of the discretionary money of an area blues guitarist, he needed to work a cope with Nitro; they swapped Strats and Castro paid the $600 distinction in installments, and for the following 20 years, the guitar was his #1, heard on his first 10 albums and seen on numerous levels the world over.

As a result of Nitro was the epitome of the “guitars are instruments” participant, little is understood in regards to the Strat’s again story.
“He purchased devices with no thought in any respect that they had been investments, and he preferred tinkering,” mentioned Castro. “He was a mechanic by commerce and really received his nickname on the racetrack, the place he fueled-up dragsters. He’d take guitars aside to modify out necks and pickups and pickguards. I think about fairly a number of got here and went when he wanted cash or no matter. He by no means informed me a lot about this one besides it was certainly one of his many and that it was all-original aside from the pickups.”

Given its standing as a street warrior, it’s no shock that with Castro it has seen its share of store time. Turned out, one pickup was certainly unique whereas one other was from the ’50s and the third was a whole thriller. Castro had a set of Seymour Duncans put in, and to treatment a continuously breaking excessive E string, gave it graphite saddles.

For the following twenty years, Castro performed a number of million notes on it, gracing it with dings, dents, buckle rash, and forearm put on all earned the laborious method.

“Even earlier than I took it on tour, we had been play ing 300 exhibits yearly with out leaving the Bay Space, and it was the one guitar I had,” Castro recalled. “If I broke a string, I needed to exchange it in the midst of a music (laughs).”

So, why did he bench it? As a result of in 2012, someone stole it out of the automobile belonging to his front-of-house man. And whereas it was gone for less than two days earlier than a pal tracked it down at a pawn store, anybody who has had a particular guitar stolen is aware of the unimaginable sense of loss. For Castro, the emotion carried additional weight.

“Nitro was such pal – principally a mentor to me – and he had handed on the 12 months earlier than. To say the guitar meant rather a lot could be an understatement; for 2 days, I used to be super-depressed and simply felt actually silly and responsible for not maintaining a greater eye on it.”

No person may blame him for placing the guitar someplace the place it wouldn’t face potential injury or one other disappearance. In 2021, Castro moved to the desert in Southern California, the place the guitar stayed in a closet.

“From time to time, I’d open the door and see it. It was unhappy. And I do know it’s an inanimate object, however I felt just like the guitar was as unhappy as I used to be as a result of it wasn’t getting any love (laughs).”

However in fact, time heals all wounds…

“Someday, I simply grew to become overwhelmed with the considered how foolish it was to have that stunning instrument not dwelling its finest life. I believed, ‘I’ve gottta take the prospect. Yeah, I may lose it, however I’m going to play it.”

Plugging it in post-hibernation, he was reminded that its high-mileage pickups and electronics had been wonky.

“I went again to Seymour Duncan, desirous to strive Noiseless stacked pickups as a result of I’d been enjoying my Delaney Strat copy with these and so they sounded fairly good. However on this one, they simply didn’t sound correct, so we tried a single-coil set – I don’t recall precisely which, however I feel they had been copies of pickups from Strats of the Hendrix period. They didn’t fairly minimize it both, so I went again to the drafting board and began speaking to M.J. (Maricela Juarez), and we determined that to get near a mid-’60s Strat, Antiquities would do the trick. She was proper! Now I’ve received my previous guitar again and I’m having a good time enjoying it.”

Additional rejuvenations concerned eradicating that graphite within the bridge space.

“With the brand new pickups, I took it to my guitar tech, Chris Barnett, and mentioned, ‘Can we put a daily set of saddles on this? These graphite ones… I feel they’re doing one thing to my tone.’ He mentioned, ‘Yeeeah! I informed you that a very long time in the past!’ I mentioned, ‘Yeah… you had been proper.’ He solely had leftovers from two units, however I had a gig the following day and wanted to get it executed, so we put in them and that’s the way it’s been ever since.”

The Strat is the star instrument on Castro’s new album, Nearer To The Bone, set for launch February 7 on Alligator Information, and it’s on the street proper now with him and The Painkillers. – Ward Meeker

Do you’ve got a collectible/classic guitar with an fascinating private story that may be match for “Classics?” In that case, ship an e-mail to ward@vintageguitar.com for particulars on the way it may very well be featured.

This text initially appeared in VG’s February 2025 challenge. All copyrights are by the writer and Classic Guitar journal. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.