Izabella by Citrus

From Citrus' myspace blog

Back in '85 I went to this guitar shop in the northern suburbs of denver. On the wall was MY guitar...I felt it pulling me towards it...I just couldn't take my damn eyes off of it.
Being a young cat...16yrs old...I really had no duckets for this guitar...I mean $310!!! c'mon!
I put it on Layaway! and went in and paid on it whenever I could...taking Polaroid pics of me and my baby to keep me going! In fact...MOM has a picture of me and Izabella on her fridge to this DAY!
I TRULY felt that either Jimi Hendrix or Garry Shider had owned that guitar....Hendrix was ruled out when I found it was a '72. Shider has since confirmed that he thinks he owned the guitar at one point in the Glory Daze.
Anyway...This gorgeous Blonde Strat with a Maple Neck....I took it home and played it to death...but noticed right away that it played like CRAP! I took it in to AXE Haven and had it refretted! In keeping with my poor financial situation and the sillyness of being a teenager...I didn't have them finish the neck....then I even went so far at to Scallop a few of the frets down at the bottom...I played her SO much...falling asleep with her....doing all the things that good guitarist does...tripped acid....went rollorblading LOL ...everything..with my guitar. If there has EVER been a guitar that actually felt like it was a PART of ME...it's THIS guitar...
Well...I have been broken for a while! I played that guitar to death! I traded it, I sold it...and I bought it back every time...I figure I let her go about 4 or 5 times and bought her back for $310 every time! I traded her for a Danelectro Doubleneck Bass with an 8 string neck! I traded her for Marshall Stacks...for ART amps when they were hot...for money...I always got her back tho!

in '02 she went with me overseas to Europe and Africa...In Africa she was in the wreck that we had...Al Davis, all 300lbs of him, dropped right on to her...I thought she was crushed...I used her in her leapord skin case to break open the big window to the van so that we could WALK out instead of climb up thru the little windows...Hell she was damn near in tune! Just played like SHIT!

I took her in to a few shops and had her refretted and tried to bring the life into her...but I wasn't ready personally I guess...cuz she wouldn' be fixed.



Recently, my Mentor and friend Mike Hampton came thru town...He showed me a hot little left handed strat that he had bought on the Isle of Wight!... It set me into action. I HAD to get Izabella back in action..OUT of the case and INTO my arms! (like a Billy Ocean song)
I just can't bare to see her and NOT touch her...but touching her drove me NUTZ!....so I took her in recently....expecting the cat to say...oh man the neck is beyond help etc etc...

but NO...she is home...she has had a heart transplant...a sweet set of pickups and new wiring...a GREAT job of setting her up and all... I mean...she plays better than she EVER has before. I can't put her down..