Morris Hurricane Stella

[Timmsie95]

On today's repair table, is my uncle's old Hurricane (by Morris) Stella strat copy. the thing is really nice and plays like a dream. He replaced the bridge with a Kahler trem, and replaced the bridge and middle pickups with a Hot Rails an Cool Rails. the thing is pretty nice. Unfortunately, the one who installed the Kahler, also replaced the nut, and he installed it off center, so the strings ride up too far to the bass side of the neck.

The faded sticker on the pickguard has a story behind it.
My uncle went blind when he was 16, and that's when my [other] uncle bought him a guitar (this very guitar) so he could learn to play, so he has something to do. He learned how to play, and he learned how to play very well.
When my sister was about four or five, she was watching The Lion King, and was saying how Scar was scary, but he explained that he couldn't see him, so it didn't scare him.
So my sister went out with my grandma and found some fuzzy lion king stickers, and went up to my uncle while he was playing guitar and said "Here Uncle Alex, now you can see how scary Scar is!" And she put in on the guitar.

Normally, he would be pissed if someone put a sticker on his guitar, but he couldn't make her upset, so he left it there, and it's still there to this day.
Brings a tear to my eye!

He regained vision in one eye, but recently his health went downhill, and he's now blind again.

 

[GilgaFrank]

I love a guitar with a story attached to it. Those are the instruments that you never part with.

 

[Timmsie95]

I agree. And it wasn't even a "top of the line" guitar, it just has this story attached, and it happens to play well. It will always be in the family, and that sticker, no matter how faded he gets, will always remain.

 

[treyhaislip]

Cool story, thanks for sharing!

I've never heard of that brand but the head stock kinda looks like a Bill Lawrence though.

 

[Timmsie95]

I don't know much about them, but i think Morris used to work at Fender, and the body of this guitar was an exact replica of a strat. Could be a rumor, but that's what i hear, at least.

 

[bagman67]

Gotta love those sentimental favorites that wouldn't get a second look at a garage sale.  My own is a Peavey Predator strat copy that my brother - an acoustic-only player who had it lying around gathering dust - gave me when I was in the pit of post-divorce, post-career-blowup depression.  Saved my life, probably.  My fifteen-year-old plays it now.  Makes me happy indeed to see it in action, and every time I pick it up, no matter how much of a craigslist-reject it is, it makes me smile.  Plus I dropped a preloaded Carvin pickup with three of their twin-rail humbuckers in it, so it's a stealth bomber, too.