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“I was just playing an SE, and he said, ‘I want to support you. You're great. I think you deserve to be playing on a USA model’”: How a fan made Sophie Burrell's dream guitar a reality – and changed the course of her career
Your dream guitar can show up in your life in a myriad of ways, and for virtuoso Sophie Burrell, an early presence on social media – coupled with a Facebook group of PRS aficionados – led her to hers: a 2014 PRS Custom 24 Wood Library, which has since become her go-to instrument.
“The back story as to how I acquired this guitar is actually very special and quite unique,” Burrell tellsGuitar World.
“I've been playing guitar for a very long time, since I was like nine years old, and I started creating content when I was about 14. I was a member of this group on Facebook called PRS Guitar Owners Worldwide, and I used to post little videos of me playing in there.”
Turns out, someone had spotted her videos and instantly saw her potential. “I was just playing an SE and [he] said, ‘I want to support you. You're great. I think you deserve to be playing on a USA model, not just an SE.’”
The guitarist-turned-patron, Al, gave her the choice of several models from his own collection before ultimately deciding to give her the very guitar she still owns today.
“I was like, ‘Whatever you want, I'll take it. It sounds good.’ I could not believe my eyes when it actually showed up. I'm endlessly grateful to Al, who gifted this guitar to me, and I believe I would not be the player I am today without that.”
Burrell notes that the PRS now feels like an “extension” of her – as soon as she picked it up for the first time, she “immediately clicked with it.
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“I come up with my best ideas on this guitar,” she explains. “At this point, it kind of feels like it's part of my soul.”
“If [and] when I get a signature guitar, it would be this [one] in a different color.”
Controversially – or perhaps not so controversially – Burrell refuses to name her guitars. “I've never done that, and I probably never will. I'm just not much of a name-your-guitars type of person,” she admits.
Janelle is a staff writer at GuitarWorld.com. After a long stint in classical music, Janelle discovered the joys of playing guitar in dingy venues at the age of 13 and has never looked back. Janelle has written extensively about the intersection of music and technology and how it is shaping the future of the music industry, and has a special interest in shining a spotlight on traditionally underrepresented artists and global guitar sounds. She also had the pleasure of interviewing Melissa Auf der Maur, Yvette Young, Danielle Haim, Fanny, and Karan Katiyar from Bloodywood, among others. When she's not writing, you'll find her creating layers of delicious audio lasagna with her Anglo-Maltese, art-rock band ĠENN.
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