Jimi Hendrix
One of the most influential guitarists of the 20th century, many still see Jimi Hendrix’s playing as the gold standard.
Although his career was cut short, only working as a professional musician for seven years, his songs and iconic style are as impressive today as they were back in the ‘60s.
Image Credit: Steve Banks
How to get the Jimi Hendrix Tone
Jimi Hendrix played and indeed owned a fair number of guitars throughout his lifetime, but none are more closely associated with him than the Fender Stratocaster.
At the time, the amount of aftermarket components for guitars was almost non-existent, so the sound you hear from Jimi in almost all of his most famous recordings come from a stock 1960s Fender Stratocaster, often through a Vox wah pedal and Marshall amp.
Fender Stratocasters
During his time with the Isley Brothers, Jimi was seen playing Fender Jazzmaster and Fender Duo-Sonic guitars, which may have laid the foundations for his move to a Stratocaster.
What was likely his first Stratocaster, an off-white model with a rosewood fingerboard, was a gift purchased in New York by his then girlfriend. Shortly afterwards the two split up and Hendrix was seen destroying a guitar that fit the Stratocaster’s description on-stage overseas in England.
This off-white guitar would be just one of an unknown number of Strats owned by Jimi over the years, with many meeting similar fates.
As the ‘60s went on he owned a few notable examples, some with rosewood fingerboards and some with maple, some with psychedelic paintjobs (like the one he used at the Monterey Pop Festival) and some without.
Later guitars owned by Hendrix featured the larger headstock introduced by Fender in 1966, including the guitar he famously played at Woodstock in 1969.
Lefthanded player, righthanded guitars
Because of the relative scarcity of lefthanded guitars (in particular American-made ones) in Britain in the 1960s, Jimi played right-handed guitars re-strung for a lefthanded player.
This in itself may have had an effect on the tone of Hendrix’s guitar as vintage-era Fender single coil pickups had staggered poles, which go some way to compensate for volume between the low and high strings. By stringing the guitar “lefty-sytle”, these pickups were effectively upside-down with the poles for the bass strings now directly under the high strings and vice versa.
In addition to this, the pickup heights were reportedly not re-adjusted following the re-stringing, meaning the bass side of the pickups would have been closer to the strings and the treble further away; opposite to the traditional pickup heights for a Strat.
Some argue that the difference this makes would be minimal, but Fender deemed it important enough to include reverse-mounted pickups in the Jimi Hendrix signature Stratocaster.
Specs
Model: 1960s Fender Stratocaster
Pickups: 3x Single Coil
Fretboard: Rosewood/Maple, 7.25 inch fretboard radius
Frets: 21
Electronics: Stock
Notes: Hendrix owned many ‘60s Strats through his career, so it’s difficult to focus on any one guitar in particular.
Affordable Alternatives
Jimi’s Stratocasters were usually (aside from some occasional psychedelic paint jobs) stock Fender Stratocasters, which means there are plenty of options out there for guitarists that want to replicate his tone.
Fender have released a couple of variations on the Jimi Hendrix Stratocaster over the years, with high-end Custom Shop models, Artist Series models and the Made In Mexico Jimi Hendrix Strat, which features an inverse headstock to replicate the look of having re-strung the guitar upside down.
These guitars all seem to take inspiration from different Hendrix Stratocasters, though some (like the Mexican Hendrix Strat) are more of an amalgamation of several.
Because there is no single “Jimi Hendrix Stratocaster”, none of these special editions or reissues are necessarily more or less accurate than the others, and there’s no right or wrong answer about which is best. It does also mean that you could equally consider other vintage-spec Strats and achieve a similar outcome.
Squier Classic Vibe 60s Stratocaster
The Squier Classic Vibe 60s Stratocaster is possibly the most affordable entry point for vintage Strat tones out there. For the price, it’s also an incredibly well-made guitar, making it a favourite among many guitarists.
Fender Vintera 60s
Fender’s Vintera series of guitars is comparatively new to the line-up, offering great versatility and specs that not long ago would have been reserved for much more expensive Custom Shop models.
Fender Jimi Hendrix Stratocaster
The most immediately obvious feature on the Jimi Hendrix Strat is the inverse headstock, designed to make it look more like it’s restrung for playing lefty like Jimi, even though it’s a right-handed guitar.
The changes are more than cosmetic though, with Fender taking the opportunity to reverse the bridge pickup to replicate the pole position as it would have been on Jimi’s Strats.
Jimi used Fender Rock ‘n’ Roll 150 strings (.010, .013, .015, .026, .032, .038), which were popular with many guitarists in the 1960s.
This particular type of string is no longer produced by Fender, and instead they market a specific Jimi-Hendrix inspired set of strings, called Voodoo Child.
Voodoo Child strings retain the lighter gauge bass strings from the Rock ‘n’ Roll 150s (for comparison Ernie Ball Slinky strings have a gauge of 0.010, .013, .017, .026, .036, .046), but there is no mention in the promotional material for the strings what else, if anything, is replicated from the originals.
To get the Hendrix tone, there are a couple effects pedals are needed, chief among which are an overdrive and a wah pedal.
Fortunately the size of Jimi’s following over the years has meant the key pedals he used are either still in production or have been released as a modern re-issue, with updated wiring and circuitry.
Jim Dunlop Jimi Hendrix Fuzzface
As the name implies, the Jim Dunlop Jimi Hendrix Fuzzface is a fuzz pedal modelled directly after the Dallas Arbiter Fuzzface pedal used by Jimi on albums including A Band of Gypsies.
The modern reissue is even available with the iconic landmine-like shape as seen on the originals, though Dunlop also make a more traditional-shaped and pedalboard-friendly version if space is at a premium.
Vox V847A Wah
Jimi favoured Vox wah-wah pedals, and you can hear them on many of his most favourite songs including Purple Haze and Voodoo Child (Slight Refrain).
Though there are a number of Vox wah pedals still made to this day, the V847A pedal is arguably the closest to the ones used regularly by Hendrix throughout his career.
Jim Dunlop MXR Octavio Pedal
The Octavia Pedal was made specifically for Hendrix by Roger Mayer, a sound technician working for him at the time.
The pedal serves two purposes, adding a fuzz tone while simultaneously introducing a higher octave into the mix, as heard in Purple Haze.
Jimi was most regularly seen plugged into a Marshall amp, though he certainly wasn’t adverse to using a Fender amp either.
The Marshall JTM45 amp is possibly the one most closely associated with Hendrix, though both originals and more recent reissues are expensive, and depending on what speaker cabinet they are plugged into, often poorly-suited to anything other than large, open spaces.
For most players trying to replicate the Hendrix tone, the Marshall ORI5C Origin Combo should fit the bill. As a 5 watt amp, it’s more practical for players that want to practice at home, record in a studio or play small venues, and you still get the authentic Marshall tube amp tone courtesy of two 12AX7 tubes. Best of all, the amp can be picked up relatively cheap on eBay.
Alternatively, players might find Fender amps like the the Blues Deluxe or the Tone Master Deluxe offer more in the way of versatility.
