The greatest player to ever have picked up an electric guitar? Surely.
Jimi Hendrix was a man whose sound was rooted in blues but seemingly refracted through the cosmos and the psychedelic feedback loop of the Swinging Sixties. His style is a lost art. Hendrix used volumes in ways that were unique to him and prohibited by the practicalities of modern stages, sound limits, etc.
Who knows what Hendrix would have come up with if he was still with us. Thinking of Jimi as an elementary player, perhaps his earth, wind and fire would be the Fender Stratocaster, Marshall stack and wah/uni-vibe.
There is a massive industry in creating gear that puts some of that magic at your fingertips. Sure, we can buy these. That’s the easy part. The rest is brain and fingers.
Guitars
In the mind’s eye, Hendrix will always be Strat in hand, but he played all kinds of guitars. When he was a session player for the Isley Brothers he played a blonde Fender Duo-Sonic.
When he played with Little Richard he used a Jazzmaster, proving, perhaps beyond doubt, that off-sets have always been cool and everyone should chill out. He also had a variety of Gibson Flying Vs, an SG Custom, a Silvertone-era U-1 Danelectro with a Shorthorn body.
According to Jimi Hendrix Gear by Harry Shapiro, Michael Heatley, Roger Mayer, he traded his U-1 for an Epiphone Wilshire. And sure, he used the odd acoustic, notably a Martin D-45 and an Epiphone FT-79, but for our purposes we’re going to stay electric, and stick with the Strat, the Flying V, and OK, one SG because we really need an affordable option for a vibrola.
No expense spared
On a budget
Amps
Marshall by name, Marshall by nature. Sure, Hendrix used all kinds of amps, Bassmans, Twins, Supro Thunderbolts, Sunn 100s, but it was Marshall’s 100-watt Super Lead that he would become synonymous with, cranking it hard and using his guitar to tame the madness when needed. The volume was crucial, and the full-stacks helped create the environment in which his alchemy could take effect.
No expense spared
On a budget
Effects
Volume and its volatile effect on single coil guitar pickups was probably Hendrix’s most potent effect, but he also deployed a cornucopia of fuzzes, octave fuzzes, wah, uni-vibe and Leslie effects. So let’s run through some that could definitely do a job on your pedalboard.