Fender, Gibson and beyond: The guitars that shaped Jimi Hendrix
A blank slate that those who choose it use to conjure sounds from deep within, the guitar has constantly evolved alongside life itself. While there have been many pioneers, from Chuck Berry to Jonny Greenwood, one man who had a more significant effect on the fretboard than most was Jimi Hendrix. Although his time in the sun was tragically ephemeral, it captures the very elemental essence of his work that in such a short period, he bridged the gap between rock’s past and future and changed the context of the instrument entirely.
Of course, the story of Hendrix is inextricable from the Fender Stratocaster. The inherent dynamism of the three single coil pickups and their trebly sound, the range offered by the effective tone control, and its perenially accessible curvature – despite playing them upside down as a left-hander – allowed him to bring his creative vision to life and write history.
Thanks to Leo Fender’s design, the guitar was no longer a cumbersome and precious piece of wood made by luthiers; it was simply a sleek, mass-manufactured piece of timber that offered endless possibilities, accessibility and practicality. Hendrix would later describe the guitar as the best all-rounder and praised its range in frequency. Aside from its everyday use, it also allowed him the moment the Seattlean set his Strat on fire at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 — the ultimate symbol of the era’s rebellion.
While the Strat was Hendrix’s primary weapon of choice, over the years, he used an array of guitars and many outside the Fender family. As his career developed, so did his playing and his sonic proclivities, meaning that he was also known to use several Gibsons owing to the full-bodied might of their humbuckers, such as a black 1967 Flying V that he used at the Isle of Wight festival. Elsewhere, he also used Fender Jazzmasters, Duosonics, a Gibson Les Paul, Three Gibson SGs, a Gretsch Corvette, a solitary Fender Jaguar, and other more niche models. Notably, he used a white Gibson SG Custom on The Dick Cavett Show in September 1969 in one of his greatest later performances.
While Hendrix played numerous guitars, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to list some of the most important ones that shaped him. Find them below.
The guitars that shaped Jimi Hendrix:
1957 Supro Ozark 1560s
After first entering the world of guitars on an old ukulele and then buying a cheap acoustic guitar for just $5 at age 15, Hendrix knew he wanted to pursue music as a career. He formed the band The Velvetones shortly after but hit an unavoidable obstacle; his playing could not be heard over the clamour of the rest of the band.
After a period of pleading, Hendrix’s father, Al, eventually caved and purchased him a white Supro Ozark in mid-1959. He soon had his first show with an unnamed group in the Jaffe Room at Seattle’s Temple De Hirsch, but in a sign of things to come, they fired him between sets for showing off.
1960s Danelectro Bronze Standard
Not long after this disastrous first gig, Hendrix joined the professional group The Rocking Kings, who played professionally on the circuit. However, his beloved Supro was stolen when he left it backstage. Calling on Al for support again, he bought him a Danelectro Bronze Standard as the replacement, allowing him to continue his creative odyssey, which still had many twists ahead.
Interestingly, there are conflicting accounts about Hendrix’s first guitar, with he even claiming it was the Danelectro, despite other evidence disputing this. In Starting At Zero: His Own Story by Jimi Hendrix, he’s quoted saying: “When I was 17, I formed this group with some other guys, but they drowned me out. I didn’t know why at first, but after about three months I realised I’d have to get an electric guitar. My first was a Danelectro, which my dad bought for me. Must have busted him for a long time.”
1961 Epiphone Wilshire
When Hendrix was part of Tennessee R&B outfit Johnny Jones and The King Casuals, he really started to refine his sound. During this chapter, he played a 1961 Epiphone Wilshire, and it was on this model that he would develop one of his most iconic moves, playing with his teeth.
One night when back in Seattle, Hendrix witnessed Butch Snipes play using his teeth, a trick later appropriated by the second guitarist of the Kasuals, ‘Baby Boo’ Young. Not one to be forced out of the limelight, Hendrix also learnt the manoeuvre. He would also claim it came out of necessity: “The idea of doing that came to me … in Tennessee. Down there you have to play with your teeth or else you get shot. There’s a trail of broken teeth all over the stage.”
1960s White Fender Duo-Sonic
After moving to Harlem, New York, in 1964, things quickly took off for Hendrix. He won a local talent competition and played the local club circuit, hoping to get his break, and that he did. He soon was invited to audition as the guitarist of The Isley Brothers’ backing band, The IB Specials, which he excitedly accepted. Of course, he smashed the audition but turned up without a guitar after owning his latest model.
Then known as Jimi James, Hendrix was once again helped out by others, this time in the form of The Isley Brothers, who retrieved his stringless guitar and gave him new ones to fit. After blowing them away with his talent and being hired, they decided to upgrade his guitar and buy him a new one, a White Fender Duo-Sonic. Only two months after receiving the gift, it was stolen. However, it can be heard on his first recording with the group, ‘Testify’.
1962 Sunburst Fender Jazzmaster
Although it was early on in his career, it somehow makes sense that Hendrix should weaponise a Fender Jazzmaster. He did so during the latter part of The Isley Brothers’ tour in late 1964 before he quit, citing his boredom at playing the same set every night. The following year, he played it with his next act, Little Richard’s backing group, The Upsetters.
In light of his coming game-changing innovations and the fact that the model is inextricable from rock’s most scintillating pioneers that rose in his wake, such as Sonic Youth and Kevin Shields, it seems fitting that Hendrix should have been one of the first prominent figures to pick one up, despite their fleeting time together.
The sunburst guitar was seen on one of his first television appearances in May 1965 when The Upsetters played ‘Shotgun’ on Night Train with Buddy and Stacey.
In 2021, the ultra-rare guitar fetched hundreds of thousands of dollars after being sold on Reverb. It was purchased by Jim Isray, a guitar collector and owner of the Indianapolis Colts. Legend has it that Hendrix kept the guitar until 1969 before he gave it to an instrumental force in his life, Billy Davis of The Midnighters, who had offered him a gig in 1959 and taught him formative tricks.
1964 Olympic White Fender Stratocaster, ‘Linda’
While second-hand accounts show that ‘Linda’, the 1964 Strat Hendrix played, was not the first one he had owned, with that being ‘Carol’, it is undoubtedly the most important from this period. It is widely believed that this is the model he brought to the UK after being whisked there by former Animals bassist Chas Chandler.
Like many others on the list, this guitar is shrouded in conjecture, from its origins to what happened to it. Some state that Chandler bought it for him, whereas Linda Keith – the girlfriend of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards at the time – who spotted Hendrix and informed Chandler about his brilliance, claims she lent it to him. Some speculate it was actually Richards’ possession. He even states it was his.
It is rumoured that this was the model that he played on during the early days after The Experience were formed in London, and it is even believed to have been the axe on which he recorded ‘Hey Joe’. While no one knows what happened to it, by 1967, he was playing a sunburst Strat, and ‘Linda’ vanished. Keith claims she took it back.
1965/66 Black Fender Stratocaster
The black Fender Stratocaster that Hendrix performed on at 1967’s Monterey Pop Festival is one of the most iconic axes in his arsenal. One of the defining moments in his career, he would perform highlights such as ‘Foxy Lady’, ‘Purple Haze’ and ‘The Wind Cries Mary’. However, due to a game of one-upmanship with The Who, a band also known for their frenetic live shows, Hendrix committed to setting his Strat on fire, but luckily it wasn’t this one.
Deciding to blow The Who out of the water by ritualistically setting a guitar on fire at the last minute, he swapped out his black Strat for another one, which he’d hand-painted, and proceeded to douse in lighter fluid as Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell grooved on The Troggs’ ‘Wild Thing’. Remarkably, both models have survived and appeared in an array of museums after being bought by a British collector.
1967 Gibson Flying V
It made much sense that Hendrix should delve into the world of Gibson and the gritty sound of their humbucking pickups. His most famous Gibson model is the 1967 Flying V, which boasts a hand-painted floral body pattern. Famously, he called this one ‘Love Drops’.
It first appeared on the weird tour with The Monkees in 1967 and then made frequent appearances throughout the year. Later, a different and newer version, a black one, was used as part of his 1970 hurrah at the Isle of Wight Festival. No one knows if it was drawn upon in the studio. Still, there is a rumour the psychedelic model was used on his timeless cover of Bob Dylan’s ‘All Along the Watchtower’, which would account for the blistering nature of the guitar that’s heard.
Over the years, the psychedelic Flying V has had multiple owners, and in 2020 it sold at auction for $2million. It was discovered in a Newcastle guitar shop by musician Dave Brewis, who acquired it and restored the late guitarist’s psychedelic paint job. It has since been housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
1967 White Gibson SG Custom
The white 1967 Gibson SG Custom stands out in Hendrix’s career with its three humbuckers, pearl block fretboard inlays, and golden hardware. It is most famous for appearing on The Dick Cavett Show in September 1969, and over the years, the paint job has faded to a sort of cream colour.
In late 1968 and into 1969, Hendrix would often play a rendition of psychedelic supergroup Cream’s ‘Sunshine of Your Love’, which he would instil real power into on the Custom SG. This was fitting, too, as it has long been thought that Eric Clapton recorded the hippie staple on his 1964 Gibson SG Standard dubbed ‘The Fool’, which boasts its own wacky paint job. Hard Rock Cafe currently owns the model and it has been on display in Atlantic City.
1968 White Fender Stratocaster
From 1968 to 1969, Hendrix predominantly used a new White Strat, which is noted for its large headstock and maple fretboard. Inextricable from the story of the legendary guitarist, it was etched into pop culture lore when he used it at his era-defining performance at Woodstock in 1969.
This was the guitar on which he performed tracks such as ‘Fire’, ‘Voodoo Child’ and his timeless rendition of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’, one of the most triumphant musical undertakings of the countercultural period. The guitar was augmented by a Marshall stack, as well as his trusty pedals, such as the Fuzz Face, which made for a historic concert. This was the moment rock went stratospheric.
