Jimi Hendrix’s 1964-1966 Fender Jazzmaster

access_time First seen circa 1966
Fender Jazzmaster 1966 White

Jimi was seen playing this guitar during a gig with King Curtis & the Kingpins in May 1966. Given that this is the only time he was ever seen with it, it is possible that the guitar was borrowed.

Jimi Hendrix with King Curtis, May 5th, 1966

King Curtis, Percy Sledge, Cornell Dupree, and Jimi Hendrix – Prelude Club NYC May 5th, 1966. Photo credit: William “PoPsie” Randolph. Prints available at www.popsiephotos.com

The only interesting thing to say about this guitar is that it was likely made between 1964 and 1966. Fender changed the shape of the headstock on many models, including the Jazzmaster, in late 1964. Given that the photo was taken in 1966, the guitar obviously must have been made between the two dates.

Jimi Hendrix & Wilson Picket, Prelude Club

Jimi Hendrix and Wilson Picket – Prelude Club, NYC, May 5th, 1966. Photo credit: William “PoPsie” Randolph. Prints available at www.popsiephotos.com

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Continue browsing, or go subdirectory_arrow_leftBack to Jimi Hendrix Gear Page
access_time 1969

1960s Fender Stratocaster (Telecaster neck, Newport)

Jimi used this guitar only two times, both at the Newport Pop Festival in June 1969. Based on the photos and footage available, the guitar was used on both June 20th and the June 22nd. The guitar is one of the weird ones, in a sense that it was without a doubt put together using parts from at least two different guitars. The neck is from a late 1960s Telecaster, while […]

 access_time 1959

1957 Supro Ozark 1560s

This was Hendrix’s first ever electric guitar. According to some sources [Jimi Hendrix Gear, by Michael Heatley, p.9], he got it from his father who bought it in the Myers Music Shop in Seattle in 1959 for $89. According to others [Becoming Jimi Hendrix, Steven Rody], this story is connected to his second electric guitar, a Danelectro. Be that as it may, Jimi played the Supro with his band The Rocking Kings […]

 access_time 1960

1960s Danelectro Bronze Standard

After his Supro was stolen, with the help from father Hendrix bought this Danelectro which he later nick-named “Betty Jean” after his girlfriend at the time, Betty Jean Morgan. [Jimi Hendrix Gear, by Michael Heatley, p.28] The guitar was allegedly originally green, but Hendrix himself painted it several times from red to purple, and back to green at some point. [Becoming Jimi Hendrix, Steven Rody] However, the earliest photo of […]

 access_time 1966

1964 Fender Stratocaster (Linda)

Based on the photos and the stories from various people, Hendrix only carried one single guitar with him on the plane to the UK in September 1966. Since he didn’t make a work permit ahead of time, it is suspected that someone else (perhaps Chas Chandler) carried the guitar for him. By all accounts, it seems that the guitar that Jimi carried with him was a 1964 Fender Stratocaster finished in […]

 access_time 1968

1968 Fender Stratocaster (Woodstock)

This is probably the best-known guitar of Jimi’s. It was used at the Woodstock Festival on August 18, 1969. Before Woodstock however – things are somewhat fuzzy. It seems that the guitar was used from around the same time as the black Strat, around October 1969, but have gone out of rotation sometime in 1969 in favor of a different white Strat that looked nearly identical. The Woodstock Strat was […]

 access_time 1966

1960s Fender Stratocaster (Carol)

This is likely one of the first, if not -the- first, Stratocaster that Hendrix ever owned. The history behind this guitar is however far from established. The Origins In the book Jimi Hendrix Gear [Jimi Hendrix Gear, p.62] it is noted that Jimi acquired this guitar at the Manny’s Music shop in New York, and that actually Carol Shiroky (his girlfriend at the time) bought it for him. It is assumed that […]

 access_time 1968

1968 Fender Stratocaster (Black)

Hendrix started using this guitar in mid-October 1968, and it represented a shift away from rosewood and towards maple neck Stratocasters. Up until this point, almost every guitar that he played had a rosewood fretboard. This is understandable considering the fact that he mostly used early to mid 60s Strats, most of which were shipped with rosewood fretboards, at least up until around mid-1965. The guitar was one of the two maple […]

 access_time 1962

1961 Epiphone Wilshire

After coming back from the Army in 1962 Hendrix acquired an Epiphone Wilshire. It is assumed that this was from the money he made playing with the Danelectro, which as previously noted, was indeed borrowed from a friend in the army. Jimi used the guitar in the early days of King Casuals – a band that began performing in Nashville by November 1962. The Wilshire can be seen on photos taken at the Club […]

 access_time 1967

1967 Gibson Flying V (Hand-painted)

The earliest photo of Jimi playing this guitar on stage that we have been able to find dates back to August 15, 1967. [Jimi Hendrix at “Fifth Dimension Club”, Ann Arbor. Michigan] Based on this, it is likely that Jimi purchased it in the US – perhaps sometime in late July when he was staying in New York (Manny’s Music Shop in NYC was a very popular guitar store among rock stars back […]

 access_time 1968

1967 Gibson SG Custom

This 1967 Gibson SG Custom is most famous for its appearance on the Dick Cavett show on September 9, 1969. The guitar was however first seen in Jimi’s hands around late 1968. More precisely, November 28, 1968, Rhode Island Auditorium gig seem to be the first one to feature this guitar based on the photos. From then on the SG popped in occasionally, most likely to be used on tracks such as ‘Red […]
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