Jimi Hendrix purchased a 1968 Martin D-45 guitar in 1969 from Manny’s Music shop in New York. After Hendrix’s death, the guitar was passed on to Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell, who kept it until 1992, when it was sold at auction.
It was purchased by Jimi in 1968 and kept at home to compose with. He wrote many things on it, including the “Black Guld Suite”. It did get taken to and used in studios in New York and can be heard on The Cry of Love album as well as other sessions.
Mitch Mitchell – letter from the 1992 auction – original source needed
There is no direct evidence to confirm this statement, as Jimi was never photographed with the guitar, nor did he mention it publicly. However, given Mitch Mitchell’s close association with Hendrix, the claim is likely credible. The idea of Jimi picking up an acoustic guitar to compose during his time in the U.S. makes sense, as it aligns with his use of the Epiphone acoustic during his time in the UK.
After the 1992 auction, the guitar was sold to Rock Star Guitars. Shortly afterward, it was acquired by the Experience Music Project in Seattle (now the Museum of Pop Culture) for an undisclosed amount.
Second D-45?
There is also an account of a second Martin D-45 allegedly owned by Jimi, which ended up with Noel Redding. According to Chris Dair, who visited Noel’s house in Ireland around 1998/1999, Noel presented him with the guitar and allowed him to play it. Below is Chris’ recollection of the event, shared via email:
First of all Noel said “I want to show you something” and then he disappeared and came back with a guitar case and opened it and said “this was Jimi’s” and I just looked at it in amazement, and then he said “would you like to have a go?” and I said “what?”, and he said “would you like to play it?” I can’t remember my answer to that, I must have said yes, because he handed it to me. I could see it was a Martin and had been strung back to right hand. (Viv was sitting across the room from me, Noel’s mother Margaret was also there). I just felt it, it sounded in tune…and then I started to play New Rising Sun…I don’t know why.
I finished playing after a few minutes, turned the guitar towards me and looked at it. Noel then said “why did you play that?”, and I said “I really don’t know”, handed it back and said thank you. That was it, he took it away. It was extraordinary because it’s not a piece I normally play, and usually when you pick up a guitar like that you just doodle around a little.Chris Dair – via email
This account raises the possibility that Hendrix may have owned two different Martin D-45 guitars. However, the dates and facts do not align with the Martin currently housed at the Museum of Pop Culture, making it doubtful that the two are the same instrument. The second D-45 remains less known and talked about, and there is no concrete evidence to prove its connection to Hendrix. As such, this story should be taken with a grain of salt.
Special thanks to Chris Dair for allowing us to share this story publicly.
My dad sent that guitar back to Martin to be refurbished at one point, for Mitch’s birthday. It was all moldy and not in playing condition.