Jimi Hendrix’s 1970s Fender Stratocaster (black, left-handed)

Sometime in late 1969/early 1970, Hendrix ordered two left-handed Stratocasters at Manny’s in New York, but after his untimely death, they both remained at the store and were never picked up. One of the Strats was black, the other one was white, and they both had rosewood fretboards.

Both guitars were purchased in early 1970 by Steve Miller, who was a good friend of Henry Goldrich – the owner of Manny’s. Unfortunately, the black Strat was stolen from Steve at some point and never recovered.

I’ve known Henry since I was 20 years old and bought lots of guitars from Manny’s. He had two guitars that Hendrix ordered but never picked up. He said, “You can have them.” One was black, one was white.

So I took them, had them set up with the strings flipped, and recorded a lot with the white one, which I still have. It’s an amazing guitar, with a rosewood fretboard. I may have recorded “Fly Like An Eagle” with that guitar.

Steve Miller – Some People Call Him Rock Icon