Jimi Hendrix’s Ace (Woodstock) Guitar Strap

During the Woodstock Festival gig on August 18, 1969, Jimi used a guitar strap with a very unique pattern, catching the eye of many. The strap was made by a company named Ace, who at the time produced a number of different guitar straps with similar designs.

Image source: Jimi Hendrix YouTube

Auction

Jimi Woodstock strap was auctioned in 2008 for an undisclosed price (if you happen to come across anything related to the strap post-auction, be sure to leave a comment below).

This patterned Ace guitar strap was used by Hendrix at Woodstock, as well as the Hollywood Bowl in 1967 and other performances. The strap originally came from David Vega, lead guitarist of the San Francisco funk band Graham Central Station. Vega had been given the guitar strap from a sound technician who worked at Woodstock.

Original Source Needed

The wording of the statement is a bit confusing to some since it seems to indicate that the strap originally came from Vega, meaning that he gave it to Hendrix. The case, however, must be opposite, and the strap went from Hendrix to Vega.

Also, how one would go about confirming without a doubt that this is the same exact strap (and not two of them) used at Hollywood Bowl, and again exactly two years later at Woodstock is whole another mystery.

Modern Versions

If you’re looking to buy one for yourself, nowadays these straps are made by a few different companies, in a few different versions.

Most popular, it seems, is one made by Dunlop. However, if you take a closer look, the actual pattern on this strap is somewhat different from the one seen on Jimi original strap, and the quality is not the best.

A better alternative to the Dunlop strap (but also quite but more expansive) is Souldier’s handmade Woodstock guitar strap. This strap seems to be a pretty solid replica of the original Woodstock strap.

Souldier’s handmade Woodstock guitar strap. For pricing, see link above.

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