Jimi Hendrix’s 1961 Epiphone Wilshire

Jimi acquired this 1961 Epiphone Wilshire guitar in early 1963, approximately when he started performing with King Casuals at Club Del Morocco.

The King Kasuals

Hendrix transitioned from Clarksville to Nashville around late 1962, following Billy Cox’s discharge from the army. In Nashville, the band they formed secured a regular gig at Club Del Morocco. This opportunity marked Hendrix’s first steady job as a musician, and it is likely that he primarily used the Epiphone during this period.

Jimi’s Epiphone featured a solid mahogany body with a red finish, two P-90 pickups, a black (Tortoiseshell?) pickguard, and dot fretboard inlays. The inlay on the 17th fret seems to cover almost the entire space between the frets. It remains unclear whether this was a modification, a simple sticker, or something similar.

Notably, the guitar also included a Vibrola tremolo bridge, which adds an element of confusion. According to GuitarHQ’s model history [Epiphone Wilshire model guitars 1959 to 1970], the tremolo was installed on models made between 1959 and 1961, and between mid-1962 and 1963. Jimi’s guitar aligns with the description of the 1961 model, which, as one might guess, did not come with a tremolo.

There are a couple of possible explanations for this discrepancy. The guitar may have been modified, either by a previous owner or by Jimi himself. Alternatively, there might have been a 1961 model that featured both the black P90 pickups and the Vibrola tremolo.

Pickguard painted white?

In the book Jimi Hendrix Gear [Jimi Hendrix Gear, Michael Heatley – p.34], there is an anecdote suggesting that Jimi painted the pickguard white at some stage. Upon examining photos from around this era, one can indeed spot what appears to be an Epiphone featuring a white pickguard, black P90s, and block inlays (see below).

It is essential to note that, based on information available online, there doesn’t seem to have been a production Wilshire with block inlays in the early 60s. Furthermore, the guitar in the second photo appears to be left-handed, as the control knobs are on the bottom side while Jimi is holding it. In contrast, the Wilshire in the first photo is evidently right-handed.

As a result, the guitar that Jimi is holding in the second photo is most likely an Epiphone Crestwood.

The story of the pickguard being painted white might simply be a consequence of incorrectly identifying the guitar as the same Wilshire that Jimi was seen using in other photos. This confusion is entirely understandable, as even we made the same mistake on this exact page until someone pointed out the error.