Jimi Hendrix’s 1965 Fender Jazzmaster (Sunburst)

Based on photographic evidence, this guitar was only used on a few gigs in March/April 1968. It was first seen at the University Of Toledo Fieldhouse on March 30th [Toledo (University Of Toledo Fieldhouse) : 30 mars 1968], and last on April 5th at the Symphony Hall in Newark [Newark (Symphony Hall) : 5 avril 1968].

The guitar was also possibly used at the Miami Festival on May 18th, as it was seen sitting behind Jimi, together with a sunburst Strat (thanks kumanovce in the comments).

The Jaguar on stage at the Miami Pop Festival.

The Guitar Now

This Jazzmaster is apparently currently owned by the actor Steven Seagal. He was interviewed in the January 2006 issue of Vintage Guitar Magazine on the subject and stated that he acquired the guitar from Tappy Wright (Hendrix’s roadie).

I bought that guitar from Tappy Wright, who was his roadie. That Jazzmaster is a 100 percent authentic. I’ve got pictures of Hendrix with it. He played it in 1966 and 67. Hendrix wrote in a journal somewhere that he got it for recording. Apparently, Seymour Duncan was with him the day he bought it – someplace like Manny’s in New York City. I showed the Jazzmaster to Seymour and he remembered it.

Guitar collection of Steven Seagal; Vintage Guitar Magazine, January 2006 – steven-seagal.net

Few things to note – as said, it seems that there are no photos of Jimi with this Jazzmaster aside from the few taken in April 1968, so it’s pretty hard to confirm Mr. Seagal’s statement that he used it in 1966/67. Even without any photos to confirm it, it does seem unlikely, since in late 1966 and early 1967 Jimi mostly used just one guitar – the white Strat that he carried with him from the US.

Jimi did own another identical Jazzmaster early on, and this might lead to some confusion, but even so – this was before he even set foot in the UK. All of the known photos of that Jazzmaster are from mid to late 1965. Even if they were one guitar, which is highly unlikely given how much time had passed (1965 to 1968), the dates are way off from Seagal’s 1966/67.

The latter part of the quote is somewhat plausible though. Jimi was in New York on March 17th, so he could’ve gone to Manny’s for a resupply. .

Once a famous guitar store that sold instruments to guys like Page, Clapton, and Hendrix – Manny’s Music now sits closed. The store was in business from 1935 to 2009, seventy-four years! Photo source: Google Maps

This is indeed confirmed by Jimi himself, who wrote in his diary on March 28, 1968, that he bought a Jazzmaster. Please note here that although Steven got this part right, he missed the fact that Jimi couldn’t have possibly played the guitar in 1966 and 1967, since there’s proof that he bought it in 1968 – which Steven points out himself.

March 28. We played in Cincinnati. I bought a new Jazzmaster here and a practice amp. Got the guitar for recording.

Starting At Zero: His Own Story

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Seagull Fan
Seagull Fan
11 months ago

We all know that Steven Seagull is a real man and a serious guitar player with many many guitars and many many good atributes and mob friends so I personally believe his story about this being a jimi hendrix guitar the evidence isnt flimsy at all

kumanovce
kumanovce
2 years ago

0:50 min of Foxey Lady (Miami Pop 1968) video second sunburst guitar appears to have the Jazzmaster offset body contours without a tremolo cavity or hard tail ferrules

Rick Vito
Rick Vito
3 years ago

I can confirm that Jimi started his show at the Philadelphia Arena on March 31, 1968 using this sunburst Jazzmaster. I took a shot of him with it and later purchased an identical ‘65 for my own use. Seagal has told me that he owns Jimi’s guitar now.

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