John Frusciante’s 1963 Fender Stratocaster (“Linda”)

During the 2022 Unlimited Love tour, John Frusciante was seen playing a white, battered Fender Stratocaster. The excellent jfgear Instagram page quickly identified this guitar as the same one from the Guitar-EXP collection, which claims it to be one of Jimi Hendrix’s original Stratocasters. Not just any Strat, they allege it’s “Linda,” the guitar Jimi brought with him to the UK in 1968—arguably one of his most significant instruments.

But is it really Linda?

Looking at the images we have of Linda, there are some clear differences when compared to the guitar John is playing.

The most notable discrepancy is the position of the Fender logo on the headstock. On the original Linda, the logo is almost flush with the edge of the headstock, while on John’s guitar, there’s a noticeable gap. This difference alone casts significant doubt on the claim.

Was it even one of Jimi’s guitars?

While the guitar doesn’t seem to match the original Linda, it’s still possible that it could be one of the many white Stratocasters Jimi played during his career. Jimi was known to use several different Strats, and a few could fit the description of John’s guitar.

However, rather than attempting to match it to one of Jimi’s other guitars, the burden of proof lies with those who claimed it’s Linda in the first place. Based on what we know about Linda’s distinctive features, the guitar John played on the 2022 tour is almost certainly not Linda.