# The Hendrix Sound



## Oakvillain (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi folks,

I've got a Blues Jr., Strat and Zoom effects board. Can you direct me as to how to try and achieve the sound (or there abouts) Jimi gets on Axis bold as love - Little Wing?

Thanks in advance.


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## bolero (Oct 11, 2006)

just a clean setting on the amp alone should work??


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

Ya, that would be your basic mid-scooped clean ala blackface Fender amps, with lots of top end.


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## Oakvillain (Mar 7, 2008)

Thanks guys.

I used the Fender Twin, Clean,Edge,.... setting on my Zoom board and it souds sweet. However, it needs some distortion as it's too clean. I tried adding the classic Marshall distortion as he used a Marshall 100 Plexi and it's too distorted. Gotta keep mucking around with this board unfortunately. I'm in NYC for the next 5 days and won't be able to play until Friday!!


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

Oakvillain said:


> Thanks guys.
> 
> I used the Fender Twin, Clean,Edge,.... setting on my Zoom board and it souds sweet. However, it needs some distortion as it's too clean. I tried adding the classic Marshall distortion as he used a Marshall 100 Plexi and it's too distorted. Gotta keep mucking around with this board unfortunately. I'm in NYC for the next 5 days and won't be able to play until Friday!!


I don't think he was using Marshalls yet at the recording of Axis - some of which was done at the time of Are You Experienced. Probably just Fenders loud enough to get some 'edge' on the tone, then maybe a pedal for some parts (Fuzz Face and/or Octavia). You could mess around for weeks and months trying to get all the way there and maybe never make it, so many variables like amp speakers, guitar pickups, studio ambience and effects on the recording, and on and on. Not to mention the player involved 

Good luck. Enjoy NY, that's one place I'd like to see.


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## bolero (Oct 11, 2006)

ditch the zoom & go straight into the amp


Hendrix used 100w marshall's exclusively for the first album, probably 90% of the 2nd album too, old marshalls have a great clean sound, they are basically 100w bassman's ( basemen?? )


it wasn't until electric ladyland etc that he was using other fender amps in the studio, and even that is hard to document


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Might I also suggest finding your own tone, and using that tone while covering other artist's material?

I understand that some people want to sound just like X guitar player, but it's just as much fun to have your own "signature" tone and play their music - unless of course you're in a veeery popular cover band.


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## Oakvillain (Mar 7, 2008)

I agree that one should have their own favourite sound. Which I do, and I can use that when I play my stuff at home. But when I want it to sound like a song that I love, I want it tuned to that song, sound like that amp, guitar, etc., it makes me feel like I'm nailing it. Not sure what others do, but if I'm playin' it. I want it to sound like it.
Best.


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## sproul07 (Jun 23, 2007)

The other thing too is that if you listen to his live versions of it, especially the Woodstock version, he is using the Fuzz Fuce for his lead tone which gives it that nice fuzzy, smooth tone on the neck pickup


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Oakvillain said:


> I agree that one should have their own favourite sound. Which I do, and I can use that when I play my stuff at home. But when I want it to sound like a song that I love, I want it tuned to that song, sound like that amp, guitar, etc., it makes me feel like I'm nailing it. Not sure what others do, but if I'm playin' it. I want it to sound like it.
> Best.


That's justified to me, and I understand it. I was in a cover band this summer, and I just used my tone for everything - more of a raw sound for the older songs (did the ataris cover of "boys of summer", good times) - I just need the music to sound like the song, not the tone.

Does that make me kind of lucky, or kind of cursed? hehe


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## bcmatt (Aug 25, 2007)

I used to use a zoom pedal as well, but only for about my first month of playing electric. Then I realized that for good tone, I just need a tube amp and a guitar.
Any of those classic rock tones, you can probably get pretty close with just your amp.
Have you ever tried cranking your Master volume, and then turning up your other volume knob to the point of decent distortion, then using your guitar volume knob to bring you from clean to heavy?

It's always the power tube distortion of those Non-Master Volume Marshalls that give them such a beautiful and dynamic overdrive sound. Also, the cleans are even so much richer as well.
My digital pedal became just an expensive on-stage tuner. I also used it a bit for some delay once in a while at first. Then I gave it away after not touching it for a year.


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## lbrown1 (Mar 22, 2007)

this thread got me thinking - would playing lose all it's fun if you found yourself doing a tribute kind of thing....i.e. I saw an AC/DC tribute band.....very good - very authentic...but I started wondering if it became a drag doing only ACDC schtick......and instead of focussing on your playing - you have to focus on the whole persona too.........and having to be note for note on all teh songs.......I think I'd tire of taht pretty quickly unless I was obsessive about the band in the first place...maybe that's the key.http://www.guitarscanada.com/Board/images/smilies/sSig_offtopic.gif


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## Stratin2traynor (Sep 27, 2006)

If you're dying to get those Jimi tones, pick up one of the Digitech Jimi Hendrix pedals. I was really surprised at how well it works and how good it sounds. You pick the tone based on the song and tweak it to your liking and voila. Works great.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

lbrown1 said:


> this thread got me thinking - would playing lose all it's fun if you found yourself doing a tribute kind of thing....i.e. I saw an AC/DC tribute band.....very good - very authentic...but I started wondering if it became a drag doing only ACDC schtick......and instead of focussing on your playing - you have to focus on the whole persona too.........and having to be note for note on all teh songs.......I think I'd tire of taht pretty quickly unless I was obsessive about the band in the first place...maybe that's the key.http://www.guitarscanada.com/Board/images/smilies/sSig_offtopic.gif


Ah, the joys of being able to be in more than one band


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## Soldano16 (Sep 14, 2006)

At rehearsal last night I broke a string on my Les Paul on the 2nd song so I grabbed my Strat. At some point, my bass player said to me 'you sound just like Hendrix" Guess why? Answer below.






























I was using my '72 Super Lead. The amp makes a HUGE difference. NOTHING sounds like one of these.


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## Guest (Mar 23, 2009)

Get a Danelectro Cool Cat Vibe.


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## Oakvillain (Mar 7, 2008)

The Egnater will do a very good job at the Jimi sound. Thanks guys!


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## screamingdaisy (Oct 14, 2008)

Plug strait into the Fender and crank it up a bit. It won't get you exact, but it'll do better than the Marshall emulations you're trying.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I have a DVD of Jimi appearing on the old Dick Cavett show, shortly after Woodstock. He plays a Flying V through what appears to be an Ampeg B-15 Portaflex amp borrowed from one of the house band members. Sounds *exactly* like Jimi. Eighty % of it is in the fingers.


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## bagpipe (Sep 19, 2006)

Speaking of Hendrix fingers, check out this Youtube video: talk about banana hands! ! ! Hes able to bar the neck with the top 2 joints on any of his fingers:

[youtube=Option]v7yPRYL_Oq0[/youtube]


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## Rugburn (Jan 14, 2009)

Hendrix's music doesn't sound too bad with some Tex-Mex flavourings through a Fender amp either.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GSpbuFSr2o

Shawn :food-smiley-004:


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## Hamstrung (Sep 21, 2007)

I seem to recall hearing somewhere that he hooked the amp to a Leslie for that song. If your pedal emulates a rotating speaker add that and see if it works.


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## famouspogs (Jun 9, 2006)

Hendrix's sound is all about how he played, However a 60s Marshall helps too. Really you should just go straight into your blues junior and run the master and pre amp volumes both around 6-7 o clock so its just breaking up(I like leaving the master alittle lower). It will be loud, loud enough to anger other people in the house, but you really do need to have the pre and power tubes both being pushed for it to sound real good. You might also want to look at getting a digitech bad monkey or danelectro daddy-o for abit more OD. Both are relatively inexpensive and will sound much better than the zoom pedal.


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## Soldano16 (Sep 14, 2006)

Rugburn said:


> Hendrix's music doesn't sound too bad with some Tex-Mex flavourings through a Fender amp either.
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GSpbuFSr2o
> 
> Shawn :food-smiley-004:


meh. No one touches Hendrix.


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## Oakvillain (Mar 7, 2008)

Blues Jr. at 6-7? That's freakin' lound. I wouldn't be married for too long if I did that. I don't know about you guys but my ears can only take so much of distortion until I notice it. My ears need to last me a lifetime.


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## Rugburn (Jan 14, 2009)

Soldano16 said:


> meh. No one touches Hendrix.


I agree. My point being you don't need the gear Hendrix used to get his music across.


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## Stratin2traynor (Sep 27, 2006)

Oakvillain said:


> Blues Jr. at 6-7? That's freakin' lound. I wouldn't be married for too long if I did that. I don't know about you guys but my ears can only take so much of distortion until I notice it. My ears need to last me a lifetime.


Check out Vintagetom on YouTube. He does a bunch of Hendrix type stuff and I believe he uses a Blues Jr in a few of his videos. He also lists his gear and settings I believe. He actually kinda looks like the eastern european version of Doyle Bramhall II. lol!


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## Soldano16 (Sep 14, 2006)

Rugburn said:


> I agree. My point being you don't need the gear Hendrix used to get his music across.


I don't know - Stevie's tone is a little thin sounding compared to the man.

I have been listening to nothing but the same Hendrix bootleg in my car for the last 3 months and I went from decades of playing blackface Fenders to now playing vintage ptp JMP Marshalls.

You just can't get BF Fenders to do what those JMP's can do. ESPECIALLY when you turn them all the way up.


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