Jimi Hendrix

[Julius Rain]

That's correct.

He had some right handed guitars, but it is my understanding they were restrung for a lefty so that high E was still in the lowest physical position and the low E in the highest position. So he played "normal" in that sense. I have been told that the fact that he played a right handed stratocaster restrung for a lefty contributed to his unique sound, because it somehow affected the tension of the strings.

Yeah, I thought it was implied that he re-strung them so the strings were in the normal position. I don't know anything about it changing the sound of the guitar, I suppose it's possible, but I know that even today left-handed guitars are often hard to find and more expensive that right-handed ones. Kurt Cobain at times played re-strung right-handed guitars for that reason.

If it changed the sound of the guitar wouldn't it be even harder to play?

[RP33]

He had some right handed guitars, but it is my understanding they were restrung for a lefty so that high E was still in the lowest physical position and the low E in the highest position. So he played "normal" in that sense. I have been told that the fact that he played a right handed stratocaster restrung for a lefty contributed to his unique sound, because it somehow affected the tension of the strings.

Yeah, I thought it was implied that he re-strung them so the strings were in the normal position. I don't know anything about it changing the sound of the guitar, I suppose it's possible, but I know that even today left-handed guitars are often hard to find and more expensive that right-handed ones. Kurt Cobain at times played re-strung right-handed guitars for that reason.

If it changed the sound of the guitar wouldn't it be even harder to play?

opposite.. because it was harder to play, he developed his own unique sound.. It's not anything out of the ordinary, it's all in how you learn something.. I never took lessons for guitar, and learned myself, learned scales myself, and came up with my own progressions that i felt sounded good.. he did the same, but probably with weird tunings and what not considering standard tuning was probably out the window after restringing and playing upside down..

i remember reading that he played upside down right handed guitars because he felt left handed guitars weren't made as nicely at the time.. not sure how accurate that is..

hendrix made the wah pedal what it is today, as far as i'm concerned.. the dude made so many crazy sounds with it.

[CGM]

Yeah, I thought it was implied that he re-strung them so the strings were in the normal position. I don't know anything about it changing the sound of the guitar, I suppose it's possible, but I know that even today left-handed guitars are often hard to find and more expensive that right-handed ones. Kurt Cobain at times played re-strung right-handed guitars for that reason.

If it changed the sound of the guitar wouldn't it be even harder to play?

opposite.. because it was harder to play, he developed his own unique sound.. It's not anything out of the ordinary, it's all in how you learn something.. I never took lessons for guitar, and learned myself, learned scales myself, and came up with my own progressions that i felt sounded good.. he did the same, but probably with weird tunings and what not considering standard tuning was probably out the window after restringing and playing upside down..

i remember reading that he played upside down right handed guitars because he felt left handed guitars weren't made as nicely at the time.. not sure how accurate that is..

hendrix made the wah pedal what it is today, as far as i'm concerned.. the dude made so many crazy sounds with it.

Perhaps I wasn't clear. He restrung not to play upside down, but to avoid playing upside down. The body was upside down, the strings weren't. The only difference between his restrung righty guitar and a normal lefty guitar that might affect the sound are the different lengths of the part of the string above the nut.

edit: I suppose there might also be differences in the part of the pickup under each string.

[Julius Rain]

This vid shows Jimi showing his guitar work off, notice the guitar guys.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rqqaw9iN0Js

[CFH]

He had some right handed guitars, but it is my understanding they were restrung for a lefty so that high E was still in the lowest physical position and the low E in the highest position. So he played "normal" in that sense. I have been told that the fact that he played a right handed stratocaster restrung for a lefty contributed to his unique sound, because it somehow affected the tension of the strings.

Yeah, I thought it was implied that he re-strung them so the strings were in the normal position. I don't know anything about it changing the sound of the guitar, I suppose it's possible, but I know that even today left-handed guitars are often hard to find and more expensive that right-handed ones. Kurt Cobain at times played re-strung right-handed guitars for that reason.

If it changed the sound of the guitar wouldn't it be even harder to play?

No, it wouldn't be any harder to play. The mechanical would be the same, the only problem might be hitting the toggle switch by accident. I honestly don't think it would change the sound all that much, Hendrix has a distinct sound as a result of his skill level, style, and technique.

[CutMeMick]

Thanks for sharing JR..
I grabbed the pics.


I posted pictures of The Doors star in the Hollywood walk of fame.
They gave it to them the same day as the PBF-ODLH press conf. which I attended.

[Andre]

Good one thanks.
I think Zappas son Dweezil has reinstated that old Strat that Hendirix burnt on stage once.
I'l go See if I can find where I read that.

[Andre]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAX_YMFcXDs