Jimi's Strings

[T.L.]

'Not trying to be controversial here, but this is all based on measuring the string diameters on one of Hendrix's guitars? back in the '80s, guitar magazines (such as Guitar Player) that wrote about Hendrix said he used 7s and 8s.
Nothing was ever mentioned about 10s on the high end, and 008s (038 low-E) on the low end.

George Lynch uses 010s on the high end, and 009s (042 low-E) on the low-end. Perhaps this would be a good compromise of 010-038 sets are not available.

Speaking of 7s, I started playing guitar in 1984, and never in my life have I ever seen a 7-gauge guitar string set in any music store (nor on the Internet today).

[Freedom]

Speaking of 7s, I started playing guitar in 1984, and never in my life have I ever seen a 7-gauge guitar string set in any music store (nor on the Internet today).

I agree, have never seen 7s string sets in any store locally ...but there is a 0.007" gauge in production right now, check the Dunlop Rev. Willy's Mexican Lottery Brand...the RWN0738 comes with 7-9-11-20-30-38 strings (it's supposed to be Billy Gibbon's sig strings)...

[billshatner]

Fender 150's 10-38 with an .009 on the high E as per an examination of the untouched black Strat when it was in Monica Danniman's possesion

So where are the pics of this historical event?!

Jimi Hendrix's BLACK BEAUTY – by Len Jones

Jimi played for the very last time on THIS guitar. Once kept at the Samarkand flat he and Monika Dannemann shared in London during September 1970, it has been (reverently) locked away since Jimi's passing and Monika herself expressed a wish that the guitar should not be handled. When faced with this legendary instrument, one feels not only respect for Monika's wishes, but also grateful to her for here we have very likely the only surviving example of a guitar played by Jimi still set up the way he liked it (unlike the white, so-called Woodstock guitar which Mitch Mitchell let a guitar reviewer set up 'properly’!).



Opening the guitar case was like opening up a time capsule. This black beauty still had the strings that Jimi put on about 24 years previously. It had a black polyester finish with maple fretboard, and judging by the much bolder black Fender logo edged in gold (CBS Type - see footnote #1) it wasmanufactured in 1968 (August?) The accessory compartment contained spare Fender strings, his guitar lead, and the lilac guitar strap that Jimi wore at the Isle of Wight (now faded to brown). The gleaming white pickguard has now discoloured with age, and the varnish on the maple neck has faded to a golden brown.

Contrary to popular belief, the famous white maple neck Stratocaster was not Jimi's favourite guitar, his favourite was this black one. Photographic evidence of Jimi's last European tour shows that this guitar was chosen by him in preference to others available to him (including the famous 'white’). According to Monika, Jimi told her that this 'black' was his favourite, and that when he went to jam with other musicians (or collected a guitar for playing in his hotel), this one was always his first choice.

A close inspection of the neck revealed that there was no trace of any fretwear or pitting of the finish on the fingerboard. This is a surprise when you consider the amount of use the guitar must have seen over its two years in Jimi's hands. Apparently the fingerboard is a critical feature to the sound of the Strat; a maple2 fingerboard contributes to a much cleaner sound, which is probably one of the reasons why Jimi continuously used maple fingerboard guitars towards the end of his career.

The frets themselves appeared to be the original ones even though no wear was evident. The back of the neck was pitted and scratched from Jimi's many rings. The neck itself looked very slim and the fingerboard was of the standard Fender radius of 7" [as with all Stratocasters built between 1954 and mid–1983]. The headstock had quite a lot of scorching where Jimi had parked many a cigarette.

The fifth and sixth strings both passed under the string tree which was originally intended for the first and second strings. It is interesting to note that the bottom E string (thickest) was not wrapped around the machine head post in a direction opposite to the other strings (despite popular opinion that Jimi made a practise of this to prevent the sixth from jumping out of the nut slot). With a little thought it is hard to see how this error in the Hendrix myth arose, since the sixth is firmly held in place by the string tree, as already stated. The action of the guitar, or string height above the frets, was what I would call a medium action, and the strings themselves were surprisingly light (the first was almost certainly a .009, and the sixth a .038).

Scuff marks, dents and small chips covered the body, and where Jimi's rings would have repeatedly hit the body (when trying to reach top register notes) paint and lacquer has been worn away revealing a large area of wood. This often happened to his guitars as a result of him playing the instrument upside down, a practise which made access to the highest notes far more difficult since the cutaway is made for a right handed person. Despite this obvious difficulty, his right hand would fly up the neck and his long fingers would ensure that he got those high notes.

The plastic pickguard on Stratocasters usually have a small gap adjacent to the truss rod adjustment screw at the bottom of the neck to allow for screwdriver access. This gap on Jimi's guitar has been further enlarged for even easier access, suggesting that at some time the neck needed regular adjustment (although now it appears to be straight).

The neckplate bore the serial number 222625 and had the remains of a circular sticky label covering the Fender 'F' logo. The label (possibly) once bore the price of the guitar when Jimi purchased it (now it is so worn that no information remains, although it can be seen on live footage when Jimi lifts up the guitar to play with his teeth).

The tremelo was set up hard to the body and had five springs in the rear cavity. This meant that the tremelo block and bridge could only lower the pitch, and not raise it. Usually with light gauge strings only three springs are used and the tremelo unit adjusted so the pitch could be raised or lowered with the tremelo arm; obviously Jimi preferred it resting against the body with five springs.


The adjustment screw and spring from the bridge saddle on the first (E) string was missing from the guitar – only to be found in the accessories compartment of the guitar case. Since these are used to accurately set the intonation of the first string, I wondered why Jimi had seen fit to remove them; perhaps the screw was simply not long enough to achieve the correct intonation.


Near the rear strap button bright green pieces of insulation tape could be seen. At first thought it was there to hold in place a piece of wood that had been knocked off. Closer inspection revealed that this was not the case; Jimi probably put it there simply to secure his worn guitar strap or his guitar lead to the body.


So, here we have a guitar set up just as Jimi left it in September 1970. A guitar he used frequently between October 1968 and September 1970: for the Lulu TV show, the Royal Albert Hall gigs in February 1969, the Atlanta Pop and Isle of Wight festivals, and most of the concerts of his last tour....

FOOTNOTES:
#1. June 1968 saw the Fender Company introducing a much bolder black logo known as the C.B.S logo (the Fender factory having been taken over by the Columbia Broadcasting system on 5 January 1965).

#2. A glued on maple board is distinguished from a one piece maple neck by the absence of both a walnut spot above the nut and a contrasting skunk stripe on the back of the neck. Stratocasters with maple fingerboards were not manufactured in great numbers between 1967 and 1970.

#3. Currently, Jimi's black Stratocaster is stored in an undisclosed location (and no, the guitar is not for sale). Hopefully, the guitar will at some point go on public display....


FIRST PUBLISHED IN UNIVIBES #10, MAY 1993 - COPYRIGHT 1993/2009 – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

[billshatner]

Fender 150's 10-38 with an .009 on the high E as per an examination of the untouched black Strat when it was in Monica Danniman's possesion

So where are the pics of this historical event?!

http://www.univibes.com/BlackStrat.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[billshatner]

Fender 150's 10-38 with an .009 on the high E as per an examination of the untouched black Strat when it was in Monica Danniman's possesion

untouched except for the replacement 9 E string LOL

p

LOL at this-

Jimi Hendrix's BLACK BEAUTY – by Len Jones

Jimi played for the very last time on THIS guitar. Once kept at the Samarkand flat he and Monika Dannemann shared in London during September 1970, it has been (reverently) locked away since Jimi's passing and Monika herself expressed a wish that the guitar should not be handled. When faced with this legendary instrument, one feels not only respect for Monika's wishes, but also grateful to her for here we have very likely the only surviving example of a guitar played by Jimi still set up the way he liked it (unlike the white, so-called Woodstock guitar which Mitch Mitchell let a guitar reviewer set up 'properly’!).



Opening the guitar case was like opening up a time capsule. This black beauty still had the strings that Jimi put on about 24 years previously. It had a black polyester finish with maple fretboard, and judging by the much bolder black Fender logo edged in gold (CBS Type - see footnote #1) it wasmanufactured in 1968 (August?) The accessory compartment contained spare Fender strings, his guitar lead, and the lilac guitar strap that Jimi wore at the Isle of Wight (now faded to brown). The gleaming white pickguard has now discoloured with age, and the varnish on the maple neck has faded to a golden brown.

Contrary to popular belief, the famous white maple neck Stratocaster was not Jimi's favourite guitar, his favourite was this black one. Photographic evidence of Jimi's last European tour shows that this guitar was chosen by him in preference to others available to him (including the famous 'white’). According to Monika, Jimi told her that this 'black' was his favourite, and that when he went to jam with other musicians (or collected a guitar for playing in his hotel), this one was always his first choice.

A close inspection of the neck revealed that there was no trace of any fretwear or pitting of the finish on the fingerboard. This is a surprise when you consider the amount of use the guitar must have seen over its two years in Jimi's hands. Apparently the fingerboard is a critical feature to the sound of the Strat; a maple2 fingerboard contributes to a much cleaner sound, which is probably one of the reasons why Jimi continuously used maple fingerboard guitars towards the end of his career.

The frets themselves appeared to be the original ones even though no wear was evident. The back of the neck was pitted and scratched from Jimi's many rings. The neck itself looked very slim and the fingerboard was of the standard Fender radius of 7" [as with all Stratocasters built between 1954 and mid–1983]. The headstock had quite a lot of scorching where Jimi had parked many a cigarette.

The fifth and sixth strings both passed under the string tree which was originally intended for the first and second strings. It is interesting to note that the bottom E string (thickest) was not wrapped around the machine head post in a direction opposite to the other strings (despite popular opinion that Jimi made a practise of this to prevent the sixth from jumping out of the nut slot). With a little thought it is hard to see how this error in the Hendrix myth arose, since the sixth is firmly held in place by the string tree, as already stated. The action of the guitar, or string height above the frets, was what I would call a medium action, and the strings themselves were surprisingly light (the first was almost certainly a .009, and the sixth a .038).

Scuff marks, dents and small chips covered the body, and where Jimi's rings would have repeatedly hit the body (when trying to reach top register notes) paint and lacquer has been worn away revealing a large area of wood. This often happened to his guitars as a result of him playing the instrument upside down, a practise which made access to the highest notes far more difficult since the cutaway is made for a right handed person. Despite this obvious difficulty, his right hand would fly up the neck and his long fingers would ensure that he got those high notes.

The plastic pickguard on Stratocasters usually have a small gap adjacent to the truss rod adjustment screw at the bottom of the neck to allow for screwdriver access. This gap on Jimi's guitar has been further enlarged for even easier access, suggesting that at some time the neck needed regular adjustment (although now it appears to be straight).

The neckplate bore the serial number 222625 and had the remains of a circular sticky label covering the Fender 'F' logo. The label (possibly) once bore the price of the guitar when Jimi purchased it (now it is so worn that no information remains, although it can be seen on live footage when Jimi lifts up the guitar to play with his teeth).

The tremelo was set up hard to the body and had five springs in the rear cavity. This meant that the tremelo block and bridge could only lower the pitch, and not raise it. Usually with light gauge strings only three springs are used and the tremelo unit adjusted so the pitch could be raised or lowered with the tremelo arm; obviously Jimi preferred it resting against the body with five springs.


The adjustment screw and spring from the bridge saddle on the first (E) string was missing from the guitar – only to be found in the accessories compartment of the guitar case. Since these are used to accurately set the intonation of the first string, I wondered why Jimi had seen fit to remove them; perhaps the screw was simply not long enough to achieve the correct intonation.


Near the rear strap button bright green pieces of insulation tape could be seen. At first thought it was there to hold in place a piece of wood that had been knocked off. Closer inspection revealed that this was not the case; Jimi probably put it there simply to secure his worn guitar strap or his guitar lead to the body.


So, here we have a guitar set up just as Jimi left it in September 1970. A guitar he used frequently between October 1968 and September 1970: for the Lulu TV show, the Royal Albert Hall gigs in February 1969, the Atlanta Pop and Isle of Wight festivals, and most of the concerts of his last tour....

FOOTNOTES:
#1. June 1968 saw the Fender Company introducing a much bolder black logo known as the C.B.S logo (the Fender factory having been taken over by the Columbia Broadcasting system on 5 January 1965).

#2. A glued on maple board is distinguished from a one piece maple neck by the absence of both a walnut spot above the nut and a contrasting skunk stripe on the back of the neck. Stratocasters with maple fingerboards were not manufactured in great numbers between 1967 and 1970.

#3. Currently, Jimi's black Stratocaster is stored in an undisclosed location (and no, the guitar is not for sale). Hopefully, the guitar will at some point go on public display....


FIRST PUBLISHED IN UNIVIBES #10, MAY 1993 - COPYRIGHT 1993/2009 – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

[Bahadir]

I always thought, watching the monterey footage, that he had 11s on that guitar, and have always thought he used heavy strings in te early days.

How you can know for sure thay re 11's ? In that days there is no 11's,standard strings 012,Fender Rock n Roll string 10-38,before that R&R strings probably he used mixed sets with banjo strings.

Newtone strings make pure nickel round core strings,there is no 10-38 set but you can order a custom gauge set.I cant find any replacement for 10-38 discontinued set.There is GHS Boomers and Dean Markley Vintage strings in 10-38 pack but Boomers hex core nickel plated steel,DM Vintages nickel plated steel too,but round core.

[Tone seaker]

I have gone to the GHS Boomers 10-38's since I cant get Fenders any more and after searching for pure nickle relentlessly. They are actualy more slinky than the fenders and sound good;

[Doug H]

I always thought, watching the monterey footage, that he had 11s on that guitar, and have always thought he used heavy strings in te early days.

How you can know for sure thay re 11's ? In that days there is no 11's,standard strings 012

You're probably right, they were 12s.

[JimiJames]

huh I recall getting any individual guage I wanted ... that was back in '77...
(Personally, I use 9's for Strats and have always changed out the 11 for a 12 just for even tension across all the strings.
That 11 in a 9 set is too rubberband-ish for me... The Slinky's are too slinky, lol.

#3. Currently, Jimi's black Stratocaster is stored in an undisclosed location (and no, the guitar is not for sale). Hopefully, the guitar will at some point go on public display....

Yeah, that guitar is resting quietly under Uli's bed...

[Bahadir]

‘When musicians were looking for a specific sound or concept, they would come visit me at the factory. Jimi Hendrix was not pleased with the sounds he would get when he bit his strings, so I developed a gauge which he thought 'tasted' right. The .006 and .007 first strings that he used to bite gave him the sound he was looking for.’

James How, Founder and Chairman of Rotosound, speaking in 1992


From Rotosound website.

[Tone seaker]

[Freedom]

They are also more slynky,

Interesting...i'll definitely check them out...

BTW, i've tried the GHS...not bad at all, can't say they are more slinky that Fender's but i dig'em more than the Dean Markley F150's for sure...nickel plated but what the heck...

[Freedom]

Who doesn't love to read the same old BS again and again and again and again...love it!

lol, i'm outta here...

[Tone seaker]

http://www.guitarworld.com/interview-ro ... itar-setup

[billshatner]

http://www.guitarworld.com/interview-ro ... itar-setup

Yup, I remember that article. Somehow I don't recall the one mentioning Rotosound 6's and 7's
The Fender 150's (10-38) were a cool set of strings, gauged really well