Jimi Hendrix' Gear and Mods at West Coast Organ and Amp

[matriarch]

carlygtr, how do you explain that your clips don't sound like Hendrix tone ? A/B Hendrix and you.

what i did is a first attempt quickly made, no problem getting more power and getting it better later.

Easy, nobody can play like Jimi, and it's all different gear than what he had. I shoot for my own thing at this point. Copying or trying to copy is a fools game.
Those old vids were quickly made first attempts as well. A/B Hendrix and what you posted.

[Xplorer]

right, we're talking about the west coast mods here, Hendrix gears. obviously you're not here for that and you've already figured out everything about Jimi. besides, if trying to copy is a fool game, why is this exactly what you did ?

[matriarch]

right, we're talking about the west coast mods here, Hendrix gears. obviously you're not here for that and you've already figured out everything about Jimi.

I don't buy into much of what's being written here. I didn't buy it w/ the original Guitar Player article, and I still don't believe most of it.
This guy went from working on a few amps to get ready for a tour, to working w/ Jimi since 1968, on every aspect of his gear no-less. I call BS

[Xplorer]

sweet ...

[daveweyer]

Matriarch,
Sorry to disappoint you on the Hendrix mods. I didn't work on every aspect of Jimi's equipment since 1968. But I'm reasonably well equipped to document West Coast modifications to his gear, and at least clarify some of those for devotees who are interested.
If you are not, then far be it from me to try to make you interested. You might at least though want to honor those on the forum who are willing to put the time and effort into trying some of these mods out just to see if they'll work.
The proof of all that is written should be in the results somewhere.

Perhaps you could offer something of your own to the readers of this forum which would demonstrate to them that the Guitar Player article of 1995 was BS, and that Neil Moser, Rick Mierop, Jerry Sanders, Lynette Faust, and the rest of us at West Coast Organ and Amplifier Service really had nothing or very little to do with Jimi, or his mods.

Calling BS is a vital function of a discussion, but if you could show us your mod, or a different mod which would prove your point, it would be most instructive for all of us taking the time to write. And if you could offer some evidence that everything written here is BS and has no relation to what Jimi did, or his sound, other than just saying 'I call BS' over and over, that would also be great for everyone involved.

Thanks for your valuable input.

[MrBeasty]

[Xplorer]

[Tenderfoot]

daveweyer wrote:
" 'Under the madness of all this there is a lesson about the mods Jimi's techs were trying out, in order to get him where he was trying to go. It seems to me you should be able to get a pretty good approximation by just getting one of Roger Mayer's fuzz units.
If that doesn't give the output gain needed, you can always put a 20K pot on the collector of Q2 just like Xplorer did, and take the output from the wiper."

My Mayer Axis Fuzz through my 45/100 clone doesn't give that type of gain. I'll have to order a 20k pot and give it a try. When I listen to Xplorer's clip I can hear that something! Wish I was an amp builder like you guys so I could explain it better, but that's the best I can do!

[Xplorer]

i tested my axis fuzz clone with only the volume up. it's definitely tooooo bright for such purpose. but i didn't use any 20k mod in it. and i didn't modify the input and output caps

[Xplorer]

some more bits of sounds, still not played in the right conditions, but having fun.

https://soundcloud.com/xplorer80/141121 ... uzz-test-2

[frenchie]

Easy, nobody can play like Jimi, and it's all different gear than what he had. I shoot for my own thing at this point. Copying or trying to copy is a fools game.
Those old vids were quickly made first attempts as well. A/B Hendrix and what you posted.
I don't buy into much of what's being written here. I didn't buy it w/ the original Guitar Player article, and I still don't believe most of it.
This guy went from working on a few amps to get ready for a tour, to working w/ Jimi since 1968, on every aspect of his gear no-less. I call BS

I think you confuse finger technique , with the pure technical aspect of reaction of the amp with a fuzz there ... I find amplification/sound dynamics that are really interesting and reminiscent of some hendrix recording in Xplorers sound clips ( the right amount of raspiness of the fuzz ) ....Besides it's a thread about gear , only about gear , not about playing prowess , don't even know why you bring the subject ? to push your technical talent on front ?

This just so not between the boundaries of the subject ! It's not a (middle?) fingers ability contest here .... Ear is so not often linked to finger technique (( look steve vai , super technical yeah , but sounds like shit nevertheless , sorry guys but i have to say it , yeah not politically correct , i'll assume the consequences )) , still you try to pass that ( your playing ) as an argument of authority on how gear sound .....you call bullshit without backing , i'm itching to call ego i must say ....and that with the backing of the obvious behavior you're showing ....i think you "cannot hear explorer's amp over the sound of how awesome you are man"

[Xplorer]

indeed, technical talents weren't the point here, although it's a shame that i didn't get my fingers and inspiration warmed up, to honor such fuzz in these clips. but it's not a problem, soon or later

now, back to the subject, i realised that for Woodstock tones, and a lot of other tunes, this fuzz is really great, but when i attempted to play some of the band of gypsys tones, i couldn't really get there. So i'm not sure yet if it's about a few tweaks still needed in this fuzz base, or if it's about settings, or transistors type ...
But it's a very interesting base to give more perspective on this quest, and do some expérimentations.

[Kind Of Loud]

There's a topic floating around, that does the same mods, that Dave has given. I don't have a lot of spare parts on hand, so I went this way.
I have an old Dunlop JHF2. I installed the 50K input pot. I removed the 470 ohm and 8.2K resistors. In the 470 slot, I put in the 8.2K, and bridged the 8.2 slot.

With the 50K rolled all the way back, and the fuzz pot on zero, the gain and volume is through the roof. I'm hearing more mids...?? With the fuzz pot still on zero, and then start bringing up the 50K, things get hairier, and fatter.
The Wah works great, being in front of the fuzz also..!!!

The bias on the collector of Q2, is coming in at little over 5 volts. I'm gonna mess with that slot that's bridged, and see if i can get the bias closer to 4.5.

And Hey Dave....!!!!
Thanks for a great, and fascinating read...!!!

[mathd]

There is soo much interesting info i don't have time to reply.
Please keep going on topic!!!

Am liking your clip explorer, i think its getting very interesting.

PEACE!

[daveweyer]

Xplorer,
Next time you do the Star Spangled Banner, hook up two or three of your Marshalls and their bottoms, turn em up to get some power back into the guitar body, and see what happens to your sustain.
The posted clips are really great because we can hear the tone development. You don't have to be Jimi to just get the feel of it.
Labor of love I would say.

I wonder if it wouldn't be best to embrace Matriarch's point of view as a valid response to all that is being said and done on the forum right now.
Without opposing views, the whole topic could get one dimensional in a hurry. If nothing else, it makes everybody think twice about what they're doing and saying, and that has to be a good thing in the long run, even if it seems a little prickly at times.