The upside down look of the right handed Strat looked cool on Jimi and it sort of became his trademark. Yes there were other notable left hand players but Jimi just looked so much more noticeable! It became very marketable as an idea.
being a lefty myself. The knobs don't turn down for me on my righty strung lefty. I'm actually turning the knobs up with my forearm. So Hendrix was turning it up constantly with his picking arm. If you rewire the knobs to turn backwards you will alleviate your problem.
chronicinsomnia there is a way to fix that, if you put some foam like cushioning foam, in your knobs, it makes it to where your knobs wont move accidentally.
Hendrix played most of his notes picking very close to the bridge, and with his hand sort of arched. I think because of the tone knobs getting in the way he played like this.
+Max Mendeloff actually Hendrix only played near the bridge when he wanted to..as well as playing a lot right over the middle & neck pick-ups & where the neck connects to the body to get different tones & harmonics..i think the way he was built physically enabled him not have any trouble with the knobs & selector...his arms just sat perfectly on a guitar..i think his picking was his real magic(as was his rhythm playing)..he could more tone with his picking hand than most people....
Agreed. I think his oversized hands allowed him to get a little bit further from the knobs and still reach where he wanted to pick. He did have that way of arching his hand as you mentioned. He played around the knobs at times, not over them like most people have to. I think it was his physical build that allowed him to bypass some of the hurdles most people run into playing upside down. Same with the fretting hand. He had more reach to the high frets than the average hand size. He could comfortably reach past the roadblock most everybody else runs into.
I play a reverse strat and in the beginning i thought it got in the way but pretty quickly i got used to it. When its your only good sounding guitar you kind of gotta make due lol. Its not too bad tho
He put garden hose washers under his knobs....read about it years ago...they couldnt figure out what the black Mark's were on one his guitars around the knobs.... he put natural rubber black hose gaskets under the knobs and they deteriorated over time and fell off. He used Roto strings alot. I guess he liked the string diameter width they had and did custom sets for guys who were touring in the UK.
I made a lefty Strat into a righty. It’s my main guitar. I absolutely love it. I had a little trouble getting used to it. Regular strats feel weird to play now. Also, as far as the inlays on the side of the fret board, I have absolutely no trouble knowing where I am on the neck.
@@KevyNova I traded a car for mine lol. I was pretty serious about it at the time. My number 1 is a Gibson Les Paul now, but I still love my flipped Strat.
+Jacob Ray Of course. But I do want to play on them if I feel like, even if playing Hendrix songs. Actually, He often hitted the 21 fret and bent to the highest E.
@@williamweir1547 Andre Segovia had huge hands too, as did SRV, and many other great guitar players (Gregory Koch too, but he is 6'7")... There are also many great guitar players with smaller hands, unfortunately I'm not one of them.
Reverse headstock is so fascinating and so good looking. Interesting to know that is also so functional for higher strings to reduce tension and facilitating bends
Signature guitars are hit and miss with me. It's very cool that a company can reproduce the tone of an artist that many people love. But I also feel like originality trumps all.
I play lefty and my first guitar was a squire. It was made to be lefty but I always wished I could bend those high strings just a little more. So I may convert a righty to a lefty next time I buy a guitar because I don't need the indicator dots on the side. I learned by ear and I play by feel so like Jimi if I make a mistake I make it work for me. If you watch Jimi play and pay attention there are times where he plays notes he didn't mean to but adjusts and incorporates it into the riff which contributes to his sound. Like a rock jazz kinda thing
+BiggBoi Sam Exactly.. you CAN custom order them. My first Strat in 1971 was. Can you believe that they held my order up... because the body upper strap pin was drilled for lefty mistakenly and they waited for the next un-drilled left body to roll around in the correct color?
They did a Woodstock mirror image Jimi Strat in the 90's. You can find them used for about £1000 - £1500, about the same money as the Voodoo Strat from the same period.
I saw Jimi and started to play a Strat and Marshall with effects in 1970, five months before he passed away. The worst thing about playing a Strat upside-down is having the tremolo arm in the way, keeping you from palm muting the strings. You should cut back the tremolo arm so you can have it under your hand and pick over the neck pickup. When I started using a left-handed body with a right-handed neck in 1972, other guitarists would ask about it. I'd say it's nice to be able to tune without holding my arm up so everyone can see my sweaty armpits. Everyone agreed.
Whoops. When you REPLACED those knob pots, you had them wired right-hand tapered... clock-wise. That is why your arm keeps turning the mid tone DOWN instead of UP. But I do suggest moving the output to the back of the guitar (use the straight plug end) instead of the face jack, to keep you from moving your strumming position away from the jack. Leave the face output plate as a disconnected dummy. When I ordered my custom left-righted, Fender wired knobs for a right-hander, too. Now I have a true left-hand wiring. If you watch Jimi ever do a swell.. you see it changes that. Watch the Woodstock SSB close-up where Jimi is doing all the tone select changes and stuff. You can't do it on a right handed setup. You just can't do it. Everything is too far UNDER. You do get used to reverse knob rotation and placement, in fact, with the knobs ABOVE, like the vibrato bar, you can more instantly push it forward, at the knobs bottom edge than pulling back towards the tail (or you use your THUMB, instead of little finger to pull back on the TOP edge). Your thumb is already right there. And.. consider, you never have to cross over the strings to reach ANYTHING... not to mention you can SEE everything without ever moving your hands over. Ever notice how often Strat players look down waaay over and around their hand to check especially the tone knobs' numeric position.. or jangle the strings trying to get to knobs and vibrato bar. reversed, it's all faster. BUT, if you grew up playing a Standard Strat setup.... you are going to resist adapting to ALL of the changes! You will say.. I HATE that stupid shit. LMAO P.S. Using an angled cord end in the Strat's recessed jack plate will wear them out REAL fast. They may stick better, but that hard flexing isn't good. Wrap it on the strap near the lower pin, if you have a problem stepping on the cord and pulling it out!
+Joshua OnMaui I usually use an angled cable and wrap it under the strap above the strap button and I have no issue with my arm hitting the cable. Straight cables on the other hand, are a big pain on this guitar!
@@KevyNova I use a straight jack that is pulled tight against the body, wrapped around the top-side of the body to behind the cable above the strap button. With an angled jack, I have to wrap the cord tight to the body lower on the side, so it's actually more in the way. I have a cable with straight on one side, angled on the other, so I learned from flipping them around and playing both ways. I agree that some straight jacks stick out too far- it has to be pulled tight against the body, so it doesn't get in the way. I've never liked strats before, mainly because the volume knob is in the way, although it can be moved down to the tone knob below it, then the bottom tone for all three pickups, which is what I'm going to do on my righty Nash strat. This Hendrix Tribute is the first strat I've ever bonded with, for other reasons too. The wang-bar on top is much better, and having the knobs on top can be better too, as the comment above mentions. The reach isn't as good, and while Hendrix had huge hands - I don't. ANYways, my opinion on the jack connectors fwiw.
dude you're such a geek I love it, thanks for doing this vid - really helped me decide not to reverse angle the bridge on an otherwise righty strat, I think if you're going for a "hendrix" vibe you need the complete flip, complete with the style of playing adjustments
9:38 PICKIN UP THE WHAMMY DROP IT DOWN WITH THE EDGE OF MY HAND.... thanks for the comparison! i had noticed that the fender hendrix model didn’t sound exactly like the flipped one to me before so it’s nice that you showed all the differences specifically. still seems like a great guitar overall!
....years ago I (as a lefty) used a righty guitar flipped upside down, I played in a working band and eventually I had to tape the knobs down so as my arm rubbed during playing, I wasn't turning the volume down or altering the tone unintentionally mid-song....a real PITA live in a dark bar or club
Been playing a turned over lefty for 20 years . Some remarks : the staggered pole pieces ( mine are flat) . The staggering is for a wound G , as used in those days . Over the years strings used got thinner and the wound G became a plain one . So the staggering is off : the G pole piece should be much lower to get the sound the maker intended ,the G string will be louder . Second : the tone knob . By carrying the guitar higher (Hendrix did) and also more to the left ( as righthanded player) this is avoided . On a righthanded strat I had to overcome the problem of unintentional turning down the volume pot with the right hand . One disadvantage : the cutaways are turned over , less room to reach the highest notes on a turned over lefty , the difference is about three frets . The markers : indeed : the markers being on the other side of the neck made me realise I used them , lol. Also realised my head was behind the plain of the fret board , I could not see it , hence the realisation I was using the markers . When you play a lot , really a lot , you get used , adapt to the anomalies that every guitar will have , maybe even use them to your advantage , f.e. knowing where you are without seeing the markers . The main thing about "sounding like Hendrix" is tuning the guitar down . It changes the basic sound of the guitar the lowered string tension makes it much easier to bend strings and use vibrato , much easier to play in general . Last : the whammy bar is NOT a tremolo . The mistake was made by the man himself , Leo Fender , when he placed the terms "synchronised tremolo" on the headstock . Tremolo is variation of volume , variation of pitch ( that's what it does) is called vibrato . A blunder , carried over , parroted for 65 years and counting . Just imagine the professional blindness at the Fender factory . Two different products , guitars and amps , that both featured "tremolo" . Being variation of volume on the one and variation of pitch on the other . From drawing board to shipping and al stages in between , no one in the whole factory ever noticed the mistake .
I agree with everything you said. I could do a whole ‘nuther video on pole pieces and how back asswards it is to have ‘50s staggering with modern strings! The “tremolo” thing is a very famous blunder. Leo has confused guitar players for generations!
Nice demo... I used to own a left-handed Strat and experienced the issues described. One other problem is - depending on your fretting hand''s reach - the upper Strat bout/horn impedes access to the upper frets/registers when flipped. Jimi had huge hands, so not an issue for him, obviously.
Thank you. It’s definitely not easy to play up high unless you have ridiculously long fingers! I go over that in part 2 of this video. Thanks for watching!
Terrific video, thanks! I've gone back/forth between getting a LH USA strat and stringing it backward vs. just buying the MIM Fender factory Hendrix model... you brought up a few very key points that I hadn't even considered! Again, many thanks... -bruce
Wow impressed by your playing, cool video and that you have only 2k views. What the hell is wrong with people this video deserves at least 500k views. I learned some tricks of Hendrix's playing from you thanks!=)
Kevy Nova, a refreshing look at the realities of the latests Fender market idea, the advantages of using a lefty if you want to emulate JH, and also for such an informative detailed and thoughtful description. Very nice job. Enjoyed every minute. Sincerely, Michael. PS you are a bad ass player....m
It's been soooo long, but I'm sure I failed to mention, Jimi was turning his knobs reverse of lefty ergonomics. Left hand guitars are wired for COUNTER-CLOCKWISE taper, but Jimi was turning the POTS backwards too. Ever think of that? I never did until a friend of mine gifted me his dead nephew's stock Fender factory left-handed Strat. Until I first played a true left-hand model, I never thought of THAT. I never reversed the taper, the only thing I changed was the nut and strap pin location. So you wind up turning knobs up/in, instead of down/out. Volume swells are completely whacked, but that's what the man was doing
10:50 on Hendrix's Strat it was a Volume control for the bridge pickup and his switch was 3 way between the neck and middle :D thats why his tone is so famous for being in the neck and middle because his bridge was always off.
I don't think that's true, either. Never heard that nor seen it anywhere. He used the bridge pickup a lot. You can hear and see that. Watch Monterrey Pop or the complete Woodstock performance. This seems to be one of those myths that someone perpetrated to make them- self seem like they knew more than they did. On his albums you can clearly hear the bridge pickup in contrast to the neck or middle. He was a master at using every sound a Stratocaster could muster - and then some.
How much does the Jimi one cost, is it made in USA, and what type of pickups are in it? What type of capacitors are on the back of the tone, and volume knobs, etc?
I have a 1997 Hendrix Tribute, which is a period correct mirror image of a 1968 model. I learned to avoid cord, knobs and switches by reaching around the side of the guitar more, rather than close to the body - what the strat carve is there for. speaking of carves, the back carve isn't in the right position for your belly or ribs anymore. How I get around that, is by wearing the guitar higher on my body, like sitting down with the guitar between my legs - the way I play sitting. That allows my arm to go around the side of the body, below the cord and knobs. I like the straight input jack, because it sticks out higher, and I pull it close to the body - out of the way. The reach on high notes is obviously not as good either, but on the whole - I prefer the lefty-reverse strat design, rather than fender's hybrid version, although I would love to get one of those newer Mexican Hendrix strats like you're playing. Eric Gales plays a revers strat too, including the strings in his case, so he is another reverse strat aficionado, despite the drawbacks mentioned. Thank you for the demo - sounding good.....! EDIT: Important fact - the reverse Fender logo can only be read normally in a mirror STANDING ON YOUR HEAD (or upside down_ - I have the same logo on my Hendrix Tribute, and learned that by experience (did Hendrix ever play upside down?)........
well, for starters, Jimi was known to flip his pickups 180" so the original string by string staggering was normal.He also raised the pickups on the "bass-side" . resulting in a more dynamic bass sound and a smoother treble sound.He also tuned in E-flat, which in fact makes quite a difference on most stratocasters. Both his tonepots were locked at full-open position. So he couldnt by accident move them with his underarm. Finally he played with 8-38 gauge strings ( except for the 0,08 E-string that was a 0,10. Now, up to 1972 you couldnt get a non-wound G-string so he used a Hawaii guitar string. ( When playing in Europe, where Hawaii guitars was rare, he used a thicker B-string in the G position ). From concert footage its clear that he mostly played with the center pickup. Never forget Jimis sound came from his hands. You can have a "Bob Hope strat" or a "Ronald Regan tele". The guitar will always sound,,, OF YOU.
+pbstratocaster I agree totally about sound coming from the fingers, I even say that in the follow up video to this one. I knew that he adjusted his pickups to be higher on the bass side but I never heard about him flipping the pickups. Interesting stuff. I've been studying Jimi for 35 years and I'm still learning new things!
Man, I am not really sure about the tension thing. I am pretty sure that the size/lenght ratio is just about the section from the nut to the bridge. The extra should be irrelevant.
That would be true if you had a locking nut but since the strings pass through a traditional nut when you bend, the length to the tuning post does make a difference. But as always, I could be wrong.
***** Don't get me wrong, I loved the video and I just felt like sharing this information or discuss it, if I'm wrong. Doesn't matter if it's a locking nut or not, I guess, it would change something *if* the string would be free to vibrate for all its lenght, that would of course produce a lower note, and then you will have to increase the tension to compensate...like a baritone guitar. But after the nut, even if the string is one meter long, what will produce the note is the ratio between the string size and the nut/bridge lenght...that will give you a specific tension that is only relative to that fraction of space, and since it's a constant, doesn't matter how long is the string altogether, must be the same value...dunno if I was clear :)
I get what you are saying, I've just never heard it explained that way. I'm no physicist and I only go by what I've heard. You've got me curious, I'll have to do some research. My understanding is that when you bend, you are pulling the string through the nut so the shorter the distance from the nut to the tuner, the less string you have to pull through the nut before reaching the desired pitch.
***** Oh, sorry then, I got it all wrong :D You didn't mean the tension of the string, but the force it opposes when you bend it. Well yes, that must be true. When you bend a longer string, also the section of the string that is after the nut is part of the equasion. I made a quick test to be sure...just by playing the segment of the string between the nut and the tuners, whilebending the string on the bridge...the pitch changes, so it's part of the equasion :)
Also Jimi Hendrix reverse wound the Low E string so the string won't potentially pop out of the nut during heavy trem use. It just makes it without touching the A string. Look at any photo. The Low E is reverse wound.
Great points! Another thing is I know you have to use a 90 deg cable on the converted one or it really sticks out in the way. Never thought about the fret markers or the string tension. If Fender was really thinking, they could have reversed the horns and kept everything else the same as they have it. I read that Jimi would have been playing a left handed strat if he had one available, but he did not and he got used to it that way and ended up liking it.
I *always* use a 90° cable, just as Jimi did. You’re right about Fender too. I read somewhere that Fender made a lefty Strat for Jimi but he couldn’t get used to it. I don’t know how true that is.
@@RelicOnMaui that’s a different one. Eric did buy him a lefty Strat that he never got to give him but I also read somewhere that Fender sent Jimi one earlier and he didn’t like it. Clapton obviously was unaware of that.
I really think this Strat is more than just a Jimi guitar. Like models with extra buttons and switches, this offers us a Strat with something special. I almost wish it was just as is and not called a Jimi so I wouldn't be a bit intimidated to play it or have to debate it's validity. It's just a cool looking, great sounding Strat in my book. And I'm so glad it's a Mexican. The Mex Strats are awesome now, maybe just a little heavy. Make mine violet, and I'm springing for the tweed case. Great tones. Great vid. Will like and follow.
+LucyWonderland You're absolutely right. I've always noticed that "Johnny B. Goode" is one of the few times you see him play barre chords without using his thumb. "Jimi Plays Berkeley" is a GREAT concert film!
Body or rib contours and the most important difference,the cutaways at the neck, which don't allow high fret access, we're not mentioned. Changes the way you have to play at the 19th fret or so.
to answer your question about him not hitting the knobs, well his hands were so large that they covered most of that. he did mess up n turn his guitar completely off a lot though. check out foxy lady at Woodstock and stepping stone with the band of Gypsy's. it just didn't happen often cause he was apparently VERY light handed when playing. his favorite and most used guitar(black 68 maple cap strat) didn't have any fret wear. and he played it for 3 years straight.
+Pistol Walker after like 30 years of sitting in closets and such both of Jimi's 68 strats. white one and black. were both found and looked at and photographed. neither had fretwear or any obvious signs of a replacement. the white one Mitch had and is now in a museum. the black one Monika had and is now owned by Uli Roth, I believe.
Tohopka Hototo Tawa The white one is at the RR hall of fame one hour from my house I've looked at it many times although jimi was light with his play style there is still dimpling on the wire in the first 5 frets.
Remember that people have played that one since his passing. No one other than Jimi played the black one because its been locked in a box. And he seemed to be rougher on the white one anyway from what I saw
Nice! The New Hendrix Strat sounded a bit fatter even though you popped the lighter gauge string (set). I always knew that about the differences that happened when Hendrix played his righty Strats strung lefty. It's a cool idea that surprises me that it took so long for them to do. I always thought the Strat bridge pickup should be inverted that way since day one. A bit fatter and mellower on the trebles and more attack on the basses. Jimi knew that. I have a Strat. I wish I could just invert that bridge pickup. Not practical. Oh well.
I remember when the Hendrix strat came out. I might be wrong but the guitar in this vid is actually a fender Hendrix Voodoo strat. That is a right handed guitar with a left hand neck and reverse bridge pickup as in this vid. again i'm not trying to argue but what I remember in or around "97 or so, the hendrix tribute strat was in fact a left handed guitar set up to play right handed. correct me if i'm wrong but they did have two different Hendrix guitars, the tribute and the voodoo strat.
Excellent video! .... I ordered a floyd rose to my fender strat, Musicians Friends delivered a left handed floyd (culd not return it because i moved to another country), wich is kind like the same case in this trem bar on the video, and its a nice vintage bronze color wich makes it really rare and cool, any how it got me thinking if i could play comfortably like that, when palm mutting i suspected that i would not be nice, but now that i have seen the video i am going for it, and also learned nice and interesting stuff about Hendrix, he´s way of playing and tone... THANKS A LOT!!
You're welcome. I bought a bridge from Musicians Friend years ago and they sent me the completely wrong one as well. Apparently they aren't good at shipping the correct bridges!
Jimi wore his guitar high on his body, almost chest high sometimes. That, combined with his long arms, allowed him to play without touching the controls accidentally.
Lol the fret dots... there's a video on UA-cam of Hendrix playing live & he has to count the frets with his finger before he starts playing, so he does it out loud, making light of himself. Always humble... that's what made him so awesome :-)
Now THAT is the one disadvantage of flipping a lefthanded neck:side position markers are not in view. On a darkened stage I have often started a song a half-step high or low! Hard to recover when you start sounding like a wreck. LMAO
Redneck Guitarist it’s also kind of hard to see sometimes but Jimi also played with the guitar resting closer to the middle of his pelvis than most players naturally do , me included. I rest the guitar more on my right hip which changes how parallel my forearm is with the strings and since my forearm comes into the strings more on an angle it slides up against the knobs😓
Telling you, my modified Squier stratocaster standard is about as close as I've had to that sound. The upside down pickups is the key to me. The sounds are there. I can't duplicate this any other way so far.
As a left handed person i have owned a few right handed Strats strung upside down. I have given them all away over time, because they really are a compromise to playing. I am however getting the itch and am about due to get another.
Two minor things, take the hang tags off whilst doing the demo, use a straight input plug instead of the 90* one that get's in the way. Thanks for the tips.
You’re right, I should’ve taken the tags off. But the 90° cable actually gets in the way less than a straight one. That’s why Jimi used angled cables too.
Dear right handed players, We already have few enough guitars as it is please stop taking ours and making them right handed:( Sincerely, Left handed players
I play lefty flipped basses. To remedy the issue of accidentally moving the tone/volume knobs I install pots with a greater physical resistance (as opposed to electrical resistance) so that it takes more than a bump to move them. Also I try to find smaller knobs
hm........ SO I bought a left handed 57 AVRI and am left handed everything but play right handed. That means in order for me to get the Hendrix experience I would need to swap that lefty guitar around and make it into a right handed one, correct? That is a very weird inversion of inversions :)
the headstock flip doesnt do what you say it does. increasing the scale length would increase tension, but if that nut position doesnt move, and the saddle is not moved, tension is the same
@@KevyNova ah, I struggle to do video's for some reason. I live a primitive life where I cannot play with an amp out loud and I don't have a computer so my video's are pretty low quality. I may try as this has stopped me from growing. Nobody has seen my work but a few. Thanks for replying. Hope to catch up later with that.
Not sure Jimi Hendrix thought about any of that stuff, other than switching the nut to a lefty nut (on a right handed strat), which I know he did. He liked the access to the fretboard and the feel of strats, along with having the controls on the top bout instead of the bottom. It's not at all clear that he knew anything about string tension, length, the slant of the bridge pickup, etc. I'm sure he realized some of that as he went along but doubt that technical minutiae had much to do with it. He did like to do his own tinkering on his guitars, though. Every guitar he had was a right handed guitar (even Jazzmasters, Les Paul's, Flying V's) because lefty axes were not very common in the 60's. He didn't search out stuff like a guitar maniac. He just bought them and played them. Most of this is mere conjecture, even though the technical stuff is, I'm sure, correct.
+larry geetar I'm not saying that Hendrix knew all of that stuff (nobody knows what he did and didn't know), I'm just talking about the things that made his upside down Strats unique.
Hello, Kevy. Watching your vid again, and the technical explanations concerning playing Strats flipped over but strung correctly are great and easy to understand. The louder B string concept is one I had not really thought about but it's true. Must be the natural resonance of that pitch combined with the characteristics of pickups. Jimi Hendrix was so wrapped up in sound he surely realized these small differences in guitar response. I think he approached them not as technical things at first, but as a way to make it easier for himself to play Strats and be comfortable. I loved Hendrix and actually opened a show for The Experience with my college band in 1968. So I've taken a lot of interest in him, have a few books and, of course, the internet is a good source. I believe he was incredibly intuitive about such matters and, once he heard something he liked, he figured out why and how to replicate that. Like the differences you mention between regular and flipped Strats, string length, etc. I do know he experimented with very light tenor A banjo strings as a first string early on. Once Fender started making light gauge strings in sets, though, he used those. They were called Fender Rock And Rolls. The gauges (if memory serves) were: 1st-.010, 2nd-.013, 3rd-.015, 4th-.022, 5th-.028, 6th-.038. Clapton used them, too, as did many, once they became common. I don't know if Fender still makes those; certainly I haven't seen any nor do I know anyone, other than myself and friends who were playing back then, who has ever heard of them. Sorry to be so verbose but good Hendrix talk is always worthwhile.
Great vid and explanations.. to me, the only thing missing is vol. roll off/swells comparing between standard layout in the Fender version vs. how he did it with controls up high which might be easier access.. I might just take the tone knob off to prevent accidents
+gearmeister As for using the Volume control, I find it easier on a right handed Strat because I can use my pinky while still playing. I can't easily adjust the volume while playing on the lefty.
1:42 Actually, Jimi was fairly ambidextrous; he didn't do everything else right-handed. I remember watching a documentary that said Hendrix wrote and held a phone right-handed, but ate and threw a ball left-handed. Kurt Cobain was the one who played guitar left-handed, but did everything else right-handed.
Great video Kevy Vintage do a right handed strat with lefty neck just like the fender but they are about £250 (whatever that is in dollars) and it is wonderful
Jimi used those old 60's guitar cables that had a short jack input. I play left handed using a right handed strat and got one of those jack cables online. They are classed as vintage guitar cables. They are much better than the 'long sticky out' jacks. Also regards dot markers, i'v not missed them. If i have to look at my position then i just glance at the frets.
Hey great content. Concerning the tone control issue, early years Hendrix played originally a strat with ONLY one tone and volume. So at the time the arm isnt an issue for the second tone control as seen in the video. Later models deffinetly make it a hassel.
well i keep to myself these days and the music he played was great i had a mod done years ago and these days people still love playing hendrix thats a good thing i cant play loud enough these days so good luck to you no worries peace to this cruel world
+Kevy Nova I'm unable to find any reference that shows a slant in a standard slot-in F-type nut. I'm no professional luthier but, I'm pretty sure it's important a nut isn't asymmetric so that the break angles are more true, resulting in slinkier bends and generally a better feel. Moreover, I use a Fender 'Yngwie' brass nut in my '93 USA strat, which is sold on the fender store as a drop-in accessory. It specifies on the page that it fits both orientations. No mal-intent or anything, I'm just pretty certain that this statement isn't actually true.
Well, I've changed a few nuts and what I'm saying was definitely true in my experiences but I'm sure that not all guitars are like that. It may be more common for nuts to be flat, just not the ones I've worked with.
+ChristianIce That's a terrible analogy. What's being implied here is that all nuts are either left hand or right hand nuts, what I'm saying is that it's fallacious to say that while Fender themselves are producing replacement nuts that are marked 'Fits both orientations'. I don't see it as an arguable point, if the company that actually manufactures these guitars specifies some of their nuts as ambidextrous.
ChristianIce I'm not refuting that, I'm just saying nothing was said otherwise. Should be noted that it's entirely possible you may be able to save money by doing so.
I solved your tone knob thing. On lefty guitars they're wired the same way and righty guitars so instead of turning the tone down while he was strumming Jimi would be turing the tone up while he was playing. Doesn't work the same way taking a lefty guitar and turning it righty, you'd actually have to wire the pots in backwards if you wanted the same playability.
Did you ever mention that the left-hand model also reverses the direction of the volume and tone controls? I ordered a left-handed setup right Strat in high-school, and since cannot stand a right-handed Strat. Having the vibrato bar reversed and the toggle and reversed controls on the UPPER side I actually prefer. The only drawbacks I would change is to route the BACK of the body for a second flush mount output jack. It's the OUT JACK that is making you move your arm towards the knobs. The only other thing is to add side fretboard position markers. Especially in the dark, it really easy to find yourself a half-step out of position. But overall... the "Hendrix" model is missing so many elements that actually make a difference (like the upper positioning of the vibrato bar) I use only a lefty/righted. Jimi could have ordered custom Strats... (he had a left-handed V) but it would REVERSE THE VOLUME taper direction AND vibrato bar position. Those two differences would have made the thing just too odd. Once you go reverse, there's no turning back. I can't get into a right handed Strat. I know that sounds insane. But there are secrets about it people can't "figure". Most guitar players are just so used to RIGHT-handed Strats.. they never really get into the other animal. Lucky me.. a friend's left-handed relative died, so his uncle told me, if ANYBODY should have his guitar, it is you. Lo and behold, me and my FAVORITE guitar were re-united. Now... where is that Marshall 8x12! Yes, It takes at least that much AIR MASS.. not wattage, to get Jimi's on-stage sound. To quote a friend of mine, "It takes THREE Marshall stacks... to change the world. LMAO Peace
+Joshua OnMaui The knobs on my lefty Strat turn in the same direction as a right handed Strat. Maybe it's because it started out as a Squier. I haven't played a lefty Fender.
+Kevy Nova Mine IS a Fender built for a left-hand player... Mexican. All these guitars differ as I am looking at A Squire from India.. and one from Indonesia. The Indonesian has staggered polepieces where the Indian doesn't. There is also a difference with the Squire ii. LOL.. I think maybe there are lots of reasons to buy an American made Fender Stratocaster
I think that one major fix for the modded lefty strat's issues could be just putting a slight angle in your picking wrist. I've seen some Hendrix footage and when they do a close up on his strat, it seems as if he has a slight angle in his wrist. Hope this helps!
Great video, thanks. You answered my question about string tension behind the playing length. BTW I wonder with the JH Strat was not set up with a lefty trem like the SRV.
hey its mostly in your fingers and the guitar sounds like hendrix so get used to it hahah it helps to be the same build and a hippy and a cool lovely man like jimi he worked very hard to play that style but most of it was how he felt at the time if your not in the mood put it down otherwise a tribute is nice
+howard coleman NO guitar model is going to make you sound like ANYONE else. That really is the bottom line. I play Hendrix on a friggin' FLAT-TOP acoustic/electric with a wound G and people say I sound "JUST LIKE JIMI" It's in the feel and playing technique.... BOTH hands. Chasing the soul of a sound via the equipment route is abso-friigin-lutely futile. I have to disagree about tributes... that butcher the sound and soul of Jimi's music. I'd rather not hear those... it's painful, to me. LMAO
@@KevyNova well I dont know how he did it but if I had the need to do it, i woul put a felt washer between the knob and the pickguard so it will create some resistance.
The upside down look of the right handed Strat looked cool on Jimi and it sort of became his trademark. Yes there were other notable left hand players but Jimi just looked so much more noticeable! It became very marketable as an idea.
being a lefty myself. The knobs don't turn down for me on my righty strung lefty. I'm actually turning the knobs up with my forearm. So Hendrix was turning it up constantly with his picking arm. If you rewire the knobs to turn backwards you will alleviate your problem.
Good to know, thanks for the info!
+chronicinsomnia Exactly. A true left-hand model has left-hand taper. I thought KEv said he replaced the pots, but must have been wrong
chronicinsomnia there is a way to fix that, if you put some foam like cushioning foam, in your knobs, it makes it to where your knobs wont move accidentally.
chronicinsomnia makes no sense you’re still having to adjust
Hendrix played most of his notes picking very close to the bridge, and with his hand sort of arched. I think because of the tone knobs getting in the way he played like this.
I think you're right. When I play my lefty Strat, I have to hold my forearm out away from the body or else it accidentally turns the tone knob down.
+Max Mendeloff actually Hendrix only played near the bridge when he wanted to..as well as playing a lot right over the middle & neck pick-ups & where the neck connects to the body to get different tones & harmonics..i think the way he was built physically enabled him not have any trouble with the knobs & selector...his arms just sat perfectly on a guitar..i think his picking was his real magic(as was his rhythm playing)..he could more tone with his picking hand than most people....
+Kevy Nova I guess I just got used to it... AND I don't wear guitars low
Agreed. I think his oversized hands allowed him to get a little bit further from the knobs and still reach where he wanted to pick. He did have that way of arching his hand as you mentioned. He played around the knobs at times, not over them like most people have to. I think it was his physical build that allowed him to bypass some of the hurdles most people run into playing upside down. Same with the fretting hand. He had more reach to the high frets than the average hand size. He could comfortably reach past the roadblock most everybody else runs into.
I play a reverse strat and in the beginning i thought it got in the way but pretty quickly i got used to it. When its your only good sounding guitar you kind of gotta make due lol. Its not too bad tho
He put garden hose washers under his knobs....read about it years ago...they couldnt figure out what the black Mark's were on one his guitars around the knobs.... he put natural rubber black hose gaskets under the knobs and they deteriorated over time and fell off.
He used Roto strings alot. I guess he liked the string diameter width they had and did custom sets for guys who were touring in the UK.
I made a lefty Strat into a righty. It’s my main guitar. I absolutely love it. I had a little trouble getting used to it. Regular strats feel weird to play now. Also, as far as the inlays on the side of the fret board, I have absolutely no trouble knowing where I am on the neck.
It’s definitely a fun guitar to play once you get used to it.
@@KevyNova I traded a car for mine lol. I was pretty serious about it at the time. My number 1 is a Gibson Les Paul now, but I still love my flipped Strat.
@@rapaladude that IS serious! Haha!
@@rapaladude Is it a lefty L P upside down. L O L.
Another big problem about the lefty guitar turned upside down is the difficulty to achieve the highest frets.
+Jacob Ray Of course. But I do want to play on them if I feel like, even if playing Hendrix songs. Actually, He often hitted the 21 fret and bent to the highest E.
Also Hendrix had hands the size of a baseball mit. In fact its a tie between Hendrix and Wes Montgomery as to who had the biggest hands
william weir don’t forget Paul Gilbert
@@jacobray4961 I've seen Hendrix play all the way up live. It wasn't super common for him to do, but he could do it.
@@williamweir1547 Andre Segovia had huge hands too, as did SRV, and many other great guitar players (Gregory Koch too, but he is 6'7")... There are also many great guitar players with smaller hands, unfortunately I'm not one of them.
I personally play a right guitar upside down, cause I'm lefty and I just learned like that, and the knobs are something you just gotta get used to.
I imagine it’s not much of a problem if you learn that way.
go buy a ibanez rg the knobs are different than strat
@@mikeroe7942 right, but I play upside down so that wouldn't help at all.
How do u tremulo picking with the knobs on the way??
@@juanandresochoaheredia1423 not too hard, I reach my wrist around them
Reverse headstock is so fascinating and so good looking. Interesting to know that is also so functional for higher strings to reduce tension and facilitating bends
Signature guitars are hit and miss with me. It's very cool that a company can reproduce the tone of an artist that many people love. But I also feel like originality trumps all.
Agreed.
Great review....bought one in December haven't played anything else since.
+Dylan M Nice!
Never mind the naysayers. This is a great guitar. I love mine.
Billy Shears Me too, it's a great guitar 👍
I'm glad you are happy with it. I'd like to have one myself.
Billy Shears may i introduce to you... THE ONE AND ONLY BILLY SHEARS!!
Yeah man. Forget it's a Hendrix model. It's just a cool looking great sounding guitar. I'm getting one.
I play lefty and my first guitar was a squire. It was made to be lefty but I always wished I could bend those high strings just a little more. So I may convert a righty to a lefty next time I buy a guitar because I don't need the indicator dots on the side. I learned by ear and I play by feel so like Jimi if I make a mistake I make it work for me. If you watch Jimi play and pay attention there are times where he plays notes he didn't mean to but adjusts and incorporates it into the riff which contributes to his sound. Like a rock jazz kinda thing
they should make a true Jimi. guitar Lefty for a Righty
+BiggBoi Sam Exactly.. you CAN custom order them. My first Strat in 1971 was. Can you believe that they held my order up... because the body upper strap pin was drilled for lefty mistakenly and they waited for the next un-drilled left body to roll around in the correct color?
From who can i order from?
An how much do yoy think the price will set me back?
+BiggBoi Sam Probably a few thousand, best build it yourself id say
They did a Woodstock mirror image Jimi Strat in the 90's. You can find them used for about £1000 - £1500, about the same money as the Voodoo Strat from the same period.
Jonathan Spiers I just realised this was nearly a year ago... Not long after I bought my Jimi Hendrix signature Strat ✌😀🎸
I saw Jimi and started to play a Strat and Marshall with effects in 1970, five months before he passed away.
The worst thing about playing a Strat upside-down is having the tremolo arm in the way,
keeping you from palm muting the strings.
You should cut back the tremolo arm so you can have it under your hand and pick over the neck pickup.
When I started using a left-handed body with a right-handed neck in 1972, other guitarists would ask about it.
I'd say it's nice to be able to tune without holding my arm up so everyone can see my sweaty armpits.
Everyone agreed.
Ha, that’s very funny!
Whoops. When you REPLACED those knob pots, you had them wired right-hand tapered... clock-wise. That is why your arm keeps turning the mid tone DOWN instead of UP. But I do suggest moving the output to the back of the guitar (use the straight plug end) instead of the face jack, to keep you from moving your strumming position away from the jack. Leave the face output plate as a disconnected dummy. When I ordered my custom left-righted, Fender wired knobs for a right-hander, too. Now I have a true left-hand wiring. If you watch Jimi ever do a swell.. you see it changes that. Watch the Woodstock SSB close-up where Jimi is doing all the tone select changes and stuff. You can't do it on a right handed setup. You just can't do it. Everything is too far UNDER. You do get used to reverse knob rotation and placement, in fact, with the knobs ABOVE, like the vibrato bar, you can more instantly push it forward, at the knobs bottom edge than pulling back towards the tail (or you use your THUMB, instead of little finger to pull back on the TOP edge). Your thumb is already right there. And.. consider, you never have to cross over the strings to reach ANYTHING... not to mention you can SEE everything without ever moving your hands over. Ever notice how often Strat players look down waaay over and around their hand to check especially the tone knobs' numeric position.. or jangle the strings trying to get to knobs and vibrato bar. reversed, it's all faster. BUT, if you grew up playing a Standard Strat setup.... you are going to resist adapting to ALL of the changes! You will say.. I HATE that stupid shit. LMAO
P.S. Using an angled cord end in the Strat's recessed jack plate will wear them out REAL fast. They may stick better, but that hard flexing isn't good. Wrap it on the strap near the lower pin, if you have a problem stepping on the cord and pulling it out!
+Joshua OnMaui I usually use an angled cable and wrap it under the strap above the strap button and I have no issue with my arm hitting the cable. Straight cables on the other hand, are a big pain on this guitar!
@@KevyNova I use a straight jack that is pulled tight against the body, wrapped around the top-side of the body to behind the cable above the strap button. With an angled jack, I have to wrap the cord tight to the body lower on the side, so it's actually more in the way. I have a cable with straight on one side, angled on the other, so I learned from flipping them around and playing both ways. I agree that some straight jacks stick out too far- it has to be pulled tight against the body, so it doesn't get in the way. I've never liked strats before, mainly because the volume knob is in the way, although it can be moved down to the tone knob below it, then the bottom tone for all three pickups, which is what I'm going to do on my righty Nash strat. This Hendrix Tribute is the first strat I've ever bonded with, for other reasons too. The wang-bar on top is much better, and having the knobs on top can be better too, as the comment above mentions. The reach isn't as good, and while Hendrix had huge hands - I don't. ANYways, my opinion on the jack connectors fwiw.
Was thinking about flipping one for my next guitar project. Thanks so much for the info!
dude you're such a geek I love it, thanks for doing this vid - really helped me decide not to reverse angle the bridge on an otherwise righty strat, I think if you're going for a "hendrix" vibe you need the complete flip, complete with the style of playing adjustments
+Auxend I'm definitely a geek, that's for sure!
9:38
PICKIN UP THE WHAMMY
DROP IT DOWN
WITH THE EDGE OF MY HAND....
thanks for the comparison! i had noticed that the fender hendrix model didn’t sound exactly like the flipped one to me before so it’s nice that you showed all the differences specifically. still seems like a great guitar overall!
....years ago I (as a lefty) used a righty guitar flipped upside down, I played in a working band and eventually I had to tape the knobs down so as my arm rubbed during playing, I wasn't turning the volume down or altering the tone unintentionally mid-song....a real PITA live in a dark bar or club
Been playing a turned over lefty for 20 years .
Some remarks : the staggered pole pieces ( mine are flat) . The staggering is for a wound G , as used in those days . Over the years strings used got thinner and the wound G became a plain one . So the staggering is off : the G pole piece should be much lower to get the sound the maker intended ,the G string will be louder .
Second : the tone knob . By carrying the guitar higher (Hendrix did) and also more to the left ( as righthanded player) this is avoided . On a righthanded strat I had to overcome the problem of unintentional turning down the volume pot with the right hand .
One disadvantage : the cutaways are turned over , less room to reach the highest notes on a turned over lefty , the difference is about three frets .
The markers : indeed : the markers being on the other side of the neck made me realise I used them , lol. Also realised my head was behind the plain of the fret board , I could not see it , hence the realisation I was using the markers .
When you play a lot , really a lot , you get used , adapt to the anomalies that every guitar will have , maybe even use them to your advantage , f.e. knowing where you are without seeing the markers .
The main thing about "sounding like Hendrix" is tuning the guitar down . It changes the basic sound of the guitar the lowered string tension makes it much easier to bend strings and use vibrato , much easier to play in general .
Last : the whammy bar is NOT a tremolo . The mistake was made by the man himself , Leo Fender , when he placed the terms "synchronised tremolo" on the headstock . Tremolo is variation of volume , variation of pitch ( that's what it does) is called vibrato . A blunder , carried over , parroted for 65 years and counting .
Just imagine the professional blindness at the Fender factory . Two different products , guitars and amps , that both featured "tremolo" . Being variation of volume on the one and variation of pitch on the other . From drawing board to shipping and al stages in between , no one in the whole factory ever noticed the mistake .
I agree with everything you said. I could do a whole ‘nuther video on pole pieces and how back asswards it is to have ‘50s staggering with modern strings! The “tremolo” thing is a very famous blunder. Leo has confused guitar players for generations!
Nice demo... I used to own a left-handed Strat and experienced the issues described. One other problem is - depending on your fretting hand''s reach - the upper Strat bout/horn impedes access to the upper frets/registers when flipped. Jimi had huge hands, so not an issue for him, obviously.
Thank you. It’s definitely not easy to play up high unless you have ridiculously long fingers! I go over that in part 2 of this video. Thanks for watching!
I am making my own voodoo strat...I used the exact same backward waterslide decal on mine....I love it...
Cool! Have you posted any videos of it?
Terrific video, thanks! I've gone back/forth between getting a LH USA strat and stringing it backward vs. just buying the MIM Fender factory Hendrix model... you brought up a few very key points that I hadn't even considered! Again, many thanks... -bruce
You’re welcome and thank you. Did you see my follow up video to this one?
Wow impressed by your playing, cool video and that you have only 2k views. What the hell is wrong with people this video deserves at least 500k views. I learned some tricks of Hendrix's playing from you thanks!=)
Thanks! I wouldn't mind getting 500,000 views either! I'll just have to keep making more videos...
Kevy Nova, a refreshing look at the realities of the latests Fender market idea, the advantages of using a lefty if you want to emulate JH, and also for such an informative detailed and thoughtful description. Very nice job. Enjoyed every minute. Sincerely, Michael. PS you are a bad ass player....m
Thanks Michael, I appreciate that!
I have just bought both of these guitars the white and black, they play superb very pleased nice review!
Sweet, I'm jealous! Please let me know if you post any videos!
It's been soooo long, but I'm sure I failed to mention, Jimi was turning his knobs reverse of lefty ergonomics. Left hand guitars are wired for COUNTER-CLOCKWISE taper, but Jimi was turning the POTS backwards too. Ever think of that? I never did until a friend of mine gifted me his dead nephew's stock Fender factory left-handed Strat. Until I first played a true left-hand model, I never thought of THAT. I never reversed the taper, the only thing I changed was the nut and strap pin location. So you wind up turning knobs up/in, instead of down/out. Volume swells are completely whacked, but that's what the man was doing
Ritchie Blackmore played
left handed Fender Stratocasters
right handed.
GREAT REVIEW! Honestly these type of gear reviews are more valuable than anything a company will put out. =)
Thanks! The last two that I did were very popular so I'm going to do many more like this.
I have thought of some project like this. Your video really helpful. Thanks 🙏🏼 .
I’m glad it was helpful.
Did you see part 2?
@@KevyNova yes, I did. Great informative.
10:50 on Hendrix's Strat it was a Volume control for the bridge pickup and his switch was 3 way between the neck and middle :D thats why his tone is so famous for being in the neck and middle because his bridge was always off.
Very interesting, I've never heard that. Where did you learn this?
I don't think that's true, either. Never heard that nor seen it anywhere.
He used the bridge pickup a lot. You can hear and see that. Watch
Monterrey Pop or the complete Woodstock performance. This seems
to be one of those myths that someone perpetrated to make them-
self seem like they knew more than they did. On his albums you can
clearly hear the bridge pickup in contrast to the neck or middle. He
was a master at using every sound a Stratocaster could muster - and
then some.
How much does the Jimi one cost, is it made in USA, and what type of pickups are in it? What type of capacitors are on the back of the tone, and volume knobs, etc?
Good stuff. I play a lefty strat, but learned like Albert king with the low e on the bottom. So I had to get a righty nut and all that... Love Hendrix
I have a 1997 Hendrix Tribute, which is a period correct mirror image of a 1968 model. I learned to avoid cord, knobs and switches by reaching around the side of the guitar more, rather than close to the body - what the strat carve is there for. speaking of carves, the back carve isn't in the right position for your belly or ribs anymore. How I get around that, is by wearing the guitar higher on my body, like sitting down with the guitar between my legs - the way I play sitting. That allows my arm to go around the side of the body, below the cord and knobs. I like the straight input jack, because it sticks out higher, and I pull it close to the body - out of the way. The reach on high notes is obviously not as good either, but on the whole - I prefer the lefty-reverse strat design, rather than fender's hybrid version, although I would love to get one of those newer Mexican Hendrix strats like you're playing. Eric Gales plays a revers strat too, including the strings in his case, so he is another reverse strat aficionado, despite the drawbacks mentioned. Thank you for the demo - sounding good.....!
EDIT: Important fact - the reverse Fender logo can only be read normally in a mirror STANDING ON YOUR HEAD (or upside down_ - I have the same logo on my Hendrix Tribute, and learned that by experience (did Hendrix ever play upside down?)........
well, for starters, Jimi was known to flip his pickups 180" so the original string by string staggering was normal.He also raised the pickups on the "bass-side" . resulting in a more dynamic bass sound and a smoother treble sound.He also tuned in E-flat, which in fact makes quite a difference on most stratocasters. Both his tonepots were locked at full-open position. So he couldnt by accident move them with his underarm. Finally he played with 8-38 gauge strings ( except for the 0,08 E-string that was a 0,10. Now, up to 1972 you couldnt get a non-wound G-string so he used a Hawaii guitar string. ( When playing in Europe, where Hawaii guitars was rare, he used a thicker B-string in the G position ). From concert footage its clear that he mostly played with the center pickup. Never forget Jimis sound came from his hands. You can have a "Bob Hope strat" or a "Ronald Regan tele". The guitar will always sound,,, OF YOU.
+pbstratocaster I agree totally about sound coming from the fingers, I even say that in the follow up video to this one. I knew that he adjusted his pickups to be higher on the bass side but I never heard about him flipping the pickups. Interesting stuff. I've been studying Jimi for 35 years and I'm still learning new things!
Man, I am not really sure about the tension thing.
I am pretty sure that the size/lenght ratio is just about the section from the nut to the bridge. The extra should be irrelevant.
That would be true if you had a locking nut but since the strings pass through a traditional nut when you bend, the length to the tuning post does make a difference. But as always, I could be wrong.
*****
Don't get me wrong, I loved the video and I just felt like sharing this information or discuss it, if I'm wrong.
Doesn't matter if it's a locking nut or not, I guess, it would change something *if* the string would be free to vibrate for all its lenght, that would of course produce a lower note, and then you will have to increase the tension to compensate...like a baritone guitar.
But after the nut, even if the string is one meter long, what will produce the note is the ratio between the string size and the nut/bridge lenght...that will give you a specific tension that is only relative to that fraction of space, and since it's a constant, doesn't matter how long is the string altogether, must be the same value...dunno if I was clear :)
I get what you are saying, I've just never heard it explained that way. I'm no physicist and I only go by what I've heard. You've got me curious, I'll have to do some research. My understanding is that when you bend, you are pulling the string through the nut so the shorter the distance from the nut to the tuner, the less string you have to pull through the nut before reaching the desired pitch.
This would make a great Mythbusters episode!
*****
Oh, sorry then, I got it all wrong :D
You didn't mean the tension of the string, but the force it opposes when you bend it.
Well yes, that must be true.
When you bend a longer string, also the section of the string that is after the nut is part of the equasion.
I made a quick test to be sure...just by playing the segment of the string between the nut and the tuners, whilebending the string on the bridge...the pitch changes, so it's part of the equasion :)
Also Jimi Hendrix reverse wound the Low E string so the string won't potentially pop out of the nut during heavy trem use. It just makes it without touching the A string. Look at any photo. The Low E is reverse wound.
I never noticed that before. Thanks for pointing it out!
Great points! Another thing is I know you have to use a 90 deg cable on the converted one or it really sticks out in the way. Never thought about the fret markers or the string tension. If Fender was really thinking, they could have reversed the horns and kept everything else the same as they have it. I read that Jimi would have been playing a left handed strat if he had one available, but he did not and he got used to it that way and ended up liking it.
I *always* use a 90° cable, just as Jimi did. You’re right about Fender too. I read somewhere that Fender made a lefty Strat for Jimi but he couldn’t get used to it. I don’t know how true that is.
@@KevyNova I believe the lefty Strat Jimi didn't use was a gift from Eric Clapton, thinking Jimi needed a "proper" Stratocaster
@@RelicOnMaui that’s a different one. Eric did buy him a lefty Strat that he never got to give him but I also read somewhere that Fender sent Jimi one earlier and he didn’t like it. Clapton obviously was unaware of that.
@@KevyNova Once you make yourself at home on a flipped Strat, especially after years, going to the standard layout feels "backwards" LOL
I really think this Strat is more than just a Jimi guitar. Like models with extra buttons and switches, this offers us a Strat with something special. I almost wish it was just as is and not called a Jimi so I wouldn't be a bit intimidated to play it or have to debate it's validity. It's just a cool looking, great sounding Strat in my book. And I'm so glad it's a Mexican. The Mex Strats are awesome now, maybe just a little heavy. Make mine violet, and I'm springing for the tweed case. Great tones. Great vid. Will like and follow.
Thanks. I also agree that it’s a very cool guitar on its own.
Watch some live performances and you'll see he does play bar chords depending on the song. Johnny B Goode at Berkley in 1970 is a good example.
+LucyWonderland You're absolutely right. I've always noticed that "Johnny B. Goode" is one of the few times you see him play barre chords without using his thumb. "Jimi Plays Berkeley" is a GREAT concert film!
Body or rib contours and the most important difference,the cutaways at the neck, which don't allow high fret access, we're not mentioned. Changes the way you have to play at the 19th fret or so.
That's why I made a part 2 of this video. ;-)
Joe Perry played an upside down Strat too back in the 70's. I wonder how he side stepped those problems. Thanks for posting.
I'd like to ask him!
Joe still plays one. He puts a tele neck on there.
to answer your question about him not hitting the knobs, well his hands were so large that they covered most of that. he did mess up n turn his guitar completely off a lot though. check out foxy lady at Woodstock and stepping stone with the band of Gypsy's. it just didn't happen often cause he was apparently VERY light handed when playing. his favorite and most used guitar(black 68 maple cap strat) didn't have any fret wear. and he played it for 3 years straight.
just wondering how do you know it didn't have fret wear?
+Pistol Walker after like 30 years of sitting in closets and such both of Jimi's 68 strats. white one and black. were both found and looked at and photographed. neither had fretwear or any obvious signs of a replacement. the white one Mitch had and is now in a museum. the black one Monika had and is now owned by Uli Roth, I believe.
Tohopka Hototo Tawa The white one is at the RR hall of fame one hour from my house I've looked at it many times although jimi was light with his play style there is still dimpling on the wire in the first 5 frets.
Remember that people have played that one since his passing. No one other than Jimi played the black one because its been locked in a box. And he seemed to be rougher on the white one anyway from what I saw
Tohopka Hototo Tawa im going to agree to disagree, Just cause im not in the mood for an online sparing match about jimis strats
Holy hell those horns tooting at around 8.30 scared the shit out of me! Great vid btw:))
+Adrian Hole I guess I'm used to them!
very useful and entertaining comparison!! 😁 thanx a lot!! 😎
You're welcome!
Nice! The New Hendrix Strat sounded a bit fatter even though you popped the lighter gauge
string (set). I always knew that about the differences that happened when Hendrix played his righty Strats strung lefty. It's a cool idea that surprises me that it took so long for them to do.
I always thought the Strat bridge pickup should be inverted that way since day one. A bit fatter and mellower on the trebles and more attack on the basses. Jimi knew that. I have a Strat. I wish I could just invert that bridge pickup. Not practical. Oh well.
You can actually get righty pickguards with a lefty slanted bridge pickup hole. I’ve bought a couple on eBay.
I remember when the Hendrix strat came out. I might be wrong but the guitar in this vid is actually a fender Hendrix Voodoo strat. That is a right handed guitar with a left hand neck and reverse bridge pickup as in this vid. again i'm not trying to argue but what I remember in or around "97 or so, the hendrix tribute strat was in fact a left handed guitar set up to play right handed. correct me if i'm wrong but they did have two different Hendrix guitars, the tribute and the voodoo strat.
You are right!
It is not doesnt have an upper truss rod acces
You are correct.
Excellent video! .... I ordered a floyd rose to my fender strat, Musicians Friends delivered a left handed floyd (culd not return it because i moved to another country), wich is kind like the same case in this trem bar on the video, and its a nice vintage bronze color wich makes it really rare and cool, any how it got me thinking if i could play comfortably like that, when palm mutting i suspected that i would not be nice, but now that i have seen the video i am going for it, and also learned nice and interesting stuff about Hendrix, he´s way of playing and tone... THANKS A LOT!!
You're welcome. I bought a bridge from Musicians Friend years ago and they sent me the completely wrong one as well. Apparently they aren't good at shipping the correct bridges!
Awesome playing!
Thank you very much. I hope you check out my other vids or website for more.
Jimi wore his guitar high on his body, almost chest high sometimes. That, combined with his long arms, allowed him to play without touching the controls accidentally.
Lol the fret dots... there's a video on UA-cam of Hendrix playing live & he has to count the frets with his finger before he starts playing, so he does it out loud, making light of himself. Always humble... that's what made him so awesome :-)
That's probably why he wore it so high. He was the greatest!
Now THAT is the one disadvantage of flipping a lefthanded neck:side position markers are not in view. On a darkened stage I have often started a song a half-step high or low! Hard to recover when you start sounding like a wreck. LMAO
P.S. - Never trust a player who wears a low hung guitar.
Redneck Guitarist it’s also kind of hard to see sometimes but Jimi also played with the guitar resting closer to the middle of his pelvis than most players naturally do , me included. I rest the guitar more on my right hip which changes how parallel my forearm is with the strings and since my forearm comes into the strings more on an angle it slides up against the knobs😓
Brilliant video and informing,I'm getting the white one.Cheers.
Thanks. Did you get it yet?
only left handed people can complain then?
I have a Lefty to Righty Black/Rosewood Fender Strat and it's one of my favorites to play. I too use a Blues Jr w/ BILLM mods
Kevy Nova what FX are you using ? The Vibe sounds Great !
How did you get the Jimi Hendrix Sound ??? Amp ? Pedals , ? Great Guitar Playing !!!
Thank you. Nobody can ever really sound like Jimi but I tried for this video.
The Train's a-comin'...
I shoulda played that!
Telling you, my modified Squier stratocaster standard is about as close as I've had to that sound. The upside down pickups is the key to me. The sounds are there. I can't duplicate this any other way so far.
As a left handed person i have owned a few right handed Strats strung upside down. I have given them all away over time, because they really are a compromise to playing. I am however getting the itch and am about due to get another.
Thanks for making this video - was debating this very question the other day :)
Two minor things, take the hang tags off whilst doing the demo, use a straight input plug instead of the 90* one that get's in the way. Thanks for the tips.
You’re right, I should’ve taken the tags off. But the 90° cable actually gets in the way less than a straight one. That’s why Jimi used angled cables too.
Dear right handed players,
We already have few enough guitars as it is please stop taking ours and making them right handed:(
Sincerely,
Left handed players
Sorry.
Graham Hicok lol
How about you take a right handed guitar and flip it? That way you can mind your own fucking business what other people do.. Just a suggestion..
@@theaxis7033 because the whole reason left handed guitars were invented was for.... guess who! left handed players you idiot
@@Anonymous-jb6gj obviously you didnt get smacked enough as a kid. Mind your own fucking business.. Simple as.
Great in-depth review.
+pg123ab Thanks!
Im a lefty so I plan on getting a right handed mexican strat and doing what he did but with my taste
I play lefty flipped basses. To remedy the issue of accidentally moving the tone/volume knobs I install pots with a greater physical resistance (as opposed to electrical resistance) so that it takes more than a bump to move them. Also I try to find smaller knobs
Clever solution. Thanks!
Sweet sound,plugged into a VOX AC 30 AMP.
the black strat sound nice too love them both
hm........
SO I bought a left handed 57 AVRI and am left handed everything but play right handed.
That means in order for me to get the Hendrix experience I would need to swap that lefty guitar around and make it into a right handed one, correct?
That is a very weird inversion of inversions :)
I need that reverse decal!
I found someone on eBay who makes custom decals.
@@KevyNova already got one from UK. Thanks though
@@johnb4024 that’s where I got mine from. I wonder if it’s the same person.
@@KevyNova MPS Guitar Restoration was the place. Haven't applied it though. Still working on the Jimicaster.
@@johnb4024 I don’t think that’s the same that I got. I hope it turns out great!
the headstock flip doesnt do what you say it does. increasing the scale length would increase tension, but if that nut position doesnt move, and the saddle is not moved, tension is the same
jerry madsen did he flip the strings too? not correct sound then
Nice, I'm doing this as we speak. 8 years later 😆 nice playing!
Thanks! You should post a video of it when you’re done.
@@KevyNova ah, I struggle to do video's for some reason. I live a primitive life where I cannot play with an amp out loud and I don't have a computer so my video's are pretty low quality. I may try as this has stopped me from growing. Nobody has seen my work but a few. Thanks for replying. Hope to catch up later with that.
What if I take a fender Hendrix guitar and use it upside down? 🤔
I wouldn’t do that if I were you. It might disrupt the space-time continuum.
Wait, if you are left handed, maybe it finally makes sense 😃
Not sure Jimi Hendrix thought about any of that stuff, other than switching the nut
to a lefty nut (on a right handed strat), which I know he did. He liked the access to
the fretboard and the feel of strats, along with having the controls on the top bout
instead of the bottom. It's not at all clear that he knew anything about string tension,
length, the slant of the bridge pickup, etc. I'm sure he realized some of that as he
went along but doubt that technical minutiae had much to do with it. He did like to
do his own tinkering on his guitars, though. Every guitar he had was a right handed
guitar (even Jazzmasters, Les Paul's, Flying V's) because lefty axes were not very
common in the 60's. He didn't search out stuff like a guitar maniac. He just bought
them and played them. Most of this is mere conjecture, even though the technical
stuff is, I'm sure, correct.
+larry geetar I'm not saying that Hendrix knew all of that stuff (nobody knows what he did and didn't know), I'm just talking about the things that made his upside down Strats unique.
Hello Kevy, how do you get all that feedback so easily at that volume? what pedals are you usign in the video?
Hello, Kevy. Watching your vid again, and the technical explanations
concerning playing Strats flipped over but strung correctly are great
and easy to understand. The louder B string concept is one I had not
really thought about but it's true. Must be the natural resonance of that
pitch combined with the characteristics of pickups. Jimi Hendrix was
so wrapped up in sound he surely realized these small differences in
guitar response. I think he approached them not as technical things
at first, but as a way to make it easier for himself to play Strats and be
comfortable. I loved Hendrix and actually opened a show for The
Experience with my college band in 1968. So I've taken a lot of interest
in him, have a few books and, of course, the internet is a good source.
I believe he was incredibly intuitive about such matters and, once he
heard something he liked, he figured out why and how to replicate that. Like the differences you mention between regular and flipped
Strats, string length, etc. I do know he experimented with very light
tenor A banjo strings as a first string early on. Once Fender started
making light gauge strings in sets, though, he used those. They were
called Fender Rock And Rolls. The gauges (if memory serves) were:
1st-.010, 2nd-.013, 3rd-.015, 4th-.022, 5th-.028, 6th-.038. Clapton used
them, too, as did many, once they became common. I don't know if
Fender still makes those; certainly I haven't seen any nor do I know
anyone, other than myself and friends who were playing back then,
who has ever heard of them. Sorry to be so verbose but good Hendrix
talk is always worthwhile.
P.S. - He had HUGE hands and could play things we mere mortals
could not!.
You can actually push the pole pieces down if need be Takes a little pressure but won't hurt anything
Good to know!
Awesome man, sweet sound.
Thanks!
Fantastic video with an excellent presentation of this guitar👍
Thank you very much! I plan to do many more.
Sad you guys are gone. I moved out to San Mateo just as you were closing.
B St has moved to a new location. Look them up.
Cool review
Thanks!
Great vid and explanations.. to me, the only thing missing is vol. roll off/swells comparing between standard layout in the Fender version vs. how he did it with controls up high which might be easier access.. I might just take the tone knob off to prevent accidents
+gearmeister I'm thinking of taking that Tone control out or disabling it because I never use it anyways.
+gearmeister As for using the Volume control, I find it easier on a right handed Strat because I can use my pinky while still playing. I can't easily adjust the volume while playing on the lefty.
+Kevy Nova Perfect idea. I'm so glad you did this vid. I know that a real Hendrix 'experience' would have to be a soutpaw axe for a righty.
Jimi came at his strings from the side- over the bridge There are pictures in the Are you experienced tab book.
1:42 Actually, Jimi was fairly ambidextrous; he didn't do everything else right-handed. I remember watching a documentary that said Hendrix wrote and held a phone right-handed, but ate and threw a ball left-handed. Kurt Cobain was the one who played guitar left-handed, but did everything else right-handed.
Thanks for doing this. I learned a lot.
+silverfiltermusic you're welcome, thanks for watching!
10:30, Jimi had to bring his arm from the side. Instead 9f strumming up and down with the entire arm he strummed with his wrist and fingers
I guess when you spend years playing an upside down Strat, you just get used to it.
@@KevyNova ya, I had to learn like that and after a while it starts to feel normal
0:35 Creepiest death stare ever lol. Great review btw
+Thomas Takeshita I creep myself out with that stare every morning in the bathroom mirror!
I can see how the tone knob would be in the way, but conversely, it would be so much easier to do volume swells with the volume knob up top.
That’s true.
Also with the Jimi Strat, you can easily reach those 19-21 frets, opposed to the flipped lefty.
+MICHEN3SEAkaFrank9 I talk about that and other things in the Part 2 video. Thanks for watching!
Great video! It was quite long but it wasn't boring. I had fun and it was really interesting. Thanks man!
Thanks! I try not to be boring but there is do much to talk about with this guitar. I even had to do a part 2 because I left so much out!
Great video Kevy Vintage do a right handed strat with lefty neck just like the fender but they are about £250 (whatever that is in dollars) and it is wonderful
I’ve played quite a few Vintage guitars and they are wonderful for the price.
Jimi used those old 60's guitar cables that had a short jack input. I play left handed using a right handed strat and got one of those jack cables online. They are classed as vintage guitar cables. They are much better than the 'long sticky out' jacks. Also regards dot markers, i'v not missed them. If i have to look at my position then i just glance at the frets.
Yup, I use those coiled cables with the 90° angled end as well. Totally the way to go.
Hey great content. Concerning the tone control issue, early years Hendrix played originally a strat with ONLY one tone and volume. So at the time the arm isnt an issue for the second tone control as seen in the video. Later models deffinetly make it a hassel.
Are you saying only two knobs? I’ve never seen a Strat with only one tone and one volume.
well i keep to myself these days and the music he played was great i had a mod done years ago and these days people still love playing hendrix thats a good thing i cant play loud enough these days so good luck to you no worries peace to this cruel world
Great vid mate…top resource of info if i decide to make one.
Thank you!
most of the 80s bands guitarists with reverse headstock had locking nuts, so the tension didn't change
Good point.
Replace the nut? Why not just turn it around?
You can, but the grooves will end up slanting downward in the wrong direction, giving you nut buzz and intonation problems.
+Kevy Nova I'm unable to find any reference that shows a slant in a standard slot-in F-type nut. I'm no professional luthier but, I'm pretty sure it's important a nut isn't asymmetric so that the break angles are more true, resulting in slinkier bends and generally a better feel.
Moreover, I use a Fender 'Yngwie' brass nut in my '93 USA strat, which is sold on the fender store as a drop-in accessory. It specifies on the page that it fits both orientations.
No mal-intent or anything, I'm just pretty certain that this statement isn't actually true.
Well, I've changed a few nuts and what I'm saying was definitely true in my experiences but I'm sure that not all guitars are like that. It may be more common for nuts to be flat, just not the ones I've worked with.
+ChristianIce That's a terrible analogy. What's being implied here is that all nuts are either left hand or right hand nuts, what I'm saying is that it's fallacious to say that while Fender themselves are producing replacement nuts that are marked 'Fits both orientations'.
I don't see it as an arguable point, if the company that actually manufactures these guitars specifies some of their nuts as ambidextrous.
ChristianIce I'm not refuting that, I'm just saying nothing was said otherwise.
Should be noted that it's entirely possible you may be able to save money by doing so.
Good Info Thanx , & No Replacing Jimi's Talent , U Can Only Do Tributes Similar 2 His Style.
Agreed. There will never be another Jimi.
Absolutely
I solved your tone knob thing. On lefty guitars they're wired the same way and righty guitars so instead of turning the tone down while he was strumming Jimi would be turing the tone up while he was playing. Doesn't work the same way taking a lefty guitar and turning it righty, you'd actually have to wire the pots in backwards if you wanted the same playability.
Did you ever mention that the left-hand model also reverses the direction of the volume and tone controls? I ordered a left-handed setup right Strat in high-school, and since cannot stand a right-handed Strat. Having the vibrato bar reversed and the toggle and reversed controls on the UPPER side I actually prefer. The only drawbacks I would change is to route the BACK of the body for a second flush mount output jack. It's the OUT JACK that is making you move your arm towards the knobs. The only other thing is to add side fretboard position markers. Especially in the dark, it really easy to find yourself a half-step out of position. But overall... the "Hendrix" model is missing so many elements that actually make a difference (like the upper positioning of the vibrato bar) I use only a lefty/righted. Jimi could have ordered custom Strats... (he had a left-handed V) but it would REVERSE THE VOLUME taper direction AND vibrato bar position. Those two differences would have made the thing just too odd. Once you go reverse, there's no turning back. I can't get into a right handed Strat. I know that sounds insane. But there are secrets about it people can't "figure". Most guitar players are just so used to RIGHT-handed Strats.. they never really get into the other animal. Lucky me.. a friend's left-handed relative died, so his uncle told me, if ANYBODY should have his guitar, it is you. Lo and behold, me and my FAVORITE guitar were re-united. Now... where is that Marshall 8x12! Yes, It takes at least that much AIR MASS.. not wattage, to get Jimi's on-stage sound. To quote a friend of mine, "It takes THREE Marshall stacks... to change the world. LMAO
Peace
+Joshua OnMaui The knobs on my lefty Strat turn in the same direction as a right handed Strat. Maybe it's because it started out as a Squier. I haven't played a lefty Fender.
+Kevy Nova Mine IS a Fender built for a left-hand player... Mexican. All these guitars differ as I am looking at A Squire from India.. and one from Indonesia. The Indonesian has staggered polepieces where the Indian doesn't. There is also a difference with the Squire ii. LOL.. I think maybe there are lots of reasons to buy an American made Fender Stratocaster
I think that one major fix for the modded lefty strat's issues could be just putting a slight angle in your picking wrist. I've seen some Hendrix footage and when they do a close up on his strat, it seems as if he has a slight angle in his wrist. Hope this helps!
Good catch.
Great video, thanks. You answered my question about string tension behind the playing length. BTW I wonder with the JH Strat was not set up with a lefty trem like the SRV.
Yeah, I don't know why Fender didn't include the lefty bridge. I think it's the one thing missing from this guitar.
hey its mostly in your fingers and the guitar sounds like hendrix so get used to it hahah it helps to be the same build and a hippy and a cool lovely man like jimi he worked very hard to play that style but most of it was how he felt at the time if your not in the mood put it down otherwise a tribute is nice
+howard coleman NO guitar model is going to make you sound like ANYONE else. That really is the bottom line. I play Hendrix on a friggin' FLAT-TOP acoustic/electric with a wound G and people say I sound "JUST LIKE JIMI" It's in the feel and playing technique.... BOTH hands. Chasing the soul of a sound via the equipment route is abso-friigin-lutely futile. I have to disagree about tributes... that butcher the sound and soul of Jimi's music. I'd rather not hear those... it's painful, to me. LMAO
Why do you double tap the space-bar are you stupid?
apparently he modified the tone knobs somehow to make them really tight so they wouldnt rotate that easy.
I’ve heard that. I’d love to know how he did it.
@@KevyNova well I dont know how he did it but if I had the need to do it, i woul put a felt washer between the knob and the pickguard so it will create some resistance.
I put blue tack under my tone knobs so they'r on full all the time. As for the volume , i'm used to playing a righty upside down. 🎸😎
Consider a foam doughnut (eg.Phil McNight/Know Your Gear tutorial) under the volume knob to increase friction so volume knob won't turn so easily.
Interesting idea. I like them to move quickly though so I don't know if it would work for me but I may look into that.