I would have to say that Hendrix had no influnce on what guitar I play since I played Les Pauls most of my life. Now they are way to heavey so I started to play strats more. And now I love my strats for what they are sound wise. I also love my SG though.

There are two reasons why I asked this. 1. When I look at older pics of many of the popular musicians of the day, the early sixties players seldom played strats. Of course that isnt 100 per cent but not too many rockers that I saw. I remember reading in old Guitar Player mags of many players saying that they took a look at the Strat because Hendrix got sounds out of it that sounded different than the surfer music style they had associated it with. The second reason was a little more subjective I guess. In the seventies I went into the music store to try out some guitars. All I had really seen my favorite players using were Strats and Les Pauls. I knew the LP was well beyond my budget so I asked to see a Strat please. The salesman said "I knew you were going to ask me for that one. Everybody wants to play a Strat because of Jimi Hendrix" and laughed.
I ended up with a LP for awhile but it just didnt work. For me it was too heavy and limited in the sounds I wanted. I also like the tremelo.

Well I do really love Hendrix and His style with the tones he got from his Strat, and Clapton and Creams Style also, they are a factor in my choice to buy a Strat. But whats guiding me toward my first Strat is the early 1971 and 1972 work of Jerry Garcia on The Grateful Dead's Europe 72' live album and also there Cd release, Steppin Out With The Grateful Dead,, also of this time period. Anyone who listens to the sweet sounds to the downright unreal Wah Wah pedal work on these albums By Garcia in this time period of his Fender Strat work will understand why I am so into trying even come close to getting some of these same tones someday with my Strat. To think of what Hendrix could have played Stratwise if he had been around longer is a bad feeling. The Traffic Lights have all turned Blue Here.

Back in the late 60s and early 70s Jimi Hendrix helped put Strat sales through the roof,I remember reading in Guitar Player Magazine back in the late 70s they had a feature on Fender guitars that was spread over 3 issues and one of the writers said that Jimi Hendrix was responsible for selling more Strats than all of Fender's PR men combined.He may not influence many purchase today but back then just about anyone who bought a Strat bought it because Jimi played one,that's why I bought my 1st Strat in 74.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

I heard a claim in a Hendrix book that the Strat was close to being discontinued until Hendrix came along. Regardless of whether that is right or not I would have to say that he is a big reason that a lot of people buy a Strat. If you ask 100 people on the street who the greatest guitar player of all time is I can just abut guarantee that Hendrix would win. Just as we all heard growing up that Babe Ruth was the greatest baseball player of all time in spite of only a handful of people actually being able to see him play Hendrix is that to guitars. Most of us were not that educated when we bought our first guitars. We bought what we thought was cool and that usually relied on WHO we thought was cool. Once we get more educated then we learn of the amazing players and their various gear. We try different guitars and decide on our own when we have some feel what we like. At that point maybe Hendrix name goes out the window but at the same time most people believe that having a Strat is a staple of any guitar players collection and Jimi Hendrix is a huge part of that. If it wasn't then we wouldn't see so many high profile right handed players with their upside down head stocks as a direct nod to Jimi.

Also, if you ask these same 100 people to draw a picture of an electric guitar, I bet the majority would draw something that looks like a strat. I think that has a lot to do with Hendrix.

The success of the Stratocaster has more to do with marketing and production than star power. Up through my early teens I almost exclusively played SGs even though most of my influences played Les Pauls and Stratocasters. I didn't bring home my first Fender until my late teens. Even then it was because of my new found love for single coil pickups that influenced the purchase.
Fender has penetrated the market at every price point. This means that their products are all over pawn shops, music stores, CostCo, Ebay, and anywhere else people sell stuff. So most kids end up banging around on a half dozen Fenders before they even buy their first electric guitar. Even if they don't buy a Squire off the bat, they will end up spending enough time tinkering at Guitar Center that they will eventually buy a Fender at some point. Hell, there's one that will fit any budget, so why not! I honestly cannot think of a single player that I have jammed with since Jr. High that has not owned a Fender at some point in time.
They are great guitars, available everywhere at anywhere from $100- $20,000+. On top of that, they make a billion of them a day, are more flexible with vendors than many other manufacturers, and pack a 60 year reputation to back them up. It also doesn't hurt that nearly every rock star has brought one on stage at least once or twice. The legacy of the Stratocaster is due to a half-century of brilliant marketing, quality production, and a design that sparks instant recognition. You might be surprised how many non musicians don't know (and don't care) what name was on the headstock of Jimi's git at that little show back in 67'

For better or worse, famous players do influence what people play. Case in point: Kurt Cobain with the Mustangs and Jaguars. I only remember seeing about three people who owned or played Mustangs before "Nevermind" dropped...suddenly, those axes were hot property...and Fender would have never put out anything like the Jag-stang if Cobain's name wasn't attached to it.

There are people who will try to emulate their influences by playing the same type of instrument, effect or amplifier. It doesn't make them "weak-minded" or "weak-willed", as one poster postulated above. They might just be trying to get the indefinable "mojo" of that artist.

What does make me laugh about those types of players or consumers is when they wonder why they don't sound like their idol when, "I have the same rig as he does..." They forget that the tone is in the hands, and technique is what makes an artist sound "like that". I can sound more like Muddy Waters on my Strat than most people could sound like him by using a Muddy Waters Telecaster...not because I'm that great (which I'm not), but because I learned his technique and can use it on just about any guitar rig to get the desired effect.

I have my myriad of influences (just like everyone else), but I have yet to actually buy an instrument, effect, or amp based on what someone else uses. However, I have gone and tried a guitar, etc. because I saw it in the hands or at the feet of someone I liked...just to see if it fits my desired sound, technique, etc. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't...but I'm not going to go out and get a Teisco Del Ray just because that's what Hound Dog Taylor used (and he's one of my favorites).

I do have some "typical" instruments (TS9 TubeScreamer, Stratocaster, Telecaster, Fender tube amps) for playing the style of music I play (Texas Roadhouse), but I also have some very atypical instruments for that style, too (G&L F100, MXR Classic Distortion, Dunlop JH2S Classic Fuzz)...but no matter what I play (even if it's somebody else's rig), I still sound like me.

My criteria for buying anything musical is this:

FEEL--if it doesn't feel right, I won't play it for very long.
SOUND--if it sounds like crap when I play through it, it is crap...I don't care who uses that same device.
PRICE--if I can't afford it, what's the point? Also, just because something is expensive doesn't make it good (and vice-versa).
LOOKS--I won't play a pointy-headed heavy-metal piece of crap guitar, no matter what it sounds like.

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Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

That's in a couple of Strat History books as well. I believe it
because you don't see very many 1967 Strats! Hendrix saved them
from extinction!

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.