Nail the ToneThe Jimi Hendrix Experience

Hey Joe

The Jimi Hendrix Experience · Single (Polydor, Dec 1966); later on the US Are You Experienced / Smash Hits · 1966

Hey Joe was the Experience's first session, cut at De Lane Lea on October 23, 1966 with Hendrix's brand-new Marshall JTM45/100 stack pushed hard enough to rattle the room, almost certainly through his white 1964 Stratocaster. The solo is amp breakup rather than fuzz — no effects are documented for this date, and the Fuzz Face only shows up in documented sessions from December 1966 on — so get a mid-gain crunch and let the guitar volume and pick attack do the rest. Pickup choice isn't documented; the neck position gets closest to that round, singing lead tone, with the middle position a reasonable alternative if you want more bite.

Where these numbers come from: worked out from the documented rig and the sound of the record

Tuning

Standard tuning, no capo

The record plays back in standard E, so play the C-G-D-A-E cycle in standard tuning even though Hendrix often tuned a half step down later on; if your copy sounds a hair flat, tune to the track rather than to a meter.

Part: Solo

Guitar

  • Fender Stratocaster (1964, white — the "Linda" Strat) · Stock Fender single-coils · neck pickup

Amp

Marshall Super 100 (JTM45/100) head with two 4x12 cabs

GAIN
7.0
BASS
5.0
MID
6.0
TREBLE
6.0
PRESENCE
5.0

Chas Chandler confirmed Hendrix played his Marshall twin stack at the Oct 23, 1966 De Lane Lea session and that it was so loud the mics picked up rattles; Ground Guitar cautions studio-owned amps may also have been in use at these early dates. Knob positions are not documented — these are set to match the record's fat, mid-forward breakup on a non-master-volume plexi-era head (use Volume I / high-treble channel for the gain figure, and roll the guitar volume back for the rhythm part).

Tone character

fat single-coil lead · moderate tube breakup · forward mids · round neck-pickup warmth · long natural sustain

medium

E minor pentatonic over a fast-moving cycle-of-fifths progression, so the challenge is landing changes in time and keeping the whole-step bends in tune, plus one quick descending run into the outro.

Want this on your own amp?

These are the record's settings. Tell us what you play through and we'll translate every knob to the amp you actually own — free.

Adapt it to my gear

Sources