jimi hendrix

A Sehat Effectors Blown Face, atop a Marshall head and amidst other brand-name variations of the classic Fuzz Face.

While our columnist started out averse to the classic distortion pedal, they soon dove deep into its circuits to invent their own take.

It’s undeniable—the Fuzz Face is the most popular fuzz pedal in music history. Although it wasn’t the first fuzz ever created, nearly every stompbox manufacturer has attempted to replicate its circuitry. Furthermore, almost every guitarist has, at some point, incorporated it on their pedalboard. The question arises: Why? Is it due to its distinctive enclosure shape? Or, the eternal cliché question: Is it simply because Jimi Hendrix used it?

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Bartees Strange on Jimi Hendrix's "Hey Joe" | Hooked

The guitar-playing songwriter compares the emotions of "the spirit entering the church" and first hearing the guitar god's hypnotic, ragged cover. (And he admits "the steps" riff has seeped into his own jams.)

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Photo by Katrena Wise

Intermediate

Intermediate

  • Break down what makes Eric’s approach so unique.
  • Learn Hendrix’s “Little Wing” from a whole new perspective.
  • Pick up some new muscle memory on unusual chord shapes.
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Eric Gales’ method of playing a right-handed guitar left-handed and upside down gives him a sound that’s distinctively his. If you watch videos of him playing, you’ll notice he plays with his thumb wrapped around the top of the neck, like Jimi Hendrix or John Mayer. However, since his guitar strings are flipped upside down, his thumb is fretting what would be the first string to most people. This not only puts your brain in a whirl when trying to steal licks, but it also opens the door for some truly unique chord voicings. Gales, who fuses blues, rock, and classical together, constantly manages to play some truly otherworldly licks and passages.

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