Jimi Hendrix's guitar strings: the Stratocaster rig, sourced

Documented string gauges, brands, and tunings Jimi Hendrix used with The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Band of Gypsys on his Fender Stratocasters. Fender Rock 'n' Roll .010-.038 + Eb standard tuning. With citations.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience / Band of Gypsys / Solo · reviewed by the Change Your Strings editorial team · 2026-04-30

Jimi Hendrix used Fender Rock 'n' Roll medium-gauge strings (.010–.038), the standard light-gauge Fender set of the era, on his right-handed Fender Stratocasters that he restrung and flipped to play left-handed. He tuned down a half step to Eb standard across most of his catalog. The defining Strat-into-Marshall-into-fuzz electric tone of the late 1960s. Hendrix died in September 1970 at age 27; his three studio records with the Experience plus Band of Gypsys remain among the most-studied guitar catalogs in popular music.

At a glance

Role

Guitarist (historical)

Active

1963–1970

Based

Seattle, Washington / London, England (1966–1970)

Genres

Affiliations

The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1966–1969)
Band of Gypsys (1969–1970)
Fender (Stratocaster, primary instrument across recorded catalog)

Notable credits

Are You Experienced (1967)
Axis: Bold as Love (1967)
Electric Ladyland (1968)
Band of Gypsys (1970, live)
Live at Woodstock (recorded 1969)

Official media

Sourcing4 citations · reviewed 2026-04-30· by Change Your Strings editorial team

Who Jimi Hendrix was

James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix, November 27, 1942, Seattle, Washington; died September 18, 1970, London, England) was the lead guitarist, vocalist, and primary writer for The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1966–1969) and Band of Gypsys (1969–1970). His three Experience studio records, Are You Experienced (1967), Axis: Bold as Love (1967), and Electric Ladyland (1968), plus the live Band of Gypsys (1970) and posthumous releases compiled from sessions cut at his Electric Lady Studios in Greenwich Village, are among the most-studied catalogs in modern guitar tradition. He died at 27, after roughly four years of recorded output that reshaped what the electric guitar could do.

What he played

Fender Rock 'n' Roll Light .010-.038 on electric, the standard Fender light-gauge set of the late 1960s. Across the Experience catalog he tuned down a half step to Eb standard, which combined with the .010 set produced the slack-feeling bends and overtone-rich saturation that define his recorded tone.

His primary instrument was the Fender Stratocaster, played right-handed-restrung-upside-down to accommodate his left-handed playing. The 1968 Olympic White Strat played at Woodstock is the most-photographed guitar of the era. Through the catalog he played Sunburst Strats, the Black Beauty (a 1968 black Strat used during the Band of Gypsys period), the Monterey-painted Strat famously burned at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, and several others.

The signal chain into Marshall stacks (typically 100-watt Super Lead heads with 4x12 cabs) drove the harmonic-rich saturation. His Vox wah, Fuzz Face (Dallas Arbiter), Octavia, and Univibe form the four pedals most associated with his recorded sound; the Voodoo Child (Slight Return) wah-into-fuzz blend and the Univibe rotary swirl on Machine Gun are the two most-imitated effects-tone moves of the era.

Why this fits the rig

The .010 set at Eb standard sits at unusually low tension, his exaggerated full-step and double-stop bends become physically easier, which let him build the fluid lead vocabulary his catalog is known for. Single-coil Strat pickups into a Fuzz Face into a Marshall Plexi at high volume produces a saturated, harmonic-bloom tone that's specifically forgiving of slack-string playing; the harmonic content comes from saturation, not from picking attack, so the lower tension doesn't hurt the recorded sound the way it would on a clean rig.

The reverse-strung Strat geometry compounds this. With the high E running over the longer-scale (further-from-bridge) side of the slanted bridge pickup, the high strings pick up more high-end output than a standard-strung Strat, part of why Hendrix's leads sit so prominent in the mix even at low pick-attack volumes.

If you want this rig

The contemporary equivalent of Fender Rock 'n' Roll Light .010-.038 is any standard .010 Fender or Ernie Ball nickel set, the gauge configuration is the historical baseline that .010 sets settled around. For the Eb-tuned slack feel, drop a half step from any .010 set and you'll be in the territory.

Ernie Ball

Regular Slinky (.010–.046)

Price tier: $

Why this one: Modern equivalent of the .010 light Fender set Hendrix used. Tuned down a half step to Eb, the .010 sits at the slack tension that defined his bends. The most-played .010 set in rock for the same reasons it suited his rig: bend-friendly feel, neutral nickel tone, transparent under saturation.

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Frequently asked questions

What strings did Jimi Hendrix use?

Fender Rock 'n' Roll Light .010-.038, the standard Fender light-gauge electric set of the late 1960s. He used this set across the Experience catalog. He also tuned down a half step to Eb standard, which lowered the effective tension on the .010 set further and gave the Strat its trademark slack feel.

Why did Hendrix tune down to Eb?

Three combined reasons. First, it lowered string tension, which made his exaggerated bends easier on the .010 set. Second, Eb suited his vocal range better, several Hendrix songs sit in keys that are awkward in standard but natural in Eb. Third, the slightly lower tuning interacts with single-coil pickups and tube saturation differently from E standard, the bottom-end thickness on *Voodoo Child (Slight Return)* and the *Machine Gun* solo are both partly an Eb consequence.

What guitar did Hendrix primarily play?

The Fender Stratocaster. He played right-handed Strats restrung upside-down so he could play them left-handed, which gave his rig some unique tonal quirks: the slanted bridge pickup was effectively reverse-angled, the controls ended up under his picking hand, and the string trees pulled the high strings, all of which subtly shaped his recorded tone. The 1968 Olympic White Strat played at Woodstock is the most-iconic guitar of the era.

Was Hendrix officially endorsed by Fender?

No formal endorsement during his lifetime, the modern artist-endorsement model didn't exist in the late 1960s the way it does today. The Hendrix estate has worked with Fender on multiple posthumous signature releases, including the Jimi Hendrix Stratocaster (in production through several refresh cycles) and the Jimi Hendrix Voodoo Strat. Per FTC framing, his use of Fender strings and Strats during his lifetime is verified-use, not contemporaneously endorsed.

Did Hendrix use a pick or fingers?

Both. He famously played with a pick (Fender medium celluloid in the era) but also used hybrid picking and pure fingerstyle on quieter passages, *Little Wing* in particular shows fingerstyle-style chord melody. His thumb-over-the-neck barre technique (using his thumb to fret the low E or A while his fingers handled the chord) is one of his most-imitated technical signatures; players from Pete Townshend to John Mayer have cited Hendrix's thumb voicings as a foundational influence.