There’s a thriving market for gear that emulates the tones of famous guitarists – and few players’ tones have been so widely emulated as that of Jimi Hendrix. Roger Mayer knows a bit more than the average pedal-maker about that subject, however. As a young electronics engineer with an interest in music, Roger struck up a friendship with Hendrix shortly after Jimi arrived in the UK in late 1966. This relationship saw Roger become Jimi’s technical adviser on guitar tone and the nascent world of effects pedals.
“I met Jimi a few days after my 21st birthday in January 1967,” Roger recalls. “I spoke to him straight after a gig and told him about a new effect I was working on, which was the Octavia, and he suggested I come down to a performance about two weeks later at the Chislehurst Caves in Kent near Bromley. That’s where Jimi tried out the Octavia in the dressing room and he really liked it.
“He said, ‘Come down to this club in Windsor, called the Ricky-Tick, and afterwards we’re going to Olympic Sound Studios and we’re going to do overdubs for a couple of new singles that I’m making, right?’ One was Purple Haze and the other one was Fire. We became friends and the rest, as they say, is history.”
The Octavia’s otherworldly sound was unlike anything else available at that time and, unlike today, creating strikingly new sounds wasn’t seen as a leftfield pursuit but the main goal of effects designers.
Denne historien er fra August 2021-utgaven av Guitarist.
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Denne historien er fra August 2021-utgaven av Guitarist.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
BASIC INSTINCTS
The sophisticated range of Swedish-designed guitars made by .strandberg* has lured thousands of players over to the headless side. But the company's new stripped-back Boden Essential model is its strongest play yet for the hearts and minds of mainstream players
Second String
As PRS's more affordable USA-made S2 line moves into its second decade, the series gets a revamp with - at last - USA-made pickups and electronics. What took so long?
PABLO VAN DE POEL
When a band from The Netherlands describes themselves as 'raw, psychedelic Southern rock', it may take a little cognitive processing to work out what that might mean. One listen to DeWolff, however, and you will be duly transported to the 60s for some fuzzed-out rock 'n' roll
THE BERNIE MARSDEN COLLECTION
With a fabulous collection of the late Bernie Marsden's guitars, amps and other highly collectable music gear going under the auctioneer's hammer on 11 June, we were thrilled to have the chance of a sneak preview
LENNY KRAVITZ
Some 35 years since the release of his debut LP, for his 12th record, Blue Electric Light, Lenny Kravitz is back again with equal doses of vigour and vibes, using vintage guitars and the purest valve amps
GEORGE VJESTICA
You may not know him at first glance, but the work of Stoke-on-Trent native George Vjestica has probably impacted some of your favourite albums and movies
DICKEY BETTS
Emerging from the shadow of Duane to write signature hit Ramblin' Man, the Allman Brothers guitarist was a hard-living pioneer of Southern rock
NICK GUPPY
It is with great sadness that we report the passing of our highly valued amplifier guru, who died suddenly in April
Lucky Break
Alex Bishop blends old wood with new in an attempt to fix a severely damaged guitar headstock
Tones Behind The Tracks
Cedric Burnside learnt at the knee of his fabled grandfather, but his latest album is a hill country blues masterclass on his own terms