I have no shims in any of my Strats anymore. A few of them had the standard little shim that Fender used to put in and one had one that a Nashville luthier, Glaser, put in. I don't like the air gap they create. that cuts down on the sustain of the strings. I took the standard Fender one out of my vintage Strat and the whole guitar immediately sounded better. I'm not sure why Fender put them in because I don't think they are necessary. Sometimes you may need one but then, if I felt it was needed, I would put a solid pocket shim in that I would custom fit out of the maple shims you can get from StewMac. None of my Musikraft necks needed shims. The only time I would use one is if the saddle height screws are sticking up too high and could possibly cut your hands. That may have been why Fender started making them standard. The neck and pocket should fit like a glove and most well made Strats fit like that.

@@millstap Also, do you have your tremolo bridge up a little or do you have it against the body ??

@@jimcastillo8950 I did several videos on it and I found that the tremolo is more stable and stays in tune better if it is floating at least a 1/16" off of the body. I float all of mine but if I were playing in a band, I may consider decking it just in case I broke a string and not use the tremolo much. I dive bombed mine quit a bit in the past but have slacked off on the full dives lately.

I've got several videos on this subject. I've used a Carl Harman Amp Maniac, which is like a guitarist's Variac, forever. The way I find the ideal voltage for the amp is to adjust the voltage until the heater voltage is 6.3VAC. I think it is this video, kzbin.info/www/bejne/hqeZfaWtes2aiJo, that shows that once I do that, all of the other voltages fall very close to the schematic voltages. The Maniac is great and was the first of its type available and much cheaper than the late comer Brown Box.

They are both great amps. I put a little work into the Bassman and it sounds even better today. The two amps together are a great combination.

Thanks for coming back. It really is a testament to these great amps that I am still playing it every day and it is sounding better than ever.

Also, I'm slowly working on another quick Hendrix tutorial so hopefully I post it in the next month or so.

It's just right, just like it is supposed to be. No broken whammy bars with five springs.

Blonde Tolex is pretty cool but be sure to consider that it will sound differently, mainly on the speaker cabinet. It has a little more deadening effect and you may not get the liveliness out of the wood that is characteristic of the old Tweed cabinet. I found that the re-tweed doesn't sound as alive as the old beat up tweed cab. Plus, the old wood has a big effect. It would be great if you could find old pine for your build.

I got the part about the Ampeg lineage a little backwards; The B15 precedes the GV-15.

It’s been taking me a long time to get motivated to record. Right now I’m working on Here My Train a Coming from Berkeley but on the Voodoo Child compilation CD. I love every version but this one is killer. I’m still working on it between life’s disruptions. After that, I’ll look at what you listed. Pass It On seems simple enough. I always say that though until I realize exactly what magic Jimi is doing.

@@millstap oh yeah for sure, I’d love to see that version of hear my train, his tone is crazy. And honestly you’re one of the only guys who does Hendrix tutorials right and explains why he may have done something or the theory behind it which I really like. Surprisingly, I started to piece together scales just from watching your tutorials. Even when you do mod videos on your gear it’s really cool, I ended purchasing some springs from your recommendation and doing a few mods myself. But I’ll be for sure looking out for that. I still need to go back and learn hey baby. If you’ve not heard it defiantly check out his catfish blues cover in Paris it’s probably his best take

@@OkTr3y Those Raw Vintage springs are great. That's crazy that you picked Catfish Blues in Paris. That is the exact song that came to my mind when I jammed on my first Bassman-Hendrix Tone check #1 that started my whole Hendrix quest. That is when I realized that I grew up listening to Hendrix in the '60's and that is all I ever really wanted play, in his style. I never tried it until fifteen years ago because I thought it was impossible. Most of it still is but we can make it our own which is better anyway.

I did finally get a 1959 Sprague Tel-Ohmike TO-5 and I love it. But, like you said, you have to remove each cap from the circuit which can be a real pain in a repair shop. Thank goodness I have the time to mess with the caps on my own amps.

Thank you. I'm happy I finally got a real Uni-Vibe. It is a special pedal.

The 1967 Experience Wah by Detrick FX is a great one. I've been playing mine for over a year now and it is my favorite.

On another note, vintage Fender saddles were never chrome plated like the Callahams are. The closest I've seen come to the original Fender saddles are the Mark Foley vintage saddles from the UK. I think Crazy Parts might have the same ones but neither are chrome plated. I have had no issues with them at all. In fact, I haven't even broken any strings with them and that has been a real mystery for me. I used to break strings all the time with ALL aftermarket saddles except the Foleys.

+1 on the arthritis blockers. I have it too and my hands are slowly getting slower and stiffer.

But, and it may be in that same Duncan interview, that Jimi adjusted the bass side poles on all pickups at 1/8” so he still would have had to adjust them. Getting the bass strings too close to the magnets will cause Stratitis. www.seymourduncan.com/blog/swd/what-is-strat-itis#:~:text=“Strat%2Ditis”%20is%20often,strings%20way%20up%20the%20fingerboard.

The amp you use is very important. Which amp are you using?

@@millstap I use the clean channel of a Marshall DSL 20CR combo with a Strymon Iridium pedal.

@@Savior.Mountgreen Well, I would probably ditch the Strymon. Unfortunately, the amp plays a huge part in Jimi's sound. There is no substitute for cranking the amp and I am one of the few people on KZbin that has that luxury of turning up. "Keep it Simple" is my best advice. Right now, I'm getting the best Hendrix tone I've had in years with just a Germanium Fuzz Face and a vintage Uni-Vibe. When you turn down the guitar volume, the fuzz acts like a great overdrive/clean boost. For you, turn the volume on your amp as high as you can get in your situation and the gain as low as you can get it for a super clean amp. A lot of the feedback I get is from a vintage 40W Fender amp with a lot of bottom end. A little organic/analog reverb may help too as well as an occasional echo. You have to keep it simple because the more pedals you use, the more they play havoc on the signal. Keep it as pure as possible. Eliminate anything digital like digital reverb and echo. The MXR Carbon Copy is analog but I rarely use it. Everything has to be analog. Digital kills everything.

@@Savior.Mountgreen Another point, there seems to be at least two types of Marshall sounds, the high gain, crunchy heavy metal sound and a slightly cleaner hard rock sound. Neither of these work well for the Hendrix sound. Hendrix was all about massive clean headroom which he modded his Marshalls to get it. It is the most beautiful sound to hear those massive clean bass notes from his guitar with a slight amount of hair on them. That is the secret along with the preamp of the Uni-Vibe which added a huge amount of warmth to his signal. Surprisingly, a lot of people don't care for his tone because it is too raw but that is the beauty of massive wattage and 24 12" speakers. Jimi had the cleanest tone of anyone and controlled it with fuzz and guitar volume. That massive clean tone is the foundation you want for the TRUE Jimi sound. Not really possible with today's gear and volume limitations.

@@Savior.Mountgreen This guy, kzbin.info/www/bejne/pXrNin-pfM9lgdUsi=HNNz73tps0r9taBA, is a great example of the heavy metal crunch sound but shoot for the clean sound at 6:19. Then turn it up to try to get the EL34 power tubes to distort. That is where the best sounding feedback lives, power tube distortion.

Since I have not tried that many, I would try the EP2 first. It is more of a clean boost preamp which is what you want when playing Hendrix. Any overdrive that over distorts is not going to sound good. There are still used OCD's available. Right now, I'm only using a Germanium Fuzz Face from Denis Cornell and the preamp of a real Uni-Vibe. Great Jimi dirty but still clean sound. Germanium fuzzes will are also a good option because when you turn the volume down on your guitar, they act like a great sounding boost pedal. Too bad they don't make a pedal that emulates the sound of the Uni-Vibe preamp. That is the best preamp I have ever heard; way better than the Echoplex (EP) preamp. But I've heard good things about the EP2.

@@millstap Sorry, could you specify the brand of the EP2 pedal?

@@Savior.Mountgreen Xotic EP Booster, www.zzounds.com/item--XOTEPBOOSTER?siid=131650&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD_vpo5wIOO6ieF_2ulTHWbbPS05X&gclid=CjwKCAjw0aS3BhA3EiwAKaD2ZRbo3GYrIOY-rvoglvRVo8Q0TFvunzATPAV3c4LdoWL389LUlEegyRoC3TYQAvD_BwE, and I see the Exchoplex Preamp too, www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/EP101--dunlop-ep101-echoplex-preamp-pedal?mrkgadid=&mrkgcl=28&mrkgen=gpla&mrkgbflag=1&mrkgcat=amps&effects&acctid=21700000001645388&dskeywordid=&lid=58700008695999524&dsproductgroupid=&product_id=EP101&prodctry=US&prodlang=en&channel=online&storeid=&device=m&network=x&matchtype=&adpos=largenumber&locationid=1018021&creative=&targetid=&campaignid=21161059802&awsearchcpc=&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD_RQYmlhj0k590rqEFT9f8kYESch&gclid=CjwKCAjw0aS3BhA3EiwAKaD2ZTCzBR2yY2GVMGvRTafh7eUj_ObnnBKK8kufd0qp5AdXtFzQQ12P_hoCRpYQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

@@Savior.Mountgreen It was a clean amp on 3. I can’t remember if I had the OCD on but it is usually on for a little dirt. Run at 18VDC to keep it as clean as possible.

@@millstap The sound and feedback you've achieved are nothing short of magical. You're a guitar virtuoso and a sound genius

@@Savior.Mountgreen Thank you so much. It is such a difficult thing to play as fast as Jimi but I strive to at least get some of his magical tones.

@@millstap Rest assured, you are among the select few who consistently produce exceptional results. Your expertise in Hendrixian music and guitar playing is unparalleled, and your playing surpasses that of many celebrated guitarists.

@@millstap Is the difference between the 18V and 9V power supply that the 18V creates less noise or produces a cleaner, more defined sound?

yes, Aaron made them specifically for the Hendrix sound. I also have the Experiences. Aaron says the Gypsys are for the later BoG era and the Experience for early, but for me, it seems the opposite. The Experiences seem more like Woodstock to me. They both work great but the Experiences are a tad hotter.

@@millstap That's very interesting. I'll definitely consider these pickups

Lol, at first I thought this was a comment on the Fulltone OCD that I have used for years.

I’ve got to think. I’ll be back. We’re in the middle of Hurricane Francine. Definitely the OCD at 18V, Sabbadius fuzz, Uni-Vibe and maybe the Area 51 Alienist treble boost.

@@millstap ...thanks and be safe brother!

That computer drove me crazy even after I moved it to another room. Thankfully, I finally replaced it with a new Mac that is perfectly silent.

Thanks for coming back. I really want to do a decent Machine Gun tutorial but then I realized how much work that is on a 13-22 minute song. I got enamored with the version of Hear My Train on this album, a.co/d/fKHKKCa

Very interesting! I have never heard of them. I may have to check it out. I love the round core sound but hate that my D string goes dead quickly when I wear through the winding. I wonder why I never heard of them.

I see they have limited gauges. I would have to go to the 9 set to get close to the Hendrix gauge.

@@millstap Give the Octagonal Core strings a go. They combine the best of Hex Core Strings Stability w/ the Flexibility of Round Core strings all in 1. Plus they have a really unique sound.

@@RockStarOscarStern634 Wow. I seriously can’t believe no one has mentioned this until now. I might even try the 8’s since my fingers aren’t as strong as they used to be. Hopefully I don’t break them easily because that is why I had to stay away from 9’s.

@@millstap You can give the 8 Gauge strings another go in the Octagonal Core versions. Fun fact, really light gauge strings were designed for musicians who have an injury in their fretting hand but they're also great for Guitars w/ worn out tops.

HEY Mr. Carlos. It’s great to hear from you. We’re having a little hurricane party here. Her name is Francine. Thank goodness she’s pretty tame. God bless you.

I’ve seen them from $1,900 to $4,500 and everything in between. The cheaper ones usually need work and even some of the expensive ones have had lots of work which can potentially destroy the sound. For some reason, the old components are the key to their sound. Putting in all new capacitors usually destroys the mojo.

Just this particular song. Sometimes it can just be an artifact of the recording speed. Right now, I'm playing along to Hear My Train on the Voodoo Child: The Jimi Hendrix Collection, and it is in a sharp E, sharper than any other version I've heard. It sounds great though. It's a pain though having to switch tunings on almost each song.

A440 is a concert or Stuttgart tuning standard of an A at 440 Hertz. On a good strobe type tuner, you can adjust this standard pitch. I tune my guitar to the song itself, then I plug my guitar into the tuner and play any note and adjust the tuning standard of 440 down until the pitch of the string on my guitar is in tune with the standard pitch on my tuner. That way, I can use my tuner to tune my guitar to any in-between pitch. I think Jimi tunes by ear a lot and he got his guitar to sound the way he wanted it and the bass tuned to him. It's amazing how well he kept his guitar in tune. I think it actually sounded better by ear because he could adjust for the guitar's tuning anomalies. You might notice that when you use a tuner, your guitar doesn't sound exactly perfect in every position. That is the drawback of the equal temperament system.

@@millstap Thank you. But A on first(thin) string can’t be 440 and 432 for D tune. If you tune down so A becomes G 392. Can you please advise frequencies of all open strings to get the same tuning like in this video?