How Jimi Hendrix used his effects to get his sound

[@MikelBluni]

17 minutes full of hands on insights to bring you closer to Jimi’s sound!

[@edisoncoelho9041]

Man… You’ve been uploading the best Hendrix “tone” content on YT. Congratulations! I’ve been actually using some of these tricks .

[@MikelBluni]

Thanks a lot 🙏 Spread the word ✌️☮️ Happy to hear you can use some of the tricks 🎸🔥

[@johnpierson8398]

Really loved this video! I am a life long fan of Jimi. My 1st concert was The Jimi Hendrix Experience in Boston in Nov 1968. I have studied and attempted to play and learn his music since then.I have a Sabbadius Funky Vibe, and your insight on the preamp in this pedal, guitar volume settings and what pedals he used on songs is spot on. Wow! Your playing on Jimi's songs is really great. Thank you

[@MikelBluni]

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts! Man, it’s so great that you saw him live 🙏👍

[@gosiagosiaguitars4105]

Best channel about Hendrikx. All killer played

[@MikelBluni]

That’s a very kind comment - thank you ✌️🎸☮️

[@gosiagosiaguitars4105]

@@MikelBluni we build guitars (GOSIA GUITARS) and i a🤩m a huge Hendrikx fan and i am busy to check ALL your video's

[@MikelBluni]

@@gosiagosiaguitars4105 Sounds great - thank you . Your guitars look awesome 😍✌️💯

[@eldark2b]

Thank u so much you learn me. A lot sir ! Cheers from france

[@MikelBluni]

You are welcome my friend 🙏 Thanks for your kind feedback ✌️🎸

[@paulsuttmiller6025]

Dude, you probably have the closest tone to jimi than anyone else I’ve listened to on KZbin. Well done my friend. Will be taking your tips with me.

[@MikelBluni]

Wow, thanks so much ✌️🙏

[@jordandangelo180]

I’m the biggest Hendrix fan you’ll ever find and I live for 1969-1970 Live Hendrix recordings and videos ever since I discovered them a couple decades ago and this was amazing to amazing to watch. You really nailed a lot of the tones. That Uni-Vibe really sounded amazing. The Fuzz and the cranked Marshall Plexi creates magic tones.

[@MikelBluni]

Thanks a lot 🙏

[@kalejoe6599]

This so amazing Mikel, You're tones and the way you set you're pedals, amp and even guitar controls are phenomenal, you had the perfect intensity level set on the Uni-Vibe these days I see so many people using to much intensity on the Uni-Vibe when trying to get a Jimi Hendrix type tone but you really nailed it here and also having the amp already broken up so that you can play nearly all those without having a fuzz. I can go on and on and on about how amazing this video but I'm pretty sure people already know or should know how awesome this video is. Keep up the amazing work Mikel.

[@MikelBluni]

Hey Kle, thanks so much for your motivational feedback! I'm happy to see that you really caught the message that "secretly" goes with my video and explanations - which is: LESS IS MORE. Don't get tricked by your hearing and mind, which initially tells you that you need more Fuzz here and more intensity there. In fact, Jimi was a master in setting and using his effects and his sounds were soe awesome because he used everything in a very subtle way.

[@richardsargentsr.1384]

Nailed it.

[@MikelBluni]

Thanks a lot ✌️🙏👍

[@kq6up]

Very clear explanation. The best I have seen on the subject.

[@MikelBluni]

Wow that’s a pretty motivational feedback - thanks ✌️🙏

[@jonkbaby]

That is amazing, really makes you think about where rock has gone since his time, and even our own playing and settings. I know I used to think volume and gain were it in anything I played. Thank you for sharing your wisdom here my friend

[@MikelBluni]

Thanks a lot for your kind words 🙏✌️Jimi defined the way tone machines were used by opening totally new perspectives 🎸🔥

[@Georgio594]

I absolutely love your videos. You have an amazing ability on the guitar and deep knowledge of the tones and techniques Jimi used. Thank you so much for sharing what you’ve learned with us.

[@MikelBluni]

Thanks so much for your motivating words! Highly appreciated my friend!

[@markmurphy5486]

Wow.. nailed it! Great insight.. thanks so much!!

[@MikelBluni]

Thanks a lot. Stay tuned I’m working on another super detailed Jimi tone reveal. More insights to come ✌️🎸🔥👍

[@JudithYork-c7e]

hey mikelbluni jeffrdyork here even though hendrix died in 1970 which was 18 years before i was even born i grew up listening to his music voodoo child has to be my fav and is the reason i got my first mim fender strat back in nov 2007 that i still have to this day here at deka lake 2023 i have a voodoo lab micro vibe wampler velvet fuzz and a 535q dunlop wah and a super octave i know its not exactly what jimi would of used but i dig the tones with my mesa mark v 35 1x12 combe great vid by the way cheers JEFF York!!!!

[@MikelBluni]

Thanks 🙏 Your setup must sound great 👍 Only good ingredients! Enjoy the ride, with Jimi it’s not about using the exact same equipment, but understanding his approach and musical thinking first 🎸🔥

[@jaradpedersen8661]

Sounds GREAT!

[@MikelBluni]

Thanks my friend 👍

[@xderiwx]

Excellent stuff! Thanks, Mike!

[@steveg219]

You really got this down, great info and the sounds are “right”!

[@MikelBluni]

Thanks, Steve 👍✌️🔥

[@emoningka]

0:03 Hi Mikel such an important video about the sound of Jimi which I was in search for for many years. I basically have the same set up like you Marshall with the Funkyvibe, Fuzzface and Wha ! The Funky vibe with the pre amp is a game changer coming closer to Jimi’s sound! Your remark about Jimi not using so munch overdrive and Fuzz is truly a great insight and very true! Also handling the volume knob on the strat is new for me but definitely working! I have one question about how Jimi handles his incredible feedback from the amp! How does he do this? Maybe you can help us with another video about this incredible feature Hendrix exposed at the time !? Best regards Elfin

[@MikelBluni]

Thanks a lot for your kind feedback 🙏 Glad to hear you are also using the Funky-Vibe 😀👍 I can get Jimi’s feedback tones when playing live at high(er) volumes. It’s a good idea to plan a video on that topic as there might be 1-2 more things to consider for the feedback. Thanks for the impulse 🔥🎸✌️

[@richardbeaton7324]

Great video man !

[@MikelBluni]

Thanks a lot, I’m happy you enjoyed it ✌️🎸

[@hendrixjimi2500]

Awesome work subbed 👏

[@MikelBluni]

Thanks my friend 👍🙏

[@Geist_des_Todes]

Brother, thank you so much, your video helps me a lot and now i am a sub!!!

[@MikelBluni]

Great feedback 🙏 Thanks my friend. I’m happy I could help you on your search for Jimi’s tone ✌️🎸🔥

[@benscottDOP]

Great video Mikel. And great playing as always.

[@MikelBluni]

Hi Ben, thanks a lot for your kind words! As a director of photography you must have smiled at the videography ;-) Man, it came together super spontaneous by putting my iPhone on a tripid and just playing and talking. Usually, this is not the way I shoot my videos :-)

[@benscottDOP]

​@@MikelBluni​Don't worry I won't report you to the union just yet! Just pleased you had your phone on hand to do it as the mood took you.

[@chinaski2020]

Wow you got some serious chops

[@MikelBluni]

Thanks a lot for your positive feedback ✌️🙏🎸

[@alanblakeguitarist]

Wow this is dope! I was just listening to Who Knows and I was trying to figure out his tone at the end of the drums and singing. He didn’t have a lot of stuff so it shouldn’t be too hard but still is great.

[@paulcopemusic108]

great video tutorial and playing, thank you.

[@fendermarshallbluesbox3407]

great sound !

[@MikelBluni]

Thank you 🙏😀

[@charlesrobinson7469]

You're a Great Guitar Player. I wish I could play like that.👍🏾

[@MikelBluni]

Thanks a lot 🙏👍

[@scottemmonsmusic6001]

Jimi never jumpered the channels of his Plexus. He daisy chained often though not always but when he did it was the 1st channel. Check the photos. Jimi was tuned down a whole step for Band Of Gypsys (and Voodoo Chile - not Slight Return.) Great tones!

[@MikelBluni]

Thanks for your great input 👍 I’ve heard once that his amps were modded with an internal jumping due to the fact that small patch cables get lost easily.

[@3rdtonefromthesun]

Great video Mikel, Woodstock tones nailed! Can I just add in the equation of the Axis Fuzz circuit that Jimi used, this allowed him to use Wah pre Fuzz without impedence and oscillation issues. On the BOG stuff I believe it's an almost identical circuit based off one half of the Octavia (originally taken from the Helios mic pre-amp console), but by 1970 Jimi appears to be using a standard circuit silicon Fuzzface, possibly due to lost/stolen Axis fuzzes. You can hear on Isle of Wight the oscillation and RF interference that is getting picked up! Have you tried and Axis Fuzz? The BOG variant is wild!

[@MikelBluni]

Thanks for your feedback and insights! You are absolutely right, the Axis Fuzz, of which I have one too, is able to handle Wah going upfront. I was checking the Maui concert again and again and the approach Jimi used to make Wah and Fuzz work together, is the one I describe in the video. Here Jimi in fact uses a Fuzz that cannot handle Wah going into Fuzz, at least the sweep gets lost for most of the part. Who knows, maybe Jimi liked that and used the Wah more in an eq-ing way.

[@3rdtonefromthesun]

@@MikelBluni Awesome! I really like the Axis, it's loud and cleans up well! But I never dime the gain on it, I get it to sound woolly on the neck pickup and back it off a touch to get the clarity back otherwise its a monster... Yes and for Maui and I think just about every show from 1970 bar the BOG stuff, Jimi appears to be using a silicon FF - there's definitely a sweet spot with the gain on the fuzz and rolling back the guitar volume control where you can make things play quite nicely regards wah into Fuzz but it seems that when it's really high gain it can be troublesome.

[@a.gabriel9109]

Good work. 😎

[@MikelBluni]

Thank you for your feedback!

[@sundance222]

Thats it, bruv. Glad to see a Plexi user and the correct order of pedals.... no tube screamers or preamp gain LOLOL

[@MikelBluni]

Thanks 🙏 I like staying true to the original setup, ‘cause there’s no TS or Rats or Reverb in Jimi’s tone 🙄

[@Inspector-71]

Nice tones and nice setup, I dig your vibe pedal, I wasn't aware that it has a preamp, did the original UVs have this? I read a Roger Mayer interview where he spoke of the UV when Jimi git his and he stated that it was almost perfect but he did a couple of mods to it to make it exactly to Jimi's liking. He didn't get into details about what was modded though, have you any knowledge on that?

[@MikelBluni]

Thanks a lot 🙏 Actually, the UV Jimi used had no bypass. It was always on and the chorus/vibe speed was adjusted with the foot pedal. In heel position the effect was canceled, but the preamp was still on. To me the UV preamp was an essential part of Jimi’s later tones. I’ve met Roger Mayer and mainly spoke to him about Fuzz mods, but that’s long ago. Unfortunately, I have no info on the UV mods. But if you look up Dave Weyer, you might find something on UV mods he did for Jimi among Wah and Amp mods ✌️

[@Inspector-71]

@@MikelBluni interesting, so the UV on had a preamp which boosted the natural tone of the Plexi, that makes sense because I use to have a Plexi and the Dunlop uni-vibe w/ foot controller that they came out with in the late 90s but that seemed to darken the tone, it only sounded decent when I got an old DOD equalizer pedal that gave a nice natural clean boost. That preamp tone of your UV is definitely Jimi's secret sauce for that great Plexi tone he had in later 69' on, before that it seems he relied on the fuzz pedal and lowering the guitar volume to clean up the tone. Thanks, take care!

[@Steve-nu9op]

badass! thanks

[@MikelBluni]

You're welcome my friend!

[@SiggiHauswirth]

Great Video! Does the guitar have a treble bleed capacitor?

[@MikelBluni]

Thanks Siggi ✌️🎸 No, it doesn’t have a treble bleed ✌️

[@starscanseeme]

Hi Mikel, great sounds and insight! A great help for us who aren' t great players. Are u using an attenuator to play on 7 in the house? What strat/pickups are you playing? And which don ponyz fuzz did you get? Cheers!

[@MikelBluni]

Hey Joeri, thanks for your cool feedback. I'm using an attenuator to play the setting showed. It's a rather cheap solution by Harley Benton, but it works perfectly at home and live. The pick ups are Fender Custom 69s and the Fuzz is a Don Poniz SI BC183L. I can highly recommend Don Poniz's work.

[@starscanseeme]

@@MikelBluni Thanks for the answer, I will be watching this video many times! Good to know the hb attenuator still sounds good. Have a great day !

[@mikebledsoe2315]

*Awwesome demo with 2 W's.*

[@BaljakTuners]

great

[@MikelBluni]

Thanks a lot ✌️🎸☮️

[@juanmanuelescobarcortes8628]

Hi ! I also have a don ponyz fuzz ! You use the wah after o before it ? Great tone man ! Insane !

[@MikelBluni]

Tanks for your kind feedback and congratulations to your Don Poniz Fuzz. I mainly use my Wah before my Fuzz. It works very well, as the Joe Gagan Wah has another output resistor. Of course it also sounds great with the Fuzz going into the Wah, but that gives you another kind of flavor that to me is cool too, but doesn't sound like Jimi.

[@Gimi.Endrics]

Hi, I've been trying to make Jimi's sound for a few months, I have fuzz, uni-vibe, octavio and wah pedals, but I can't, the problem is that I don't know the right amp gain and the right fuzz gain , if I increase the amp gain too much the amp distortion covers the fuzz sound and you really don't hear it, the fuzz becomes like a booster, if I put a slight amp gain and increase the fuzz gain then only the fuzz it has little distortion that does not allow to perform the Pull-off, could you give me some advice on how to adjust the amp and fuzz? or better yet it would be a dedicated video

[@MikelBluni]

The Plexis Jimi used weren’t overly distorted, but slightly crunching. Set your Fuzz so that when you turn down guitar volume down to 1-2 the guitar is rather clean. Vice versa try to set maximum Fuzz with guitar volume on 9 not 10 (!). Actually, oftentimes Jimi had the Fuzz set more in a boost setting, this means Fuzz around 1 o clock. If you use a boost pedal/overdrive make sure it’s after the Fuzz. Without knowing your exact gear it’s rather guessing. You can see my amp settings in several different videos, like my video on the BOG sound. Good luck 👍

[@Gimi.Endrics]

@@MikelBluni If I keep the fuzz around 1 and the slightly crunchy amp doesn't have enough distortion to do the pull-off, I have a guitar with seymour duncan jb humbuckers and an orange crush 20 home amp, a dunlop gypsys fuzz, MXR M68 Uni-Vibe, MXR Octavio M267 can that be the problem and the amp?

[@MikelBluni]

@@Gimi.Endrics I think you have a good starting point. Single coils and a Plexi type amp would definitely bring you closer. Further, the Gypsy Fuzz is great, but it’s not that classical Fuzz tone, but rather an overdrive tone. Maybe you wanna try a different Fuzz, too. The Dunlop FFM3 is awesome. I’m sorry I can not exactly detect and solve your issue, but rule of thumb to get as close as possible to Jimi’s sound is to get as close as possible to the equipment he used. Of course having Jimi’s fingers, soul and talent can help, too 😉✌️ Good luck my friend - you’ll get there - just hang in and improve you signal chain step by step 🔥🎸

[@Gimi.Endrics]

@@MikelBluni Thank you very much for your time and advice

[@kirillprilepko394]

Hey Mikel, i see you’re a fan of chorus mode on the univibe. What do you think about univibe mode that Hendrix actually used for Machine Gun Fillmore East recording and the whole Woodstock set? Chorus or Vibrato? Thanks!

[@MikelBluni]

Hi Kirill, thanks for your feedback. Good to hear from you again! I think Jimi primarily used the Chorus mode. Fortunately, I had the chance to meet all of his close musical colleagues and band members. It was prior to Woodstock, approx. 2 weeks, when he received the UV and in fact the Vibe mode was something that he didn't care for a lot in the beginning. I'd day that Machine Gun is Chorus. To my ears Hey Baby is clearly Vibe mode.

[@CrazyHenkie777]

Didn't Jimi use the middel pu also? Sounds to me he did.

[@MikelBluni]

Thanks for sharing 🙏 I might be wrong, but I‘ve analyzed all available video and photography - middle position unintentionally mostly coincidental. Just my 2 cents 🙏✌️

[@grorol]

Hi Mikel What speakers did you use? Cheers Rolf

[@MikelBluni]

Celestion G12h-30 70th Anniversary

[@jamiemorgan4146]

That plant doesn’t look well....😢

[@MikelBluni]

I’ll take care immediately 🙃 Hope you liked the video and content 🎸🌊

[@jamiemorgan4146]

@@MikelBluni Yes, nice video.. hmmm a year ago??? I’m guessing it isn’t around any longer.😉