Tuesday, May 20

Jimi Hendrix's Effects Pedals

On a recent trip to Seattle, I was able to snap a picture of one of Jimi Hendrix's guitar effects pedal arrays, on display at the Experience Music Project. From left to right are:

1. Shin-ei Uni-Vibe effects unit, circa 1968
2. Octavio, effects pedal prototype, circa 1967
3. King Vox-Wah, effects pedal, circa 1968

The EMP also had a "mixing interactive" that showed Hendrix as "an innovator and forefather of modern recording technology." I played around with "Crosstown Traffic" for awhile (which -- unbeknownst to me -- features Traffic's Dave Mason on the high part of the lyrics), and it was fantastic to see the underlying analog techné that defines the record production and aesthetic of Hendrix's generation.

The rest of the EMP is worth seeing, too.

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