Fender 10-38 Hendrix Voodoo Child Pure Nickel Ball End Strings
Jimi’s signature gauge comprises of a somewhat surprising and unusual light-low, heavy top gauge. Roger Mayer, Jimi’s pedal wizard explained in the guitar press the theory behind this unusual choice of string gauge;
“He tended to use a .015 because when you use a .017 for a G string it makes the guitar very “G-heavy”.
A .017 sticks out, but when you change it to a .015 it makes a huge difference to the overall sound of the guitar – the whole sound of a chord.”
He also added in some insight into Jimi’s choice of low end gauge;
“Using a .038 on the lowest string makes it much more funky. You still get a twang, but it means you can bend the low E string more easily, which Jimi tended to do a lot, of course. The other god part about it is that the relationship between the E and the A is very sweet. You can also hit the strings harder and get a nice attack. You can’t get the same attack on a 48.”
Here’s what Fender say;
“Jimi Hendrix set the music world on fire with his rule-breaking playing style and one-of-a-kind tone. Make a fundamental piece of his full, warm tone yours by winding up a set of Jimi Hendrix Voodoo Child Strings, with Jimi’s signature heavy-high, light-low gauge setup.
Easy to bend and full of the magic that was the source of his sound, these strings are a painstaking recreation of Jimi’s beloveds. Move over Rover and let Jimi’s strings take over.”
Gauge
.010, .013, .015, .026, .032, .038″
