“It was a bit of a disaster”: Why John McLaughlin had to use a cheap acoustic during a jam with Jimi Hendrix
Back in 1969, John McLaughlin was able to live out every guitarists’ dream – jamming with Jimi Hendrix. However, the experience proved to be more of a nightmare thanks to some shoddy gear.
Picture this – its the 25 March, 1969 and McLaughlin waltzes into Record Plant. The New York studio had hosted Hendrix while recording 1968’s Electric Ladyland – and he was back for more. “I walked into the studio with Mitch Mitchell [Hendrix’s drummer]… and it was LOUD,” the jazz guitarist tells Ultimate Guitar. “There was a big party going on, and that’s where I met Buddy Miles for the first time… Buddy was already playing some boogaloo… And Jimi was there.”
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Alongside McLaughlin, Hendrix and Miles, Dave Holland was also there on bass. And, as McLaughlin describes the jam – which lasted 6 hours, spanning from 2am to 8am – it sounds like quite the occasion. “There were quite a few guitar players there,” he recalls. “A lot of people. It was a big party.”
Unfortunately, McLaughlin was at a disadvantage – he only had an acoustic guitar to hand. “The only guitar I had was a Gibson Hummingbird,” he frowns. “I’d moved to Europe by that time, and I’d run out of money! I had to sell my really nice Gibson guitar.”
Strapped for cash, he’d only been able to afford the Hummingbird in lieu of a more expensive electric model. “It was pretty cheap, and I had a DeArmond pickup over [the sound hole],” he recalls. “It was a bit of a disaster.”
In his opinion, McLaughlin’s invention wasn’t quite up to scratch. “At that volume, I plugged my guitar in, and it was instant feedback,” he says. “It was really hard to play. It was unfortunate. I needed a solid body guitar on that session.”
Despite his handicap, the jam didn’t sour his relationship with Buddy Miles. In fact, the percussionist even gladly agreed to feature on McLaughlin’s 1970 record, Devotion.
While he didn’t have the chance to impress Hendrix on that fateful night of jamming, McLaughlin notes that he did end up meeting Hendrix again – and he didn’t seem to hold his acoustic nightmare against him. “He was a sweet guy,” McLaughlin says. “We had a chance to talk, and he was just totally unpretentious.”
“I think he knew he was causing quite a revolution on the electric guitar,” he adds. “He certainly affected me, and about another five million guitar players. He was a one-man revolution on the guitar. It was unbelievable what he was doing, with a wah-wah pedal and a Marshall amp. That was it!”
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
