GuitarDistortedRiff80% confidence

The Star Spangled Banner (Live) Guitar Tone Settings

Jimi Hendrix · 1960s · rock

live

Original Recording

Guitar

1968 Fender Stratocaster (Olympic White, maple neck, right-handed, strung left-handed)

Pickups

Fender single-coil Stratocaster pickups (late 1960s spec)

Amp

Marshall Super Lead 100-watt (model 1959) into Marshall 4x12 cabinets

Pickup Position

Bridge pickup (most of the riff/anthem section), occasional switching to neck/middle for tonal variation

Live at Woodstock, August 1969. All gear confirmed for this specific performance. No studio effects; all effects are from pedals and amp. Hendrix played right-handed Strat flipped for left-handed use, with reversed string order.

Amp Settings

Mids

7.5

Bass

6.5

Gain

Reverb

Treble

7.5

Presence

Effects Chain

Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face (silicon, likely BC108) · fuzz
Vox Wah (Clyde McCoy or V846) · wah
Univox Uni-Vibe · modulation

Guitar → Vox Wah → Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face → Univox Uni-Vibe → Marshall Super Lead 100 → Marshall 4x12 cabs

Tone Matcher

Match This Tone to Your Gear

Tell us your guitar and amp — we’ll calculate the exact settings translated to your specific rig.

Adapt to MY Gear →

7-day free trial · Cancel anytime.

Tone Character

explosive fuzz saturation
screaming feedback manipulation
dynamic wah sweeps
swirling Uni-Vibe modulation
aggressive whammy bar dives
piercing upper harmonics
raw, uncompressed attack
sustain-rich fuzz texture
chaotic, expressive soundscape
intense, overdriven amp character

Notes & Caveats

⚠️No direct numeric amp knob settings for Woodstock found; values estimated based on era, amp model, and direct quotes from Roger Mayer and Guitar World stating 'amps were normally flat out' and 'Fuzz Face maxed out'.
⚠️Pickup selector position inferred from live footage and typical Hendrix usage; not explicitly stated in sources.
⚠️No amp reverb used; all ambience is from stage volume and room.
⚠️Pedal settings (knobs) not documented for this specific performance; Fuzz Face and Wah confirmed, Uni-Vibe confirmed by multiple sources.
⚠️Signal chain order based on Roger Mayer interview and period-correct pedal order.
⚠️Settings cross-referenced with genre and era conventions for accuracy. Hendrix's Woodstock 'Star Spangled Banner' tone is classic Marshall Super Lead: edge-of-breakup to crunchy gain, strong mids and treble for cut, boosted presence for clarity, and no reverb (amp and stage were dry). These settings reflect his aggressive, expressive tone and typical late-60s British rock amp voicing.