Fender '68 Hendrix Reissue Stratocaster

same as everyone elses. sss reverse sland bridge pickup reverse headstock, Olympic white. Made in mexico, came with a gig bag. Maple neck. Non-vintage bridge. This one is not the traditional bent steel bridge unit but the one that comes standard on the newer built guitars.
I give this one a 9 due to the bridge.

Sounds great. Really nails the Hendrix Vibe.

This is where it all goes downhill. I bought this online and it came with tuners that were not very straight. One was actually screwed on crooked. I road tested one at Guitar Center that also had a tuner on crooked. I thought it was a fluke so dismissed it until I recieved mine. There is good sized piece of wood chipped off at the pocket where the neck joins the body. It chipped off BEFORE the guitar was finished. They just painted and finished over the break. The sides of the pocket weren't even parallel with the neck. Maybe this one was a blem, but then so was the one at the Guitar Center.

Probably a very dependable guitar. I mean with all the build quality issues, it shouldn't break.

Never dealt with them

I have been playing for 30+ years and try to review products after the giddieness has worn off. I paid 495.00 with shipping and see these new ranging from $450.00 to $999.00 and can't understand why anyone would pay more than $500.00 for a guitar of this quality. Probably a fine guitar (I got rid of mine while it was still in new condition and could get some of my money back) and it does sound great. Typical Mexican quality (build wise) guitar. If I had kept it and could have replaced for the same price, under $500.00, I probably would, to be totally fair.
Not a bad guitar, just a bit disappointing to me. I give this catagory an 8 because it does nail Hendrix sound pretty well

I like to reserve the "new guitar fever" rating syndrome so I wait a while before writing reviews. Reissue of the Olympic white strat played by Hendrix. Reverse headstock, reverse slanted bridge pickup. Looks very cool. Made in Mexico. Bought from a music store through Ebay new in 2008. I was alittle disapointed when it arrived as the bridge was not the vintage correct bent steel saddled bridge. One of the tuners was crooked (as was the one in Guitar Center I checked out first). Was Jimi's crooked also? Nice feeling neck, good edges on the frets.

Sounded Great!! Really nailed that woody Hendrix tone/vibe. Made me stand up and walk around when I played Purple Haze and Hey Joe. Very quiet when played through my Fender Champ and '65 Princeton using a crybaby wah, hao soul pressure overdrive pedal and boss reverb pedal. I'm a blues/classic rock player and very much liked the vintage sound.

This catagory is where I was very disappointed. There was a hunk of wood broken off and actually painted over at the pocket where the neck sits. One of the tuners was crooked and the bridge saddles were not vintage bent steel but more the modern style and appeared to be cast instead of forged (could have just been how it looked). I got it from an online store not an individual and maybe it was a blem, but the one I test drove at Guitar Center also had a crooked tuner. What I would expect from a non American built strat.

With all its build flaws it's probably a reliable guitar.

Didn't own it but a month before I got rid of it while it was still in "new" condition.

This would have been a keeper had it not been built with the flaws and hardware I would have expected on a cheaper Mexican strat. If I had kept it, it would have been because the build quality would have been better. With the sound I would have replaced it. Basically I did love the sound but was not impressed with its hardware and overall build quality. I see these everywhere, especially Ebay, new for $450.00 to $600.00 plus shipping (except of course Guitar Center, Musicians Friend, etc. you know, the chain guitar shops) and can't understand why anyone would pay the $750.00 plus I'm seeing here even if it didn't have the flaws. I've been playing off and on for about 35 years and have owned myriads of guitars of varying quality. The build quality, hardware not withstanding, on my '89, $200.00 Squire II is just as good with vintage pickups. Not quite the Hendrix Vibe but close enough to gig with.

Mine is a new 68 reverse strat, in the vintage white color. Has the reverse 68 large headstock, and the staggerd, reversed bridge single coil pickup, and 2 other single coils in the middle and neck positions. I dont care to much for the stock pickups, because of the hum, so im putting some Dimarzio Virtual Vintage PUs in it. Has volume/tone/tone knobs, and a three way Pu selector switch. Has the traditional Fender trem on it. Has a maple fingerboard which feels great.

I love many styles and types of music, from jazz, rock, classical, blues, reggae, you name it. Sometimes (dare I say it a some country). But, I have always loved the music of Jimi Hendrix, and also Stevie Ray Vaughan, and with this strat, and the right amp and effects, you are on your way in getting that Hendrix Psychodelic, SRV Texas blues/Rock sound.

I got this guitar directly from my local music dealer, right from the showroom floor. Had to have it. I had the dealer tweak the neck a little, because it was fretting out on the 15 fret, but otther then that, the finish was flawless, as well as everything else.

I would gig with this guitar, and would trust it to deliver, but I never would take only one guitar to a gig. I always have at least one backup.Its a solid guitar, its a strat, need I say anymore.

Never dealt with Fender....

I have been playing for 20 years now, and I honestly say, its the best strat I have ever played. I dont know if its all a psychological thing, because of the reverse headstock, or the reverse pickups, or whatever, but if def has a different vibe to it. If something were to happen to it, I would def get another one to replace it....

This USA voodoo strat was made in 1997, With 21 jumbo frets on reverse maple (alder wood) headstock. A countour body (alder and black)with 5- way swither. Tree staggered sinle coiled pick-ups.

I play with a fender performer 1000 and a marshall. With a tube screamer, flanger and a cry-baby was it fantastic. I never heard this sound

The factory set-up was very good but the tremelo bridge was not fine. It was to heavy to useble. The string are to sweet, i think it was better a 0.11 to 0.46 gauche. The rest was great.

A paled very long guitar. Before this i play an standard strat. This is a great guitar. I don't know why many musicans won't to use a reverse headstock. The sound is so good that i want another one. This strat have unplugged aolso a great sound.

Man, these catagories have confused people. This review is for the post-2000 Voodoo Strat, now known as the '68 Reverse. It's not the Hendrix "Tribute" reverse body, and not the Made In Japan '68 ReIssue.

This guitar looks like a conventional Strat, but has a reversed big headstock and reverse staggered bridge pick-up. Plays normally, though you notice the difference in string tension do to the distance to the reversed tuning pegs.

I love these features so I have to give it a ten.

Has slotted type tuners, vintage tremelo and saddles, capped and lacquered maple neck, and mine came with a nice G&G case.

I've A/Bed against my genuine '97 Voodoo and its sounds identical, which it should. Against my other Strats, it has better dynamic range in my opinion. Less mid-range, brighter top and cleaner bottom. Works particularly well with brighter strings, like Boomers, etc. This Strat like to be set with a little string slap and it sounds very natural.

I like the sound this strat puts out better than any of my conventional Strats., including one with aged Kinmans. I think this is purely a matter of taste, certainly the smooth mid-range is great for many things and cutting through the mix, but solo I love the sound of a Voodoo or '68 Reverse. Even cowboy chords sound more interesting to me on these guitars.

Everything was fine except the neck joint fit. Too much gap. I don't believe this dampens the sustain of the guitar, I consider it purely an asethectic issue, but it shouldn't have left the factory that way, it's disappointing to see this.

The body cavity and fret work is nicely done. The neck has less grain and is just a tad chunkier than my '97 Voodoo. On the other hand, the lacquering on the neck is thicker on the Voodoo than on the '68 Reverse, that's an improvement.

The stock Fender 250s aren't the greatest strings for this guitar, but I assume everyone knows they should expect to change the strings and set as soon as they get it home.

I don't think there is a more reliable guitar made than a Fender Stratocaster.

I own, have owned, many quality guitars & tube amps. The '68 Reverse is the best Strat value I've found if you like this sound. To me, it's the like the best qualities of the notched Strat sound emphasized top and bottom. And, the string tension difference works well for me. If I needed a very versatile Strat to play a lot of covers I'd choose a different one, but for my soloing, & playing my preferred sound, this is the favorite. They might be a little over-priced retailing at $1000+.

Made in 2001, this is the new version of the old Hendrix Voodoo Strat. The Hendrix family wouldn't let them use the name anymore so they re-christened it the '68 Reverse Strat. For those of you who haven't seen the Voodoo or this model, it's a right handed Strat body with a left handed neck. The bridge pickup is slanted the opposite way and the pole pieces in the pickups are reversed. The controls are in the normal spots. Basically it's a left handed strat with a right handed body and string path.

The guitar has 21 frets, volume-tone-tone controls, and a 5-way selector. I believe it has vintage alnico pickups. The body is alder and the neck and fretboard are maple. Mine has a 3-tone sunburst finish that is unbelievable -- looks 3-D. The wood grain really shows through and the colors fade together nicely, not too orange, red, black, etc. It has the vintage bridge. The tuners are the old F-style. The neck has a radius of 9.5" and is the standard Fender 25.5" scale length. Oh, the body is routed much like the new American series (this guitar is made in the U.S. as well) in which there isn't the old swimming pool underneath the pickguard.

Mine came with the Fender Deluxe Black Tolex case, strap, cord, extra springs, etc. All the standard stuff for an American Strat.

I give this section a 9 because of the custom options such as the reversed neck and pickups.

This guitar is pure blues! Of course its got that Hendrix tone and voodoo vibe, but you can easily coax Vaughn, Gilmour, Clapton, and Guy out of this thing. Sounds like heaven clean and like the wrath of God overdriven. Perfect for what it does. It's not suited well to extreme distortion, so metal is really not up its alley -- it can be done, but there are just a ton of guitars out there that would be better suited for the job. But if you want to play 60's and 70's style rock or good ol' blues, this is the ultimate!

The pickups are actually reasonably quiet. My old single coil guitar howled in the 1-3-5 positions, but this one hums at an acceptable level -- it's what you get with a Strat, but this is one of the more quiet Strats I've heard.

The reverse string path, string tension, and pickups make for an interesting sounding guitar! I wish all strats sounded like this. The low end is snappier and more responsive while the highs shimmer with all the awe inspiring power of the shrieks heard in Jimi's Star Spangled Banner. Really cuts through the mix, Strats are blues machines and this is simply the best machine in the group!

I'm running this through a Carvin SX-200 for the cleans and a Marshall 1959 SLP Reissue for the dirty stuff. This combo sounds awesome (although I wish I could get an old 65 Super Reverb). I've played the guitar through Fender amps as well and its well suited for both Fender and Marshall, just depends on the tone you're going for.

I'm giving it a 10 in the sound category -- pure tone! Yeah, it doesn't do metal very well, but hey, I don't play metal!

Here is where the guitar really disappointed me. When I got it the action, intonation, etc. were all pretty screwed up. I expected this (it was shipped from CA to FL and finally to me in WA) and went to work right away when I received it. No matter what I did I couldn't get the damn fret buzz to go away. I took it to a local shop and had them do a set up on it (as well as putting 10-46's on it instead of the 9-42's it comes with) and they solved the problem. They had to do a little nut filing and a little fret redressing. Apparently the frets were all messed up from the factory. Luckily, this work was covered by the warranty, because I would have been a little angry if I had to pay for it after spending $1000 plus on this guitar! Anyway, I'm a little disappointed that Fender put out a product with this kind of defect but it is probably pretty rare. Doesn't matter now anyway because the thing plays like a dream!

I give this section a 4 because of the problem with the frets, but now that it's fixed, an easy ten! Like butter in the hand.

It's a Strat, look at Stevie's, still sounded great -- nuff said!

An easy 10, if you put Strap-locks on it.

I called them up to find out what the deal with the Voodoo strat was (I was trying to get one and everyone told me the couldn't get them) and they told me that it had been discontinued but would be re-released as the '68 Reverse Strat. They were very pleasant on the phone and helped me out right away. Kind of surprising considering some stories I've heard. I didn't deal with them on the warranty issue, the shop that did the work did, so I can't comment on that.

I'll give them an 8 because they worked with me alright, I'm skeptical though (plus I'm a little mad about the fret thing).

A great guitar for the blues/classic rock enthusiast! Pure tone, Hendrix vibe, quality materials. Couldn't ask for any more. Absolutely sets the standard for blues axe's.

The guitar is a 10+, but due to the fret problem I'll have to give it a 9.

this is a guitar I bought 4 months ago, new from the shop.....If you want to know excactly what it is made of, or what's on it, there are better ways then to ask me... I keep forgetting about those details....I saw this guitar and immediatly fell in love with it, I am a big fan of Hendrix, ( not only hendrix), and I allways loved the look of a strat upside down.... this guitar has also got a beautifull colour, when it hangs around your neck it feels like a very different guitar then a stratocaster, the balance is so different.. Jimi kept on playing right hand strats, even when he could affort left handed, I think he had a reason for that. When I saw this in the shop I was so curious how it would feel playing on it,maybe feel what Jimi felt... it was the best strat I ever played on, (I play for 25 years now), so I traded in my old strat from '79(they pay a lot of money for those!) and bought it .....

I'm not a pro, I play in 2 rock bands for a hobby(you may call it passion too), and it has all the sounds you could want from a strat, you can get any thing out of it from Hendrix, better then any other strat,(must have somthing to do with the upside down thing), but also any sound that you create yourself... I mostly use the neck pick up, but even the bridge pick up is great, not so sharp as on other strats...I play on a Marshall 900, mostly on the clean channel, with a cry baby, a Marshall guvnor, a danelectro delay, a boss compressor/sustainer,a dod chorus.... oh, and a 4x12 under the amp...I have no dislikes, a good guitar for me is like an adventure, finding out what it has got in it....

the guitar was very well adjusted from the factory, the action was low, I like that, and the big surprise is it's whammy bar ..... it doesn't seem to get the strings out of tune! MY other guotar has a floyd rose on it, it sometimes get more out of tune..

I,ve allready played a lot on it live, and I don't treat my guitars like little babies..... it's all in one piece still, and I'm confidient about the future... the finish is something you don't see much these days, they used the same as in '68, and it is different..more beautifull, and the y say it only become more beautifull as it gets older... well, I'll never sell it, so I can be a witness!

don't know

I would buy this again, sorry, I don't know anything bad to say about it....

Basically a stock reissue Strat just like they were made in '68, only that this is a left-handed guitar that's been set up for a right-handed player. The only differences are that this guitar has position dots on the left edge (for a righty), a strap button on the opposite bout (again, for a righty), a modern serial number decal, and an engraving of Jimi on the neckplate. The "Fender Stratocaster" decal on the headsstock face is also reversed (actually backwards) so that it reads right in a mirror. The instrument's nut and bridge have accordingly been set up for a conventional right-handed player. A blonde slab maple fingerboard and "Olympic White" (actually an off-white, cream color) done in laquer makes this the mirror image of Hendrix's favorite guitar during the last year of his life. The whammy bar is angled like a conventional right-handed Strat, which I believe is the opposite of how Jimi used it (he liked to hook it with his ring and pinky finger rather than grab for the plastic handle). The keys are the authentic (cheap CBS) tuners with the Fender "F" on the back and the six-sided buttons. The neck has the short (rounded) radius popular at the time. Included are a black tolex covered wood/orange plush interior case, a white coil cord (a cheap molded one), and a cloth/vinyl strap typical of the period. Also included is a separate 5-way switch that you can swap (if you're reasonably handy with tools and a soldering iron) for the installed 3-way that the original had. The pickups are just like the originals, only perhaps more consistant and accurately made than the originals, due to improvements in manufacturing since then. They are chock-full of original Strat character, and being single-coil, as noisy as they can be when the signal is pumped up. I can't imagine how Fender could have executed this concept any better, feature-wise. Okay, the cord and strap are cheapies, but these items are really intended to stay in the case and provide eyewash for collectors, anyway.

I'm basically a pro rock player, and have been for 25 years. I don't particularly like the idea of "collecting," as I think that this phenomina tends to drive the price of great instruments out of the hands of players who should be using them to make their living. So I bought this guitar to be a "working girl," not to "collect" it. I've had Strats before, but have mostly played Gibsons, as I've always had a hard time keeping Strats in tune (Hendrix, did, too; his left hand was constantly going up to the keys). I used to have a '65 Mustang, a great guitar (with aftermarket pickups) that stayed in tune great with a .010-.056 set, but Strats were always a problem. But I have always loved the sound of a Strat. i saw this guitar at the store, and it was gorgeous, but like everyone else, I figured it would be very awkward to play. But I sat down with it, and was pleasantly surprised that it was no big problem adapting. Okay, the volume control is located where "pedal steel" effects with your pinky are pretty much out of the question, and, the tone knobs, particularly the middle pickup tone control, keep getting bumped out of position occaisonally (I think I'm just going to go inside with my soldering iron and short them out; I never use them, anyway), but no big deal, really. You also have to be a bit careful not to lay the weight of your pick hand against the whammy so the tuning doesn't pull up, but not much more than a conventional Strat. The changed center of balance from the relocated strap button makes the guitar a bit more head-heavy than normal, but only a bit. These minor inconveniences are much more than compensated by the interesting look of the instrument, and the "Hendrix fantasy vibe," if you will, that goes along with it. As for the sound, it's pure classic Strat, which is just about as versitile as any guitar gets. The odd placement of the volume knob didn't take long for me to get used to at all; in fact, I get along with it better than the standard placement on a Strat. I was always kocking the volume off on my other Strats; my hand misses it on this one. I use it with a SRD XPR Rockman guitar processor (straight into the PA), which has overdrive and compression, but no noise gate, so when I have "the volume on 11," I have to "gate" the volume control manually on the guitar to keep the single coil hum out of the audience's face, but I don't have a problem finding the knob. In my experience, you can make a Strat sound like a Gibson (attenuate the tone and turn it up) a lot easier than you can make a Gibson sound like a Strat (it can't really be done). Not quite as tinny at the one end as a Tele or Danelectro, but darn close.

Okay, here's where I'm really going to rave about this guitar. It has always been a suspision of mine that left-handed guitars were made a bit better than right-handed ones (thinking that they require closer attention at the factory by people who really know what they're doing), and this instrument proves it to me. This is the best Fender I've ever owned (after a '64 Jaguar, a '61 Strat, a '72 Strat, a '65 Mustang, and an '82 Gold Strat). Now, like I said, I've been playing pro for over 25 years, taken every guitar I've ever owned apart and put it back together, worked in a music store, done setups, made nuts from scratch, etc., and this guitar was really made and set up right. The action from the factory was very good, the intonation fine. But no, I can't leave well enough alone, I like the action REAL close, and I absolutely demand that it play and stay in tune. The only things that I've done are to file the nut grooves ever so lightly (to give them a bit more of an hourglass shape, NOT any deeper), and to tighten the truss rod a bit. I have adjusted the bridge saddles for height and intonation (not that they were bad to begin with, they weren't), and haven't even taken the back body plate off to look at the springs (no reason to-if it ain't broke, don't fix it). I keep it strung with D'Addario .009-.046. This guitar now has the closest action of any guitar I've EVER played and IT STAYS IN TUNE LIKE A DREAM! I tune the thing once at the beginning of the night, and rarely have to touch it again. No bull. Playing this guitar, is (forgive me) "pure pussy."

Little gripes: Some of the chrome is flaking off of a couple of the tuner handles. The jack came a bit loose inside the plate housing; I had to go in and re-tighten it. Restringing is more awkward than a right-handed guitar. The unwound strings can slip on the keyposts unless you pass them across the slot 2 or 3 times. And, like any classic Strat, it tends to break strings at the bridge saddles more often than other guitars. If you're playing gigs, you need a spare ax, but that goes without saying anyway. The finish, done in laquer instead of the plastic acrylic finishes Fender has been doing since the early '70's or whatever, is not going to wear as well, will be prone to weather checking, and will turn orangey with time, like a true vintage Stratocaster. I love it.

I should take it back to the store and get the keys replaced for the chrome flaking, I just haven't gotten around to it. I'm sure they'll take care of it. I've done some minor Fender warrenty work myself, and can't imagine any problems in that regard.

Yeah, that's right, I got it brand new, for dealer cost. (This is the second time this has happened to me, where I was interested in a guitar that was just a bit too weird for everyone else, the store had been sitting on it for too long, and sold it to me for their cost, just to move it and get their money back out of it. The first time was at this very same music store in 1972, where I bought (are you ready for it?) a brand new Rickenbacker Model 331 Light Show Stereo guitar for ... $200. Please don't hate me. I absolutely played the paint off that one, and still have it.) But with this Hendrix Strat, I love it so much that the price I paid is nearly irrelevant.