If you have a decades-long career in music and a countless selection of guitars like Paul McCartney does, you might need help to pick a favourite. Interestingly enough, when asked, McCartney didn’t hesitate to answer on the one he liked to use the most, and he thanked Jimi Hendrix for the decision.
Hendrix is an inspiration to many guitarists and for a variety of reasons. It could be because of how he played, his alluring stage presence, and the exciting array of sounds he created with his guitar. The instrument’s ability went further than the strings for Hendrix, as he used a silly amount of pedals and amp cabs to expand the reach of his Fender.
In the song ‘Machine Gun’, he manages to drag his pick across the strings, wires breaking, and plastic tortured, as he mimics the sound of actual gunfire. The same happens on many other songs by Hendrix as he utilises feedback to provide a messy and static-infused backdrop that rings behind every note he plays.
Many musicians heard what Hendrix was doing and wanted to be a part of it, hence why he is considered one of the best guitarists ever to do it. Paul McCartney was at the top of the list of artists who were influenced by everything Jimi Hendrix was doing.
“I have an Epiphone Casino, which is one of my favourites,” said McCartney when asked about his favourite guitar, “It’s not the best guitar, but I bought it in the 1960s. I went into a shop on Charing Cross Road [just around the corner from Denmark Street] and asked the guys if they had a guitar that would feed back because I was very much into Jimi Hendrix and that kind of thing.”
Though the Beatles never quite achieved the rock-heavy sound that Hendrix managed to, some songs in their arsenal are reminiscent of the guitar genius. That feedback rings through on a few different Beatles tracks, and McCartney remembers playing them fondly.
“I loved that kind of stuff,” he said, “And so I wanted a guitar that was going to give me feedback, as none of the others could. So they showed me the Casino. Because it’s got a hollow body, it feeds back easier. I had a lot of fun with that. That’s the guitar I played the ‘Taxman’ solo on, and it’s also the guitar I played the riff on ‘Paperback Writer’ with. It’s still probably my favourite guitar.”
McCartney’s desire to incorporate feedback into his music in the same way Hendrix managed to show two things. The first is the Beatle’s ability to move with the times and continue to be innovative in the sound they achieve, hence why they remain as popular as they are. The second shows Hendrix’s massive influence on musicians, to the point that some of the best in the world wanted to draw from him. Modern rock and pop music would sound very different without both aspects.
