Vancouverite Keeping the Legend of Jimi Hendrix Alive

One Vancouver Island local has found a very unique way to keep the music and memory of Jimi Hendrix going strong!

According to this article, Reuben Forsland of JOI Guitars in Comox, B.C. is hand-crafting wooden guitars made out of material from Jimi Hendrix’s childhood home.

Hendrix grew up in Seattle in the 1950s in a small bungalow, that eventually became quite run down and was demolished. When Forsland heard that some of the building material had been salvaged, he decided to recycle the wood and create 10 new instruments plus one additional guitar to be gifted to the Hendrix estate.

Even the paint chips from the floorboards will be incorporated into the guitars in some way. The idea, says Forsland, is to create something not only for sound, but also for an emotional connection to the instrument.

Fun fact: Forsland has been called upon to craft handmade guitars for the likes of Slash from Guns N’ Roses! Hendrix is a childhood hero of Slash’s, and this is where Forsland first got the idea to use parts of the Hendrix home in the guitar building process.

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