Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
Muted wah-wah scratching that explodes into a loud, crunching riff.
What is the Voodoo Child (Slight Return) guitar tone?
The Voodoo Child (Slight Return) guitar tone is muted wah-wah scratching that explodes into a loud, crunching riff, heard on Jimi Hendrix's 1960s psychedelic rock recording. It is a distorted riff tone, and Jimi Hendrix reportedly tracked it with a Fender Stratocaster through a wah-wah pedal into an amp loud enough to fill the room, cut live with Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell at the Record Plant in New York in May 1968. The snarl comes from a fuzz circuit interacting with a cranked amp, which is why fuzz into a clean channel rarely gets there on its own.
You do not need that exact gear to land in the same place. What carries this sound is the gain structure, the EQ curve, the pickup choice and the order of the effects, and all four can be rebuilt on equipment that costs a fraction of the original. The numbers change from amp to amp, because a high-gain head and a small practice amp reach the same voicing from different knob positions. That translation is what Tonelify works out for the rig you actually own.
Voodoo Child (Slight Return) amp settings: a starting point
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 6, Bass 6, Middle 6, Treble 5, Presence 5, Reverb 3, with the bridge pickup.
- Signal chain
- Wah-wah pedal → Cranked amp
- The control that matters most
- The wah pedal. The intro is muted strings scratched in rhythm through the wah, so the pedal's sweep carries the part before the amp does any of the work.
These positions are free and they are a starting point. A Katana, a Spark and a valve head reach this voicing from different knob positions, so Tonelify rewrites every value above for the amp and guitar you own.
Adapt these to my amp- Pickup
- Bridge pickup
These are positions on a generic five-knob amp with gain, bass, middle, treble and presence, each running 0 to 10. They are a starting point, not the settings used on the record, and they will not transfer unchanged to an amp with a different gain structure or EQ voicing. If you tell Tonelify which amp you own, it rewrites every value above for the controls that amp actually has.
What gear did Jimi Hendrix use on Voodoo Child (Slight Return)?
A Fender Stratocaster through a wah-wah pedal into an amp loud enough to fill the room, cut live with Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell at the Record Plant in New York in May 1968.
Sources: Wikipedia: Voodoo Child (Slight Return), Louder: the story behind Voodoo Child (Slight Return), Roland: the Voodoo Child tone dissected
Tonelify reads that chain and translates it to the amp and guitar you already own, returning gain, bass, mids, treble and presence values along with a pickup position.
How do you get the Voodoo Child (Slight Return) tone on your own amp?
Tell us your guitar, amp, and pedals
AI researches the original Voodoo Child (Slight Return) tone
Get exact knob settings adapted to your rig
Voodoo Child (Slight Return) tone questions
What amp settings do you need for Voodoo Child (Slight Return)?
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 6, Bass 6, Middle 6, Treble 5, Presence 5, Reverb 3, with the bridge pickup. These are positions on a generic five-knob amp with gain, bass, middle, treble and presence, each running 0 to 10. They are a starting point, not the settings used on the record, and they will not transfer unchanged to an amp with a different gain structure or EQ voicing. Tonelify rewrites the same values for the specific amp and guitar you own, because a high-gain head and a small solid-state combo reach the same muted wah-wah scratching that explodes into a loud, crunching riff from different positions.
What is the most important control for the Voodoo Child (Slight Return) tone?
The wah pedal. The intro is muted strings scratched in rhythm through the wah, so the pedal's sweep carries the part before the amp does any of the work.
Can you get the Voodoo Child (Slight Return) tone without the original gear?
Yes. The original was tracked with a Fender Stratocaster through a wah-wah pedal into an amp loud enough to fill the room, cut live with Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell at the Record Plant in New York in May 1968, but the parts that define the sound are the gain structure, the EQ curve, the pickup position and the effects order. Those translate to other equipment, which is what the adaptation step does.
Is Voodoo Child (Slight Return) a rhythm or a lead tone?
It is a riff part with a distorted character, from Jimi Hendrix's 1960s psychedelic rock catalogue.
Does Tonelify cost anything to try?
Both plans start with a 7-day free trial and nothing is charged until it ends. Stage is metered and Headliner is unlimited within a fair use limit of 150 new matches a day, and yearly billing works out cheaper on both; the current prices are on your account page once you have one. Reading this page and the rest of the library costs nothing and needs no account.