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True story: I owned a plectrum for about ten years before I owned a guitar!

Found some great photos of the reqal Black Beauty here: http://www.electrichendrix.gobot.com/photo2.html Clearly thebody is less reliced than the Vintage o than in the photos I saw befored (which I now realsie were a replica - an overdone one, clearly!), so probably won't go the VS6 route here. Nice detail: the cut-out Jimi put on the plate so asto be able to reach the truss rod adjustment srew without taking it off. Must remember to add that. I have afeeling I might just have to go all-out and order a neck to get the right spec, but we'll see what trusn up: I'm not in hurry to have this done just yet. I think I've figured out where I'm gonig to gte most bits, though - just got to wait patiently for the right donor boy and neck.

If you can I'd say go and try guitars in a shop. You may find what you like the look of doesn't actually feel that good in your hands.I'd like to suggest you try the humble Yamaha Pacifica as well. Quality control is usually very good from Yamaha. They're very well made have nice slim comfortable necks. They are also fairly light and comfortable to play. When I returned to playing 18months or so back I was determined to get a Les Paul style So i did. A Harley Benton sc500 to be exact. And it looks great,sounds good, and is really very nice for what it cost. And I hardly ever play it. It's heavy and really awkward to play sitting which is how I mainly play these days. Then just before lockdown I saw a used Pacifica for next to nothing on schpock. I went to see it and came away with it. I bought it to learn setting up guitars. But it just played so nicely that I got a but carried away tbh. And needed something to do whilst in lockdown Custom paint/new pickups warman 12 gauge in the bridge and a cheap hotrail at the neck/new wiring(full size pots) the old ones were scratchy. I did get the guitar for next to nothing but even with what I've spent it cost less than £100 . It's now the guitar I pick up most. It's just easier to play and tbh now the best sounding one I own. Not bad for a 20 year old beater I've gone off the track here a bit. But my point is the entry Pacifica is a really good for the price. And will take you along way down the road before you surpass it's capabilities.

It's likely going to take some time, but.... Looks like the tricky bit is going to be finding the right neck at a not too steep price - I want to keep the overall spend to sub £400 all done, as otherwise I might as well just go out and buy thed CIJ 68RI Strat. Got my eye out at the minute for a deal on a Vintage VS6 Icon in Boulevard black - surprisingly, looking at photos, thougfh that guitar is designed to replicate Blackie (obvs), the fake relicnig on it doesn't look a million miles away (per the rule of "from six feet and without looking for it specifically' ) from the wear patterns on Jimi's. Body on the Vintage is poplar rather than alder, but at least on screen they seem close enough as won't matter... Unless I stumble across something else in the meantime, a used VS6 might end up being a great donor base, with the advantage that the pickups are probably going to be worth considering keeping (or saleable, given the Wilkinson name; I'm liking to look of the GFS 60s pickups).