Orianthi can’t watch her viral Voodoo Child cover: “I hated my tone – it was just f**king awful!”
The Aussie guitar phenom says her take on the Jimi Hendrix classic was a lot of fun, but the performance now makes her cringe
Orianthi’s new album, O, is chock-full of colossal distorted guitar sounds, but in a new interview, the Australian guitar hero has admitted she has come a long way tone-wise.
Speaking to Guitar.com, Ori cited her cover of a Jimi Hendrix classic at Japan’s Summer Sonic Festival in 2010 – which has now clocked up over 10-million YouTube views – as her lowest tonal point.
“There are a lot of views on my version of Voodoo Child on YouTube and I can’t really watch it – I just cringe,” she says.
“I hated my tone – it was just fucking awful – but I had a great time with an EVH amp cranked up and all these effects. There are a lot of mean comments like, ‘Her sound sucks’ and I just think, ‘Yeah, I agree with you guys – it sounds pretty shitty, but it was a fun time!’”
Earlier this week, Orianthi detailed her tonal approach to Total Guitar, saying, “I don’t like using too many pedals. I like the connection between the guitar and the amplifier.”
In that same interview, the former Michael Jackson guitarist named another awkward tone scenario at the Roseland Ballroom in New York, when she had no time to soundcheck owing to the show’s packed line-up.
“They plugged me into this amplifier on the clean channel. They just turned up the treble,” she recalled. “People were in pain. I was in pain. I was playing According To You so I was tapping with a clean tone. Never let people tell you that things are okay without you checking it.”
Get The Pick Newsletter
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
Wise words, indeed. Orianthi’s new album, O, is out now via Frontiers Music.
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month**
Join now for unlimited access
US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year
UK pricing £2.99 per month or £29.00 per year
Europe pricing €3.49 per month or €34.00 per year
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Mike is Editor-in-Chief of GuitarWorld.com, in addition to being an offset fiend and recovering pedal addict. He has a master's degree in journalism from Cardiff University, and over a decade's experience writing and editing for guitar publications including MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitarist, as well as 20 years of recording and live experience in original and function bands. During his career, he has interviewed the likes of John Frusciante, Chris Cornell, Tom Morello, Matt Bellamy, Kirk Hammett, Jerry Cantrell, Joe Satriani, Tom DeLonge, Ed O'Brien, Polyphia, Tosin Abasi, Yvette Young and many more. In his free time, you'll find him making progressive instrumental rock under the nom de plume Maebe.
“The Who, Van Halen – the whole thing where there’s a separate singer from the lead guitar player. That started with Hubert Sumlin and Howlin’ Wolf”: Vernon Reid on the 7 riffs that inspired him, from Hendrix to Chic, Cream, and more
“It was Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, and the engineer. Quincy said, ‘Go in there, and do what you want’”: Steve Stevens on following in Eddie Van Halen’s footsteps to record the ‘spiritual successor’ to Beat It