From Guitar World · · 2m
Micki Free: From Detergent Box to Stage
The guitarist on building his first instrument, falling off stages, and learning from Hendrix.
In brief
The guitarist on building his first instrument, falling off stages, and learning from Hendrix. Passion for playing matters more than perfect technique or formal practice routines. Originally reported by Guitar World.
Building a guitar from scratch
Free's first guitar was a Cheer detergent box with a ruler neck and rubber bands for strings. He used it to imitate Jimi Hendrix until his uncle convinced his mom to buy him a real acoustic.
“I cut a hole in it and used a ruler as a neck and rubber bands as strings. I'd imitate Jimi Hendrix.”
Learning Secret Agent Man
Free's first song was Secret Agent Man by the Ventures. He played it so much his mom begged him to stop, but he mastered it completely.
“I played that as much as I could play it, and my mom would be like, "Would you shut up with that?"”
First gig at 16
In the early 1970s after moving back from Germany to the Midwest, Free played his first gig at a school dance in the gym. He was in a band that started at school and idolized Mark Farner from Grand Funk Railroad.
Falling off the stage
Free's most embarrassing moment came when he tried to look cool onstage and fell off. He had to be helped back up but never made that mistake again.
“I fell off the freaking stage! They had to help me get back on, and that was pretty embarrassing.”
Marshall amp devotion
Free's favorite gear is his 1974 Marshall 1974X 18-watt amp with a 12-inch speaker. The low impedance and wattage create the perfect breakup for his Hendrix and Eric Clapton-inspired tone.
“It's like money in the bank.”
The Teye guitar with mojo
If a building were burning, Free would save his Teye guitar with turquoise inlays. It's versatile enough to sound like a Strat or Les Paul and has a Mojo button to select different vibes.
“It's so versatile. I can get sounds that are close enough to a Strat and to a Les Paul.”
Playing what you love
Free doesn't follow a strict practice schedule. Billy Gibbons once told him to play the stuff he hears, so he practices by playing Jimi, ZZ Top, Santana, and funky music whenever he feels like it.
“Play the stuff you want to play, like, the stuff you hear.”
Learning scales and arpeggios
As a blues-rock player, Free wants to deepen his knowledge of scales and arpeggios. He learned from Hendrix and Gibbons, who didn't rely on scales, but he's open to widening his style.
Advice to his younger self
Free would tell his younger self to practice more and listen to more than just blues-rock greats like Clapton, Hendrix, and Jeff Beck. He'd encourage opening his mind to different styles of music.
“I'd tell myself to practice more and widen my range of music besides the greats.”
The essence
Passion for playing matters more than perfect technique or formal practice routines.
