THERE HAVE BEEN more than a few notable producers and engineers who have impacted rock music over the years, including George Martin, Bob Ezrin, Tom Werman and Butch Vig. But few have specifically influenced rock music pertaining to the electric guitar in the way that South African-born knob-twirler extraordinaire Eddie Kramer has.
Even if you don’t know his name, you’ve undoubtedly heard Kramer’s work if you’re into the guitar-driven heroics of the late Sixties, Seventies and beyond. His resume boasts massive production and engineering credits on records like Jimi Hendrix’s Are You Experienced (1967), Led Zeppelin’s Led Zeppelin II (1969) and Kiss’s Alive! (1975).
Beyond those massive titles, Kramer’s discography features dozens of records created at the family New York City institution, Electric Lady Studios, which was commissioned by Hendrix and designed by Kramer and architect John Storyk.
So it goes without saying that Kramer has been as essential to guitar music as the players themselves. And to be sure, that association has left him with many favorites, but still, his iconic work with Jimi Hendrix stands out most.
“The backwards guitar on ‘Are You Experienced’ was memorable,” Kramer tells . “Jimi would take home tapes of the session, reverse it, practice to that and come back saying, ‘I know exactly where I want to play from here.’” Elaborating on Hendrix’s process, Kramer says, “And then, bam, it was done. He knew what he had to do when I flipped the tape because he’d practiced it, which was an example of Jimi’s genius. And along with that, I will never forget the sheer beauty of ‘Little Wing.’ It’s still one of the most emotional things I have ever heard. I
