Jimi aquired the 8-string Hagstrom bass sometime in 1967, possibly when he was on tour in Sweden in 1967. The Swedish Hagstrom H8 was the first 8-string bass ever to be marketed, and only 2,249 were produced.
The bass was quite difficult and hard to play, and Noel used to complain about that. The H8’s that has survived has usually been made into normal 4-string ones, because the 8-string patent was not ideal for normal bass work. But it sounds very cool, and you get the impression that a guitar is doubling the bass, as a result of the second string being tuned one octave higher than the bass string.
Noel Redding played the bass on Axis:Bold as Love, on the songs «Spanish Castle Magic,» «You Got Me Floating,» and «Little Miss Lover.» Hendrix played the bass himself on Electric Ladyland, on the songs «1983,» and «Burning of the Midnight Lamp.»