Transformation of 4, 7-dimethoxy-6-azaindole into 4-hydroxy-7-methoxy-6-azaindole or 7- hydroxy-4-methoxy-6-azaindole can be readily controlled by careful selection of a reagent. Treatment with concentrated HCl results in hydrolysis at the 4-position exclusively, while TMS-I provides demethylation at the 7-position only. Products were unambiguously identified by single crystal X-ray crystallography.