Ritchie Blackmore

NY Chief · Post by **NY Chief** » Wed May 28, 2008 10:35 am

Tone Slinger wrote:Speaking of 'choppy', I just love the extended 'Child In Time" solo on "Made In Japan". That is reckless as hell, with lots of attack and aggression. I love how Lords went into that dorian based chord progression that leads into the solo. Those guy's had a real good feel/vibe togather. Great live band.

+1, TS.

Have you guys ever seen the "Making of Machine Head" DVD? Great stuff. Lord talks about how plugged the organ into a Marshall to get his tone, then he demonstrates it. Roger Glover behind the board isolating tracks...great stuff.

Tone Slinger · Post by **Tone Slinger** » Wed May 28, 2008 12:38 pm

I havent seen it, but I'm gonna get it. I've seen a couple of pic's from the session's though. One has Blackmore's 'Black Night' strat laying on the ground.

Mr. Beasty · Post by **Mr. Beasty** » Wed May 28, 2008 10:33 pm

Billy Batz wrote:
Tone Slinger wrote:I too often wondered why his tone was a bit different on the "Machine Head" album. I also assumed he was using a Marshall. I mean, it was obvious a strat was being used, but his tone was different than he got there after. His tone in the solo to "Maybe I'm A Leo" just KILLS ! That solo has a very odd,almost 'demented' kinda vibe to it. I love every note played on that album. It is one of the great hard rock albums of all time.
Its funny I never made the connection. The qualities of that tone always reminded me of AC30s but for some reason I just kept thinking there must be something with the "active' tone controls on the major mixed with studio compression or something. Just never put 2 and 2 together because it sounds way too smooth for a marshall. Listen to Made in Japan or any live album. Its so biting. I couldnt deal with that. The album tone on MH is a great tone form the strat bridge position. I cant really think of any others. Even when Jimi used the bridge it was so damn harsh.

Well, Richie is an AC-30 lover and if I remember correctly they had problems recording in Switzerland ... they were loud and the neighbors weren't amused ... so it would be conceivable that Richie switched back to his AC-30 since it is less loud than a 200 watt Marshall w/ a pair of 4x12 cabs.

NY Chief wrote:
Tone Slinger wrote: Ever notice how not only EVH sounds like Blackmore (except that bridge hb'er took care of the feebleness Blackmore got there) but also played ALOT of similar type licks. Those ascending and decending 'rolling' type licks in "I'm The One", sound alot like some of those licks in "Lazy". If Blackmore had had a hb'er in the bridge of his strat, it would have sounded a whole hell of alot like say, VH2.
Yeah, but Ritchie did it first!

Richie had a pair of humbuckers on his strat as early as 1974!!

http://blog-imgs-11.fc2.com/n/i/j/nijim ... ckmore.jpg

yngwie308 · Post by **yngwie308** » Wed May 28, 2008 11:15 pm

You guys should check out Big Jim Sullivan, who played with Tom Jones and was a great influence, teacher and mentor to Ritchie.
Ritchie derived a lot of his improvisation skills from Jim's guidance.
I love when Ritchie throws in the snake charmers scale into his riffs, ect.!
That Ritchie used the ES335 and Vox is true, I have a Deep Purple Heavy Metal photobook with many rare early pictures and the 335 is well featured.In fact most of Blackmores tone isn't really 'typical' Marshall when it comes down to it and that is part of it's attraction and what makes him so unique, cause he certainly is that..

, ask any bandmates!
For those with AC30's you know that the Vox tones, especially with a Strat, can sound Marshally, for want of a better word at times and especially overdriven.
In fact when Ritchie is blowing up his Marshall stacks and kicking them off stage, he really looks like he is enjoying it

!
This is a cool thread to pick up on this aspect of his sound

yngwie308

NitroLiq · Post by **NitroLiq** » Wed May 28, 2008 11:58 pm

335 baby!

FF to 1:30

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Lp6496eaT4

And just for the "Lazy" fans Strat - Machine head tour '72

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6x8GGXrCFQ

yngwie308 · Post by **yngwie308** » Thu May 29, 2008 1:42 am

Good call NitroLiq!!!
Wring that Gibson!

yngwie308

NY Chief · Post by **NY Chief** » Thu May 29, 2008 10:39 am

Mr. Beasty wrote:[
Richie had a pair of humbuckers on his strat as early as 1974!!

http://blog-imgs-11.fc2.com/n/i/j/nijim ... ckmore.jpg

uh-oh, hmmm, another thing EVH didn't really invent? Shocking!

54strat · Post by **54strat** » Thu May 29, 2008 11:46 am

The (other) Man In Black. Saw Purple during Burn tour, and Rainbow during "Straight Between The Eyes" tour. Ritchie's awesome.

Tone Slinger · Post by **Tone Slinger** » Thu May 29, 2008 6:06 pm

I love Ritchie's aggression and melody, like in "Strange Kind Of Woman" (Every live version just KILLS). I love his solo on the 'Storm Bringer' album, "Lady Double Dealer". That is a pissed off kinda solo. I also like Coverdale's lyrics/vocals on that one as well.

45auto · Post by **45auto** » Fri May 30, 2008 1:28 pm

i still love to listen to "made in japan" & "made in europe" i think they came across better live than on the studio albums. it was a loud & improvising band. they were SO much more just the smoke on the water that most people would remember them for.

csteward · Post by **csteward** » Sun Jul 20, 2008 8:52 pm

Ritchie had his Marshall majors modded with an extra output tube so they would sound more like his AC 30, so they were putting out more like 270w. He also used a Hornsby Skewes treble booster to drive the amps. Instead of turning up the amps to 10 he would set them at about 7-8 and use the Treble booster to drive them the rest of the way. His settings from made in japan were (got this from BSM treblebooster website)

P:0 B:4 M:5 T:6-7 V:7-8

The Hornsby Skewes treble booster wasn't exactly a treble booster either, even though that's what it's called it tended to boost more in the midrange than the treble. And ritchie supposedly modded his to get more drive out of it. You should check out BSM's Hornsby Skewes units that they make, according to their site Ritchie himself owns a BSM HS- Custom, which is one of the ones they sell with the "Ritchie Mod." I'm definitely going to try one because of Blackmore and Rory Gallagher both. BSM's website has a section called the tone zone and under Ritchie's name they have a tone chart for pedals they make for Blackmore tone for different periods of his career both with Deep Purple and Rainbow.

MacGaden · Post by **MacGaden** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 4:10 am

Billy Batz wrote:
NY Chief wrote:Me too, Dan. I'm a big early Blackmore fan and always loved Who Do We Think We Are, Machine Head and Burn and never did understand how Blackmore got that tone out of a Strat and a Major....because he didn't! I just heard that recently as well. Lazy is probably my favorite for both the tone and flawless playing.
Yeah definitely. Lazy is Blackmore at the top of his game, playing and tone. I learned that whole solo one time. I think I took a lot of it with me.

I learned that too.. And the solo to "Highway Star" off "Made in Japan". I made at tape loop of the parts I was working on. It nearly drove my mother nuts...

It was all I listened to for several months: Home from school, grab my guitar -> Highway Star solo !

2 good things about it:
1: It taught me some technique, I had to learn to use my little finger and alternate pick to play it,
2: It did

NY Chief · Post by **NY Chief** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 10:41 am

One of THE top bands of all time!

Paice is WAY underrated, as well.

45auto · Post by **45auto** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 10:44 am

me too, MacGaden. i think i played highway star as many times as richie did! i still love that stuff. probably in my top 10 influences if there were such a thing

NY Chief · Post by **NY Chief** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 10:50 am

I put a band together in the early 80's. All the local bands were playing the Living After Midnight gum ball rock.

We did Rat Bat Blue, Burn and Highway Star as the close of our first set. The knuckleheads in the club were like "Who does those songs? That's f'n GREAT!" Yeah, I said, I know.