Ritchie Blackmore Guitar & Bass Magazine 2005 It's a known fact that 90% of a guitar's sound comes from the guitarist's fingers and head - let's talk about the other 10%! In the mid-1960s you played a red Gibson ES-335. Was the Bigsby tremolo arm originally installed on your guitar? At first no, I inserted it myself to play with vibrato. Is it true that the neck on your 335 was already slightly scalloped? No, it's just a rumor. At that time you were using a Hornby-Skewes treble booster and a Dallas-Arbiter fuzz box. When did you play through the treble booster and when did you play through the fuzz? Between 1970 and 1976 I mostly played through the Hornby-Skewes booster pack. The fuzz box came later, I used it when recording "Burn". What did you use most often at concerts? Of course Hornby Skewes! Rumor has it that you used to actually switch to the Vox AC 30 a lot at gigs. Did you like the sound of it better, or did it depend on your mood? I always played through it when my band played in small clubs. For example, in Berlin we often had concerts in restaurants, where in addition to food they offered live music. Of course, I had to play quieter than usual, but I still needed sustain. Then I connected the voltage selector to 260 volts, the amp sounded quieter, but the distortion was no less than before. When you played in the first line-up of Deep Purple, you discovered Marshall Major amplifiers. How long have you played them without any modifications? Good question! I modified it almost immediately. I knew Jim Marshall and his technicians well, and asked them to build in an additional output stage so I could have more distortion. It turned out great. It was a very loud amp! Did you also use a fuzz box at that time? Only with a treble booster. When you started playing Strat, did your equipment change? No. Same amp, same pedal, just a different guitar. Your black Strat had a huge vibrato lever back then. How long have you been playing this guitar? Yes, it's true, vibrato levers were made to order for me, they were twice as thick as usual, because I kept breaking them. I played this guitar for about ten years. How many guitars did you have then? Two, a black and white Strat, both with maple neck. But I rarely played a white guitar. In 1971, Fender released new Stratocaster models with a three-bolt neck mount and a new vibrato system. How did you feel about these changes? I was happy with those kinds of guitars, but until 1978 I played guitars with four bolts... Not exactly, since 1972 at concerts I mainly played a sunburst Strat with three bolts. And I liked those cast chrome bridge saddles, not as sharp as before. Over time, the black maple Strat became the backup guitar I would occasionally use for encores. Which of these two Strats did you like better? I didn't have a favorite guitar. They were the same, I played on one, and the other was a spare. The same pickups were there. Until 1972, I mostly played a black Strat, and then the Sunburst came along. In the third lineup, you began to play a beautiful ash Strat, which had a scalloped neck. Have you done scalloping yourself? And where did you get this idea? Yes, I have always done this myself. At one time I was playing an old guitar that had worn down the wood between the nuts from years of playing. I really liked it and tried it on the Strat. It turned out that I could play faster this way because my fingertips were no longer touching the wood on the fretboard. It was a very unusual Strat. In my opinion, it was what determined the sound of the third line-up. It had very high strings and a very high bridge pickup. Hmm, you know more than me. Unfortunately, I don't remember anymore... Have you played this guitar in Rainbow? Unfortunately, this guitar was stolen from my home, so I no longer played it in Rainbow. It's a shame, it was a great tool. In the seventies in Rainbow you played almost all the time on a sunburst Strat. Were the original pickups there? I played through the original pickups first, and then I put in a Bill Lawrence L250 and L450. I didn't really like them, but they weren't loud at all. In Rainbow, there was a huge rainbow on the stage, equipped with four thousand light bulbs, their radiation constantly interfered with my powerful equipment, which is why everything was very noisy and buzzing - only these non-phoning pickups in the guitar saved me... What pickups did you use in the late 1970s? Rumor has it that it was the Schecters. Yes it's true. These were Schecter F500 pickups. The inside of the body was shielded with conductive varnish, and instead of the middle pickup there was a plug. The guitar also has a master tone control (MTC) built into it. In general, my technician Mr. Dawk is much better at this, maybe ask him? They say that two additional KT88 tubes were also built into your Marshall amplifiers, is this true? Yes exactly! That's why we were included in the Guinness Book of Records as the loudest band in the world! Due to the additional tubes, the amplifier outputted 280 watts - at that time it was the loudest amplifier in the world; there was not a single amplifier more powerful than 200 watts. In general, at that time there were only 100 watt amplifiers. When did you start using the Aiwa tape recorder? I started using it in 1971 with Deep Purple, and I still use it today. But I started playing through it at concerts only in the third line-up of Deep Purple. Did you use a treble booster and a fuzz box to record "In Rock", "Fireball" and "Machine Head"? Only on "In Rock", and then I started using the Aiwa tape recorder all the time. What did you do with this tape recorder? What is so special about it that you still play through it? The tape recorder is in exactly the same condition in which I bought it in the store - I did not change anything in it. It is perfect. I use it as a preamp and it gives me good sustain without distorting the sound. I still use it, it is already very old - 1969 or 1970. This is the Aiwa Model 1010 - this is to clarify all the issues. Despite all modern technology, you all cannot do without this old tape recorder. Why? Because this device gives me exactly the sustain that I need; In addition, it enriches the sound and makes it more spacious. However, last year a German technician made me a device that replicated Quince's output stage, the first time I used it on the Japanese tour. Did you have to modify the Marshals when Quince appeared? Yes, the Marshals were modified at the beginning of 1970. And in Quince, the output transistors were replaced with newer, less noisy ones. This was in 1976 or 1977. Do you always have the same amplifier settings, or do you change them depending on the room? No, they are always the same, no matter where I play. Do you use any specific speakers? Yes, I really like Goodmans. In 1980, your sound changed a lot. Was it the new Seymour-Duncan pickups or something else? No, it was the influence of Duncan's pickups. In the eighties, your amplifiers only had four tubes. Why did you decide to abandon the six-lamp set? Because the volume is too loud? Yes, they sounded too loud on stage. So in 1980 I started playing normal Marshalls again. Did you have a pedal that could be used to switch the gain level in the amp? No. Is tone control an original invention or a modification of someone else's idea? Completely original. What kind of octave did you use in the mid-eighties? Sorry, unfortunately, I don't remember. Did your equipment change when you returned to Deep Purple? No, everything remains the same. Are you satisfied with the sound of the Lace Sensor pickups? Yes, sure. Otherwise I wouldn't use them! What do you see as the advantages of your Engl amplifiers? Engl has more high frequencies and they sound better. Also these amps are not as powerful and I can use them in small halls and clubs. But Engls like the one I play are no longer produced; the company now produces only loud amplifiers. I have an amplifier with a power of 50-60 watts. I like Engls better, it's easier to control the sound on them. And I kept the Marshals only for the show. At the time, everyone wanted cabinet-sized amplifiers — I couldn't resist either. What are your plans for the future? The most important thing is that I hope to stay healthy. I only make plans for the past, and then it always turns out that I'm late... © Guitar & Bass Magazine - July 2005 This interview was used for a more extended view on Ritchie's gear and sound which you find back in Vintage Articles on these links: gear - sound - dawk