vikingrat Posted December 13, 2004 Share Posted December 13, 2004 Does anyone know exactly how Blackmore got his sound on MACHINE HEAD ? I know it's a strat and a Marshall ,but then what? What about on PERFECT STRANGERS ? I see a VOX on the record sleeve but did he record with it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedster Posted December 13, 2004 Share Posted December 13, 2004 One of the secrets I've heard about Ritchie Blackmore is that for a lot of stuff, he didn't use a pick. He used his fingers, so, for example, that classic "Smoke on the Water" riff...if you play it with your fingers, you'll approximate his sound a lot more closely. I tried it, and it works. I suck at the technique though, for anything more complex than "Smoke". If it's something you'd like to develop, might want to pay attention to Mark Knopfler. He's pretty much a maestro when it comes to playing sans pick... "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillWelcome Home Studios Posted December 13, 2004 Share Posted December 13, 2004 Years ago I did a bunch of shows with those guys (like, right after "Smoke...") when they started to do arenas. I also saw them several times before that, when they were making their comeback, and during "Fireball" era. Even went to SMAP (Sunshine, Music America and Peace) with them to see a new upstart group called "Alice Cooper", after a show. Blackmore used John Birch guitars that looked like strats, and Strats. (Though someone said he played an LP for "Sweet Child in Time" on "In Rock" I don't know.) He played them through Marshall amps, usually 2 stacks, if I am remembering correctly. I don't remember pedals if any, sorry. It was common at the time for English bands to use Birch knockoffs of common American designs. I think that he made the imitation Ricks, SGs, etc for Sabbath, too. (But with black crosses instead of dot inlays. Looked great.) These did not appear to be cheap guitars. The ones that I played were pretty nice. But we're back into that 'studio magic' thing. How much of what you hear is them, and how much is the engineer or producer? Who knows. I can tell you this... my favorite DP stuff all comes from In Rock, Fireball, and whatever other albums preceeded "Machine Head", where, in my opinion, they dumbed the music down enough to appeat to the Skynyrd 'drunken redneck' crowd and to hit the jackpot. The only thing after Machine Head to have any of the life and verve that attracted me to them to start with was "Burn", which really rocks. You also have to consider that there were not that many pedals to choose from in 1970. Can't be that complicated of an answer. Bill "I believe that entertainment can aspire to be art, and can become art, but if you set out to make art you're an idiot." Steve Martin Show business: we're all here because we're not all there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedro Posted December 14, 2004 Share Posted December 14, 2004 One of Blackmore's integral parts of his signal was a reel-to-reel tape machine. He ran his guitar through that. He says it acts as a buffer between the strat and Marshall, darkening a potentially brittle tone. Everybody knows rock attained perfection in 1974. It's a scientific fact. - Homer Simpson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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