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Ritchie Blackmore, Interviews
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Introduction Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 |
Did you use a Marshall amp in the early days of Purple?No, I was still using the Vox miked. It used to buzz like mad. I changed to Marshalls about eight years ago. I knew Jim Marshall [see GP, Feb. '77]. He was a drum teacher, and I saw the Marshall setup and liked the way they looked. The design I liked, but the sound was awful. So I went back to the factory because I knew Jim and I said, "Look, I want this changed and I want that changed." And I used to play in front of all the people that were there working; there would be women there assembling things, and I had the amp boosted to 400 watts. So I would be playing away right in front of all these people and they'd be trying to work. I'd go, "That's not right, more treble," and they'd take out a resistor. I had to play full blast or otherwise I couldn't know what it was going to sound like. The people hated me. You changed to a Fender Stratocaster for the third album, Deep Purple In Concert? I think it was, yeah. In fact the Strat I used belonged to Eric Clapton. I used it and liked the sound of it; it was very sharp but impossible to play The neck was so bowed, it was really bad. He just had one kicking around the house, and I picked it up and he said, "Take it away." It had a great sound for a wah-wah pedal because it was so sharp, but it was very difficult to play because it was so bowed. I thought it was an interesting guitar at the time, even though all the octaves were out. You actuallv used that guirar on the third album? Yeah, there are quite a few tracks where both guitars – the ES-335 and the Stratocaster – are used. But I can't remember what songs were with which. Did you find it difficult changing from the Gibson to the Fender?" Yeah, the transition was really hard. I found great difficulty in using it the first two years. With a Gibson you just race up and down, but with a Fender you have to make every note count; you have to make the note sing or otherwise it won't work. It's more rewarding because with a Gibson nobody has an identity, as I said before. Had you heard people like Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page using Les Pauls? I was into Les Paul guitars when I first saw Albert Lee [see GP, Aug. '77] play. He's probably one of the best guitarists in the world. I first heard him play a Les Paul in 1960. That's when I wanted one. When it became popular and everyone had one, I dropped it. But I loved Les Paul [see GP, Dec. '77] and Mary Ford anyway; I had all of their records. I was into Les for about four years. Chet Atkins was the other guitarist that everybody was into, but his thumb thing got on my nerves a bit. I thought Les Paul was much better, and Mary Ford was better to look at. Did rou hear rhe album with Les Paul and Cher Arkins, Chester & Lester [RCA, APL1-l167]? Yeahy I wasn't too impressed. I would like to someday meet Les Paul. It was like him, Scotty Moore [see GP, Aug. '74], and James Burton [see GP, Mar. '72] who were my main influences. They were real guitarists, not posers. What about rhe Green Bullfrog album? That was me, Albert Lee and Jim Sullivan. Ian Paicc and Roger Glover were on it and whoever else was around at the time. Tony Ashton was on it, I think. It was awful, disgusting. It was done in a day and nobody knew what we were doing. I was embarrassed; I never heard that L.P actually. It's interesting to hear when each of you takes a solo. I was there with my stack, Albert was there with his little amp and Telecaster, and Jim was doing his fingerpick stuff. So it was the Stratocaster and Marshall for the duration of Deep Purple? Yeah. It was really hard at first, because they didn't match. It just looked right, espccially the Marshall, so I thought I've got to make that amplifier sound right if it's the last thing I do. The standard ones are awful. What did you do to change your Marshalls? I had an extra output stage built on. I have no bass at all on the amp. There're an extra two valves [tubes] built into the output stage so there's more output. It's boosted to about 250 or 300 watts. I use the old 200- watt amps, which you can't get anymore because thcy don't make them. Do you use 200-watt heads? Yeah, which are boosted. They're the loudest amplifier in the world on their own. I'm not saying I play the loudest – it depends on how many you use. But one on its own is the loudest. I don't like to use a lot of cabinets, I think just two cabinets is enough; otherwise the sound is all around you. l like to keep away from the sound, and that's why onstage I play to the left of it and point it the other way. Then I can get a perspective of what's going on; otherwise all you can hear is yourself. And you tend to get feedback and overtones you don't want. Did you initially use one stack and later add the second? Yeah, I just have the other one as a reserve. It's on, but I'm not using it. It's just if I blow the first one. Do you blow them very often onstage? Yeah, all the time lately. I don't know why. It's the output transformer that blows up. It's like a finely tuned car, you can't expect it not to break down. I really push it. You use the same guitar/amplifier setup in the studio? Yeah. Actually I don't play in the studio, I have someone else who takes my place. Jim Page comes in. [page 1] [page 3] |
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