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Stratman70
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Registered: 09-2003
Posts: 537
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Ritchie's current sound & playing
Well it's getting silent here on this forum after yesterdays gig. Where is everybody?
What do you guys think about the current sound of Ritchies guitar and how about his playing?
"Still I'm sad" is what comes to my mind.
Ritchie, my all time guitar hero... with the most delicate sound of the Strat! Even in Blackmore's Night he had a thicker sound.
I know he isn't that young anymore and he lost some speed etc. I'm fine with that and understand. But why does he play with such a clean, gainless sound? For me it's just that what makes me sad. He sounds powerless, tired and also uninspired. Though he plays a little more flued than last year.
Does he really enjoy this all? I can't see it. I don't hear it. Does he really want to play rock music?
It's...
It makes me a little sad, because I believe he still can do better with a little more 'rock attitude' soundwise.
Why constantly use this sweet sounding neck pick up? Where he needs some more agressive bridge pickup sound?
Why so less gain?
ANL, SIS and other songs didn't make sense at all. He could play it on acoustic guitar as well imo, it wouldn't be so different.
Why Ritchie? Why? What's happening?
Please cranck up that gain or compression a little, it would support and stimulate to play a little louder and energetic maybe imo. And please play a little more with the bridge pick up!
What do you guys think? Is it the (amp) settings or is it just that he picks the strings softer and because of that sounding like this?
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18/6/2017, 21:21
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Early Eighties fan
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Registered: 11-2015
Posts: 221
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He can`t really be a*rsed I`m afraid, that is my opinion, he has played at such a high level (most of the time) professionally for so long that I don`t think he has the drive anymore, and it makes me sad to say that. It is like an author who has produced loads of bestsellers, then one day - gone, they can`t produce it anymore at the level required. With his past reputation if you are going to go out and play rock it would need to be with the attitude that you are going to blow everyone else out of the water, otherwise there is no point IMO. I think alcohol is also a big factor in his energy level/general motivation although he is still pretty fit for his age. No idea what he does with the pick ups, sorry......
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18/6/2017, 22:19
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BagShotBullets
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Registered: 09-2009
Posts: 394
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Re: Ritchie's current sound & playing
quote:
Stratman70 wrote:
Well it's getting silent here on this forum after yesterdays gig. Where is everybody?
What do you guys think about the current sound of Ritchies guitar and how about his playing?
"Still I'm sad" is what comes to my mind.
Ritchie, my all time guitar hero... with the most delicate sound of the Strat! Even in Blackmore's Night he had a thicker sound.
I know he isn't that young anymore and he lost some speed etc. I'm fine with that and understand. But why does he play with such a clean, gainless sound? For me it's just that what makes me sad. He sounds powerless, tired and also uninspired. Though he plays a little more flued than last year.
Does he really enjoy this all? I can't see it. I don't hear it. Does he really want to play rock music?
It's...
It makes me a little sad, because I believe he still can do better with a little more 'rock attitude' soundwise.
Why constantly use this sweet sounding neck pick up? Where he needs some more agressive bridge pickup sound?
Why so less gain?
ANL, SIS and other songs didn't make sense at all. He could play it on acoustic guitar as well imo, it wouldn't be so different.
Why Ritchie? Why? What's happening?
Please cranck up that gain or compression a little, it would support and stimulate to play a little louder and energetic maybe imo. And please play a little more with the bridge pick up!
What do you guys think? Is it the (amp) settings or is it just that he picks the strings softer and because of that sounding like this?
This is his BN sound and he's playing the same runs and patterns he plays in BN and he's repeating the same runs across each solo, it's effectively a "dialled in performance" I think. It is fine and what he plays is what he's played since forever, but it's slower, maybe due to age.
Regards his sound, the ENGL amps he's using are perfectly capable of delivering a much harder edged sound. It's more likely that the AIWA tape deck has been changed to give this sweeter sound so that in BN it doesn't sound too raucous. Personally I prefer this to his "treble-tastic" sound of previous times, with the Marshall Majors.
For what it's worth there is an old expression..............
"Be Careful What You Wish For"
Many wished for "Blackmore to Return to Rock". Personally I wished he would NOT do this.......
but y'all got your wish and he "returned to rock" but..............
Like the monkeys paw, this wasn't what you expected to get at all here!! More fool y'all.
What you are witnessing is a world class guitarist on his way down the hill to nowhere instead of up the hill. It's never going to be pleasant to watch at all. I wish he'd never done this at all and retired gracefully leaving the world saying "if only he'd play rock again", that would've been clever.
Whether it's arthritis, dementia, booze or some mixture of all of these, Blackmore is a shadow of his former self now.
That said I've enjoyed the YouTube clips and I think what he did play had some great moments and like last years show was totally appropriate. The next couple of shows will be better then it's all done till next time.
"Return to Rock"........ utter bollocks......
More like back to the middle ages and the twilight home for Mr Blackmore!!
Last edited by BagShotBullets, 18/6/2017, 23:35
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18/6/2017, 23:34
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Gatts888
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Registered: 11-2008
Posts: 528
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While Blackmore obviously can't play with the same fire he could as before, I believe his tone leaves itself open to a large part of the criticism. If he'd just got his ENGL cabinets out of storage, the extra power and oomph would compensate a lot. I think at this stage Ritchie just went what he's being comfortable with over the past years, and unwilling to venture outside of his current comfort zone.
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19/6/2017, 3:24
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highwayfrog
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Registered: 10-2015
Posts: 567
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Re: Ritchie's current sound & playing
Hes always changed his sound over the years, and now he prefers a more clean sound. Whats the problem? I think it sounds great. It fits his current playing style very well. Im absolutely okay with that.
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19/6/2017, 5:10
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niji
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Registered: 09-2003
Posts: 1133
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Re: Ritchie's current sound & playing
Yes his guitar sound is terrible these days. Whatever he changed in his setup or what the mods were, it clearly ruined his tone. Ritchie always had a quite clean sound, but he used to have an aggressive edge to it and he used to have tons of sustain (even with quite low gain settings). These days his tone is lifeless and dull. It clearly lacks that sparkle it always had.
Now it's nothing special at all. It sounds artificial.
I think he played better than last year even if there are many runs that he recycles. The band also sounds tighter. I'm glad he does a few rock gigs again.
Last edited by niji, 19/6/2017, 6:46
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19/6/2017, 6:42
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mtb7
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Registered: 03-2013
Posts: 864
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Re: Ritchie's current sound & playing
Agree only partially, Stratman70 - I mean, for songs like CTR his tone is wonderful, so clean that it allows you to hear the small things and concentrate on the melody lines. But for faster, harder numbers it is indeed a bit dull and too soft. Could it be that it has to do with less accuracy on faster riffs/runs? More distortion could turn it all into a mess if not controlled. And controlling distortion is not what he's practiced the last 20 years.
Aside from distortion, what I miss is clarity - it is a bit more generic, less razor-sharp in the definition, but that may be a change in his taste, and even his hearing. Listen to the changes in Michael Schenker's tone as well, and that appears to me it has to do with the way he hears himself.
Finally, I think it has also a little bit to do with the more subdued tone of Jens, compared especially to JL - it the old days, it was almost like Lord was the one providing the distortion, but here keys are lower in the mix and a tad less aggressive.
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19/6/2017, 7:33
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Big J
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Registered: 09-2003
Posts: 6082
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Re: Ritchie's current sound & playing
It's his rhythm playing that I find lacking. The choppy style is a world away from the octave playing that we're so used to (and which he was criticised for in the past). It makes the band sound under-powered.
--- Video clips from various gigs -> http://youtube.com/weissheim |
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19/6/2017, 7:34
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ptr
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Registered: 09-2003
Posts: 3361
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Re: Ritchie's current sound & playing
IMO All Night Long is prime example of song which suffers immensely by his current tone - it simply sounds like grandpa picking up electric guitar after dozens of years trying to show his grandkinds (after their long time urging) how he used to play rock music decades ago. It lacks any self-confidence, punch, impact. It sounds so vurnerable, unsure, worried....  Ritchie simply lost any authentic "feeling" (and honest inner urge) for rock music.
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19/6/2017, 8:03
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boogaloo
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Registered: 09-2003
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Yes he could certainly help himself. Better guitar tone like said. But also he could do with playing more of the riffs, there's lots of bringing the song in with some gentle chords and nearly a capella vocal then getting into the riffs later (smoke / since). The better tracks are those he does properly e.g. stargazer, child in time.
From YouTube's I thought spotlight kid was a good effort this year and the solo in smoke was great.
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thinking out of line just to make the sun shine
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19/6/2017, 8:33
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