A new itch for Uwe to scratch...

[uwe]

That's his beloved ES-335 alright, he played nothing else in the 60ies, it's what you hear here (the solo fills throughout and the solo at 1:30)



or here



or here





Unlike the Strats he punished, he loved that guitar dearly and took good care of it (in a Blackmore way: i.e. he didn't smash it on purpose  ) until he converted - reluctantly at first - to Fender. It's a piece of history and to a Blackmore devotee (which I'm not!) possibly worth the money (though Blackmore himself would laugh about that type of price tag, to him guitars are tools though the ES 335 is the one he was emotionally attached to the most and for the longest time, it was his first name instrument). But even if I had 2 million Dollars to waste, to my ears Blackmore did not come into his own as a guitarist until - enter Jimi Hendrix - he had changed over to that classic Strat sound.

And he sure did wring that little guitar's neck ... If he hadn't retired it around 70/71, I doubt it would have put up with his rigours much longer.

[4stringer77]

The ES-335 sounds way better than the strat in my opinion. Wish he never switched to Fender. I don't see why he would have had to. He sure could squeeze plenty of treble out that Gibson. The guitar tone just jumps right at you. Reminds me of Freddy King's sound from this video.

[gearHed289]

The ES-335 sounds way better than the strat in my opinion. Wish he never switched to Fender. I don't see why he would have had to. He sure could squeeze plenty of treble out that Gibson. The guitar tone just jumps right at you. Reminds me of Freddy King's sound from this video.

Strats are my favorite, but I've gotta agree with you. 335 sounds great in the Wring That Neck vid.

[uwe]

I found that ES-335 sound compressed and - how shall I put this? - "unmajestic", "Blackmore Sound" to me is this:



Try doing what he does at 3:48 with an ES-335!

Maybe it's my imagination, but I can actually hear the higher string tension, extra rebound and twang of the Strat and I like that better.

Or here



and here the solo at 2:19 to 3:09, that is classic Blackmore sound to me:



Of course I'm totally partial because I was reared on that Strat sound in the 70ies ... Blackmore, Gallagher, Gilmour, Clapton, Hendrix ... there was a time when I believed that playing a Strat made you automatically a lead guitarist.  In fact I thought Alvin Lee outlandish because he obviously fitted the bracket "lead guitarist", yet did not play a Strat.

Strictly a matter of taste. I'm not saying that an ES-335 is not a decent guitar, but there must have been something revelatory to  Blackmore when playing his first (hand-me-down from Clapton in fact) Strat with even a warped neck to give up on his beloved ES-335. Maybe he thought it was the more perfect "weapon of choice" against Jon Lord's avalanche of a Hammond sound which he has honing around the same time, doing away with Leslies and keyboard amps and playing his C-3 through 200 watt Marshall guitar amps in an effort to turn it into something between an organ and a second guitar, "the gorgan" as he nick-named it.

[4stringer77]

I found that ES-335 sound compressed and - how shall I put this? - "unmajestic", "Blackmore Sound" to me is this:



Try doing what he does at 3:48 with an ES-335!

Close enough. 

[lowend1]

In fact I thought Alvin Lee outlandish because he obviously fitted the bracket "lead guitarist", yet did not play a Strat.

-but there was a Strat pickup stuffed into that 335...

[Dave W]

-but there was a Strat pickup stuffed into that 335...

When Gibson's CS recreated it (2003-05 or thereabouts) they couldn't bring themselves to call it a Strat pickup. It was just called a Seymour Duncan single coil.

[uwe]

Close enough. 

Danke, that does prove my point even if he could play it well! 

[Barklessdog]

I was in a band with a guy that played one and he got some great biting guitar sound from his that sounded amazing. Not the sounds you would think it makes, like Larry Carlton, Lee Ritenourer jazz stuff.