In a 1975 interview with International Musician and Recording World, Ritchie Blackmore criticized Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton’s guitar skills.
The guitarist admitted he didn’t like Page and said, “I never saw what was in Clapton at all.” He tried to give a compliment, but it came off as a jab. Blackmore added, “He’s a good singer.”
“Townshend is not so much of a guitarist as an all-round guy – writer, all that,” Ritchie also noted about the Who’s Pete Townshend.
“I like Jeff [Beck]. He’s my favourite guitarist,” Blackmore also revealed in the same conversation. “There are a lot of guitarists around that get overlooked. When you’re a guitarist yourself you tend to get so buried in what you’re doing. Mike Bloomfield is really good. Steve Howe’s always been a very good guitarist.”
In a June chat with Guitar World, Blackmore talked about buying Clapton’s guitar at a good price. Blackmore mostly plays a Fender Stratocaster, which Clapton gave him in 1969. He said, “I was in Deep Purple in 1969 and I was living in Acton, London. We were all in the same house, the whole band. Eric Clapton’s roadie came by the house because he knew one of my roadies, and he brought a Strat with him.”
The rocker added, “I think [the Strat] was black. So I said to him, ‘Do you want to sell that guitar? It looks interesting, and I wanted to try out a Strat.’ He said, ‘I’ll sell it to you for £60.’ I said, ‘Okay, you’re on.’ So, for £60, I bought one of Eric Clapton’s old Strats that he obviously didn’t want because he gave it to the roadie.”
Blackmore liked Stratocasters and used them on Deep Purple’s albums ‘In Rock’ and ‘Machine Head.’ He still plays them with his band, Blackmore’s Night, including on the 2021 song ‘The Last Musketeer.’