In a new interview with Guitar World, Ritchie Blackmore remembered buying Eric Clapton’s guitar for a good price.
The guitarist mostly plays a Fender Stratocaster, thanks to Clapton who gave him his first one in 1969:
“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.”
Before that, Blackmore preferred playing a Gibson ES-335, which you can hear on the song ‘Emmaretta’ from Deep Purple’s 1969 album. When the neck of his Gibson started to bend, the musician started searching for a better guitar:
“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 Clapton2s old Strats that he obviously didn’t want because he gave it to the roadie.”
Why Did Ritchie Choose A Strat?
Blackmore developed a strong connection with Stratocasters, using them on key Deep Purple albums like ‘In Rock’ and ‘Machine Head.’ He still plays them with his Renaissance band, Blackmore’s Night, featuring them on tracks like ‘The Last Musketeer’ from 2021’s ‘Nature’s Light.’
In a 2018 interview shared by the Ritchie Blackmore Channel, the guitarist talked about why he prefers the Fender Stratocaster over the Gibson Les Paul:
“The Strat had more of a cut for rock ‘n’ roll; the Gibson’s more of a jazzy guitar. It has a very mellow sound – full sound, great sound – but I when I heard Hendrix, I liked the way he cut through the notes. I wanted to try to reach that.”
Still, Blackmore wasn’t a fan of Clapton’s playing style. He previously revealed to International Musician & Recording World magazine that Jeff Beck was his favorite guitarist. He also praised Mike Bloomfield and Steve Howe. However, he didn’t think much of Jimmy Page and Clapton, though he acknowledged Clapton as a good singer.