Interesting Blackmore Setup

[smitty_p]

Go to about 2:13 of this video and check out how high Ritchie Blackmore has his bridge pickup. He happens to have that pickup selected during this same segment.

It seems rather high to me. But, it seems to work for him!

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AL73LYo64A]Deep Purple - New York 1973 (Full Concert) - YouTube[/ame]

After you check out Blackmore's pickup height, watch the entire video. I think early Deep Purple had to be one of the best rock bands of all time.

 

[dbb]

I always liked the band and Ritchie's playing style.

I'm not sure it the neck pickup is set any more on the high side than usual (it is not set low) but the middle pickups is very low as is Blackmore's taste, supposedly he mostly used the neck and bridge pickups.

Blackmore deserves more credit for what he brought to the rock guitar world.

RIP Jon Lord.

 

[smitty_p]

I'm not sure it the neck pickup is set any more on the high side than usual (it is not set low)

Agreed. But, check out the bridge pickup. It is nearly touching the strings.

 

[dbb]

Agreed. But, check out the bridge pickup. It is nearly touching the strings.

The current fashion with a lot of Strat players is to have the pickups on the lower side, but back in the day, we raised them up a lot!

That was normal looking to me, that's how I set my bridge pickup, as high as I can. It looks even odder with the middle pickup dropped almost to the pickguard.

I think setting the pickups on a Strat so high is how we discovered that some of the pickups, usually the neck one, could affect the strings by its magnetic pull.

Frankly that never was a problem to me.

 

[smitty_p]

The current fashion with a lot of Strat players is to have the pickups on the lower side, but back in the day, we raised them up a lot!

That was normal looking to me, that's how I set my bridge pickup, as high as I can.

Aha! Now, I see. That's an interesting bit of insight. I think it's time to experiment with p'up height. I tend to keep them on the low side.

 

[Tobacco Worm]

Something to consider too is that "back in the day" as we say, pickups were not as strong as they are now. Most Fender single coils often pulled way less than 6K ohms even on a good day with Alnico magnets. Today it's not uncommon to see them with close to 8K and ceramic magnets are far more powerful than the old Alnico's too.

 

[dbb]

Something to consider too is that "back in the day" as we say, pickups were not as strong as they are now. Most Fender single coils often pulled way less than 6K ohms even on a good day with Alnico magnets. Today it's not uncommon to see them with close to 8K and ceramic magnets are far more powerful than the old Alnico's too.

Funny, huh?

Make the pickups more powerful...so we'll have to lower them!

 

[Tobacco Worm]

Yup. Kinda like a guys throws a left hook at ya and you lean into to it!