Scott Henderson Discussion

[Scott Henderson]

Thanks Kalin, that's really interesting! I knew he used a 335 on the solo in Child In Time, but it always sounded like a strat to me - if he was altering the pickups on his 335 to sound more like single coils, that would explain it. I know the treble booster pedal he used, and the name is kind of misleading - it's a bright pedal but so are many boost pedals - it's not treble overkill.

The main thing I notice about Richie's tone is how much brighter it is on the live records than the early Deep Purple records. On those recordings he was using a dark Neumann condenser mic, but live he was using a 57. Same thing with Jimi - in my opinion his best tones are on his live records recorded with a 57 - Eddie Kramer fucked up his tone in the studio by combining a shitload of microphones which made his guitar sound small and thin.

I think Ritchie's scalloped maple necks also had something to do with his tone - we all know that it's a combination of all the little things which add up in the big picture.

Thanks again for the info!

[Kalin Belchev]

You're welcome. It is pleasure for me.

Some more detailed info on Ritchie's gear through the years on this site.
Maybe some of it will be interesting for you if you haven't read it already.
That guy also makes boosters emulating the Aiwa.

https://www.treblebooster.net/bsm-tonezone/ritchie-blackmore

Little things combined often make the "big picture".
Some times combined by accident. Which reminds me of the story behind the guitar tone of "Money For Nothing".

[Scott Henderson]

Thanks Kalin, I've read this page before and it's great that there's so much information about his gear. I bought a BSM HS-C on Reverb so I'm anxious to hear it - I'll have to wait a few weeks since it ships from Germany.

The missing piece that no one seems to know about are the mics. It's easy to see he's using a 57 live, but those amazing tones on the records... I'm guessing either a Neumann 47 or 67. I'm sure it's the darker one, but I forget which one that is.

Also his amp settings are somewhat of a mystery - I've read in interviews that he turns the treble all the way down, but there's a statement in these pages that says he turns the presence all the way down. It seems I remember reading somewhere that he switches between doing both.

I used to have an account with one of those multi-track companies and I had a few of Ritchie’s tracks with Deep Purple. Of course the solos sound great in the tracks, but isolated they sounded to me like there was very little midrange and mostly treble. Anyone out there know some more secrets?

[Scott Henderson]

I just wanted to tell everyone that I found a website - http://backtracks4all.com/artist/deep-purple/

They have 18 Deep Purple multi-tracks! I went to PayPal and spent 26 bucks for a 30 day subscription, and downloaded Ritchie's guitar tracks from those 18 songs, along with some cool tracks from Billy Gibbons and Jimmy Page! Really fun to hear Ritchie's isolated guitar tracks, and I was surprised by how different they all sound from each other. It's easy to hear that he was often changing guitars, pedals and amps like we all do.

[Kalin Belchev]

Wow! Thanks Scott! I'm definitely downloading these.
Yes i think his settings were whatever his mood and preferences were at the time. And of course the endless search for the tone in his head. As it is with all of us.
Also I'm interested to hear your opinion on that BSM booster. I'm thinking of buying one myself.

As far as my humble experience the U47 is darker, more "nasal" sounding with more lows as for the U67 it is relatively more bright and open. I guess it was the U47 that he was using.

I noticed the thick bar on his '68 maple strat on some photos. I guess he wasn't happy either with the wiggly, tiny Fender bars on those vintage tremolos...

[Kalin Belchev]

Scott,
You may have talked about this in another thread but I haven't found anything about it.
There are manufacturers now making Dumble type of amps at relatively reasonable prices such as Two Rock, Smart Belle, Amplified Nation etc. There are number of companies making pedals that try to emulate that sound too. Also guitarists like Stevie Ray Vaughn had used Dumble amps and Santana, Robben Ford and Joe Bonamassa still use them.
So my question is what do you think of Dumble amps or should I say Dumble type of sound in general?

[Scott Henderson]

Alexander is a great amp builder and his work is ultra-quality, but I've never been a fan of his amps. They favor the midrange and don't have enough bass for me, but that's just my opinion based on personal taste and the style I play. I like old Marshalls and Fenders - they have more of a full range sound.

[Scott Henderson]

The BSM HS-C arrived and I love it - though I have to say it's more Ritchie Blackmore's tone and it doesn't work for the tone I use in the style of music I play. I need to write a good rock tune to use this pedal! It's got a lot of midrange and not much bass, but it makes a strat sound, well, like Ritchie!

An interesting characteristic of this pedal is that the tone doesn't change much when turning the tone down on the guitar. I've never been a fan of the treble pickup tone on 10, so I turn it down to 8 when getting a rock tone, but when I turn down that tone knob to 4, there's very little difference. With an RC Booster or Klon, turning that tone down to 4 would really fatten up the tone and make it darker.

The gain on this pedal is very smooth, not grainy at all, so it sounds more like a boost, but with more sustain than most boosters. Also, boosters usually have tons of bass - this pedal has none, and the midrange makes high notes sound fatter than most boost pedals. It's a one trick pony but it's a very cool pedal.

[ItAllanLover]

[Scott Henderson]

I guess, but if you're looking for a Holdsworth type fusion tone, this isn't it. This pedal is spiky, very rock n' roll sounding. It's the last pedal I'd go to for a fusion tone.

[Kalin Belchev]

Nice!!! I've read that this was Ritchie's goal - cleaner tone with lot of sustain. I understand he didn't like the fizzy saturated hi gain tone.
I guess this pedal would be great for more like "violin" tones.

Now I'm waiting for your rock tune!

I recently have listened to Ritchie's isolated guitars from the Burn tune.
Wow that's what they call "ice picky".
This I can achieve with my '59 reissue strat with treble pickup on ten... uughhh.
But in the mix it sounds very different. You can hear it is still bright but I guess cymbals cover some of that high end.

Scott, do you know what value capacitor is put in your guitars? 22mf, 47mf or other. This is important for how much your tone pot darkens.
On vintage strats it is 1mf I think and it darkens a lot. Still these 59 pickups are not my favorite -too bright, especially that bridge pickup.
I guess Ritchie's strat had very bright bridge pickup too.

[Scott Henderson]

My caps are 47mf like normal. I always assumed that Ritchie and those guys who played vintage strats just dealt with having no tone control for the bridge pickup, but now I'm not sure - it's such an unmusical sound. I have to go down to 8 at least or it's just brutal on the high end.

Ritchie's isolated tracks are before the mix - when I hear some of the solos on the record, I can hear they were EQ'd. You're right, the cymbals cover up some of the nasty high end too.

What I discovered in trying to match some of the tones is that sometimes I needed to turn the presence all the way off, and sometimes the presence up and the treble all the way off - and that's what he said he did in one of his interviews. Wow, talk about drastically changing the amp settings! It's really cool that a lot of his soloing tones are so different from each other.

[Kalin Belchev]

Wow it's been a year!!!
I just saw your video for the SH9 the other day. It sounds so good.
I usually refer to this as "delicious" sounding. And it doesn't "moo" - much clearer to my ear than SD9. Can't wait to try it with my rig. I'm excited.
I think it was a right decision to release this signature pedal. It make sense, not as some gear that never get used by their endorsers.

[Scott Henderson]

Thanks Kalin, I think Mr. Tamura was able to accomplish what so many others couldn't - everyone I know who tried to mod the SD-9 just made it worse. I hope people like the SH9 as much as I do!

[Kalin Belchev]

Sooo few question have aroused...

I guess you have tried the 4x12 cabs Suhr makes now or not?
Can you compare those to your Kerry Wright cab? I'm aware they have different speakers in them.

You use a dark sounding delay as far as I'm aware. Is Suhr Discovery delay a pedal you could use in your signature sound. Is it "compatible"?
Do you think you can switch from your SE 70 to pedals with same or similar functionality? I know you don't usually change gear if it works for you but still...

Also when do we expect the new album to be released?
Can't wait to hear the new music. Is there something different gear wise used in the recording process?

Have you read any Terry Pratchett books?
Is there some new show you're watching these days?

Best wishes to you and your family in the new year!