Model RPA (Ritchies Pre Amp) - Blackmore's Sound In A Pedal 

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The thing all these pedals miss is that, even in the most intense Rainbow days 1976-78, Ritchie’s sound was not about distortion! His sound, while thick and heavy, still was very clean. This demo convinces me that I was right to not buy this pedal.

Ritchie Blackmore's amps were worked on by a man named John Stillwell, who added a circuit into the preamp section that had an additional tube, not for cascading or overdriving, but what he called "Sus-torsion" meaning smooth sustain with a warm gain boost( but no distortion) The circuit diagram for this mod was eventually sold to a guitarist friend of mine who had a Marshall Major(200watt plexi) and after corresponding with mr Stillwell was eventually met and given(for a small fee) the secret of this mod, which his father(an electrical engineer) added to the preamp of his M/major. He says that it sounds awesome but (of course the (200 watt) amp is just too loud to be practical and stays in storage.According to Mr Stillwell, the exact same mod was made on Ritchie's amp.

Ritchie is the President of Guitar playing!

One of the fascinating things to me about playing electric guitar is the non-linearities and the really beautiful surprises to be found in the gain structure of an amplifier. How things don't just get louder and quieter when I turn up the gain on my amp, or turn the volume knob on my guitar up and down. The difference between a tone that makes me way to keep playing and a tone that makes me sad and want to put my guitar away for today, can often be a tiny nudge of some knob somewhere. I think that might be why all digital rigs are actually problematic. You actually almost need, I think, a way to find a moveable "magic place" that suits how hard you are touching your guitar strings today, and whether you have a pick or fingers doing that part, and how hot those pickups are and what color your socks are. Oh and the musical material you're playing. Expressive playing means you gotta know your gear as knowing the gear is a part of your musical chops.

Blackmore changed his rig a lot in the sense that he originally used an ac30 with a treble booster and a late 60's strat which had more powerful pickups than his 70's ones (also a 335). He had souped up marshall majors which had various alterations over the years with extra power amp tubes (he was never happy with them) Then there was his Aiwa reel to reel tape deck he used as a pre amp. Then there is the MTC circuit built into his guitar which he utilises all the time Also he changed pickups constantly (Fender,Shecter,Bill Lawrence,Lace sensors,Duncans etc) He also used small transistor amps in studio (Burn album) so it's an enigma to say the least!! Personally if you want early Ritchie's sound,turn an AC30 on full whack with a treble booster and a noise gate!

Hello this guy :) I'm a Blackmore nut and do appreciate this content of course. Just a small clarification: the conpany's name is BSM - finest treble booster, because the guy behind it started out producing treble booster clones (Blackmore - early Deep Purple). These pedals are actually an effort to simulate Blackmore's aiwa tp1011 tape (Ritchie's preamp) machine that he would use to boost his amps starting from 1974. Hence the name on these is a little bit misleading because they are not really TB circuits. Cheers

Ritchies preamp was a reel to reel tape recorder.mike in,volume on 11,headphone out.look it up.on YT.I did the same with a radio shack stereo amp to a Sony stereo.sounded like crap cause I had no guitar amp at the time.better than nothing.those were the days...memmmmmories...lol long story short it was his preamp overdrive to his Marshall or fender

have two pedals of b s m and the truth I bought because I've been looking for this sound for 40 years if it's like Mr. Ritz's? I do not know but the sound that this pedal produces is excellent and in And everywhere I go with these pedals always do good and happy

Blackmore used that, echo machine with tapes which I haven't found a video about a pedal simillar and as good

There is no boost pedal out there being worth that amount of money. For live purposes one can achieve very decent sounds below 100 Euros if needed at all. This may be different for recording situations. But according to my experience in live situations only really significant differences in sound will be noticed by the audience. Especially in rock bands with two guitar players.

Thank you for sharing some of your life experience with the world

The first pedal gave the sound a lot more punch. More Blackmore. Sounds great. Second pedal too. Yes they sound very Blackmore. This sound is more interesting than the thick saturated tone of the metal players. That’s why Blackmore is so revered.

If this doesn't sound like Blackmore, it's mainly because the Marshall has to be cranked and the pedal used more conservatively (without the hiss). I think his best live tone was in the late 80's/early 90's when he was using Lace Sensors. I knew his tech at the time, a tall dude with long blonde hair, kind of young for a tech, and kind of a douche like Blackmore.

He used an Akia 3000D Reel-To-Reel. You do not have to have the exact same model as the Akai circuit within that family range is what matters. You also have the Reel-To-Reel for the extra effects. But if boost is really what you are looking for. Then a professional or high end tape deck monitor is really what matters. You just need to be sure that it has a beefy power transformer. And you don't need to crank the headphone out dial. It will break up relatively early. And you can turn it up to give you a nice metal tone. But be carful. Because it will drive your amp hard and louder than usual.

Elmo! Good to see you again my friend! This caught my eye...in the middle of the night awakened by my cat 😂

Ah funny, i found out about these last week. The rory gallagher one got me interested too. BSM produces seemingly countless versions of these treble boosters. I think ritchie and rory originally used the Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster and/or the Hornby Skewes Treble Booster.

The Mooer 009 Blacknight does a pretty good job as well.

Compression is the secret!

Thanks for the video Elmo!!🤟🏻🎸🎶😎

love your "regular tone", El. subscribed...

Great playing, but to me the pedal didn’t sound much like Blackmore at all. Of course everybody’s rig is different but here the Strymon sounded clearer with better definition. And no hiss.

If a preamp pedal wouldn't it be best into the FX return on the amp? Usually the way to use a preamp pedal .. guitar - preamp pedal - FX return

This is really close to Ritchie's sound, like modern version of his sound or some. But I think with the other amp it would not be Ritchie's sound))

I prefer using Dallas rangemaster , guitar slinger rb pedal , fulltone custom shop ranger and ti boost

I'm always interested to know what people think when they create videos like this. We all know perfectly well the entire rich repertoire of Mr. Blackmore, all his legendary hits. And when you get your hands on some devices with the maestro’s name on them, before you start watching you always think, well, now the author will play us great hits and we will learn the characteristic tone and features of the guitar playing technique. But again, I once again listened to the entire video to the end, while trying to turn it off several times, I still didn’t hear either one or the other. It's more reminiscent of some kind of sport and not music. Is the goal to run your fingers along the fingerboard as quickly as possible? Was the goal to squeeze as much iron as possible out of these poor pedals which Blackmore himself never had? Then what is this video about? Olen aina kiinnostunut tietämään, mitä ihmiset ajattelevat luodessaan tällaisia ​​videoita. Tiedämme kaikki täydellisesti Mr. Blackmoren rikkaan ohjelmiston, kaikki hänen legendaariset hittinsä. Ja kun saat käsiisi joitain laitteita, joissa on maestron nimi, ajattelet aina ennen katsomisen aloittamista, että no, nyt kirjailija soittaa meille mahtavia hittejä ja opimme kitaransoittotekniikan ominaisen sävyn ja piirteet. Mutta taas kerran kuuntelin koko videon loppuun asti, kun yritin sammuttaa sen useita kertoja, en silti kuullut toista tai toista. Se muistuttaa enemmän jonkinlaista urheilua, ei musiikkia. Onko tavoitteena ajaa sormet otelautaa pitkin mahdollisimman nopeasti? Oliko tavoitteena puristaa mahdollisimman paljon rautaa näistä huonoista polkimista, mitä Blackmorella ei koskaan ollut? Mistä tämä video sitten kertoo?

Is it a good idea to put the two pedals after one another to compare them? I think both pedals should "see" the guitar first (impedance),right? Anyways, thanks you,love your videos and playing. By the way Bernd Meiser , mastermind behind BSM is THE man when it comes to TBs and offers an Impressive variety of different models. He even takes care of Blockmore's different sounds thtoughout his career. Meiser's pedal columns in the german Gitarre & Bass Magazine show his technical knowledge and skills.

More music from Blackmore please 🙏 You killing and the Malmsteen stuff too .

Ok, these pedals are not exactly 100% giving justice to RB sound but the overall sound is interesting. Too bad they cost so much. Thanks for enhancing my knowledge.👋

Good review sir. So many pedals, so little money and so little time. 🤣😂 That sux about your camera.😲 Hopefully it's just the battery sir. Going to check out some of your other reviews of gear I've missed somehow. Hope you and yours are well my northern friend!

Each position on the eq gives a unique sound, its not linear. I am not a fan of these pedals either, however, the review was a bit wobbly...

Все декларируют, что эта педаль даёт звук Блакмора. Но нет, это другой звук. Как бы не хотели люди, которые это делают.. Ещё очень важно! . На звук влияют и пальуюци.

Nice video mister Karjalainen. It would be great I reckon if you would try these pedals on the (high) normal channel. I believe that combination is more suitable for a treble-booster. Regards, Daan

First - you are an excellent player Elmo - but as to the pedal... Been listening to Ritchie since 'In Rock' came out in 1970 and saw DP in concert in Glasgow several times (and Rainbow too). To me, this sounds like a pretty generic distortion pedal and then playing with the tone/gain controls and pick-up selector to get a vague Blackmore sound (which most of us could have a go at with the gear we have without buying a pedal). You can compare Blackmore's sound on some live YT Deep Purple vids to this pedal's sound - the pedal's sound is pretty far away from his sound (to my ears anyway) even with changing the pedal's settings. Richie was really never super hi gain, huge distortion player, maybe heavy overdrive would be more accurate. You can always hear that super clarity of note/tone when he plays, it's never buried under heaps of distortion/gain. I don't think that you were too convinced by the pedals either. If I'm paying £285 (UK) for a pedal that tells me I'm getting the Blackmore sound and then don't - I'll be pissed off. And I shouldn't be having to try/buy different amp heads/cabs to get the sound that the pedal promises. The pedal's base line should be the putting out an identifiable Blackmore sound on plugging it in (but it doesn't) - and THEN if you really want to really refine that Blackmore tone even it more closely, you can do the amp/cab swapping. I'll keep my £285 and just practice more lol

I want to hear just your guitar and amp. I bet the plexi sounds best with no dist pedals at all.

Hey Cool Man Are You a Fan of Frank Marino ? Songs like I'm a King Bee . Electric Reflections of War , He is from Montreal Canada , popular in the 1970's

I'm so glad you reviewed this pedal! I've been looking at this pedal and their other pedals based on ritchie blackmores different eras of tone like live in Japan deep purple. So glad someone with a proper strat and plexi decided to review it so I can know if I can get that marshall major sound out of a plexi. Love Ritchie's tone on machine head and live in Japan. Thanks Elmo! Of course my favorite reviewer with similar taste in tone on the job!🤘🤘🤘😁btw if you haven't tried celestion gt12-65 heritage or warehouse speakers et65 as a cheaper version, def try them out I think they'd be right up your alley. Thanks again Elmo!

Nice review, I never even heard of this pedal, If you ever have the opportunity try a Analogman beano booster through the Marshall, I used one through a Marshall 2/12 anniversary combo and it sounded amazing.

Hi and thanks for another excellent video. Would you be willing to share the settings on your plexi?

Hi, great channel and work! 👍 Which (...affordable...) pedals can also produce a Ritchie Blackmore tone? Thanx for help. MaLü

Hi. Whats the brand of strings that you are using? Thanks

I'm not entirely convinced they're Ritchie Blackmore's sound. You did a great job playing the riffs and they sound good but at nearly $400 US per pedal, I just don't think they go all the way for Ritchie's actual sound. Maybe a little. Not much though.

do you have try out the guitarslinger rb1011

A potentiometer on the side near the input jack, it's a total nonsense to me. The Major sounds more like a fuzz than a boost to my ears. For the price they don't even have any LED?

LOL!!! You can just get a studio grade tape deck monitor and use that as a pre amp with the same to better effect. All of the magic is coming straight from the transformer in the tape deck. And then you use the headphone out as your output. And adjust your boost with the headphone out dial. You will know if it sounds right when it opens up the envelope of your sound.

A treble booster, a strat, a plexi, and me= a nightmare of aural destruction

Nothing to see with ritchie's sound and feeling

Elmo: "I don't know much about Ritchie's gear" then starts to play on a scalloped strat😂 and yes Yngwie copied Blackmore...

Ritchie Blackmore's Sound is not In A Pedal, but in Ritchie Blackmore... and it is like that through decades now. Even if in the seventies that was one sound, and today completely different, that is always Ritchie Blackmore's Sound.

Karmealta kuulostavia matolaatikoita. Sori! En tietenkään ole muusikko, eli en kai tajua. Kuitenkin jäjestyksessään toinen suuri idolini oli R.B.

Blackmores 1990s Deep Purple tone was made using a Roland Synthesizer pickup and an ENGL Amp not a Marshall and it is a better tone in my opinion than his old 70s tone

Is that echo built in to these ?

Your rig sounded better without the pedal. TBH, you play better than he ever did

Let's try again.... witch part... "Knock in the head", haha 😁 You are funny my friend

That’s Cool But His Real Sound Came From Reel to Reel Player.

If their preamp pedals then they should not be run in front of the amp, rather into the return of the amp.

D'ohhh! the cable! Lol

I'm not heading ritchie's tone at all. It sounds like a regular pedal. Prefer the p*day melter pedal

God what I hate shredding.

Sorry but Nothing here sounds remotely like Ritchie

i dont like the sound at all., i love blackmore but i dunno this dont sound right., excellent video though Elmo :)

this sounds nothing like blackmore. been listening to him for 40 years. you play very well though.

Another great vid Elmo. I particularly enjoyed the "Bring on the Hate" pt II Marshal Code. Haha. That was a good one. Keep them coming, especially the "Bring on the Hate". Those vids are hysterical. Your voice ad-libbing is funny and the wankers need to be "outed" for being such idiots, wankers and just plain jerks. All the best from Australia !!

That pedal does not sound anything like Blackmore, 😂😂😂🤣🤣

This does not sound like Ritchies playing tones. He just used the amp gain super loud, and a couple other things. But he just got gain from the amp super loud. The pedal is not going to do that. Ritchie was not much of a tone guy, he did not do much of that. He was more of a style and songs guy, more just super loud Marshalls and the guitars. This pedal sounds ok, but it is kind of generic, like most other dist pedals for a lot less cash

I hafta say calling you "This Guy" seems kinda extra, your first name is fairly simple in most Western languages, "El-mo", if people can't say that I won't judge but I'd wonder, that said no more "This Guy" please as it doesn't make sense and is more complex than simply "Elmo", LOL. Happy Holidays, friend.

Blackmore’s tone was made with his fingers, therefore you can’t buy it

Too much talking

We all know Ritchie got the most money out og the cheep SHIT PEDAL 😠

Frocking waste of time

Dude, your playing is out of this world! But you talk too much. Please less talking and more playing.

This is unfortunate - You're advertising a product that will closely emulate the sound of Ritchie Blackmore and this attracts viewers but the sound isn't really anything like Blackmore's signature sound so you're not helping BSM as a manufacturer in general or contributing to the sales of the RPA - in fact, quite the opposite. I suggest people should go to Guitar Slinger Products and check out the RB 1011 - much, much better.

Money in toilet. Way til much noise, NO FUN. If Ritchie was a glasses dealer, you might be total BLIND 🤔😵

Nice pedals but they don't sound like Blackmore. The first one maybe a little but the second is almost like Iommi. It's all marketing I guess.