Ritchie Blackmore Shows Off His Favorite Guitars

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Ritchie Blackmore exhibits his collection, and discusses the arduous process of scalloping his fretboards.

In the video below, former Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore—who now plies his trade with Rainbow and Blackmore’s Night—shows off and discusses several of his guitars.

The video also features his wife, Candice Night, another key figure in Blackmore’s Night.

The clip includes instruments Blackmore used during his Deep Purple and Rainbow days, including his main Fender Strat, which he says he’s played for the past 30-plus years.

He also discusses scalloping his fretboards, a process that takes him three days to achieve, and shares a story about a luthier who undid his scalloping handiwork by replaning the fretboard to make it flat again. Enjoy!

Damian Fanelli
Damian Fanelli
Editor-in-Chief, Guitar World

Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.

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