GuitarDistortedSolo80% confidence
Smoke On the Water Solo Guitar Tone Settings — Deep Purple
Deep Purple · 1970s · rock
studio
Original Recording
Guitar
1970 Fender Stratocaster Sunburst Maple
Pickups
Fender single-coil pickups (stock 1970 Stratocaster)
Amp
Marshall Major 200W head
Pickup Position
Bridge pickup
Studio recording, 1972. Ritchie Blackmore used a Fender Stratocaster with single-coil pickups into a Marshall Major amp, boosted with a Hornby-Skewes Treble Booster. No evidence of additional pedals or effects beyond the treble booster and amp reverb. Settings are for the studio recording on 'Machine Head', not live.
Amp Settings
Mids7
Bass7.5
Gain6
Reverb2.5
Treble4.5
Presence5
Effects Chain
- Hornby-Skewes Treble Booster · boost
Fender Stratocaster → Hornby-Skewes Treble Booster → Marshall Major 200W head (spring reverb on amp)
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Tone Character
- classic British crunch
- singing sustain
- aggressive attack
- articulate single notes
- slightly scooped mids
- tight, focused lead tone
- dynamic response to picking
- clear note separation
- warm but biting upper mids
- touch-sensitive gain
Notes & Caveats
- Amp settings are sourced from Ultimate Guitar Wiki, which may be user-edited; no direct confirmation from Blackmore or studio engineers.
- Presence setting is estimated (typical for Marshall Major in this context); not directly cited.
- No evidence of time-based or modulation effects (delay, chorus, flanger, etc.) on the solo; only amp reverb and treble booster are confirmed.
- Treble booster (Hornby-Skewes) is confirmed by Blackmore interview but exact pedal settings are not available.
- Pickup position is inferred from typical Blackmore solo tone and live footage; not explicitly stated for the solo section.
- Settings cross-referenced with genre and era conventions for accuracy. Ritchie Blackmore used a crunchy, mid-forward British rock tone typical of early '70s Marshall amps, with moderate gain, strong mids, and balanced bass/treble; the solo is dry with minimal reverb, matching the production style and his known amp settings of the era.