OPINION

MY OPINION ABOUT RITCHIE BLACKMORE LIMITED EDITION FENDER STRATOCASTER

IT IS A SOLID BODY ELECTRIC GUITAR MADE BY FENDER JAPAN BASED ON BLACKMORE'S OLYMPIC WHITE STRATOCASTER USING BY HIMSELF IN THE LATE RAINBOW PERIOD AND AFTER 1984 IN DEEP PURPLE. BUT THERE ARE FEW DIFFERENCES. THE BODY SHAPE IS LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT AND THE WOOD OF THE BODY IS BASSWOOD. THE FORM OF THE BULLET AT NUT IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT TOO AND THE POSITION MARKERS ARE DIFFERENT TOO: THEY ARE MATT WHITISH (CLAY DOT) AND ON THE RITCHIE'S STRATOCASTER THEY ARE PEARLOIDS. AND THE LITTLE POSITION MARKERS BETWEEN THE MAPLE NECK AND THE ROSEWOOD FRETBOARD ARE WHITISH TOO, ON THE RITCHIE'S STRATOCASTER THEY ARE BLACK AND THEIR PLACES ARE NOT BETWEEN THE FRETBOARD AND THE NECK, HOWEVER ON THE MAPLE NECK NEAR TO THE FRETBOARD. AND THE OTHER DIFFERENCE IS THE FORM OF THE FRETBOARD, BECAUSE ON RITCHIE'S STRATOCASTER IT IS "CURVED" AND ON THE RITCHIE BLACKMORE LIMITED EDITION FENDER STRATOCASTER IT IS "SLAB". THE FENDER LOGO IS DIFFERENT TOO, I MEAN THE GOLD OUTLINE IS SLIGHTLY INCREASED TO THE DETRIMAT OF THE BLACK LETTERING, WHICH THEN APPEARED NOT SO BOLD. AND THE POSITION OF THE FENDER LOGO IS CLOSER TO THE NUT ON THE LIMITED EDITION RITCHIE BLACKMORE FENDER STRATOCASTER AND BELOW THE FENDER LOGO THERE IS NOT "PAT 3,143,028", AND OFCOURSE ON THE PLACE OF THE TEXT:"ORIGINAL CONTOUR BODY PATENTED" YOU CAN SEE RITCHIE'S SIGNATURE. THE MATERIAL OF THE NUT IS DIFFERENT TOO, IT IS GRAPHITE, ALTHOUGH ON RITCHIE'S LATE 70'S FENDER STRATOCASTER THE NUT IS REPLACED WITH GRAPHITE TOO. YOU CAN FIND THE SERIAL NUMBER ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE NECK CLOSER TO THE BODY AND NOT ON THE NECK PLATE. AND YOU CAN NOT SEE ON THE NECK PLATE "FENDER MICRO-NECK ADJUST PAT 3550496", ONLY THE "FENDER JAPAN" AND THE SIGN OF THE FENDER:"F". AS I WROTE EARLIER THE FORM OF THE BODY IS LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT TOO. THE SURFACES OF THE SCREWS ARE FLATTER. THE BRIDGE BY LOOKING IS THE SAME, BUT NOT EXACTLY. IT IS 70'S STYLE BRIDGE (SOLID DIECAST SADDLES) BUT THE LIMITED EDITION RITCHIE BLACKMORE FENDER STRATOCASTER IS FITTED WITH A TWO PIECE VIBRATO TAILBLOCK FEATURING SEPARATE BRIDGE BASE-PLATE AND INERTIA BLOCK ASSEMBLED BY 3 SHORT PHILLIP SCREWS COUNTERSUNK IN THE PLATE (RITCHIE'S STRATOCASTER HAS A ONE PIECE DIE-CAST PART IN CHROMED MAZAC). I DO NOT KNOW EXACTLY WHICH TYPE PICKUPS ARE ON RITCHIE'S GUITARS, ON ONE OF THEM ARE FENDER LACE SENSORS (GOLD) PICKUPS, ON THE OTHERS I GUESS SEYMOUR DUNCAN PICKUPS. THE BODY IS MADE OF BASSWOOD, IT IS MORE RESONANT THAN THE ADLER OR MAPLE (OR POPLAR) BODY USED IN MOST OTHER FENDER STRATOCASTERS. YOU CAN REALISE IT EVEN WITHOUT USING THE AMPLIFIER. AND PLAYING WITH AMP. THE SOUND IS MORE WARM WITH MORE TEXTURE. I GUESS THE SLAB ROSEWOOD FRETBOARD EFFECTS THE SOUND TOO, I MEAN THE SOUND IS DIFFERENT THAN STRATOCASTERS HAVE WITH CURVED ROSEWOOD FRETBOARD. THE PICKUPS ARE SEYMOUR DUNCAN QUARTER POUND (ONLY BRIDGE AND NECK PICK-UPS), FENDER JAPAN HAS PUT AN BLANK COVER IN THE MIDDLE, (WHICH IS SMACKED DOWN FLUSH WITH THE BODY ON MY GUITAR) SINCE RITCHIE NEVER USES THAT POSITION. THESE PICKUPS GIVE IT A LOT OF ENERGY (OUTPUT) AND DURING IT THE TYPICAL STRATOCASTER SOUND REMAINS THE SAME USING ONE PICKUP, ONLY IT IS WARMER AND MORE RICH, AND USING BOTH OF THE PICKUPS, THE SOUND REMIND ME OF THE TELECASTER SOUND. (EVEN I CAN IMAGINE THIS GUITAR IN THE COUNTRY-BAND TOO.) SINCE THIS GUITAR HAS TWO PICKUPS A 3 POSITION SWITCH CAN GIVE ALL THE POSSIBLE PICKUP CHOICES, AND ON THE MIDDLE POSITION, WHEN BOTH OF THE PICKUPS WORK THE SOUND (AS I WROTE ABOVE) IS LIKE THE TELECASTER'S SOUND. ONLY ONE THING WHAT IS NOT SO GOOD, THE PICKUPS ARE A LITTLE BIT NOISE (BUT THESE PICKUPS ARE SINGLE COILS), AND THE SOUND EVEN WITH A HUM IS INCREDIBLE. I PLAYED ON THIS GUITAR USING 15W PARK COMBO AND 100W MARSHALL JCM2000 DSL. WHEN I PLAYED ON THE MARSHALL AMPLIFIER I REALISED THAT YOU DO NOT NEED ANY EFFECT, BECAUSE THE COMBINATION OF THE EXCELENT GUITAR AND GOOD AMPLIFIER IS ENOUGH TO GET A HIGH-CLASS GUITAR SOUND. I HOPE ONE DAY I CAN TRY MY GUITAR WITH THE ENGL AMPLIFIER. THE LOOKING OF THE NECK IS NICE WITH "SKUNK STRIPE" NECK (I LOVE IT) AND THE CUSTOM SCALLOPED ROSEWOOD FRETBOARD IS FANTASTIC. THE SCALLOPS ARE NOT TOO DEEP, AND GET STEP BY STEP DEEPER AS YOU GO UP THE NECK TO THE BODY. BUT THEN THEY ARE DEEPER ON THE 1ST STRING'S SIDE THAN THEY ARE ON THE 6TH STRING'S SIDE. I GUESS YOU MUST TOTALLY RELEARN YOUR PLAYING, AT THE BEGENING IT IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFICULT, BUT YOU HAVE SO MUCH MORE CONTROL OVER THE STRINGS. YOU DON'T NEED TO PRESS THE STRINGS DOWN ONTO THE FRETBOARD. THE NECK PROFILE IS SPECIAL OVAL SHAPE AND ITS RADIUS IS 7,5". THESE THINGS ALL TOGETHER GIVE YOU MUCH BETTER PLAYABILITY (EXTREM STRING-BLENDING AND FINGER VIBRATO ACTION, SPEED, COMFORT ETC.). THE MACHINE HEAD (F-STYLE VINTAGE TUNERS) IS WONDERFUL AND EASY TO TUNE. THE GRAPHITE NUT HELPS TO STAYS THE GUITAR IN TUNE VERY WELL, EVEN WHEN YOU USE THE WHAMMY-BAR BY THE VIOLENT WAY. THE COLOR OF THE BODY IS OLYMPIC WHITE, IT IS NICE, BUT I COULD IMAGINE IT WITH VINTAGE WHITE COLOR TOO. THE RITCHIE BLACKMORE LIMITED EDITION FENDER STRATOCASTER IS WITH A JIM DUNLOP ORIGINAL STRAPLOK SYSTEM FOR LOCKING YOUR GUITAR-STRAP IN PLACE. IT IS COOL.
SUMMARY: IF YOU LIKE RITCHIE'S PLAYING-STYLE AND FENDER STRATOCASTER AND YOU WANT A PERFECT STRATOCASTER DON'T HESITATE, TRY TO BUY IT, BUT MAYBE IT WILL BE DIFFICULT SINCE IT IS LIMITED EDITION.
I CAN IMAGINE THE OTHER RITCHIE BLACKMORE LIMITED EDITION FENDER STRATOCASTER MADE IN FENDER CUSTOM SHOP WITH VINTAGE WHITE COLOR AND AS A RELIC, I MEAN COSMETICALLY AGED GUITAR, LOOKING LIKE ONE OF RITCHIE'S STRATOCASTERS.

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