My Favorite Blackmore/Malmsteen style guitars are ones I build using Jeff Beck & Blackmore features - Scalloped modern 22-fret Jeff Beck Neck, LSR Roller Nut, Locking Tuners, Deluxe Contoured Neck Joint, 2-Point Deluxe Tremolo w/ Pop-In Bars, 2 Seymour-Duncan Hot Rail Pickups (Neck and Bridge), custom wired middle tone Rotary Switch for 15 pickup combinations (for Splits/Parallel/Series/Phase options), a 1-MegOhm Volume Pot, and a Master TBX Tone Control. They Sound and Play Awesome!!!!! 😎
So better to buy 3 Blackmore steats and mod them for the various eras. It crossed my mind. Guess I will change the SD quarter pounders for the Lace Sensor Gold and add a spice box. I love that sound. (Or just buy a 2nd Blackmore strat and mod that one)
My point was to think about which nech you prefer like shape, finish, frets, scalloping and radius wise. If you prefer the blackmore then exactly better to buy 3 blackmores. I really urge you to drop the quarter pounders. Laces are awesome. I have a separate video about the bsm spicebox.
@@DogwithtwoBones Yeah the quarterpounders are not the best choice. But they do bring out the Perfect Strangers sound. I must say I do absolutely like the way the Blackmore strat is scalloped, plays very natural. Did you buy a set of 3 Lace Sensor Gold and used the bridge and neck pickups or did you get 2 separate pickups?
Good guiters, but I wouldn't get either of these models. As for pickups, I prefered the DiMarzios in the original Yngwie model in '88. They are very clear with distortion, clean up great, and are very responsive. I find the Furies to have too much output. It's like what happened with Eddie Van Halen's tone in his latter years. He went from having a nice, clean boosted distortion to using much higher output pickups and too much gain from his amps. I like the classic Yngwie tone from the 80s with the DiMarzios, the cranked Marshalls and distortion pedals. Perfect setup.
That happens eith everyone as they get old as I understand it. Your hearing changes not mention damage from the loud amps. So most people add more gain and highs.
Lately I've been playing with the idea of getting a guitar with scalloped neck for the first time, so this video was perfect for me. I could not live with a 7.25" radius, so the choice seem obvious. A few additional questions - Blackmore is one of the few players I know of who shreds very low on the neck, for example the solos for Lazy. Doing those bends in F, 1st position was always a struggle to me. Does the scallop help with that in your opinion? Also, what are your thoughts on the brass nut on the Malmsteen? Does it make any difference? Take care!
Very good question. The scalloping helps bending in the lower registers because you can grab the strings better, the fretboard not getting in your way. However the strings are still stiffer down there so it will still be harder than bending higher up the neck, but easier than a non scalloped guitar. I never compared the brass nut to a bone or bone-like nuts but I do think it gives more zing and top end. Many people hate it, can be annoying. I think it helps the YJM Fury pickups a little in the high end, but not necessarily the best for true single coils. I often think about changing it to a bone nut.
Nice analysis. Personally, I don't like signed headstocks so neither appeal to me. Between the two, I'd have the Blackmore and go with a pickup swap just because I already have a maple Classic 70s Strat :)
I understand, the main reason to get these is the scalloping but of course you have have it done afterward on a standard guitar. Those classic 70s are great guitars, I just came to prefer the 9.5 radius recently.
Davide Franchin it is scalloped already but I am having it depended a bit, they’ll also put in higher frets.basically I am kinda turning it into a malmsteen and selling the malmsteen. Yes I have four strats and I feel guilty as hell, and the only one I can part with is the malmsteen. I need to scale down my guitar “collection”, it’s too luxurious for me.
What i personally learned from having the fender malmsteen, set neck usa and japanese blackmore, and about 8 guitars w different scallop styles and different fret sizes. File as little wood away as possible while allowing you to bend / get vibrato. The biggest fret i personally do is 6105 fret (6100 to me is too big/hurts the sound (banjo effect). I also like the asymmetrical approach because the proper finger placement is closer to the fret. Fender does a lot of 69 strats w 9.25 radius and that is a good place to start but maple caps are thin so not good for deep scalloping. Personally i find slab boards to not be as good as cap or one piece. Its all personal of course.
@@uv77mc85 i had the japanese sig model (bolt on) not the japenese set neck. The bolt had good asymmetrical scalloping and overall was a god guitar but the frets were problematic. Even w a polish they had a gritty feel as though they were a soft material. I sold it quickly. The US CS model is a fantastic guitar. Lively and balanced. The scalloping was light until a more symmetrical scallop up high (which was typical of all of them - Fender told RB that “scalloped guitars didnt sell” - so i had more scalloping done to it. And i put single coils in it and upgraded the block and saddles. Very stratty sounding guitar. Never seen a mex one but i suspect it is better than the japanese one i had. RB’s schechters were tapped coils so half the coil on the neck pup (i dont know if the sd qp is tapped) All of my main guitars are now set neck. I love it.
21-fret guitars are a no go for me. Also curious why they didn't use ash for the Blackmore model body? Might as well just build a partscaster with a Warmouth scalloped neck on it and the hardware of your choice.
In that case definitely go for a warmoth build. Fender is very limited. I’d like it very much if there were option for the Blackmore and malmsteen strat. At least more color/wood selection.
I've owned both. The Malmsteen strat was an A - mazing guitar. So wish I'd kept it, but at the time I really wanted a Jem and selling the strat was the only way. The Blackmore strat was a thumbs down for me.
That's why I made this video, many Blackmroe fans may think they want the Blackmore signature but their preferences are closer to the malmsteen in actuality. Sorry you sold it, I am selling it as well and I already know I will regret it but as you said, sometimes you have to "trade it in".
The Blackmore sounds flat , I owned one . No chime , no personality to it. Feels good but sounds cheap and muddy . The only thing going for it is that it has a more ballsy rock tone but lacks evenness throughout frequency range . There’s no edge or sparkle . Sounds almost cardboard like .
@@andrewslads That's because the original seymour duncan pickups suck which is really unlike seymour duncan. It sounds good with lace sensors and I am about to try a new set of special pickups in mine so stay tuned if you're interested.
@@DogwithtwoBones yeh the Seymour Duncan’s are quarter pounders. They sound fine if you wanna play some grunge , anything with detail and a varied tonal pallette - avoid ! Haha
i got the blackmore strat the fender tuners are bad they wont stay in tune, Blackmore used a 1972 sunburst for recording machine head ,so why bring out the white strat
I never had that much problem with fender tuners, are you sure the nut is cut properly? Usually that’s the main reason for tuning stability issues. I would really like for fender to issue a sunburst Blackmore strat too. That’s the most iconic for the real fans, but there are was more photos and videos of him playing the white strat later, guess that’s the reason they issued that.
Yeah Malmsteem uses these guitars all the time, while for Blackmore it is a so-so replica of his "most" famous or rather most seen white strat from the 80s.
@@DogwithtwoBones Accurate. The only REAL Blackmore signature strat is a limited edition Custom Shop replica of his famous late 60s black strat used on the Machine Head album, and it costs a $***LOAD of money.
Szerintem alapvetoen egy jo gitar, en szeretem a nyakat, kicsit U forma, nem tul vastag de vastagabb mint egy modern C, de a nut szelesseg nagyon kicsit szukebb mint az amerikai fenderek, pl a malmsteen, igy a hurok nagyon kicsit kozelebb vannak egymashoz. Az eredeti pickupokat en speciel nem szeretem, szerencsere azt konnyu kicserelni.
@@DogwithtwoBones Köszönöm! Van egy 98-as kőris 70's classicom, a nem akarom megbontani. A negyed fontos SD-re esküszik a legtöbb RB. rajongó. Átgondolom még ezt a RB. stratot.
@@SteveHendrix73 barmennyire is nagykepuen hangzik sajnos akkor azok a Blackmore rajongok nem sokat tudnak a hangszinerol. Blackmore sose hasznalta es nem egy jo replikaja annak amit hasznalt.(schechter f500t) En meg nem hallottam vele igazan jo Blackmore hangszint senkitol plane hogy csak a 80as evekre lenne jo ha jo lenne. De mind1, ha kiprobalod es nekem adsz igazat azt konnyu kicserelni.
hi, i just wanna ask u somethin, although it has nothing to do with anything this vid is about (sorry dude); well, have u ever used spice box from bsm? (sistem pots wich emulates an mtc from dawk, you surely know this stuff), and if so: what kind of pots does it need to set up properly? cause im looking for leosounds munich 77 pickups to use... and, (yes, another off subject question) whats the name and brand to buy those stands yngwie use live for acoustic guitars ? wich i think are same as the ones steve howe uses for coral sitar guitar, to name a couple well known examples. thanks for your time and your patience. rock on dog with two bones.
@@nathanevangello3376 I dont know about the guitar stands but I have heard about the MTC and the Spicebox. I'd really like to try either of them but I dont have a strat with the right pickups to pair with. I bet it would work great with the munich 77 which I also want to try someday. As far as I know Leosound sells a complete pickguard with the munic 77 pickups and the spice box already installed. BTW there is a green custom shop strat on reverb.com (search blackmore stratocaster) that was scalloped by Dawk and it has an original MTC by dawk again.
@@DogwithtwoBones seems like the guitar you told me about has been sold... btw its a crime to not enjoying it nowadays. info about leosounds selling spicebox set up paired with munich 77, man massive thanks indeed. here in chile no one sells this stand i told u, now thats another crime, shame indeed. btw cheers dude.
Blackmore is way, way more affordable. But, to be fair, it is not a true full scalloped model. First five frets don’t have any scallop, then it’s graduated. Malmsteen is full, deep scallops from start to finish. Only other way to get that is a Warmoth or a custom job. Honestly a shame. Nothing against Malmsteen or Strats, but I don’t want to HAVE to get a Malmsteen Strat just to have a pre-made scalloped guitar.
@@sigiligus All the frets including the first 5 are indeed scalloped gradually like the others on the Blackmore. However the Blackmore scallops are way shallower than the Malmsteens. I have had my luthier scallop guitars for me and if it is a good luthier they come out great.
@@DogwithtwoBones thank you very much for your answer. I just wonder one thing: os not it more difficult to play fast solos with the u-shape neck? (Well, obviously not for Ritchie Blackmore) Would not it be easier and more comfortable with a modern d-shape neck?
![[ENGSUB] UNPRODUCTIVE DAY ใช้ชีวิต (เปื่อยๆ) ด้วยกัน 1 วัน! | OUROAD CLOSEFRiEND SS2 EP.9](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/pyYKZ3kra9w/mqdefault.jpg)
![🔴 ฟุตบอลแชมป์กีฬา 7HD แชมเปียน คัพ 2024 [รอบรองชนะเลิศ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/zPm8ClLVhoE/mqdefault.jpg)
I’ve had the Blackmore for just over a year now and couldn’t be happier. It is an awesome instrument.
Glad to hear, great instrument for sure!
I have both ☺️, great guitars
They are! Do you like or the other a little better?
My Favorite Blackmore/Malmsteen style guitars are ones I build using Jeff Beck & Blackmore features - Scalloped modern 22-fret Jeff Beck Neck, LSR Roller Nut, Locking Tuners, Deluxe Contoured Neck Joint, 2-Point Deluxe Tremolo w/ Pop-In Bars, 2 Seymour-Duncan Hot Rail Pickups (Neck and Bridge), custom wired middle tone Rotary Switch for 15 pickup combinations (for Splits/Parallel/Series/Phase options), a 1-MegOhm Volume Pot, and a Master TBX Tone Control. They Sound and Play Awesome!!!!! 😎
It does sound awesome! Usually the best thing is what you pur together yourself after you know what you want. Seems like you got it figured out.
So better to buy 3 Blackmore steats and mod them for the various eras. It crossed my mind. Guess I will change the SD quarter pounders for the Lace Sensor Gold and add a spice box. I love that sound. (Or just buy a 2nd Blackmore strat and mod that one)
My point was to think about which nech you prefer like shape, finish, frets, scalloping and radius wise. If you prefer the blackmore then exactly better to buy 3 blackmores. I really urge you to drop the quarter pounders. Laces are awesome. I have a separate video about the bsm spicebox.
@@DogwithtwoBones Yeah the quarterpounders are not the best choice. But they do bring out the Perfect Strangers sound.
I must say I do absolutely like the way the Blackmore strat is scalloped, plays very natural.
Did you buy a set of 3 Lace Sensor Gold and used the bridge and neck pickups or did you get 2 separate pickups?
If you are looking for one i have a japanese one for sale. It doesn't have the original pickups though. It has Dimarzio HS3 or lace sensors
Good guiters, but I wouldn't get either of these models. As for pickups, I prefered the DiMarzios in the original Yngwie model in '88. They are very clear with distortion, clean up great, and are very responsive. I find the Furies to have too much output. It's like what happened with Eddie Van Halen's tone in his latter years. He went from having a nice, clean boosted distortion to using much higher output pickups and too much gain from his amps. I like the classic Yngwie tone from the 80s with the DiMarzios, the cranked Marshalls and distortion pedals. Perfect setup.
That happens eith everyone as they get old as I understand it. Your hearing changes not mention damage from the loud amps. So most people add more gain and highs.
I have a blackmore start with Yngwies pickups and its great. I also have one with lace sensors and mid boost
i have both. I like the Blackmore neck better but the body is too light. malsteen neck scalloped is too deep but sounds awesome
I actually love light guitars. At first the scallops on the malmsteen were too deep for mee too but I came to prefer it surprisingly.
Lately I've been playing with the idea of getting a guitar with scalloped neck for the first time, so this video was perfect for me. I could not live with a 7.25" radius, so the choice seem obvious. A few additional questions - Blackmore is one of the few players I know of who shreds very low on the neck, for example the solos for Lazy. Doing those bends in F, 1st position was always a struggle to me. Does the scallop help with that in your opinion? Also, what are your thoughts on the brass nut on the Malmsteen? Does it make any difference? Take care!
Very good question. The scalloping helps bending in the lower registers because you can grab the strings better, the fretboard not getting in your way. However the strings are still stiffer down there so it will still be harder than bending higher up the neck, but easier than a non scalloped guitar.
I never compared the brass nut to a bone or bone-like nuts but I do think it gives more zing and top end. Many people hate it, can be annoying. I think it helps the YJM Fury pickups a little in the high end, but not necessarily the best for true single coils. I often think about changing it to a bone nut.
Nice analysis. Personally, I don't like signed headstocks so neither appeal to me. Between the two, I'd have the Blackmore and go with a pickup swap just because I already have a maple Classic 70s Strat :)
I understand, the main reason to get these is the scalloping but of course you have have it done afterward on a standard guitar. Those classic 70s are great guitars, I just came to prefer the 9.5 radius recently.
@@DogwithtwoBones Yes it would scare me to play a 9.5 radius cause then I would probably want that instead!
Davide Franchin that’s exactly what would happan! My natural japanese guitar is in the shop right now being sanded down to a 9.5 from 7.25 :D
@@DogwithtwoBones any idea to have it scalloped as well? You have quite a few strats now!
Davide Franchin it is scalloped already but I am having it depended a bit, they’ll also put in higher frets.basically I am kinda turning it into a malmsteen and selling the malmsteen. Yes I have four strats and I feel guilty as hell, and the only one I can part with is the malmsteen. I need to scale down my guitar “collection”, it’s too luxurious for me.
i love ritchie and yngwie ( alcatrazz to facing the animal)
I like both too but prefer Blackmore way more :D
@@DogwithtwoBones i totally agree. Blackmore is my fav guitar player.
What i personally learned from having the fender malmsteen, set neck usa and japanese blackmore, and about 8 guitars w different scallop styles and different fret sizes. File as little wood away as possible while allowing you to bend / get vibrato. The biggest fret i personally do is 6105 fret (6100 to me is too big/hurts the sound (banjo effect). I also like the asymmetrical approach because the proper finger placement is closer to the fret. Fender does a lot of 69 strats w 9.25 radius and that is a good place to start but maple caps are thin so not good for deep scalloping. Personally i find slab boards to not be as good as cap or one piece. Its all personal of course.
You have the set neck? how does it compare to the japa and mex blackmore starts? I would love one but they are pretty rare.
@@uv77mc85 i had the japanese sig model (bolt on) not the japenese set neck. The bolt had good asymmetrical scalloping and overall was a god guitar but the frets were problematic. Even w a polish they had a gritty feel as though they were a soft material. I sold it quickly. The US CS model is a fantastic guitar. Lively and balanced. The scalloping was light until a more symmetrical scallop up high (which was typical of all of them - Fender told RB that “scalloped guitars didnt sell” - so i had more scalloping done to it. And i put single coils in it and upgraded the block and saddles. Very stratty sounding guitar.
Never seen a mex one but i suspect it is better than the japanese one i had. RB’s schechters were tapped coils so half the coil on the neck pup (i dont know if the sd qp is tapped)
All of my main guitars are now set neck. I love it.
@@2500BC I have jap and mex ones and the mex ones are actually better. The frets on the jap one are a bit weird, you're right
21-fret guitars are a no go for me. Also curious why they didn't use ash for the Blackmore model body? Might as well just build a partscaster with a Warmouth scalloped neck on it and the hardware of your choice.
In that case definitely go for a warmoth build. Fender is very limited. I’d like it very much if there were option for the Blackmore and malmsteen strat. At least more color/wood selection.
I've owned both. The Malmsteen strat was an A - mazing guitar. So wish I'd kept it, but at the time I really wanted a Jem and selling the strat was the only way. The Blackmore strat was a thumbs down for me.
That's why I made this video, many Blackmroe fans may think they want the Blackmore signature but their preferences are closer to the malmsteen in actuality. Sorry you sold it, I am selling it as well and I already know I will regret it but as you said, sometimes you have to "trade it in".
The Blackmore sounds flat , I owned one . No chime , no personality to it. Feels good but sounds cheap and muddy . The only thing going for it is that it has a more ballsy rock tone but lacks evenness throughout frequency range . There’s no edge or sparkle . Sounds almost cardboard like .
@@andrewslads That's because the original seymour duncan pickups suck which is really unlike seymour duncan. It sounds good with lace sensors and I am about to try a new set of special pickups in mine so stay tuned if you're interested.
@@DogwithtwoBones yeh the Seymour Duncan’s are quarter pounders. They sound fine if you wanna play some grunge , anything with detail and a varied tonal pallette - avoid ! Haha
Nick Andrews i agree :)
Great video, thanks!
Thank you!
Great video!
Thank you!
i got the blackmore strat the fender tuners are bad they wont stay in tune, Blackmore used a 1972 sunburst for recording machine head ,so why bring out the white strat
I never had that much problem with fender tuners, are you sure the nut is cut properly? Usually that’s the main reason for tuning stability issues.
I would really like for fender to issue a sunburst Blackmore strat too. That’s the most iconic for the real fans, but there are was more photos and videos of him playing the white strat later, guess that’s the reason they issued that.
I love both but ill take Yngwie's
Same here :D
if you had a lot of money and ( you are a fan of both) the answer is both !
Of course, why not :)
The YJM at least is more faithful to what Yngwie uses. I dont think that the Blackmore strat has been updated in decades.
Yeah Malmsteem uses these guitars all the time, while for Blackmore it is a so-so replica of his "most" famous or rather most seen white strat from the 80s.
@@DogwithtwoBones Accurate. The only REAL Blackmore signature strat is a limited edition Custom Shop replica of his famous late 60s black strat used on the Machine Head album, and it costs a $***LOAD of money.
@@Pazuzu- it does and I like their regular 68 reissue better, that’s what I got for a great deal used a couple of years ago.
Mi a véleményed?
Érdemes megvenni a R. B. stratocastert?
A nyaka milyen? Pl...
Szerintem alapvetoen egy jo gitar, en szeretem a nyakat, kicsit U forma, nem tul vastag de vastagabb mint egy modern C, de a nut szelesseg nagyon kicsit szukebb mint az amerikai fenderek, pl a malmsteen, igy a hurok nagyon kicsit kozelebb vannak egymashoz. Az eredeti pickupokat en speciel nem szeretem, szerencsere azt konnyu kicserelni.
@@DogwithtwoBones Köszönöm!
Van egy 98-as kőris 70's classicom, a nem akarom megbontani. A negyed fontos SD-re esküszik a legtöbb RB. rajongó. Átgondolom még ezt a RB. stratot.
@@SteveHendrix73 barmennyire is nagykepuen hangzik sajnos akkor azok a Blackmore rajongok nem sokat tudnak a hangszinerol. Blackmore sose hasznalta es nem egy jo replikaja annak amit hasznalt.(schechter f500t) En meg nem hallottam vele igazan jo Blackmore hangszint senkitol plane hogy csak a 80as evekre lenne jo ha jo lenne. De mind1, ha kiprobalod es nekem adsz igazat azt konnyu kicserelni.
hi, i just wanna ask u somethin, although it has nothing to do with anything this vid is about (sorry dude); well, have u ever used spice box from bsm? (sistem pots wich emulates an mtc from dawk, you surely know this stuff), and if so: what kind of pots does it need to set up properly? cause im looking for leosounds munich 77 pickups to use... and, (yes, another off subject question) whats the name and brand to buy those stands yngwie use live for acoustic guitars ? wich i think are same as the ones steve howe uses for coral sitar guitar, to name a couple well known examples. thanks for your time and your patience. rock on dog with two bones.
and not to mention since john dawks passing theres few hope to get real mtc nowadays. again thanks for your support and your vids.
@@nathanevangello3376 I dont know about the guitar stands but I have heard about the MTC and the Spicebox. I'd really like to try either of them but I dont have a strat with the right pickups to pair with. I bet it would work great with the munich 77 which I also want to try someday. As far as I know Leosound sells a complete pickguard with the munic 77 pickups and the spice box already installed.
BTW there is a green custom shop strat on reverb.com (search blackmore stratocaster) that was scalloped by Dawk and it has an original MTC by dawk again.
@@DogwithtwoBones seems like the guitar you told me about has been sold... btw its a crime to not enjoying it nowadays. info about leosounds selling spicebox set up paired with munich 77, man massive thanks indeed. here in chile no one sells this stand i told u, now thats another crime, shame indeed. btw cheers dude.
Nathan Evangello reverb.com/item/31084020-fender-custom-shop-stratocaster-modded-by-former-ritchie-blackmore-tech?
Blackmore is way, way more affordable. But, to be fair, it is not a true full scalloped model. First five frets don’t have any scallop, then it’s graduated. Malmsteen is full, deep scallops from start to finish. Only other way to get that is a Warmoth or a custom job. Honestly a shame. Nothing against Malmsteen or Strats, but I don’t want to HAVE to get a Malmsteen Strat just to have a pre-made scalloped guitar.
@@sigiligus All the frets including the first 5 are indeed scalloped gradually like the others on the Blackmore. However the Blackmore scallops are way shallower than the Malmsteens. I have had my luthier scallop guitars for me and if it is a good luthier they come out great.
I want a RB signature one but with a modern C or D shape, possible? :)
Unfortunately no. Fender doesnt give you any options you can only have the Blackmore strat with the U shape.
@@DogwithtwoBones thank you very much for your answer. I just wonder one thing: os not it more difficult to play fast solos with the u-shape neck? (Well, obviously not for Ritchie Blackmore) Would not it be easier and more comfortable with a modern d-shape neck?
Get the SRV Strat. It’s got that C shape. It’s $1,000 or so. Get some SD quarter pounders and you are there.
Just get an Ametican Special/Performer and change pickups. I used to have a Highway One with the Yngwie dimarzio pickups, amazing instrument.