Smoke on the Water

The recording

Smoke on the Water began during Deep Purple’s 1971 Machine Head sessions in Montreux after the casino burned during a Frank Zappa concert, turning a last-minute soundcheck jam into an album track. The Rolling Stones Mobile Recording Unit captured the band first at Le Pavillon, where police interrupted the unusually loud session; the backing track was completed in the improvised Grand Hotel setup, with later vocal and solo work added as the band filled out the record. Blackmore said he sought a deliberately simple idea and drew on Beethoven’s Fifth, while Ian Paice supplied the initial rhythmic foundation. The recording’s identity comes from Blackmore’s spacious, finger-plucked fourths, a separately featured lead break, and Jon Lord’s organ doubling the riff from the opposite side of the stereo image.

Tuning Standard tuning (E A D G B E)

Original gear

Fender Stratocaster

Guitar · Ritchie Blackmore · Riff & solo

Blackmore used the Stratocaster for the finger-plucked parallel-fourths riff and for the featured solo; sources differ on the exact year/specification, so the conservative identification is Fender Stratocaster.

Marshall 100-watt amplifier

Amp · Ritchie Blackmore · Riff

Blackmore identified a 100-watt Marshall with a four-12-inch-speaker cabinet as part of the period setup, and the ambient, large-room tone is associated with the Pavilion riff recording; the exact head model is not established for this master.

Four-12-inch-speaker cabinet

Cabinet · Ritchie Blackmore · Riff

The cabinet paired with Blackmore's reported 100-watt Marshall supplied the amplified riff sound; its exact model and microphone placement are not documented conclusively.

Hornby-Skewes Treble Booster

Fuzz · Ritchie Blackmore · Riff & solo

The tabletop germanium treble booster added upper-mid bite and mild overdrive to Blackmore's recorded guitar sound; sources associate it with the period sound but do not isolate whether its contribution differed between riff and solo.

Marshall 100-watt amplifier family

Amp · Ritchie Blackmore · Riff & solo

Blackmore’s direct retrospective account identifies a 100-watt Marshall with a four-12-inch-speaker cabinet as his primary recording rig; the riff was room/ambient-miked at Le Pavillon, while the solo is associated with the Grand Hotel sessions. The same account says he probably also used a Vox at that time, but does not establish a specific Vox model for this exact released track, so no separate Vox item is returned.

Short-plate reverb

Reverb · Ritchie Blackmore · Riff

Short-plate reverb was added to Blackmore's guitar in the production; the source does not identify the hardware or processor, so it is listed as an unnamed studio effect.

Alternatives

Practical playing approach

Recreation guidance, not a claim about undocumented studio control positions.

1. 1.Pluck the main riff cleanly with your fingers rather than a pick to capture Blackmore's specific articulation.
2. 2.Keep the rhythm steady and authoritative, allowing the fourths to ring out clearly.
3. 3.Approach the solo with a blues-rock vocabulary, utilizing string bends and expressive phrasing backed by delay.

Frequently asked questions

Researched and reviewed by the ToneTwin Research Team.

Sources