Re: New Fender Ritchie Blackmore Strat
What do the Quarter punders sound like?
The QP give you a fatter, ballsy sound that is still noticeably Strat.
As I said before, if you want to use a normal rig, you get pretty close to some of Blackmore's sound with this.
However, Blackmore himself has never, ever used any overwound pickups. All his pickups without electronics are "vintage class" Strat pickups, including the QP-like looking Schecters and the Lace Sensors where he uses the Gold variant which is 50ties Strat class.
Blackmore gets his sound by fattening it up with his rig, noticeably with a treble booster and PLAYING VERY VERY LOUD. A LCR network gives you the "sweeter" sound that you hear on most solos from 1975 on, this is a big factor in e.g. what you hear in 1984, which is a very smooth Strat sound you don't hear from anybody else. It is unclear at what times the LCR network was on the neck pickup only, but all his guitars from 75 on have it.
Anyway, so if you want his sound you either go through all the above trouble, or if you don't want to then the QP is actually the better choice as it gives you some of the fatness from the rig without a truckload of gear.
Another problem is that the QPs hum like hell even under moderate gain, they just have too many winds and pick up too much junk.
