NAMM 2013: Fender Custom Shop Introduces Ritchie Blackmore Tribute Stratocaster

The Fender Custom Shop is paying tribute to the "anvil" used to forge one of the greatest guitar riffs in rock history, the one from Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water," by releasing the limited-edition Fender Custom Shop Ritchie Blackmore Tribute Stratocaster.

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Limited to 2013 production only, the guitar is a meticulously crafted replica of the black Fender Stratocaster Blackmore played with Deep Purple in the early ’70s, including the recording of seminal album Machine Head and the band’s greatest hit single.

“Smoke on the Water” was released on album in 1972 and as a single in May 1973. A major hit, it reached Number 4 on the Billboard pop singles chart in the US and propelled Machine Head into the top 10 worldwide.

The Fender Custom Shop Ritchie Blackmore Tribute Stratocaster has a two-piece alder body with a lightly worn Black urethane finish, a ’69 “U”-shaped maple neck, 7.25”-radius maple fingerboard with medium jumbo frets, and custom ’69 Stratocaster pickups hand-wound by Fender legend Abigail Ybarra.

Other features include three-way pickup switching, Schaller tuners, Micarta nut, four-bolt neck plate stamped with the serial number and the stylized Fender “F,” and a vintage-style synchronized tremolo equipped with Blackmore’s distinctive custom ¼” arm. Each instrument also includes an exclusive rear-headstock tribute decal, certificate of authenticity and orange-line black textured vinyl case with a “Fender Amp” logo.

Visit fender.com for more information.