Smoke on the Water
Deep Purple
A four-note blues riff in parallel fourths, doubled by an overdriven Hammond organ.
What is the Smoke on the Water guitar tone?
The Smoke on the Water guitar tone is a four-note blues riff in parallel fourths, doubled by an overdriven Hammond organ, heard on Deep Purple's 1970s hard rock recording. It is a distorted riff tone, and Deep Purple reportedly tracked it with Ritchie Blackmore's Fender Stratocaster plugged into, as far as singer Ian Gillan recalls, a Vox AC30 and/or a Marshall, on a backing track cut as a jam at the Pavilion theatre in Montreux while the band balanced the recording equipment, before noise complaints brought the police and the band moved the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio to the closed Grand Hotel, where the vocals were recorded, with Blackmore's solo added as a quick overdub once the band decided to use the jam; the riff is a four-note blues melody in G minor harmonised in parallel fourths, which Blackmore usually plays with a finger pluck rather than a pick, and Jon Lord doubles it on a Hammond C3 organ played through a distorted Marshall; MusicRadar describes Blackmore's rig of the era as a Strat with a scalloped fingerboard into Marshall Major 200-watt heads modified with an extra output stage, with a treble booster and a wah, and Gillan says the song only made Machine Head, released in early 1972, as a filler when the band were about seven minutes short. This is a mid-forward sound rather than a scooped one, and it usually sits closer to the edge of breakup than to full saturation.
You do not need that exact gear to land in the same place. What carries this sound is the gain structure, the EQ curve, the pickup choice and the order of the effects, and all four can be rebuilt on equipment that costs a fraction of the original. The numbers change from amp to amp, because a high-gain head and a small practice amp reach the same voicing from different knob positions. That translation is what Tonelify works out for the rig you actually own.
Smoke on the Water amp settings: a starting point
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 6, Bass 5, Middle 6, Treble 6, Presence 6, Reverb 2, with the bridge pickup.
- Gain 6
- Bass 5
- Middle 6
- Treble 6
- Presence 6
- Reverb 2
- Signal chain
- Driven amp, a Vox AC30 and/or a Marshall per Gillan
- The control that matters most
- The fourths and your fingers. The riff is two notes a fourth apart, which Blackmore usually plucks with his fingers rather than a pick, so both notes sound together with a softer attack. On the record a Hammond organ through a distorted Marshall doubles the riff and carries much of its weight, so on guitar alone keep the mids up and add gain only until the two notes of each fourth start to blur.
These positions are free and they are a starting point. A Katana, a Spark and a valve head reach this voicing from different knob positions, so Tonelify rewrites every value above for the amp and guitar you own. Your first match is free with an account, and needs no card.
Adapt these to my amp- Pickup
- Bridge pickup
These are positions on a generic five-knob amp with gain, bass, middle, treble and presence, each running 0 to 10. They are a starting point, not the settings used on the record, and they will not transfer unchanged to an amp with a different gain structure or EQ voicing. If you tell Tonelify which amp you own, it rewrites every value above for the controls that amp actually has.
What gear did Deep Purple use on Smoke on the Water?
Ritchie Blackmore's Fender Stratocaster plugged into, as far as singer Ian Gillan recalls, a Vox AC30 and/or a Marshall, on a backing track cut as a jam at the Pavilion theatre in Montreux while the band balanced the recording equipment, before noise complaints brought the police and the band moved the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio to the closed Grand Hotel, where the vocals were recorded, with Blackmore's solo added as a quick overdub once the band decided to use the jam; the riff is a four-note blues melody in G minor harmonised in parallel fourths, which Blackmore usually plays with a finger pluck rather than a pick, and Jon Lord doubles it on a Hammond C3 organ played through a distorted Marshall; MusicRadar describes Blackmore's rig of the era as a Strat with a scalloped fingerboard into Marshall Major 200-watt heads modified with an extra output stage, with a treble booster and a wah, and Gillan says the song only made Machine Head, released in early 1972, as a filler when the band were about seven minutes short.
Sources: MusicRadar: Smoke On The Water at 50 and the story of Deep Purple Mk II, Wikipedia: Smoke on the Water
Tonelify reads that chain and translates it to the amp and guitar you already own, returning gain, bass, mids, treble and presence values along with a pickup position.
How do you get the Smoke on the Water tone on your own amp?
Tell us your guitar, amp, and pedals
AI researches the original tone of Smoke on the Water
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Smoke on the Water tone questions
What amp settings do you need for Smoke on the Water?
On a generic five-knob amp, start at Gain 6, Bass 5, Middle 6, Treble 6, Presence 6, Reverb 2, with the bridge pickup. These are positions on a generic five-knob amp with gain, bass, middle, treble and presence, each running 0 to 10. They are a starting point, not the settings used on the record, and they will not transfer unchanged to an amp with a different gain structure or EQ voicing. Tonelify rewrites the same values for the specific amp and guitar you own, because a high-gain head and a small solid-state combo reach the same four-note blues riff in parallel fourths, doubled by an overdriven Hammond organ from different positions.
What is the most important control for the Smoke on the Water tone?
The fourths and your fingers. The riff is two notes a fourth apart, which Blackmore usually plucks with his fingers rather than a pick, so both notes sound together with a softer attack. On the record a Hammond organ through a distorted Marshall doubles the riff and carries much of its weight, so on guitar alone keep the mids up and add gain only until the two notes of each fourth start to blur.
Can you get the Smoke on the Water tone without the original gear?
Yes. The original was tracked with Ritchie Blackmore's Fender Stratocaster plugged into, as far as singer Ian Gillan recalls, a Vox AC30 and/or a Marshall, on a backing track cut as a jam at the Pavilion theatre in Montreux while the band balanced the recording equipment, before noise complaints brought the police and the band moved the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio to the closed Grand Hotel, where the vocals were recorded, with Blackmore's solo added as a quick overdub once the band decided to use the jam; the riff is a four-note blues melody in G minor harmonised in parallel fourths, which Blackmore usually plays with a finger pluck rather than a pick, and Jon Lord doubles it on a Hammond C3 organ played through a distorted Marshall; MusicRadar describes Blackmore's rig of the era as a Strat with a scalloped fingerboard into Marshall Major 200-watt heads modified with an extra output stage, with a treble booster and a wah, and Gillan says the song only made Machine Head, released in early 1972, as a filler when the band were about seven minutes short, but the parts that define the sound are the gain structure, the EQ curve, the pickup position and the effects order. Those translate to other equipment, which is what the adaptation step does.
Is Smoke on the Water a rhythm or a lead tone?
It is a riff part with a distorted character, from Deep Purple's 1970s hard rock catalogue.
Does Tonelify cost anything to try?
Your first match for your own gear is free with an account, and needs no card. After that both plans start with a 7-day free trial: Stage is $6.99 a month for 20 matches, Headliner is $10.99 a month for unlimited matching within a fair use limit of 150 new matches a day, and yearly billing works out cheaper on both. Reading this page and the rest of the library costs nothing and needs no account.
