Bulgaria 
Greece 
Turkey 
Romania 
Serbia 
N. Macedonia 
🎸 Some fans of legendary guitarist Ritchie Blackmore have received with displeasure the fact that Deep Purple's current guitarist – Simon McBride – relies on digital modeling devices instead of classic tube amplifiers. For them, "real" rock sound goes exclusively through tubes, and everything digital is seen as a compromise with authenticity.
🔌 It's precisely this transition to modern sound processing technology that has caused the noticeable change in the band's overall sound in recent years – a change that, according to critics, undermines the classic feel of Deep Purple, but according to the musicians themselves, is a natural evolution.
📰 Based on material by Phil Weller, with contributions from Andrew Daly for Guitar World.
🚂 Deep Purple are among the last living bastions of rock's golden age, continuing to release full-fledged, quality albums – but Simon McBride is not afraid to lead the band forward in time. He is the man who replaced tube amplifiers with modeling devices in the recording of the band's latest album.
🇮🇪 The Irish guitarist succeeded long-time fusion virtuoso Steve Morse in the lineup in 2022, joining an impressive lineage of previous Deep Purple guitarists – Ritchie Blackmore (in two separate periods), Tommy Bolin, and briefly Joe Satriani as a touring musician.
💿 With his arrival, the band returned to its blues-rock roots. McBride himself compares the new album "Splat!" to the feeling of a "freight train" – and this is the first Deep Purple album recorded entirely with modeling technology for sound.
🏆 McBride's career before Deep Purple is equally impressive: at age 15, he won a prestigious young guitarists' competition. He was a member of the metal band Sweet Savage, and later built a successful solo career with blues-rock oriented albums. He has also played in projects with former members of Whitesnake and Deep Purple, including Ian Gillan and Don Airey.
🎛️ "Steve [Morse] is a great musician, but he's a completely different type of player, so for me it was a huge challenge to achieve that big, powerful sound," McBride told Guitarist about his tonal task as the band's lead guitarist. According to him, although he has quite a few amplifiers, for most Purple work he relies on his live system – the Neural DSP Quad Cortex.
💬 Regarding criticism from sound purists, McBride admits he often hears Ritchie Blackmore fans reacting with bewilderment at the digital approach – but according to him, the result is "simply brilliant".
🎟️ Fans in Bulgaria will have the opportunity to judge the sound for themselves – Deep Purple with Simon McBride on guitar are coming to Arena Armeec, Sofia, on September 29, 2026.