Yngwie Malmsteen Signature Stratocaster

Yngwie Malmsteen Signature Stratocaster

Fender

The FMIC (Fender Musical Instruments Corporation,) or simply Fender, is an American musical instrument manufacturer founded by Clarence Leonidas “Leo” Fender in 1946.

Its headquarters in Los Angeles, California, is best known for its solid-body basses and electric guitars, namely the…

• Telecaster
• Precision & 
• Stratocaster

History Of The Stratocaster

Affectionately known as the Strat, Leo Fender and his team designed it between 1952 and 54 and are still in production, along with the Gibson Les Paul or Gibson SG; this guitar is one of the most iconic and emulated instruments today.

New Iconic Design

Outside of the double-cutaway, elongated horns, and contoured body designed for balance and comfort, The guitar also came with 3 single coil pickups providing more sonic variance over the 2 pickup electric guitars out at the time. Also, a proprietary six-screw ‘tremolo’ & vibrato arm integrated into the bridge plate became standards in the industry.

Because of the instrument’s easily removable components, creating custom or variations on this instrument was a familiar place with other guitar manufacturers going a step further and producing their own Strat-style bodies known as Superstrats.

The Birth & Era Of The Super Strat

Superstrat is a name for a guitar that resembles the Fender Stratocaster but with more aggressive lines than its inspiration and is designed for a select genre of players.

The guitar sported deeper horn cutaways for easier access to the higher frets, locking vibrato systems (Floyd Rose,) and humbucking pickups in multiple configurations.

SuperStrat Shelf-Life

With the 1990s heavy metal declined in popularity, and so did the instrument associated with the shredding era of guitar virtuosos.

The companies that had invested in this guitar and kept it as a significant part of their target market either suffered heavy losses, went out of business or were bought by more giant corporations.

Despite the changes in the market the Superstrat will continue to live on through such artists as…

• Steve Vai &
• Nita Strauss

Fender Brand Champions

Fender has had numerous brand champions throughout its company’s existence, but only a few have had a permanent model as part of the Fender Custom Artist Collection.

Eric Clapton was the renowned guitar company’s first Guitarist to have this happen, along with the Artist whose instrument we will be looking at…

Yngwie Malmsteen

Yngwie Johan Malmsteen (Born June 30, 1963) is a Swedish guitarist and composer. As a young player, he was heavily influenced by classical music from German composer and musician Johann Sebastian Bach, Italian violin virtuoso Niccolo Paganini, and rock guitar legend Ritchie Blackmore.

Getting To The United States

In 1978 after hearing a demo of the young Malmsteen, Mike Varney of Shrapnel Records brought this unknown guitarist to the United States.

In 1983, Varney was getting Yngwie to play with the band Steeler on their debut album and Alcatrazz on their debut No Parole from Rock ‘n’ Roll album, along with their 1984 album Live Sentence.

Malmsteen left Alcatrazz in 1983 due to a dispute onstage with fellow bandmembers while on tour, and Malmsteen was replaced the next day with a young Steve Vai, who had only one day to learn the songs for the ongoing tour.

He first became known for his Neoclassical playing style approach in heavy metal.

Rising Force

In 1984 Malmsteen released his first solo album, Yngwie J. Malmsteen’s Rising Force. The young guitarist’s neoclassical approach and sound changed the style of heavy metal music in the ’80s.

Accolades

Rising Force won Malmsteen the best rock album award in Guitar Player Magazine and was nominated for a Grammy for best rock instrumental, reaching 60th position on the Billboard album chart in the same year.

In August 2009, Time magazine named Malmsteen No. 9 on its list of the 10 best electric Guitar players of all time.

Yngwie has continued to stay busy by taking his Neoclassical Metal Style through the 1990s and into the present day with his latest release, “Parabellum,“ making this his 22nd studio album in a career of 40 years.

Fender And Yngwie

Fender decided to honour this Swedish Shredder by releasing a Malmsteen Signature Fender Stratocaster in late 1986.

The signature guitar is modelled after this virtuoso’s favourite specs.

The Guitar

This guitar has been through 3 modifications starting in 1998, 2007, and 2011, with a run in the Japanese market between 1990-2015, but we will look at the Fender model made in the States.

Yngwie, a traditionalist, stated he wanted the body lines of the instrument to match those of the ’50s Stratocaster minus the neck. This neck variation is where the guitar would differ.

(More on this later)

Body

The two-piece “S” style Alder wood solid-body wears a NOS lacquer with a WLS undercoat and comes with 3 types of finishes.

• Candy Apple Red
• Sonic Blue
• Vintage White

Alder wood has a hard grain pattern but has a medium weight and offers full-bodied tones with balanced low, mid and high frequencies.

This wood is popular for electric guitars and basses but not for guitar necks, fretboards or acoustics.

Neck

The neck is a custom “C”-shaped profile/9.5″ radius tinted rosewood or maple fretboard with super low action that provides more control and enhances the ability to bend and manipulate notes.

Along with a thinner finish on the back of the neck, you get greater resonance and playability, all adding to the overall tone of this signature Strat.

Also

• Machine screw-mount neck with a 4-bolt configuration.
• Bullet truss rod 
• 21 Dunlop 6000 super-jumbo frets &
• Scalloped fretboard

When you combine taller, wider frets and a scalloped fingerboard, bending notes is entirely a different experience.

Scalloped Fretboard

A critical factor in Yngwie’s playing technique was the scalloped fretboard.

Scalloped is when you remove wood, and the fretboard looks “scooped out.”

This design allows for more contact with the strings and less between your fingers and the wood of the fingerboard itself.

As for playing on a fretboard like this, what is needed is a technique that requires a lighter touch, potentially improving speed and string grip.

 

Benefits Of Playing With A Lighter Touch On A Scalloped Neck

• Less effort/tension
• Less friction when bending notes, as the string goes along a smooth fret and not on the fretboard’s wood itself, giving effortless execution of techniques like pull-offs and tapping.

This type of fretboard has pros and cons, and guitarists from both sides have valid arguments, but it is a personal choice at the end of the day.

Along with the vintage-concept lines and scalloped neck, the Artist was also looking for an “old school” bridge, tuning machines and more.

Headstock

• “F”-stamped tuning machines.
• One wing string tree with metal spacer 
• A fitted brass nut (650″ width) for better string slide and brighter sound &
• Vintage-inspired (1968-1972 Stratocasters) “Big” headstock.

 

Bridge & Hardware

• American vintage-style synchronized tremolo bridge
• Wilkinson springs on the tremolo 
• Chrome hardware

Controls w/”No-load” Tone Control

• The “Old-School” 3-position blade pickup selector w/switch tip allows for the bridge pickup, middle pickup, and neck pickup alone accessibility
• 3-ply white/Eggshell pickguard
• Aged plastic control knobs
• Master volume and 2-tone controls, tone 1. (neck pickup), tone 2. (middle & bridge pickups)

Yngwie previously disconnected the tone controls on his guitars for the bridge and middle pickups, but since Fender initiated the use of the “no-load” potentiometer, he no longer does this.

3 Seymour Duncan YJM Fury “Hum-Cancelling” Pickups

Malmsteen uses his signature Seymour Duncan YJM Fury pickups.

(See Image)

In 2011 the Seymour Duncan YJM Fury single-coil pickups took the place of his previous Di Marzio’s and were designed in collaboration with the Artist himself.

This pickup design took the guitarist and the manufacturer over 20 attempts to find success. (See video below)

Positioning the pickups for response and articulation, these Seymour Duncan YJM Fury single-coils reinforce each other and create a high-performance result.

Added Features

• Special strap locks are drilled into the guitar for extra security
• Pickup covers
• Deluxe hardshell case.
• Certificate of Authenticity 

The Creation Of The YJM Fury’s

Final Thoughts

My first exposure to this Artist was in his solo release “Rising Force.”

It was not hard to see this virtuoso’s bright future.

He was on every variation of guitar player magazine covers and many articles.

His NeoClassical style was exciting to listen to and different.

I own a Fender Telecaster (1973) with a Maple neck and can appreciate the beauty of those necks, especially when you are playing at blazing speeds, and your hands are sweating.

Should You Add This Guitar To Your Collection?

I have never spent much time on a scalloped fretboard, but it needs a different touch.

This would not be particularly beneficial if you are a beginner or have a heavier left-playing hand.

Conversely, with the lighter touch technique, Scalloped Fretboard, this setup can make you a faster player if that is your goal.

Also, scalloped fretboards make for harder chord playing, so if you are playing a lot of chords or rhythm, this guitar may not be for you.

It comes down to whether you stick to one or the other type of neck.

Also, with the American Vintage-Style Synchronized Tremolo Bridge, you will always deal with tuning issues if you are a tremolo arm user.

But this guitar is a keeper, and I have always been a fan of the more oversized headstock for the aesthetics and the extra wood to get the extra sustain.

Did You Like This Article?

Want to learn more about the Scalloped Fretboards? Check out the article.

Also…

Please leave your comments in the section below, and if you have a favourite player or guitar you would like me to review, leave me a note below.

As always, stay the course and keep playing.

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First Image of Yngwie Malmsteen courtesy of  Courtesy of Wikimedia /Author Alterna2/Licensed under Creative Commons /2.0 Generic

Stratocaster Image in Blog Banner (Front) Courtesy of Fendercustomshop.com

Stratocaster image in Blog Banner (Back) Courtesy of cosmomusic.ca

Image of Book on Skills and Techniques courtesy of Amazon

Image of YJM Seymour Duncan Fury  Set Off Strat White Electric Guitar Pickups, Courtesy of Amazon

Yngwie Malmsteen CTA Image courtesy of Amazon