YNGWIE MALMSTEEN

[yngwie308]

Axel Rose is a bleating goat of a vocalist and his snake shimmy stage persona is really his only original contribution.
If you are comparing Klaus Meine of the Scprps vocally to him, than it is a major fail as the latest lingo goes.
Axl Rose is basically a psychotic dirtbag who thinks it's all about him still.
The whole G n' R 'phenomenon isn't really the gamechanger it's lead up to be.
Sorry I'm in a pissed off mood today, but these AFD threads, the SIR, the Les Paul Derrig, the blah, blah, the EVH amp, the Hendrix Super Bass, all of this stuff is incredible in it's ridiculousness.
Yngwie 'absorbed' a tremendous amount coming up and Blackmore is only a very small part of his shtick.
Sure he could play the live 'Made In Japan' when he was 14 or something note for note.
EVH always says Clapton influenced him, which is totally not proven in anything he plays, they both stick cigarette butts in their head stocks, that's where the similarity ended.
I don't really hear much of any other guitarists in Yngwie and I have listened to huge amounts of Malmsteen, over and over.
He plays great Hendrixy style guitar and can play killer blues pentatonic wise, ect.
I still love classic Malmsteen, it is superb, his sig amp the YJM is the best of the new Marshalls by a long shot.
But being a member on the Malmsteen board and writing thousands of words on Yngwie, I am tired of him pretty much.
As far as Slash goes, I read a comment that Steve Stevens on the recent Rock Allstars or whatever it was called tour of South America,played the GNR songs and people said they lacked authenticity..
The said yes SS was more advanced than Slash in technique, ect. But I think it was an unfair comparison as Slash is a major 'feel' player and that's it. Also those guys played GnR, Kiss, Deep Purple, all sorts of Classic rock which I think a guy like SS does incredibly well.
After veering wildly off topic here, I think my point is too much forum time is a burn out and life goes on, irregardless of this..
yngwie308

[SeventiesMonk]

Haven't posted here in what seems like years, but alas, I'm back with some new Yngwie stuff to check out.

Drifted away from Yngwie for a while, but I've listening to the old stuff more and more again.

Anyway...Adagio. Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DP3WKpr-gmk&feature=plcp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Tone Slinger]

That was pretty darn good . Loved the tone he got for it. I checked out the vid of a guy, a couple spaces down doing it on a black ESP looking guitar with EMG's, ugggghhhh, just bad sterile floyd rose tone there.

The 'yellowed' strat had the right tone. Would have been even closer with single coils (as oppossed to the hot blades, or were they fast tracks ?), still pretty damn good.

[Brynner737]

Sorry for resurrecting an old thread, but I turned this up in a search on Yngwie's early equipment, specifically the speakers he used, and I'm adding this here for people who also come across this thread. I have the 1985 issue of Guitar Player where they outline Yngwie's gear and this is exactly what was said regarding his cabinets...

Paul Rivera "surveyed" Yngwie's equipment in November 1984 during rehearsals for Marching Out. This was before Rising Force was released in America but was available as an import (released by Polydor Japan).

Regarding Yngwie's cabinets and speakers, Rivera wrote:

"His speaker cabinets, which are the same ones used on the last Alcatrazz tour, are relatively new and contain Celestion G-65 12" speakers."

Since the G12T-75 and Marshall Vintage (Vintage 30) speakers weren't released until 1985-1986 and the G12-65 was the main Celestion used in Marshall 4x12s from 1979 to 1983 (when the G12-70 was used for two years until being replaced by the G12T-75), it's obvious that Rivera was referring to the Celestion G12-65 as the ones in Yngwie's cabs.

Also, since the Rising Force album was recorded between Alcatrazz tours in the spring of 1984, and Yngwie never officially left Alcatrazz until late June of '84, it's a reasonable bet that both the Rising Force and Marching Out albums were recorded with those cabs... possibly Alcatrazz's "No Parole from Rock 'N' Roll" and maybe the Steeler album as well, depending on when Yngwie got those cabs. The heads were 1971 50W Marshalls that he bought in Europe (as is well known).

Yngwie has obviously been endorsing G12T-75's in more recent years, and reportedly used the G12H at some point in the late 1980s through '90s, but unless Rivera was making it up (and I don't see why he would) G12-65's were what was in his early cabs with Alcatrazz and at least the first few solo albums.

[Tone Slinger]

I got that mag as well, and that is what Paul Rivera said. He wasnt mistaken, he is too good of a amp tech/designer to 'fudge' specifications. I would agree about Yngwie using them with Steeler and Alcatraz. He probably had some older cabs, in which case the 25 watters would have been used. Did he have a particular cab that he miced ?

[Brynner737]

I don't know if he had a particular favourite cab, but he apparently relied primarily on those four G12-65 loaded cabs in the early '80s. He was fresh from Sweden when he joined Steeler and was only with them briefly, so I sort of suspect he was still "establishing" his equipment and sound then... particularly as he came to the U.S. with just his guitar and a pair of jeans. I wouldn't be surprised if that album was recorded with Ron Keel's choice of equipment rather than Yngwies, and much of it rented or on loan for the album. I recall reading an interview with Yngwie complaining that Keel pressured him into using humbuckers because he didn't like the Strat sound... perhaps that was part of Yngwie's initial motivation to use Dimarzio FS-1's (fatten up the Strat sound but still stay single coil). Steeler certainly doesn't have the signature Yngwie tone that he later became known for.

Yngwie came to the U.S. in 1982 without any cabs. He had his old head(s) shipped in from Sweden and bought those cabs separately. So, considering the dates and the fact that Rivera described the cabs as "newer", I suspect he simply bought four new cabs in '82 or '83 (either for Steeler or Alcatrazz) and they came loaded with the Celestion G12-65s that were standard in Marshall 4x12's of the day. Of course, he's a famous equipment hoarder in love with '70s Marshall Metalfaces, so he could have bought older cabs with Greenbacks, Blackbacks or whatever, as well.

I wouldn't be too confident about the equipment on the Steeler album, but I'd wager a guess that No Parole was those G12-65 cabs and the tour obviously was. Yngwie had them in the studio for the Marching Out rehearsals, so they were almost certainly used for that album, and Rising Force was recorded during Alcatrazz touring so that would have been the G12-65s as well.

After that, I don't really know. As his career and income progressed he bought a million Strats, amps and cabs, so anything could have happened then.

Having said all that, I have a cab loaded with G12M Greenbacks (UK-made with 6402 cones) and one with G12-65 Heritages. Depending on the EQ and volume, either one can get a convincing Yngwie tone. The G12-65s are much darker, smoother and stay clearer at higher volumes, and the Greenbacks are brighter with less bottom end and "smear" a little more at high volumes (I'm sure you know all this but I'm speaking for others who might not). But I think two 4x12s with G12Ms dividing the load from a 50-Watt head can stay tight and clear as Yngwie likes.

I think he probably favoured the G12-65 cabs because the bigger bottom-end and darker, smoother top-end works very well with bright amps and single coils... and the higher power handling.

[Scarfaze]

Hey there,

Newbie here:) i have a highway one strat and am looking for the early yngwie tone. I learned from this forum that the pickups he used around that time were the dimarzios FS1 but he could not stand the hum and neither do I so this brings me to my question....

Which (noiseless) pickup is closest to that tone? According to the man himself the HS3 was killing the tone but he was told that it was the ONLY way to prevent hum until seymour duncan came into the picture some 25 years later. So could it be that the seymour duncans are closer to the original FS1 better than the HS3?

I also wrote an email to Dimarzio and they suggested Heavy Blues 2(dp409) as the closest to FS1 without the hum. Any experiences or opinions please? Thanks for reading this. Good day to all and keep on rocking:)

[stef]

HS-3 for sure + DOD250 grey spec

[Tone Slinger]

Great info there Brynner737, I agree with you.I think you are right about Malmsteens equipment use . I wish Malmsteen had stayed on board Steeler for at least another album.I really didnt like Alcatraz much at all. I feel Graham Bonnet did his best work with Michael Schenker ('Assault Attack' album) . Steeler was ALOT better than most of the other LA bands back then imo.

So, when did Yngwie start using the Hs-3's ? My personal fav. tones of his are on the 'Marching Out' album, with 'Odyssey' being a close second. Trilogy being my 3rd fav.

[stef]

Live @ Japan 1984 (and 1985) is HS-3 (bridge and neck positions) just like the Rising Force album and Marching Out etc
I've heard that Marching Out (studio and live) were 6550 tubes

[Tone Slinger]

Stef, speaking of the tubes, in the magazine article we were speaking of 3 or 4 posts above,Paul Riviera said that for the 'Marching Out' sessions that Yngwie had Kt-77 tubes in his Marshalls. Thats the ONLY mention of a non El-34 tube I've heard of, regarding Malmsteen. I do find that odd though.

I think a reason why 'Marching Out' sounds 'different', in a good way, compared to previous or post efforts,is the fact that Yngwie had floyd rose bridges (didnt use the locking nut) on a coupleof his strats. I feel that gave his sound a bit more grit and tightness,considering what a DOD 250 does, which is to 'flub' the palm mutes a bit.
I think Odyessey sounds great because Yngwie was *possibly* boosting with a Dimarzio distortion box some or in conjunction with his DOD 250's.

[wulfye]

According to his website, in the 80's he used G12 30

http://www.yngwiemalmsteen.com/aboutequipment.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yngwie's 1980s Setup


When he was helping us compile this equipment list, Yngwie said he prefers the vintage Mark II Marshalls for their warm tube sound that's never screechy. He's been using them for the last fifteen years, and loves their warm sustaining tone.
•Up to 24 Marshall Mark II 50-watt heads (vintage 1971)
•Up to 27 Marshall 4x12 cabinets with Celestion G12 30-watt speakers
•Basic onstage setup:
• * 12 cabinets on stage right
• * 12 on stage left
• * 3 cabinets under the drum riser
•Splitter box: all amps are plugged into the splitter, then fed to the speakers as needed.
•Bob Bradshaw effects rack:
• * Korg KMX-62 six-channel mixer
• * two Korg SDD 2000 digital delays
• * Hush II-C noise reduction unit
• * Boss octave divider
• * Furman PL-8 light module
• * Marshall 400-watt power amp, model 6040
•Floor units:
• * Moog Taurus synthesizer bass pedals
• * Jim Dunlop Cry Baby Wah-wah
• * Vox flanger (vintage 1970's)
•Warmup amps: two Crate XL's with Celestion 70-watt speakers
•Wireless: Samson wireless unit

[kowal]

Hello,

I'm looking for Yngwie's album "I Surrender ("Odyssey" Tour Instrumental Studio Rehearsals)" from 1987, I' from Poland and I can't find anyway to purhase/download it, I only found one "Highway star" on youtube, but nothing else..

[yngwie308]

Hello,

I'm looking for Yngwie's album "I Surrender ("Odyssey" Tour Instrumental Studio Rehearsals)" from 1987, I' from Poland and I can't find anyway to purhase/download it, I only found one "Highway star" on youtube, but nothing else..

I have two copies of this killer CD. I downloaded it from the Deep Purple Hub.
It has all the Odyssey songs and Yngwie plays the melody parts (vocals) in guitar.
Really brilliant.
I might be willing to sell one of my copies if I can locate them.
PM me would be the best..
yngwie308

[plexified]

Bypassed my senior prom to go to Lamours in Brooklyn to see the Yng . I was front and center and was about to take the paper set list when some more motivated fan snatched it . Zebra jacket , creame strat >play it loud . and Soto was singing for the second album . Damn saw that cat a few times and I have to say he is so tight with technique and tone its just game over . I heard the YNG solo before steeler and about shit . I ramped up my playing and figured my own way to play it all myself and when I saw him I was like ,? I could not understand the economy of his left hand in particular his pinky . I was shown arpeggios from a 30 year Jazz Master . Bruce Wacker . I know , fun name , but he was spot on . And the YNG was just light years away . I discovered the Spanish Fly road map as I call it from EVH and then Yngwie was more attainable . But I realized EVH was just as skilled and could play the YJM . I had mad respect for EVH , but still chased YJM . Hiroshima was a turning point I found the blues in his blood and the Rainbow if you will . SO I just played and learned his stuff for years . Still love a guy with a virtuall stock strat just ripping on it . Bromance for sure .