Q&A with Yngwie Malmsteen - 1/18/10

[Evan Skopp]

Yngwie,

It's an honor to have you here with us. Thank you!

I know Ritchie Blackmore has been one of your biggest inspirations as a guitar player; he's been my biggest influence for many years.

What caught your attention the most about him when you first listened to him? Also, is there anything about his playing/tone/etc. that you still haven't quite captured that you wish you had in your arsenal?

You're an amazing guitar player and a legend, Yngwie. Rock on!

When I was seven years old, I got a Deep Purple album from my older sister. At the time, there was nothing else around that even compared to Blackmore. So obviously it was amazing. But by the time I was 11 or 12, I had totally abandoned trying to copy Ritchie Blackmore or any guitar player. Period. My goal was to apply violin style techniques a la Paganini and Vivaldi to guitar.

[donbarzini]

Hello Yngwie, would you say that the Fury pickups are still voiced torwards your earlier tones say with Steeler and Alcatrazz, or are these more fine tuned for your present heavier style of music with Ripper?

[CTN]

hej Yngwie!

good to have you aboard!

As a long time fan, and a total gearhead, I've gotta ask, considering you play metal, and considering a lot of your shred peers' equipment choices, what is it that you love so much about the single coil sound in the high gain environment, for rhythms and leads?

Skål & Tack!

\m/

[Evan Skopp]

Hi Yngwie, thanks for spending some time with the forum.

my question is, how did you develop your finger speed?

and welcome to the SD family

I never deliberately tried. I just played and played and played until I thought it sounded good. I've never used any exercises, per se, to develop speed.

[NUNOSLASH]

This is more a request than a question:

Come to South America and specially PERU in your next tour!

You have a lot of fans here!

Thanks for the music Yngwie!!

[ratherdashing]

Thanks for visiting!

Could you describe what you wanted to achieve with the Fury, and why you chose Seymour Duncan to fulfill that need?

[CesarM13]

Hi, I'm a HUGE fan of yours and i would like you to answer the following question for me: if you had to use a humbucker as your only source of tone, so no single coils, what humbucker would you use for recording and playing live?

thank you very much man i really appreciate your music and your playing, you rock!

[Evan Skopp]

Hello Yngwie, would you say that the Fury pickups are still voiced torwards your earlier tones say with Steeler and Alcatrazz, or are these more fine tuned for your present heavier style of music with Ripper?

If I had to say anything, it would be more towards the Alcatrazz/Steeler thing. However, it's extremely versatile and isn't limited to one style.

[Evan Skopp]

hej Yngwie!

good to have you aboard!

As a long time fan, and a total gearhead, I've gotta ask, considering you play metal, and considering a lot of your shred peers' equipment choices, what is it that you love so much about the single coil sound in the high gain environment, for rhythms and leads?

Skål & Tack!

\m/

The single coil magnetic window allows the definition of the notes to be much more precise vs. the double coil magnetic window. It's a big difference in definition. It's a clarity-thing. Even with distortion, it's more clear.

[Evan Skopp]

This is more a request than a question:

Come to South America and specially PERU in your next tour!

You have a lot of fans here!

Thanks for the music Yngwie!!

Alright!

[B Bent]

Yngwie,
I'd love to hear you jam on a Tele into a Blackface Fender. I just think that would be so insane!

Rock on man!

[cakire82]

Thank you for taking time for being here and taking your place on Seymour Duncan fortress. The second I heard "Far Beyond the Sun" it has changed my perception of music and sound.

What made you move from DiMarzio to Seymour Duncan?

Thank you again for your time and music to come.

[C-Martin]

Hey Yngwie, thanks for sharing your time with us at the SD forum. Like others have said your one hell of a guitarist and has always been an inspiration to my guitar playing, your vibrato control and tones you can get out of a single coiled strat is simply put amazing.. you can make that guitar scream like no other...

i have no real question i can think of at the moment and 30 min isn't allot of time to think.. i wasnt expecting this when i got home but i have always wondered tho, i have heared that you used to use HS-2 in your very early days instead of the HS-3 that you then switched too, is this true or just rumor?

[CTN]

Cool, Thanks Yngwie! hope to see you in Toronto next time you're on tour!

[Evan Skopp]

Thanks for visiting!

Could you describe what you wanted to achieve with the Fury, and why you chose Seymour Duncan to fulfill that need?

Part of that I answered before. But I was approached by Evan a year ago and we started talking about taking my tone to a higher level. It was something I hadn't really thought about but soon SD started sending me some prototypes and right away I could see that I was on a path to dialing in my tone and responsiveness to a level I had never achieved before.

[super rad stuff]

hey yngwie! i just want to know, do you, and will you, still use any of your dimarzio gear?

[Evan Skopp]

Hi, I'm a HUGE fan of yours and i would like you to answer the following question for me: if you had to use a humbucker as your only source of tone, so no single coils, what humbucker would you use for recording and playing live?

thank you very much man i really appreciate your music and your playing, you rock!

That would be the P.A.F. Definitely not a high gain one.

[Evan Skopp]

Yngwie,
I'd love to hear you jam on a Tele into a Blackface Fender. I just think that would be so insane!

Rock on man!

Party on, dude!

[Evan Skopp]

Thank you for taking time for being here and taking your place on Seymour Duncan fortress. The second I heard "Far Beyond the Sun" it has changed my perception of music and sound.

What made you move from DiMarzio to Seymour Duncan?

Thank you again for your time and music to come.

Thanks. Question asked and answered.

[Evan Skopp]

Hey Yngwie, thanks for sharing your time with us at the SD forum. Like others have said your one hell of a guitarist and has always been an inspiration to my guitar playing, your vibrato control and tones you can get out of a single coiled strat is simply put amazing.. you can make that guitar scream like no other...

i have no real question i can think of at the moment and 30 min isn't allot of time to think.. i wasnt expecting this when i got home but i have always wondered tho, i have heared that you used to use HS-2 in your very early days instead of the HS-3 that you then switched too, is this true or just rumor?

Rumor.