Yngwie Malmsteen and His Stratocasters
As part of the Stratocaster's 70th anniversary celebrations, Fender reunited with Yngwie Malmsteen to film the latest edition of Strat Sessions. During the interview, the obsessive Strat collector talked about some of his favourite Stratocasters and also mentioned the journey leading up to the creation of his first signature guitar in 1986. "An electric guitar was always what I wanted, I wanted nothing else, so when I got my first Strat I was very proud, but as soon as I got one, so I started my collection journey then immediately."
Malmsteen was one of the players who helped revive interest in Strats in the mid-1980s, so Fender approached him to create a signature model. "I came to America with a guitar and a toothbrush. When Fender told me they wanted to make me a Strat, I didn't even know what a signature guitar was," Malmsteen recounts the beginnings of his musical career overseas, recalling the creation of his early signature Stratocaster with its scalloped fingerboard.
"I was playing at the Long Beach Arena in California at the time, and Dan Smith (Fender's former head of marketing) came took photos of my guitar and said, 'We want to make a signature model'," says the Swedish shredder. There was an exchange about scalloping the maple fingerboard, and Fender eventually compromised and made the instrument exactly as Malmsteen wanted. If you are interested in other Stratocasters from Malmsteen's collection, check out the video below.
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