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SurfGuitar101 Forums » The Shallow End »

Permalink Yngwie Malmsteen friend or foe?

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Onslow_Beach wrote:

I think he dedicates a note per song to each one of his guitars.

Thank god he didn't scallop that 50's strat, it was bad enough he ruined the '68.

Mike
http://www.youtube.com/morphballio

Title track from Yngwie's most recent CD, out in December.

OMG

Ivan
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Ruhar wrote:

I can't imagine the hours it would take to achieve that sort of accuracy/speed.

There's a bit of ambiguity on this, as he's claimed in interviews that he had an 11 hour daily practice routine, but he's also claimed that he never formally practiced, just "played". Given the technical content of his style, and the need for precision (such as when doubling guitar solos with the keyboard player), it's likely somewhere between the two.

In comparison, Steve Vai had a 10 hour daily routine (that has been published) and has some really unusual, esoteric elements to it - much like the man himself, and when Joe Satriani switched to guitar from drums, he locked himself away with a 13 hour daily routine, heavy in musical theory as much as technique.

Last edited: Apr 22, 2013 17:23:49

morphball wrote:

Onslow_Beach wrote:

I think he dedicates a note per song to each one of his guitars.

Thank god he didn't scallop that 50's strat, it was bad enough he ruined the '68.

Back when the first Malmsteen Strat came out (1993ish?), I was a long haired teenager doing some work experience at the local music store, and I couldn't wait to get my hands on one. When I finally did, I hated it. That scalloped fingerboard is so uncomfortable to play.

surfaholic wrote:

Back when the first Malmsteen Strat came out (1993ish?), I was a long haired teenager doing some work experience at the local music store, and I couldn't wait to get my hands on one. When I finally did, I hated it. That scalloped fingerboard is so uncomfortable to play.

I don't care for it myself, but I understand why some would like it. The key is to have super-light touch with both right and left hands, barely touch each note. Of course, that's what allows guys like him to play extremely fast. A scalloped fretboard would help in terms of getting a fast grip on the string despite the very light touch. It would also help with the heavy finger vibrato. So, it does make sense given his technique. But in order to play a guitar like that, you've really gotta adopt that technique full on, or it probably won't work.

Ivan
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psychonaut wrote:

I admire Malmsteen's ability and his mastery of arpeggios, but his poofy hair metal image and douchebag attitude I find really off-puting and irritating. placing him in the foe category. I also don't like the femme vocals on his stuff.

Smile Yeah, that's Yngwie's era, the hair metal years, and that's how you became successful. Yngwie's albums over the past decade have kinda turned that corner, getting much heavier and leaving behind the hair-metal crap. He has two albums with Dougie White on vocals - Dougie was the singer for the short-lived '90s version of Rainbow, and also the runner-up to replace Dickinson in Maiden in '94 (for the life of me, I will never understand why they picked the trainwreck Blaze Bayley over Dougie, who could actually have mostly filled Bruce's shoes, unlike Blaze who wasn't even close) - and two albums with Tim Ripper Owens that I think are quite good - the best of them being Attack with White on vocals and Perpetual Flame and Relentless with Ripper. Not that I expect you to run out and pick them up, Smile but just thought it was worth noting.

His playing is impressive though. For that sort of thing I'd much rather listen to Ulrich Roth, (whoose playing is much more tasteful, with better phrasing) or Blackmore of course, from whom YM has taken quite a bit.

Blackmore is my favorite, he's got the chops but also so much taste and musicality. I enjoy Uli a lot, too, though not as much as Yngwie. I appreciate Yngwie's heaviness and darkness, when he's at his best.

You know, much has been made of Yngwie's arrogance, but let's keep in mind that he's got nothing on the Father of Heavy Metal, the Father of Loud, also known as King of Surf Guitar!!! I've yet to hear Yngwie talk about himself in third person.... Twisted Evil And I've actually seen interviews with Yngwie where he was fairly self-deprecating, aware of how people see him, and actually even quite funny about it... Must have had a bad day....

Ivan
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I think the difference in Dick's "arrogance" is that he's a great guy with a great heart. I've known a few guys that have met Yngwie and while they expected the coolest guy ever, he literally turned his nose while shaking their hands, and signed their cd's without saying a word to them.

I went to up to Dick after the concert recently, and expected to buy my picks and go, and instead ended up talking with him for 10 minutes about his show, his music, and his outfit. Big Grin

I find arrogance quite bearable when it's played right.

IMO.

PrestonRice wrote:

I went to up to Dick after the concert recently, and expected to buy my picks and go, and instead ended up talking with him for 10 minutes about his show, his music, and his outfit. Big Grin

Yep, as long as you're talking about him, he'll be happy to talk your ear off! I know Dick has had his very good moments, where he's really helped out different people, but my experience with him personally has been that he's got an ego the size of Canada and isn't terribly interested in others.

Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
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Yep. Then again, doesn't that describe most people...??

IMO.

Not a fan of Yngwie. Maybe my ears perk up at some moments here and there, but nowhere near enough for me to want to keep up. The near constant overdose of shredding just gets me bored too fast.

PrestonRice wrote:

Yep. Then again, doesn't that describe most people...??

Still not to the same degree as ol' DD. I remember too my first time seeing him, also as a teenager and really stoked to get to meet him in person. I was in line between another teenage girl and an older woman, and he proceeded to grab the hands of both of them on either side of me and hit on them with me stuck in the middle of this bizarre scummy triangle. It was brutally awkward. Then he pulled the younger girl's shirt down inappropriately far to sign her chest, sent her on her way, and kept holding the hand of the other woman while he talked to me. I was already too weirded out to fully have my heart in it, but I gave him a very honest thank you for what his music meant for me as an aspiring guitarist. He seemed completely disinterested in my story and gave me a canned thanks, then told me to stay away from drugs. What a prick! I remember leaving thinking "whatever, f*** you then..."

Lame

PrestonRice wrote:

Yep. Then again, doesn't that describe most people...??

Well, it definitely doesn't describe Paul Johnson nor Eddie Bertrand, to just give two examples of pioneering and massively influential surf musicians.

Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
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Gee, Ben what a story. I have had opportunities to meet "heroes" in music, and have usually always passed, because I was afraid of a bad experience that would spoil the image I had built up.

Like others, I got the Rising Force album but that was enough. I didn't really have a strong opinion...I was pretty sure I knew what he was about going in and it just sort of confirmed that. "Friend or Foe" is a pretty funny polemic. O.K., I'll say "friend" because he is known for a Strat and not some pointy metal guitar.

I remember an interview where he said his ideal bassist would play with a pick, because those who play with their fingers sound like sh*t! He then named Jeff Berlin as his favorite bassist who...you guessed it...plays with his fingers.

I believe a person's soul is prominently on display when they play music. Yngwie and Dick both are undeniable forces of nature whose brute strength and force of will sets them apart from ordinary mortals. Both are flashy showmen who mastered their trades at an early age and used it as a tool to get what they wanted. Like a really great car-salesman, sometimes getting fleeced with enough panache is entertainment enough to justify.
Dick Dale is a player I truly love, but I've always thought of him as the Shatner of surf.

http://blueruins.bandcamp.com

Perhaps he's gotten kinder in his old age. Besides, his wife is at all the shows to keep him from peeking at boobies. Big Grin

He really did come across as a great, kind man, both in person and over email conversations I've had with him in the past few months. I'm a horrible judge of character though(Evident in many of my past ladies), and I tend to try and seek it out the best in people, often to the point of blinding myself to faults in myself and others.

Thankfully, the majority of my musical "heroes" are people that consider themselves as human beings, and not superior to any degree. I remember the only reason I first came to this site was that I heard Dave Wronski was an active member. I wanted to meet him, ask him questions, butter him up to send me a signed pick or something, and be gone. I now have as much respect for him as a human being as a musician. I knew Jake as a great helpful person before I heard his music, but have come to admire him as a great songwriter and guitarist. My views of musicians after I meet them tend to rest as much on their character as the music.

IMO.

I think guitar players in general are superior to other humans Smile

Seriously though, I hope I for one haven't implied that Dick Dale is not a good person. I've met enough musicians after a show to know that a lot of them are not looking for fawning zit-faced company...they are on the scent of something more primal. Some are more gracious than others.

http://blueruins.bandcamp.com

And that just sounds wrong.

http://blueruins.bandcamp.com

wooza wrote:

He seemed completely disinterested in my story and gave me a canned thanks, then told me to stay away from drugs. What a prick! I remember leaving thinking "whatever, f*** you then..."

Lame

I met Dick only once at one of his after-show signings in D.C., and could tell right away the larger-than-life type-A persona was not exaggerated. I had gone into shy mode, but Will/Staredge was with me and he made some small talk about seeing Jimmy play with him when he was much younger. Dick signed my ticket and then barked at Jimmy to do the same; Jimmy wasn't having any of that and refused, which I was fine with. Awkward but kind of amusing. He quickly shooed us off, cause I was just standing around gawking with a line behind me anyway... not the most satisfying experience (couldn't blame him for my own neuroses), but I thought it was pretty cool that he still continued doing signings despite his age, and I believe he was even undergoing his last bout with cancer.

Oh, and Yngwie I have no experience with. But in the hair metal arena, I did meet Steve Vai and Nuno Bentencourt back in the 80's. They seemed all right.

Mike
http://www.youtube.com/morphballio

Squid wrote:

...gigantic vanity is no fun. It is not clear which is greater, Yngwie's self-opinion or his skill.

Yep.

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The stories will probably vary until the cows come home, however, I think the real lesson in all of this, whether it's Yngwie J., Dick, or whoever the public figure, is that it only takes a single instance of acting like an ass to a fan to make a lifelong negative impression.

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NSFW!!!
Yngwie's meltdown on a plane when someone poured water on him
http://www.break.com/usercontent/2007/7/15/yngwie-malmsteen-threatens-to-kill-airline-passeng-331977

You've unleashed the fury! Whatever

Ryan
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Last edited: Apr 23, 2013 09:14:52

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