Outspoken Strat-lover Yngwie Malmsteen calls Les Paul guitars "furniture"

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      Had a nice little chat with Swedish guitar legend Yngwie Malmsteen the other day, in advance of his Guitar Gods show this Saturday (June 28) at the River Rock Show Theatre.

      I mentioned that the last time I saw him live was on the G3 Tour at the Orpheum in 2003 or something. We got to talking about his G3 tourmates Joe Satriani and Steve Vai, and how neither of them are big Stratocaster fans. I asked the outspoken picker what it was about the Strat that has kept him so devoted to it all these years.

      “Well, it’s kind of the original instrument,” said Yngwie. “Everything else is a copy of it, you know. All the Ibanez and stuff like that’s just a copy. It’s like a bad copy, really. It’s the same design but it’s a bad copy.

      “I’m an original, very purist kinda guy,” he added, “that’s why I use Marshalls, Ferraris–whatever. I like the original stuff.”

      And don’t even try mentioning Gibson’s finest around the devout Fender fanatic.

      “Yeah, Les Paul’s nice bein’ a piece of furniture,” he replied. “It’s nice to look at. It wouldn’t survive five minutes with me on stage.”

      For more from Mr. Malmsteen--including his thoughts on Ritchie Blackmore and Wikipedia's false information--see the story in this week's Straight. Read it on paper for that old-school American Standard vibe.

      UPDATE, June 25: somebody just sent me photographic proof that, yes indeed, Les Pauls are furniture

      Comments

      53 Comments

      max clover

      Jun 22, 2014 at 4:26pm

      The self-proclaimed Guitar God Among Men should read up on the history of his instrument. The Strat is a great guitar, but it's hardly the original electric guitar--it's not even the original Fender electric, as the Broadcaster and the Telecaster preceded the Strat by several years.

      As for his dissing of the Les Paul (which also predated the Strat) Mr. Malmsteen would do well to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and check out the permanent exhibit to the late Mr. Paul, who contributed far more to the art of guitar playing than Malmsteen is likely to.

      blah

      Jun 23, 2014 at 7:48am

      whoever this guy is, he has no clue about Les Paul guitars. If this guy is a god, why is god playing the hard rock and not a larger venue?????

      Ron Y

      Jun 23, 2014 at 11:32am

      Les Pauls weigh a ton, though.

      Maybe that's why YM needs the Strat. Because it's hard to lift your guitar while playing a high-neck noodle:

      DEEDLY DEEDLY DEEDLY DEEDLY DEEDLY WAAOOOOOW DEEDLY DEEDLY DEEDLY WAOOOOWW WAOOOOAAA GRRR DEEDLE DEEDLY (repeat for thirty-five minutes and call it an album)

      Steve Newton

      Jun 23, 2014 at 11:56am

      Ron Y: you are way off. It's "weedly eedly", not "deedly deedly"

      matt murray

      Jun 23, 2014 at 2:10pm

      actually, it's wankly wankly.

      Alex Rude

      Jun 23, 2014 at 3:10pm

      Dwat Da Diddly to be precise!

      JC

      Jun 23, 2014 at 3:26pm

      It's actually at the River Rock Casino...

      Steve Newton

      Jun 23, 2014 at 3:44pm

      you're right, thanks JC. I've corrected that detail in the blog.

      Paul

      Jun 23, 2014 at 3:48pm

      Swedish Douche. Not a single chick in the audience when he plays.

      Wanly

      Jun 23, 2014 at 4:43pm

      Well, I can see which side this author's bread is buttered with. Terrible biased article.