Yngwie Malmsteen: Do you have all of the Marshalls going onstage?

You’ve been playing Marshalls almost as long as you’ve been playing, and now you have a signature head coming out. What are some of the specs you wanted on your signature Marshall?

Let me tell you something: That amp is like a weapon of mass destruction—it is dangerous. I told them I wanted the amp switchable between 50 and 100 watts. I like 50-watters for their creamier characteristics, whereas 100-watters are like getting a fist to your nose. I also wanted the boost that I get from the DOD overdrive built into the amp, and I wanted digital reverb built in. And there’s a power soak instead of a master volume.

Were cosmetics important?

Oh yeah. The look is very important. From the front, the amp looks like an old Super Lead plexi—no extra knobs, it’s clean, it’s gorgeous, and it’s superb. But on the back, that’s where all of the tricky bits are. The other thing that’s cool about the amp is, I always dug the look of the old 200-watt Marshall Major head and its oversized cabinet—it’s as thick as a 4x12. It’s f***ing beautiful man. I want the slogan on the ads to say “you can’t buy just one!”

You’re famous for a wall of stacks onstage. Surely you don’t have all of those Marshalls running do you?

What?

Do you have all of the Marshalls going onstage?

What?

Oh, I get it.

[Laughs] They’re all cranking. It’s loud! If those cabs are right on you, it’s f***ing brutal. If you’re in the front row, ear level, you better bring earmuffs.
.... “My performance rider asks for 30 Marshall heads and 28 cabs,” continues Malmsteen, who requests 100-watt plexi reissue heads and Marshall cabs loaded with Celestion 75-watt G12-T 75 speakers for their clarity, higher headroom, and low-string punch. “Promoters usually have a heart attack when they see that, but that’s the way it goes. I played in Israel this year and I think I depleted the entire country of Marshalls. Every rental company, amp distributor, and local band that owned a Marshall had them onstage with me. They were all different, but I can make any Marshall do what I want. I just take all of the gain and distortion off and turn up the master, basically crank them up without any preamp gain.”

full interview