The Definitive Yngwie Malmsteen Strat Thread, Pix & Video

[Dunkirkk]

Nice work! The VegaTrem quality seems bad and the wiring seems to be rather interesting as well…

I suspect a previous owner must have tried their hand at it at some point through the years. And you may have made the right call with the Fender V/N bridge on yours!

 

[Brandon Breeze]

I see it both ways. My favourite non locking guitars all have them and stay in tune great but you can't point to the tuners as the only factor there. I do like them for string changes but I find myself wrapping a few times around the post out of habit

The split shaft tuners are great, you can put the excess string down the middle and get a few windings. Have yet to have tuning problems. Worst case scenario use the string wrap over method to create your own locking tuner by wrapping the string over itself. I've never understood the point of locking tuners. The quick string change part is definitely nice, but even with 50+ guitars I've always enjoyed string changes and the therapy it provides.

 

[Jakem]

I suspect a previous owner must have tried their hand at it at some point through the years. And you may have made the right call with the Fender V/N bridge on yours!

The Fender V/N trem has been great on my Strat. Training session ongoing at the moment and the YJM Strat is the weapon of choice as almost always. These guitars are incredible!

 

[Dunkirkk]

The split shaft tuners are great, you can put the excess string down the middle and get a few windings. Have yet to have tuning problems. Worst case scenario use the string wrap over method to create your own locking tuner by wrapping the string over itself. I've never understood the point of locking tuners. The quick string change part is definitely nice, but even with 50+ guitars I've always enjoyed string changes and the therapy it provides.

Ya I hear you. Using Elixir's I am not changing string often anyways. When I am on my deathbed the 2 extra minutes I could have saved changing strings isn't going to be time I want back lol

 

[Brandon Breeze]

The Fender V/N trem has been great on my Strat. Training session ongoing at the moment and the YJM Strat is the weapon of choice as almost always. These guitars are incredible!

Absolutely my favorite strat... if you couldn't tell lol

 

[Jakem]

Hi all YJM Strat fan-alikes,
I am on vacation in Tokyo and visited few guitar shops and found a MIJ YJM Strat for a test run in Ikebe flagship store. It felt as if the neck profile was not a modern-C but a lot thicker one. The scallops were not centered when going higher up the neck and they were not as deep as on my MIUSA YJM Strat. Was quite surprised about the differences although Brandon has done incredible job in his descriptions. Thoughts?

 

[Monkey Man]

Thoughts?

Why weren't the scallops centred?

Was it perhaps a bias that's intended to make playing easier?

 

[Jakem]

Why weren't the scallops centred?

Was it perhaps a bias that's intended to make playing easier?

They were centered near the nut but progressively got worse when going to higher frets. I think it is just a f’up in the production. There are a few MIJ YJM Strats for sale in European shops for 2400€ and here these go for ~1200€… I will visit Ochanomizu guitar shop area later this week and hopefully will find some other MIJ YJM Strats for a test run!

 

[njshred]

In honor of Steve’s birthday, here is an Yngwie inspired Hamer SSII, with setback, full scalloped fingerboard.

 

[Dunkirkk]

Came across something unexpected on the used market recently with a Fender Japan ST-YJM (I believe it is a 2022 model). Never seen a Japanese made Fender with a Serial # on the back of the headstock before... I was able to find a 2023 ST-YJM on Reverb from a very trusted seller but it had the SN back at the base of the neck/heel like you'd normally see.

Anyone own one of these and can verify?

 

[Brandon Breeze]

Came across something unexpected on the used market recently with a Fender Japan ST-YJM (I believe it is a 2022 model). Never seen a Japanese made Fender with a Serial # on the back of the headstock before... I was able to find a 2023 ST-YJM on Reverb from a very trusted seller but it had the SN back at the base of the neck/heel like you'd normally see.

Anyone own one of these and can verify?

Yup, normal for there newer MIJ models.

 

[Jakem]

Yup, normal for there newer MIJ models.

This. Saw couple of newer ones in Tokyo earlier this year and the serial was at the back of the headstock.

 

[Dunkirkk]

This. Saw couple of newer ones in Tokyo earlier this year and the serial was at the back of the headstock.

Did you end up playing multiple on your trip? Curious if that thicker feeling neck / scalloping was a one off or not.

 

[Jakem]

Did you end up playing multiple on your trip? Curious if that thicker feeling neck / scalloping was a one off or not.

They were centered near the nut but progressively got worse when going to higher frets. I think it is just a f’up in the production. There are a few MIJ YJM Strats for sale in European shops for 2400€ and here these go for ~1200€… I will visit Ochanomizu guitar shop area later this week and hopefully will find some other MIJ YJM Strats for a test run!

I played a 90s one and a new one and I think the neck felt thicker on both. I cannot remember if the older one had off-center scallops when going up the fretboard. For this reason I stopped searching for a MIJ YJM strat and bought a flawlessly build factory special run HSS flametop Strat.

 

[Dunkirkk]

I played a 90s one and a new one and I think the neck felt thicker on both. I cannot remember if the older one had off-center scallops when going up the fretboard. For this reason I stopped searching for a MIJ YJM strat and bought a flawlessly build factory special run HSS flametop Strat.

Cheers - I'm not actively looking for one either but the price was attractive. I may end up getting a second and swapping out the pickups for something more traditional for clean playing. Can't believe how well I get along with the YJM neck of my USA model. Or maybe I'll go the total opposite direction and get a Richie Kotzen just because I am curious as hell!

 

[Jakem]

Cheers - I'm not actively looking for one either but the price was attractive. I may end up getting a second and swapping out the pickups for something more traditional for clean playing. Can't believe how well I get along with the YJM neck of my USA model. Or maybe I'll go the total opposite direction and get a Richie Kotzen just because I am curious as hell!

Aren’t the Kotzen ones MIJ? Nothing but good things to say about MIJ Strats other than the scallop locations on the MIJ YJM Strats. Saw both Kotzen models in store in Japan and they looked great! I agree with You about easy playing YJM necks and also about the pups not being nice for clean stuff.

 

[Dunkirkk]

Aren’t the Kotzen ones MIJ? Nothing but good things to say about MIJ Strats other than the scallop locations on the MIJ YJM Strats. Saw both Kotzen models in store in Japan and they looked great! I agree with You about easy playing YJM necks and also about the pups not being nice for clean stuff.

ya they are, and apparently the neck is ridiculously thick so nothing like these models. Can definitely see myself getting a second YJM at some point though just to set up a little differently. Still planning out my 22nd fret mod on my current one but life gets in the way