Yngwie Malmsteen is currently in the midst of his Parabellum tour promoting his latest studio album, and the Swedish speed demon recently took time out during a soundcheck to showcase his current pedalboard setup.
It’s a Boss-heavy rig, controlled by the brand’s ES-8 Effects Switching System, which is used by Malmsteen to recall eight of his most-used live tones.
As for how his rig is ordered, Malmsteen’s electric guitar – of course, his Fender Stratocaster signature guitar – is hooked up to a Line 6 wireless system, which in turn feeds his signal into his Dunlop Cry Baby wah pedal.
The Boss ES-8 is next in the chain, and is the electronic mastermind behind Malmsteen’s multiple tones. Wired to the ES-8 are five effects pedals, three of which are also from the Boss catalog.
The Boss CE-2w Waza Craft chorus pedal, Digital Delay DD-3 and Noise Suppressor NS-2 all make the cut, and line up alongside Malmsteen’s signature Fender overdrive pedal, which closes out the top rail.
Malmsteen’s final stompbox is the MXR Dyna-Comp compressor pedal, with the DigiTech Whammy pedal and Boss RE-20 Space Echo rounding off the ‘board.
As for how the shredder curates his pedals, patch one is a high-gain full-stack, while patch two and three are overdriven and clean variations of delay-soaked sounds. From there, patch four then engages the Waza Craft chorus pedal for vocal sections and patch five triggers the MXR compressor for more blues-y passages.
A version of that same tone but with added delay occupies the sixth patch, with patch seven introducing some wacky octave action courtesy of the Whammy.
Last but not least is the Boss RE-20, which Malmsteen uses to dutifully demonstrate the wild off-the-cuff noises he can conjure up using the twin-pedal unit.
And, of course, Malmsteen’s Marshall Mountain, which dominates the background on the stage, also gets an honorable mention from the shred titan.
It's a fairly modest pedal setup, and one that Malmsteen seems to have used consistently over the past few years. Indeed, he used a similar variation of the Boss-loaded rig back in 2017, which also included an additional Fuzz Face fuzz pedal. Heck, even the ES-8's two Ferrari stickers have remained intact.
Head over to Malmsteen’s website to check out his upcoming Parabellum tour dates.
