Yngwie Malmsteen's #4 Fender Stratocaster, one of his main guitars throughout his illustrious career, has just been put up for sale for a whopping $175,000. However, what makes this listing truly unique is its unusual pairing: whoever buys the guitar also gets Malmsteen's personal 1983 Ferrari 308 GTS Quattrovalvole.
“This guitar is a significant piece of rock history, directly connected to one of the greatest guitarists of all time,” comments a representative of Walt Grace Vintage, the company responsible for the sale.
“It's known for shaping his unmistakable neoclassical sound, has seen stages around the world and holds the magic of Malmsteen’s fast-paced, virtuosic playing.”
Construction-wise, the vintage white Strat features an alder body and, as typical of Malmsteen's guitars, a scalloped maple fretboard with 21 super jumbo frets.
Furthermore, it comes fully equipped with a 6-Saddle American Vintage synchronized tremolo bridge and Seymour Duncan YJM Fury STK-S10B pickups – Malmsteen's very own signature pickups.
The bonus Ferrari is a recently serviced Rosso Corsa European model, which has been featured in movies such as Magnum P.I., National Lampoon's Vacation, and Beverly Hills Cop.
In a 2024 Guitar World interview, Malmsteen talked about the reasoning behind the scalloped fretboard and why the Strat remains his go-to model.
“Leo Fender was the Thomas Edison of guitars. He didn’t even know how to play an E chord; he wasn’t a guitar player, but the contoured body and the horn that goes higher on one side than the other – it’s all about weight distribution. You put it on your knee, and it won’t fall back or fall forward; it’s perfect. It just feels perfect,” he said.
“The thing that I always considered, which is very important, is that it really, truly is a thing of beauty. It’s such a beautiful instrument. I did some things, like put bigger frets and scallops on the guitars, but other than that, I kept them stock.
“The principle [and] the concept of scalloping, it’s just a different way of getting to that point. I’m a ‘more is more’ kind of person, so I scalloped the neck really deeply and put high frets on it, so I’m just a freak all around.”
The listing is still open, but the guitar is predicted to sell soon. For more information, visit Reverb.
