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The head proves really easy to use, even without a manual.

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There's no doubt that metal guitar players and shredders all over the world owe a massive debt to Yngwie J Malmsteen.

Coming to prominence in the early '80s on the crest of a new rise in the guitar's popularity, fuelled largely by Van Halen's debut album a few years earlier, Malmsteen's neo-classical style and jaw dropping virtuosity practically wrote the book for modern shred guitar.

See the Marshall YJM100 Yngwie Malmsteen Signature head in action...

"Volume one controls a bright channel that packs enough high frequency content to remove fillings at 50 paces"

One of the most technically advanced players in the world, Yngwie was the second artist after Eric Clapton to be honoured by Fender with his own signature Stratocaster, way back in 1988.

Throughout his career, Malmsteen has always relied on Marshall amplification, so it was almost inevitable that sooner or later the Swedish maestro would also get a signature amp to go with his guitar - finally it's arrived.

Heralded as 'The Ultimate Plexi', let's take a closer look at the behemoth of rock that is the Marshall YJM100 Signature Series Amplifier.

The first thing that strikes you about the YJM100 is its size. Although it's based on the Super Lead heads Yngwie has always used, the amp is cased up in a Marshall Major-sized box, which may be a sideways tip of the hat to Ritchie Blackmore, one of Yngwie's biggest influences and a long- time user of the Major during his Deep Purple days. It's deeper by about two inches compared with a standard 1959 head.