Ultimate World Guitar Exhibition, Bologna, Italy

The free concert featured a bevy of world class guitarists, including our own Seymour W. Duncan along with Yngwie Malmsteen, George Lynch, Jennifer Batten, Glenn Hughes, Doug Aldrich, Ricky Portera, and Stef Burns; along with Neil Murray on bass and Gregg Bissonette on drums. Over 30,000 rabid guitar fans braved the rains and stayed well past midnight to experience this once-in-a-lifetime assemblage of guitar talent.

This concert was held on May 15, 2010 in Bologna, Italy. The venue was Piazza Maggiore, the 800 year old public square widely considered to be Italy’s finest. Bologna was chosen for this year’s Ultimate World Guitar Exhibition, because it was recognized by UNESCO as a world heritage music site.

Strapping on a Jackson® soloist, Seymour was quite comfortable amongst rock’s royalty, all of whom had their guitars tuned down to Eb. Though Seymour generally plays fingerstyle without a pick, when he found himself in the “middle of a million notes melee,” he quickly borrowed a Two Euro coin and used it as a plectrum to shred with the best of ’em.

One highlight was the classic “Smoke on the Water,” with Deep Purple’s Glenn Hughes on vocals and Yngwie blazing out front. According to Yngwie, “Because I wasn’t with my own band, the goal was to keep it straight and keep it simple and then let my guitar playing speak for itself. I have to say, it was major fun for me. Really great. Really magical.” The video, in which you can see Seymour and George sharing licks, is quickly becoming a YouTube.com favorite.

And speaking of Mr. Malmsteen, he donated one of his signature Fender® Strat® guitars to the City of Bologna. About his new signature Seymour Duncan model pickups, the YJM Fury, he says, “I found something I never thought was possible: the best of all worlds, the power, the definition, the violin-tone, the sustain, the bite, and everything.”

Fender, Strat and Jackson are registered trademarks of FMIC with which Seymour Duncan is not affiliated.