Joe Satriani

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“He took it on tour, beat the heck out of it, then painted it. This is a family heirloom now”: Joe Satriani gifted Steve Vai his relic’d, custom-painted Ibanez signature – now it’s one of Vai’s most treasured guitars

By Matt Owen published 4 October 24

The birthday gift – which is unlike any Satch signature you've ever seen before – ranks alongside the ‘Swiss Cheese’ guitar and Vai's first-ever Fender Strat as one of the virtuoso’s most prized instruments

American rock guitarist, composer and songwriter Joe Satriani, member of the American rock band Sammy Hagar and the Circle performs during 'The Best of All World Tours' at Dos Equis Pavilion

“It must have taken two weeks of tweaking to wrestle that thing to the point where it would stay in tune”: Joe Satriani called on Eddie Van Halen’s techs to figure out how to make his Frankenstein playable

By Matt Owen published 13 September 24

Satch eventually put his own spin on the iconic axe, but it took him a while to wrap his head around a guitar that he initially struggled to keep in tune

“I couldn’t find one live clip of Eddie playing the same song that was remotely similar”: Joe Satriani watched other guitarists cover Eddie Van Halen to prepare for the Best of All Worlds tour

By Phil Weller published 29 July 24

Satch may have overhauled his gear for the Best of All Worlds tour, but he says there’s one aspect of EVH's playing that no one can replicate

Sammy Hagar (L) and guitarist Joe Satriani perform at PNC Music Pavilion on July 19, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

“There’s nothing quite like it. It’s my favorite new amp”: Joe Satriani devised the perfect amp to harness Eddie Van Halen’s greatest tones – and you can get a plugin version right now

By Michael Astley-Brown published 25 July 24

While 3rd Power’s Dragon 100 goes up for preorder, IK Multimedia has bolstered its Joe Satriani Amp Vault with models of the very amp Satch is using to shred EVH on the Best of All Worlds tour with Sammy Hagar

“He was like, ‘Come on down to rehearsals.’ I’ll never forget it. I was blown away”: John 5 on the time he got to watch Van Halen at an intimate reunion rehearsal – and played through Eddie Van Halen’s guitar rig

By Phil Weller published 22 July 24

In a new interview, the Mötley Crüe guitarist also revealed another signature Fender Telecaster – dubbed 'The Phantom' – is in the works

“Joe has taken the essence of Eddie's guitar solos, and he puts his heart and soul into it… it's so much better than a guy just mimicking him exactly”: Sammy Hagar can’t believe how good Joe Satriani sounds playing Van Halen songs

By Phil Weller published 19 July 24

The frontman has spoken in depth about the Best of All Worlds tour so far, including Satriani’s immense dedication to the cause – and how these gigs are proving to be some of the best shows of his life

(from left) Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani and Michael Anthony perform onstage at the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center on October 18, 2014

“A million guys could have done it. Walk into a music store and you see a 12-year-old playing Eruption, but he doesn’t necessarily know what he’s doing”: Sammy Hagar on why Joe Satriani is the perfect player to step into Van Halen’s shoes

By Phil Weller published 16 July 24

The Best of All Worlds tour is finally underway, with Hagar and Satriani partnering up for a Van Halen-heavy setlist, and the vocalist has championed Satch's understanding of Eddie's style

“It’s no wonder Eddie had so much fun playing this!” Joe Satriani tackles a wealth of Van Halen classics in the first footage from the Best of All Worlds tour

By Phil Weller published 15 July 24

Satch took on no less than 15 EVH songs in a set that was laden with Van Halen

“The surest way to keep straps straight”: Joe Satriani and D’Addario have designed a $20 guitar strap that could completely eliminate the dreaded twisted strap problem

By Phil Weller published 12 July 24

Designed specifically for rear-facing strap buttons, the Auto Lock Swivel Strap vows to move as freely as you do while always remaining locked in place

Joe Satriani with three of his Best Of All Worlds electric guitars

“I’m sure people will say, ‘What’s this doing here?’” Joe Satriani reveals the one mod he’s made to all his EVH guitars ahead of the Best of All Worlds tour – and the vintage Music Man Wolfgang he’s taking on the road

By Matt Owen published 11 July 24

Ahead of the tour kickoff this weekend, Satch has showcased the complete guitar rack he's planning to take with him

“It's my mod on Frankenstein. Eddie's gonna come back and kill me!” Joe Satriani fears Eddie Van Halen will haunt him for what he’s done to his Frankenstein design

By Phil Weller published 8 July 24

Satch has shown off the heavily modded EVH Frankenstein he’ll be using to tackle Eddie's guitar parts on the Best Of All Worlds tour later this month

Two pictures of Joe Satriani, the first shows him holding a modded EVH guitar. The second shows him playing his Ibanez guitar

Joe Satriani shreds and taps through Van Halen’s Poundcake in new Best Of All Words rehearsal footage – and it seems his Ibanez signatures still have a role to play after all

By Phil Weller published 5 July 24

Sightings of Satch shredding on a modded EVH made fans think his Ibanez guitars would be taking a break on the upcoming tour, but new footage from Sammy Hagar seems to suggest otherwise

“They had spoken to me also. Who knows what was going on in their minds?” Michael Anthony says he and ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted were both approached for the failed Van Halen tribute

By Phil Weller published 4 July 24

Newsted turned heads in 2022 when he claimed he was in line to join a Van Halen reunion tour – but now Anthony has revealed he was in the running for it, too

Joe Satriani tests his new IK Multimedia plugin in studio

“Now you can experience my amplifier treasury for yourself”: Joe Satriani has modeled his epic amp collection – including some you might not expect

By Michael Astley-Brown published 28 June 24

The shred lord may be best known for high-gain Marshalls, but he has some real gems in his collection – which he has demoed with some unlikely guitars for the IK Multimedia Joe Satriani Amp Vault

“Sneaky hidden Sustainiac!” Joe Satriani is playing an EVH Striped Series Eruption guitar on the Best of All Worlds tour – but it’s had some surprise mods

By Matt Owen published 17 June 24

Satch will be tackling various Van Halen eras on the upcoming tour, and it looks like he's crafted a do-it-all Frankenstein replica for the job

Joe Satriani and Steve Vai pose in a portrait shoot

“People started saying I looked like Voldemort!” Joe Satriani and Steve Vai look back at their classic Guitar World covers – and the star guitars they loved and lost

By Richard Bienstock published 29 May 24

The axelords discuss the guitars they’re holding in six key GW magazine covers from the past. Along the way, we learn about guitar thefts, loud photoshoots, hair, pants and flexi-discs...

“I realized there’s no way to play the Van Halen stuff on my rig – it’s a different animal”: Joe Satriani has seemingly switched out his Ibanez guitars to play Van Halen material on the Best of All Worlds Tour

By Phil Weller published 28 May 24

Satch is having an amp custom-made for the tour – and now it looks like he's got a new guitar and pedalboard, too

“I open the door and there’s this 12-year-old kid, a stringless guitar in one hand, a pack of strings in the other”: How Joe Satriani and Steve Vai met, became fast friends, and changed guitar forever

By Richard Bienstock published 15 May 24

After decades of pushing the envelope for instrumental guitar, the two giants of the instrument are touring together, writing together, and new music is coming. Satch and Vai take their story back to the beginning, and tell us where it’s headed

Bass player Michael Anthony, formerly of Van Halen, performs onstage during the Adopt the Arts annual rock gala at Avalon Hollywood on January 31, 2018 in Los Angeles, California

“I’m not gonna point fingers, but through all of this, one of the ingredients was not playing ball with everybody else”: Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony sets the record straight on the much-rumored VH tribute project

By Janelle Borg published 8 May 24

According to Michael Anthony, internal disputes have ruined the Van Halen tribute project's potential

“I never would have dreamed that I would hear this song performed by two of the guitar gods who inspired it”: Joe Satriani and Slash team up for anthemic riffs and “super-intense” solos on wild rock concept epic

By Matt Owen published 30 April 24

Escape from the Machines – the latest single from Bear McCreary’s upcoming record, The Singularity – has been released as a Guitar World-exclusive premiere

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