Latest about Steve Vai
Steve Vai has reimagined Brian May’s Red Special in his own vision with the help of a UK boutique guitar builder
The 'Vai Special' puts a distinct spin on May's legendary guitar, and was meticulously spec'd by Vai himself – with a few Ibanez JEM inspirations to boot
He was a guitar god at 8, then he disappeared – the unlikely story of Thomas McRocklin
Vai handed him the Passion and Warfare guitar and produced his debut album, only for his protégé to give it all up. Decades later, McRocklin came back stronger – and pursued his own guitar path
In 1988, a shred prodigy opened for Ozzy Osbourne. He was eight years old
Thomas McRocklin would go on to become Steve Vai’s protégé. But his first major gig was opening for the Prince of Darkness
Great tone starts with the pick – just ask Steve Vai. Here’s how honing your picking can improve your tone for free
Unlock every pick color – from warmth and brightness to the secretive clarinet tone
Stevie Salas on Bill & Ted, playing arenas with Rod Stewart then opening for Joe Satriani, and turning down both Van Halen singers
The ahead-of-his-time guitar great recalls starting a trend followed by Steve Vai and Tosin Abasi, why he had to quit a Joe Satriani tour, and why he sometimes aimed to be the worst player in the room
We chart 25 game-changing Ibanez guitarists
While it’s easy to think of Ibanez as a company that’s solely at the cutting edge of metal machines for the modern age, they’ve also innovated much further afield, producing timeless acoustics, semi-hollows, and hollowbodies
Nuno Bettencourt announces four day guitar camp – and he's recruited some big-name players to help
Steve Vai, Eric Gales, Rick Beato, and Mateus Asato are among the guest stars who will take part
Eric Johnson reflects on his early session career with Carole King and Christopher Cross – and getting fired by Donald Fagen
While the Texas virtuoso loved session work, he preferred to take more time over his creations – and his experiences paved the way for him to become one of guitar’s all-time greats
Steve Vai on the affordable modeling amp that stole his heart
The small-but-mighty modeling amp has become a must-have travel companion
Meet Derek Day, the swaggering virtuoso who went from busking on the streets to touring with his hero
The 24-year-old explains how he merges prog and glam, and escapes the “originality ordeal” of an ancient instrument by hopping between Fender, Gibson, PRS and Ibanez (even if he prefers to write on cheap knock-offs)
