Nuno Bettencourt says one of the new Extreme songs made Steve Vai and Tom Morello cry By Matt Owen published 9 May 23 Spoiler alert: it wasn't Rise – a track that Bettencourt says has become so popular because he didn't play it sitting down
Why Steve Vai’s new rhythm guitarist says he almost got fired on his first night By Matt Parker published 3 May 23 Dante Frisiello formerly teched with the band but that didn’t stop him from having a nightmarish first show
Steve Vai leads 7,968 guitarists in a world record-breaking performance of Jimi Hendrix classic Hey Joe By Matt Parker published 2 May 23 Fellow shred icon Michael Angelo Batio was also among the massive lineup of guitar players in Wrocław, Poland
NAMM 2023: Ibanez announces bumper signature guitar drop, introducing new models for Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Lari Basilio, Paul Stanley, Martin Miller and Ichika Nito By Matt Owen published 13 April 23 Finishing techniques never before used on Ibanez models, revived retro classics, new-look iterations of famed favorites and celebratory models headline the standard and limited-edition collection
Steve Vai’s prototype Hamer JEM – one of many models built before the virtuoso partnered with Ibanez – goes up for auction By Matt Owen published 6 April 23 Before the JEM777 was launched in 1987, Vai was approached by numerous brands to build the model of his dreams. Hamer's own valiant attempt is estimated to sell for $60,000
Yvette Young names the 10(+) guitarists who shaped her sound By Michael Astley-Brown published 5 April 23 Covet’s two-hand tapping math-rock mastermind reveals why she only just started listening to Van Halen, what it’s like to jam with Steve Vai and the guitar discovery that changed her life
Seven-note groupings can add some serious spice to your solos – just ask Steve Vai By Andy G Jones published 5 April 23 Looking to add the unexpected to your improv? Septuplets might be the answer, challenging the audience and yourself
Steve Vai's childhood home practice rig is up for sale – but it's not what you think By Jackson Maxwell published 15 March 23 In the setting where he first learned guitar, Vai practiced – many years later – for New York-area shows with a rig far more impressive than the one he used as a young beginner
Steve Vai: “Everything I play, in mind, I derive from the blues scale. It just might not sound that way when you hear it against all those weird chords” By Amit Sharma published 13 March 23 Steve Vai tells the amazing story of his ‘lost’ album with Johnny ‘Gash’ Sombrotto – biker music where he “shut up and played rock guitar” on songs written to “make people put their fists in the air”
Steve Vai recalls the time an A&R rep told him to ditch the pinch harmonics because they sound “like a dying whale” By Matt Owen published 8 March 23 Some unsolicited six-string advice sought to veto Vai's use of the humble harmonic squeal – though was met with a frank response from the guitarist himself
Watch Steve Vai shred on command for Jacob Collier as the pair work on Whammy-laden collaborative track By Matt Owen published 3 March 23 Vai is set to bring his six-string wizardry to Collier's upcoming album, Djesse Vol. 4, which will also feature Willow
Devin Townsend says seeing Steve Vai play guitar made him give up shredding By Matt Owen published 28 February 23 A young Townsend entered the studio to record vocals for Vai's 1993 Sex & Religion, and left with a drastically altered outlook on what kind of guitar player he wanted to be
It turns out Steve Vai isn’t sitting on an unreleased Ozzy Osbourne album after all: “I spoke a bit carelessly” By Matt Owen published 24 February 23 After seemingly revealing the existence of a “real heavy” album he recorded with Osbourne in the '90s, Vai has now set the record straight
Steve Vai says he once recorded an entire album with Ozzy Osbourne – and used an Octave Divider on all his rhythm guitar parts By Matt Owen published 21 February 23 The pair originally met in the '90s to write a track for Osbourne's Ozzmosis album, but got “carried away” and recorded a “real heavy” record as well
Why Steve Vai’s vibrato is unlike any other guitar player’s – and how he came up with his innovative ‘circular’ approach By Michael Astley-Brown published 17 February 23 The virtuoso wanted his vibrato to bend the note’s pitch down as well as up, so he figured out his own way of doing it
This instrumental virtuoso is evolving this tiny, traditional Brazilian guitar – and jamming with Steve Vai provided the inspiration By Matt Owen published 10 February 23 The four-string, 13”-scale Bahian guitar has remained relatively true to its heritage since it was invented back in the 1940s. Now, Igor Hereda – with the help of a radical six-string signature model – is aiming to bring the instrument into the modern era
Steve Vai reunited with Yankee Rose “Swiss Cheese” guitar after 36 years By Sam Roche published 16 January 23 Vai played the mighty unusual guitar during the video shoot for the 1986 David Lee Roth single, but it was stolen during tour rehearsals shortly afterwards
Two previously unreleased Frank Zappa concerts from 1980 set for release later this year By Sam Roche published 12 January 23 Shows recorded at New York's Mudd Club and Munich's Olympiahalle will feature on the sprawling new release, which includes an essay by Steve Vai
Why Jeff Beck was the guitar hero's guitar hero: Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Vince Gill, Steve Stevens and more pay tribute By David Von Bader published 12 January 23 Some of guitar's greatest names share how Beck influenced their own playing, praising his mastery of the space between the notes and relentless pursuit of innovation
The best guitar albums of 2022 By Jonathan Horsley published 21 December 22 As voted by you, these are the records that blew minds and inspired guitarists the world over
