Todd Rundgren recruits Steve Vai, Rick Nielsen, Rivers Cuomo and more for star-studded new album, Space Force By Matt Parker published 17 August 22 And you can check out the first single, Puzzle, featuring Adrian Belew, right here
Steve Vai on the importance of music theory: “A person has to balance how much technique they need to get their point across” By Matt Owen published 16 August 22 Talking technique, theory and the art of making music, Vai said that the impact of a composition came down to “the other dimension – how deep you go beyond the technique”
Kim Thayil, Steve Vai and Wolf Marshall discuss legendary six-strings in these exclusive extracts from Greg Prato's Iconic Guitar Gear By Matt Parker last updated 8 August 22 Guitar World's Greg Prato has a new book, and it takes a close look at the gear choices of over 150 players, including Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen and Randy Rhoads
Watch Steve Vai hand his guitar to a teenage fan mid-show, who then brings the house down with his insane playing By Sam Roche published 4 August 22 The cabbie who took Vai to the venue in Barcelona showed him a video of his son playing guitar. Vai later saw the boy in the audience, and decided to make his entire life
Steve Vai and DiMarzio join forces for new-look Blue Powder signature UtoPIA humbuckers By Matt Owen published 20 July 22 These ornate bridge and neck pickups feature custom laser-cut baroque-style covers, and match Vai's recently released Blue Powder Ibanez PIA3761C signature guitar
50 years of Ibanez in the USA: the unstoppable rise of the pioneering Japanese guitar brand By Chris Gill last updated 15 July 22 How the Ibanez brand evolved in lockstep with guitar culture, leveraging artist partnerships to make new breakthroughs in design, sound and performance
Steve Vai offers a tour of his live rig – and shares a glimpse of the complex signal processing needed for his absurd triple-neck Ibanez Hydra By Sam Roche last updated 15 July 22 In the new Thomann rig tour, Vai's tech gives us a closer look at some of his “career guitars”, including his “Evo”, “Flo” and “Flo III” Ibanez JEMs and the disco-ball finish 7-string Universe
28 players name their favorite John Frusciante guitar moments By Guitar World Staff published 21 June 22 Steve Vai, Nita Strauss, Samantha Fish, Cory Wong and more weigh in on the RCHP guitarist's six-string highlights, from RHCP stadium-shakers to his solo instrumentals
20 guitar virtuosos on their favorite Joe Satriani moments By Jason Sidwell published 16 June 22 Paul Gilbert, Steve Vai, Marty Friedman and more pay tribute to the maestro of instrumental guitar and give us the ultimate Satch playlist
Jennifer Batten on the sexism she faced as Michael Jackson's guitarist, and how Jeff Beck shaped her view of innovative guitar playing By Alison Richter published 7 June 22 The King of Pop's 10-year six-string sidekick talks playing guitar in a “man's world”, what keeps her loyal to Washburn, and the players impressing her today
NAMM 2022: Guitar World gets up close and personal with Steve Vai's ridiculous triple-neck Ibanez Hydra guitar By Jackson Maxwell published 3 June 22 Also on exhibition was a special-made Hydra preamp, which features inputs for each of the wild guitar's pickup systems
NAMM 2022: Fresh Nita Strauss, Tom Quayle and Jake Bowen signatures headline Ibanez’s new-for-2022 artist model lineup By Matt Owen published 3 June 22 New models for Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Kiko Loureiro and George Benson have also been unveiled
10 pro guitarists who broke strings onstage – and how they recovered By Jonathan Horsley published 24 May 22 The rock royals, pop icons and blues heroes who kept their cool in the heat of battle and styled it out even after going a string down...
Watch Nile Rodgers shred up a storm on Steve Vai's Ibanez JEM in recently unearthed studio footage from Halo 2 score sessions By Jackson Maxwell published 20 April 22 Posted online by Halo series composer Martin O'Donnell, the footage shows Rodgers and Vai taking the game's iconic theme in a more guitar-heavy direction
Steve Vai recalls the time he went to Paisley Park to jam with Prince – but Prince didn’t show up By Matt Owen published 6 April 22 Vai, who instead jammed with Prince band members Sonny T. and Michael Bland, also revealed that lost footage of the fateful night is out there somewhere
Steve Vai names 5 contemporary guitarists who are taking the instrument to the next level By Robin Davey published 4 April 22 The virtuoso picks 5 players who are breaking new six-string ground
Watch Steve Vai wrestle with his insane triple-neck Ibanez in new Teeth of the Hydra music video By Jackson Maxwell published 1 April 22 "I just started slowly, and it all began to unfold very naturally," the maestro said of writing a piece on the three-neck beast
Steve Vai on how Frank Zappa inspired him to design the Ibanez JEM – and why the Japanese guitar builder succeeded where others failed By Robin Davey published 31 March 22 “Ibanez said, ‘We want to make these for other people, too.’ And I’m thinking, ‘Who’s going to want this? It’s so weirdly idiosyncratic to me!’”
Steve Vai offers a guided tour of his favorite guitars By Robin Davey published 23 March 22 How the guitar god went from a 1977 Fender Strat to the triple-necked steampunk-inspired custom Hydra
Steve Vai recalls playing to a crowd chanting Yngwie Malmsteen's name at his first gig with Alcatrazz By Sam Roche published 17 March 22 Vai took over guitar duties in the heavy metal outfit following the departure of Malmsteen in 1984, but fans were apparently not informed