Steve Has never babied his guitars or I’ve never thought of him keeping everything pristine, he’s always tinkering with them similar to Eddie. I’m sure Steve has sold enough guitars for Ibanez that he could break one every night on tour and Ibanez would be happy to overnight him one. I’m not a huge Vai fan but I love my RG and RGs in general . I still think his white evo is one of the coolest looking Ibanez of all time. Ibanez has super thick clear coats on them and for that guitar to show so many scars it’s really been loved.

Douglas is now the only guitar tech for the Vai tour in Europe, he's such a nice guy, I had the chance to meet him and chat with him after Steve's show in Spain, he even gave me one of Steve picks, glad you interviewed him!

@TheGuitarGeek

Жыл бұрын

Doug is a wonderful human being

@Alex_Martz

Жыл бұрын

@@TheGuitarGeek He is!

Funny how Steve uses tissue to dampen his strings in the back like that. I've been doing it on my guitars for about 25 years now but with Velcro. Stick the Velcro to the back of your plate so the fibers just touch the springs. On my Jackson DK3M Pro HSS, I just got last year, I had to use two strips of Velcro crossways and then a large strip of pedal board Velcro to go over those to make it thick enough to touch the springs. But it works and doesn't stop any action of the bar doing it while cutting out that annoying spring sound you get on certain notes.

Thanks for this, Andy! Really lovely to get a peek behind the wizard's curtain!

@TheGuitarGeek

Жыл бұрын

You are welcome you filthy beast!

I've got meet and greet tickets for Steve vai in Missoula MT Nov 26th next month !! So freaking stoked !

Interesting to see the behind the scenes of his gear. It’s cool I went to Steves show recently at the meet n greet. He played the hydra at sound check twice. Ha Steve tried my custom groove fretboard guitars and I got pics of it. Then he signed my Fretless groove guitar. He was intrigued and asked me a couple questions. I told him the FretCorner plucks the string and he understood. Hope in the future he gets to try a custom in his studio.

the counter springs on the trem is a nice idea

Cool video Andy! Love to see this kind of stuff.

@TheGuitarGeek

Жыл бұрын

Thanks mate. I do my best to get this sort of content out there

I've always been a sucker for Rg's...My second guitar,and it played beautifully.🤘😎👍First,was a Mim Fender strat Olympic white!!!👍

Ooh ooh black Pia Bam ba lam Ooh ooh black Pia Bam ba lam Jem had a child Bam ba lam The damn things gone wild Bam ba lam Whoa black Pia!

@PooNinja

Жыл бұрын

Vaiafied for life!

@TheGuitarGeek

Жыл бұрын

Poo gone wild

Excellent breakdown. I'd love to get those little piston-looking things in the back of my white Jem Jr.

Thanks for sharing that with us, Andy! You lucky bugger!

@TheGuitarGeek

Жыл бұрын

You’re welcome! It was life changing

thank you for the explanation mr. you know.

I love Thomas. He's the greatest tech that's ever lived.

@nopenope1194

Жыл бұрын

too bad this clown took his job...Thomas works for Buckingham now.

@TeleCaster66

Жыл бұрын

@@nopenope1194 lol, I've known Doug for years, he's no clown. Steve is glad he found him and I'm sorry I lost my guitar tech.

Perfect FriYAY video!

@TheGuitarGeek

Жыл бұрын

yeah! just some fun stuff about guitars

Vailuable informations! Thank you Andy!👌🏼

@TheGuitarGeek

Жыл бұрын

You’re welcome 😇

Wow, really interesting insight! Was most interested in that extra system in the vibrato rout to keep the zero position more stable, surprised I've not seen that in more places, it makes a lot of sense!

@pzuliomaccavellion9711

Жыл бұрын

I'm pretty sure that system was discontinued after only a few years, like well over twenty years ago or something. but it also basically stops the whammy flutter, which some players love. and Polyphia seem to be big on.

@inspectorcal

Жыл бұрын

quite an old system and much improved upon by ibanez, just search for "Trem setter" i have a few but they can be a bit hit and miss sometimes.

Cool, Interesting stuff!

@wideyxyz2271

Жыл бұрын

Lol Andy someone is running a scam...

I absolutely love the sustainiac! I got a Schecter Synyster Gates Custom S last year and it has such a beautiful tone and feel to it! I'd love to get a steve vai guitar next with a sustainiac installed as well

@TheGuitarGeek

Жыл бұрын

Very cool!

excellent

The white evo n flo are the beast . Both sound different to other guitars. Louder

The tech talks exactly like Steve

Yes! 😎👍✅

It's good to be the king

This is super cool. ‘Balls of gold’ 🤣 AMAZING guitars! 😳 wow. Where’s ‘for the love of God’? Not on the set list!?! That’s my fav vai song. Have a great weekend!

@Locallybuiltauto

Жыл бұрын

It's the Encore

You’re giving premier guitar a run for their money!! Watch out Jon B here comes the Geek!!

I love the Halo 2 theme so much. I hope Steve Vai plays it at concerts.

I'll see Steve tonight in Charlotte!!!!!!!!!1

Love a nerd out !! Especially on the details of a pro .

I work with Doug at City Music in Leominster, Massachusetts. He's the best!

@TeleCaster66

Жыл бұрын

Yup, I miss Doug, found another good tech but still miss seeing Doug. I hope he comes back, L.A. is a S-hole place to be.

My favorite is the Ibanez AS100 in the background. Circa 1980?

Andy you are reminding me on my unused ticket for that concert. On the morning of that show I had a positive test so I was not allowed to go there 😭 But thanks for all the infos 😀

@TheGuitarGeek

Жыл бұрын

Aww man I’m sorry! We could have hung out too!

I love a little more beef in my Pia.

I'm curious, does he integrate the madhatter evo electronics in the Pias?

@l8tapex

Жыл бұрын

I need to go through mine..... i missed something,

I wonder if there will be any Ibanez custom shop PIAs which would be ready for Mr Vais stage. Velcroed and with a sustaniac. But on the other hand Ibanez doesn`t nickl and dime people like al well known authetic brand ;-)

@denverrandy7143

Жыл бұрын

Good point,I'd love to see that.👍

@rjpike75

Жыл бұрын

it would be in the neighborhood of 10k. not any different than the "authentic" brand we love to dis. artist models are all in that 3-8k range. that being said, the authentic brand puts out garbage compared to Ibanez amd ESP also.

@miterbox7031

Жыл бұрын

Steve has said in other interviews that he has communicated with Sustainiac about a possible factory inclusion in a future PIA model. He stated he doesn’t really love the sound of the Sustainiac as a neck pickup and would like to tweak it a bit before a possible public release. So, it could happen.

@beefnacos6258

Жыл бұрын

Lol Ibanez is just as guilty as any other brand I've played $2,000 ibanez's that just looked and felt cheap

@russellward4624

Жыл бұрын

@@rjpike75 adding a sustained wouldn't cost 10k. They run about $400. But there's no point adding a sustainer because only a small percentage of people want one. If you want one you can buy one and have it installed for like $800 or so.

Doug is Steve 2.0😁

I think the comparison between how Vai is compared to players that want their guitars pristine is that he's like a soldier in combat, everything is modified for use compared to players that like parade order.

I’m now wondering were I can get those magnets for my self

Wow How did you get that Access! well done Andrew!!! I would love to know the name of that piston gadget in the trem!

@TheGuitarGeek

Жыл бұрын

My good friends at Ibanez Germany invited me and Steve’s your family are extremely accommodating and some of the friendliest people I’ve ever met

anybody know if any companys make a pick holder for the headstock similar to what he has

3:41 omg it's so beaten up. It's sad to look at

Does the scalloped fret job help with trigger finger?

@willsonlang1403

Жыл бұрын

Yupe, and you just need to control your touching not so hard till dig-deep, else get out of tune

Don't they make a sustaniac in a humbucker size?

But does he have any fuzz pedals?

Surely the guitars have been made Vaiable...

@TheGuitarGeek

Жыл бұрын

Boom! Love it

Doug MacArthur reminds me of Charlie Day !

@TheGuitarGeek

Жыл бұрын

Fighter of the night man!

I'd like to see Steve try an Evertune.

@Ashaliel

Жыл бұрын

that would be interesting

@kodykindhart5644

Жыл бұрын

Or true temperament frets

@endezeichengrimm

Жыл бұрын

@@kodykindhart5644 He already did true temperament. Now imagine having both? WOAH!!!

Hi Doug.

Can the sustainer work as a standard neck pickup? I mean the other bobbin is just a dummy.

@miterbox7031

Жыл бұрын

Yes it does. Although Steve has said in other interviews that he doesn’t really love the sound.

@willsonlang1403

Жыл бұрын

Sustainer reverse function is pickup, but very cold dry sounding

Hi! I didn’t catch which sustainiac he was using now? Anyone catch it?

@TheGuitarGeek

Жыл бұрын

Pretty sure it’s a single coil sustainiac stealth pro

@willsonlang1403

Жыл бұрын

Vai the most iconic Sustainer sound song is Whispering for a Prayer, and 2nd i choose the live outro for For the ♥️ of God

A guitarra antiga sempre vai ser mas bonita que esse Novo modelo 🎸

I don't know if it's a New York thing, or if Steve has rubbed off on this guy, but his mannerisms are very much like Steve Vai. He's like little Stevie Jr. :D

you know

Bad Horsie with a 6-string?

I know

Stock SS.

Is that Steve's son behind him at the stage at the end?

@endezeichengrimm

Жыл бұрын

Nope. I don't know who that guy is, but definitely not his son.

I find this dude, hotter than you can possibly imagine.....

“You know”

Anyone else thinks Doug has kinda Steves attitude to handle stuff and how he talks? no, judgement here. more an indication of admiration

Steve also doesn't have to worry about damaging a guitar because Ibanez will just give him another one or a new neck or whatever... 😂

I already noticed that scallopeing before but wasn't quite sure if the whole fretboard is scalloped - I wonder why are the stock models are not completely scalloped? So we have a signature model with a significant feature missing, that's a bit odd...

@TheGuitarGeek

Жыл бұрын

I think it is a testament to how often Steve changes things. Also, not every PIA is the same, even what we saw here shows that he has different setups for different guitars that are the same/similar model.

@RockGuitarVibes

Жыл бұрын

@@TheGuitarGeek Thanks a lot for your answer and the video - so there's some room for some additional sginature models 😀Ibanez, the market is waiting for fully scalloped models - I would buy one!

@hotblackdesiato3451

Жыл бұрын

When the Pia came out Vai was asked why the ones you could buy didn't have the Sustainiac and full scallop and he said they'd probably be about $8000 if Ibanez went the whole hog. So the Pia is built down to a price that the market would accept.

@RockGuitarVibes

Жыл бұрын

@@hotblackdesiato3451 Thanks a lot for your comment - I've already assumed that it's more pricy - but, wow, 8K is a huge number 🤯

@miterbox7031

Жыл бұрын

You can scallop your own (carefully) in an afternoon. It’s not difficult at all.

Has Thomas now retired?

You know

It puzzles me why Ibanez don't make the BackStop tremolo stabilizer system more available to the public. The originals from the 80s are highly sought after and this creates greed among the sellers who even part out Pro 540 models just to source the BackStop.

@kodykindhart5644

Жыл бұрын

Stew Mac And sweetwater carry them

@davekiddie4467

Жыл бұрын

@@kodykindhart5644 no they don't.

@kodykindhart5644

Жыл бұрын

Looks like they carry 2 different types 👨🏻‍🚀

@davekiddie4467

Жыл бұрын

@@kodykindhart5644 I have both and they suck, cheap China crap, not at all like Steve's.

@kodykindhart5644

Жыл бұрын

Go have one 3D printed then

It's only logical that the top single coil is fake. The sustainiac doesn't work close to other pickups. The middle pickup should really also be fake for the best results.

@TheGuitarGeek

Жыл бұрын

Thank goodness for logic!

@willsonlang1403

Жыл бұрын

Sustainer system works conjunction with bridge pickup, all you heard the sound actually is bridge pickup not the Sustainer

i miss Thomas...

I'm not going to lie, I had a Ibanez Jemini and it was one of the worst pedals i've ever had. so much low end it was like it was made for a bass guitar.

He’s his clone or his younger cousin?! lol

A little disrespectful putting the fake thumbnail and emoji for click bait, Unnecessary . But great video and run down.I love the guitars he has on this tour.

Was it Clickbait or what was fake ?

The gold covered pickup is fake, not the guitar. No idea why the shock face.

@TheGuitarGeek

Жыл бұрын

You seem the kind of person that asks people which movies they haven't seen and then tells them the ending.

@endezeichengrimm

Жыл бұрын

Well, technically the arrow was pointing at the pickup. I've gotten used to youtube clickbait.

I like the video but I don't like the way you clickbaited trying to make it sound like Vai is doing something that's not up to par like how you said uncovering and this is fake almost like you were trying to dirty up his name but anyway good video you are mighty amazed and gracious in the video LOL

Now Vai is favoring scalloped frets? This is why YNGWIE MALMSTEEN RULES!!!

Why can’t the rude people in the background be quiet?

@beefnacos6258

Жыл бұрын

Because the world doesn't revolve around the interview/interviewer

Pretty sad when an artist model has to be modified for the artist. SMH

@TheGuitarGeek

Жыл бұрын

I disagree. Steve clearly doesn’t like to stand still

@FluidFocus

Жыл бұрын

@@TheGuitarGeek He has had the Sustainer on pretty much every (6 string electric) guitar for years. Yet it isn't on any artist models. Something to think about.

click bait