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The Latest Breaking News from Steve Vai

“He told me the story about a young guitarist he once let play his guitar at rehearsal. I said, ‘Brian, that was me’”: Steve Vai pays tribute to Brian May as he receives his radical custom Red Special

Guyton Guitars' highly customized version of May’s iconic axe is now in Steve Vai’s “humbled” hands

Guitar World

“I saw the Red Special. I pointed and said, ‘Is that it?’ Brian said, ‘Yup. Want to try it?’” Steve Vai says he once played Brian May’s guitar “like a baby giraffe on roller skates” – now the Queen icon has gifted him his own custom ‘Green’ Red Special

“I will treasure it for the rest of my life, and yes, I’m taking this one to the grave with me,” says Vai

MusicRadar

Speed bursts are the path to Shred Heaven: boost your rock chops with 6 jaw-dropping examples (that won't break your fingers)

Learn how short and fast sequential patterns favoured by legends such as Paul Gilbert, John Petrucci and Zakk Wylde can be connected to create blazing solos

Guitar World

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“For the Love of God, written by Steve Vai and performed by my 14-year-old son Roman”: Tom Morello says “there is hope” as his son shreds Steve Vai's For the Love of God

He’s been saying his son can “shred circles” around him for years – this might just prove it

Guitar World

“A dynamic musical initiative showcasing advanced improvisation”: 3 of today's leading virtuosos have assembled for a US tour – and it involves one of Steve Vai's favorite new guitarists

Hedras Ramos will hit the road with his fellow trailblazers for a G3-like tour of California and Texas

Guitar World

"It’s just the most emotive piece of music": Alter Bridge's Mark Tremonti on the greatest guitar solo of all time – and how alternate tunings are the key to unlocking his lead playing

Like what, 99.99 per cent of players, the Alter Bridge and Creed guitarist looks for patterns on the fretboard, but alternate tunings set him free from reaching for the same old notes when soloing

MusicRadar

“Being in the same band with Joe felt like watching a childhood fantasy step out of my teenage brain”: Steve Vai and Joe Satriani announce the return of the SatchVai Band with their debut U.S. tour – and tease an upcoming album

After embarking on a European tour earlier this year, the two are back with their first-ever collaborative U.S. dates and plenty more music

Guitar World

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King Crimson affiliates BEAT announce one-off London show for June

Adrian Belew, Danny Carey, Tony Levin and Steve Vai will play their first UK show as BEAT in June

Louder

“It’s not every day you get to work for a player rightfully belonging on the pantheon of rock gods”: 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

Guitar World

“We parked up outside Steve Vai’s caravan. His guitar tech saw me. Next thing you know, Steve’s there, and I’m trying my best to play Tobacco Road”: 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

Guitar World

“People would say, ‘OMG, if this guy is in the back of a guitar store, teaching, what does it say about the music business?’ But, of course, within a few years, everybody would know his name”: Testament’s Alex Skolnick on what he learned from Joe Satriani

When a teenage Skolnick studied under Satch, he found a man who was “like the equivalent of studying with a classical piano or classical violin teacher” – except this guy could rock

MusicRadar

"Your golden pipes remain this guy’s all-time favourite rock voice to ever grace the planet": Steve Vai salutes Whitesnake legend David Coverdale

“David has shaken the earth for over half a century with a voice that could level a mountain”

MusicRadar

“They plug me into Zakk Wylde’s amp. Next thing I’m going crazy. Ozzy goes, ‘Let’s get him on tonight!’” 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

Guitar World

“I was tired of not having a great tone. I could never figure out why I don’t sound good. So I started to experiment with how I pick”: 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

Guitar World

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Guitar World

“I moved over to Fender for a couple of years, learning a lot of history there – but also how I didn’t want to make aguitar”: How John Suhr built one of guitar’s hottest boutique brands

John Suhr knows a thing or two about tone. Hey, the guy oversaw repairs at Rudy’s Music in NYC, modded amps with Bob Bradshaw, became a Senior Master Builder and launched his own brand

Guitar World

“I thought it was the worst film I’d seen in my life! I was super-embarrassed. But that solo became part of the franchise’”: 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

Guitar World

“I never thought I’d get hired by a pop band. Opening for Coldplay with Willow Smith was never a career goal”: Few bassists can match the technical ability of Mohini Dey, thanks to her work with Steve Vai, Willow Smith and just about everyone else

The very definition of ‘prodigy’, Mumbai-born bassist Mohini Dey has enjoyed a rapid ascent to worldwide renown. And she’s only just getting started

Louder

"Even though he's dead, I believe that in a hundred years' time from now people will still be listening to him": Steve Vai on the wild genius of Frank Zappa – and the two words that made him want to join his band

They say never meet your heroes – Steve Vai would disagree

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Guitar World

From the shred heroics of Joe Satriani to the melodic mastery of George Benson and fascinating phrasing of Yvette Young, 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

Guitar World

“Ace reminded us all that rock should never apologize for being fun and that a little chaos can sound downright heavenly”: The guitar world pays tribute to the late Ace Frehley – the Spaceman who took Kiss into orbit

Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons lead tributes to the Kiss co-founder and larger-than-life former lead guitarist, who has died, aged 74

Guitar World

“Jimmy Page would be nice to have on there”: Dweezil Zappa has already tapped Eddie Van Halen, Brian May and Yngwie Malmsteen for his ambitious instrumental project – but wants to recruit a few more guitar greats before it’s finished

Albert Lee, Steve Morse and Steve Vai have also recorded for What The Hell Was I Thinking?, which Zappa began work on back in 1989

Guitar World

“I took lessons from Joe Satriani. I felt like he was trying to build an army of shredders with finger exercises. He hated me because I didn’t practice his stuff enough”: The iconic alt-rock guitarist who quit taking lessons from Satch

The Satriani curriculum failed to move Cake's Xan McCurdy

Guitar World

“If the guitar has ever been your sanctuary, you already know you need to be there”: 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

MusicRadar

“It reminds me of Batman and the Joker. It’s just so cool”: Korn’s Brian ‘Head’ Welch and James ‘Munky’ Schaffer on their Yin and Yang signature Ibanez 7-strings – and how it all comes back to Steve Vai

The K7YIN and K7YANG, one dark, one light, both state-of-the-art extended range S-styles built to the nu-metal kingpins' specifications – and yes, that's a U-Bar on Munky's vibrato

Guitar World

“Sweet Child O’ Mine is a terrible song. I don’t like Slash’s playing, but it stands the test of time. That was my inspiration – to write something timeless”: Lorna Shore return with new music, brash Ibanez customs, and a fresh kind of death metal energy

I Feel The Everblack Festering Within Me confirms their crossover to the mainstream, even if they don’t understand it, as Andrew O’Connor and Adam De Micco take influence from guitarists they don’t even like

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