Play electric guitar like Steve Vai

Steve Vai hardly needs an introduction — he is likely known to every ambitious electric guitarist. If you belong to his large fanbase and want to sound like him, you're in the right place! In this guide we show you everything you need to sound like Steve.

About Steve Vai

Whether in his legendary roles as Frank Zappa's guitarist for special sounds and solos, during his time alongside Whitesnake and David Lee Roth, through contributions to various soundtracks and an extremely successful solo career, Steve Vai, born in New York in 1960, has redefined the boundaries of the electric guitar — if there are any boundaries for him at all. Even today Steve remains active and embraces any musical challenge.

Steve started playing guitar at a very early age and, from the age of 13, received several years of lessons from Joe Satriani, who lived in the neighbourhood and was only four years older than Steve. The two became good friends and still collaborate today. However, Steve formed his first band at the age of seven.
In 1979 Steve attended the Berklee College Of Music and devoted himself in particular to the transcription of Frank Zappa pieces. His goal was to one day play in Frank Zappa's band and convince Zappa of his abilities — which he actually managed to do. In 2000 the Berklee College Of Music awarded him an honorary doctorate.

From 1986 Steve was a member of David Lee Roth's band, with whom he recorded the albums Eat ’Em and Smile and Skyscraper. He attracted particular attention with the track Yankee Rose, in whose intro Steve lets his guitar carry on a “dialogue” with the singer. By the way he phrases the notes, and with a bit of imagination aided by Roth’s “responses”, you can understand what the guitar ‘‘says’’ in that dialogue. He left the band in 1989 and was brought in as a replacement for Vivian Campbell to Whitesnake. By that time Steve had already launched an impressive solo career with eleven studio albums to date. In 2000 he also founded his own record label: Favored Nations Entertainment.

Affordable electric guitars for Steve Vai fans

Copying Steve's style is not just a question of gear, but above all of technique and practice. With the right technique you can manage to sound like Steve even with an inexpensive guitar. Even Steve's signature model, the Ibanez JEM, is available at an affordable price in various versions, as are the many classics that Steve has in his large collection.

High-end electric guitars from Steve Vai

About Steve's guitars

In addition to the already mentioned JEM models there are further Ibanez signature guitars from Steve: the PIA series. These guitars represent an evolution of the JEM and are equipped with state-of-the-art features. Besides numerous other Ibanez models, Steve also frequently returns to two classic electric guitars, the Fender Stratocaster and Telecaster, which also form the basis for the JEM and PIA models. Steve also plays signature models of other artists, such as John Mayer, Yngwie Malmsteen and Jeff Beck.
The instruments in the selection below are either played by Steve himself or are very similar to his instruments.

Alternative high-end electric guitars in Steve's style

The key components of Steve's signature models are the Modern ST body, the HSH pickup configuration and the Floyd Rose tremolo. These features can also be found on other high-end guitars. We've put together a selection of alternative guitars from other manufacturers for you that are inspired by the guitars in Steve's collection.

Expert opinion

Steve's typical stylistic devices include his expressive slides and his distinctive vibrato playing, which — due to the circular motions — is also called Circle Vibrato. With this he produces bizarre effects and very special tonal colours and combines them with emotive phrasing. Compositionally he draws on elements from rock, fusion, blues as well as classical, modal sounds and intricate rhythms. So it takes more than just the perfect guitar — the right, refined technique is important if you want to emulate Steve.

Steve's amps and cabinets

Steve Vai swears by amplifiers and speaker cabinets from the brand Marshall. He also uses the Carvin amplifiers that aren't available in Europe. Every now and then he also makes use of an Orange Rockerverb.

Steve Vai's effects pedals

Steve Vai uses a whole range of effects pedals, especially the compact pedals from the Boss have won him over. Here you'll find the most important effects you need for the Steve Vai sound.

The perfect accessories for Steve Vai fans