Steve vai biography discography of the band

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Systematic Chaos. Triumphant Hearts. Free World. Vai says "While transcribing the material, I was often confronted with situations that led me to reach into the intuitional areas of my imagination to come up with various notational devices and constructions that I had never seen before. I soon discovered that many contemporary composers were then and are still using these notations".

These concepts can be seen throughout the "Frank Zappa Guitar Book", which were composed of Vai's guitar and drum transcriptions from various Zappa albums. Vai toured with Zappa from toperforming selections of this technically demanding music with Zappa's band at the time. Vai designed the Ibanez JEM guitar, a unique instrument that incorporated a series of groundbreaking designs that have since become staples in steve vai biography discography of the band throughout the guitar industry, in In speaking of the development of the guitar, Vai says, " Stratocasters had whammy bars —which were fantastic—but they were very limited, were always going out of tune, and had single-coil pickups.

Les Pauls had humbuckers —which gave you that real scream in the bridge position—but no whammy bar, and I didn't like the way they sat. Neither guitar had twenty-four frets. So I went to a guitar shop in Hollywood, where I had these elements implemented into a guitar what would have been considered a Superstrat at the time. The guitar was designed with a sharper body shape, a large cutaway around the neck, twenty-four frets, a fully floating tremolo system, a specially wired five-way pickup selector switch, and an output jack angled on the side of the body so that when you step on the cable, it doesn't pull out of your guitar.

I knew of course that these features would eventually be taken and used in other guitars, so I did something completely preposterous: I said, 'Put a handle in it! Vai had several custom prototypes of these guitars built which were used on the Eat 'Em and Smile tour by Joe "Jem" Despagni, a custom guitar luthier and friend of Vai's. Due to Vai's highly coveted position in Roth's band, many guitar companies were eager to propose endorsement opportunities.

In response to these offers, Vai sent out the specifications of the JEM guitar, detailing that the company that returned the best guitar would be given the endorsement. Dissatisfied with the guitars returned and unwilling to compromise, Vai held out on a guitar endorsement until Ibanez approached him, sending him an instrument superior to that of the other companies and willing to follow his instructions.

Since its original release, the JEM has become one of the longest-running and most successful signature series guitars in history, with its sister guitar, the Ibanez RGbeing the second highest-selling guitar behind the Fender Stratocaster on the market. Another design by Vai was the Ibanez Universethe first production seven-string guitarwhich was released in Used by Vai on much of Passion and Warfare and all of Whitesnake's Slip of the Tonguethe Universe was a large stepping stone for the burgeoning Nu-metal genre with bands such as KornLimp BizkitFear Factory and Meshuggah having adopted the instrument and incorporating it into their signature sound.

The primary way model differs from the JEM for its softer body curves and a Petal Grip handle replacing the original Monkey Grip cutout. Having always enjoyed the aspect of teaching and sharing his experiences in life and in the music business, Vai began a series of "Alien Guitar Secrets" masterclasses in a touring masterclass in which Vai holds open forum discussion about his own experiences in the music industry, explains the key principles to understanding success, plays to backing tracks often inviting class attendees to jam with himanswers questions, articulates key points of guitar technique, and more importantly goes beyond the technique and into the more profound esoteric principles at play.

Vai accessibly shares these concepts with masterclass participants using examples from his own experiences, delving into the ongoing process of identifying the self-critical nature of one's own thoughts. Vai explains the techniques and exercises he uses to circumnavigate one's own insecurities and thoughts of self-doubt, and encourages masterclass participants to use these tools in their own lives.

Often embarking on masterclass tours through Europe, South America, and Russia, Vai considers this ongoing series of classes as one of his most important contributions. Guitar effects manufacturer Eventide approached Vai in the mids to contribute unique ideas for their H effects unit. Vai suggested many specific concepts, such as diatonic pitch change and multi-voice harmony, that were used in the unit and have since become standard algorithms in guitar effects processors.

InVai's signature series high-output "Evolution" humbucker pickup set was released by DiMarzio. InVai had begun working with the Carvin Corporation to design a signature series of Legacy amplifiers, which were used on his Epic Records release The Ultra Zone.

Steve vai biography discography of the band: He released his first solo

In the s, Vai began touring in European and Asian countries such as Russia and China as well as South America, often having been the first American rock act in history to have performed in these areas. With the broadcasting of this event on January 26,Vai became the first rock artist ever broadcast on a Chinese television program. Vai's personal studio, The Harmony Hutis a large edifice located in his backyard equipped with a full control room and performance room.

Before his endorsement with Ibanez, Vai was endorsed by Charvel guitars, most notably using a green and black San Dimas model. In addition, over the course of his career, Vai has used guitars made by various other companies, including JacksonFenderand Gavtone. Vai's preferred string gauge has usually been Ernie Ball Strings. Generally for live use he utilizes the unit for stereo effects such as delaychorusand phasewith a separate preset for the parameters of each different song in his setlist.

The Axe-Fx MFC foot controller is set up in conjunction with the unit, allowing Vai to switch effects on and off in a fashion reminiscent to that of standard stompboxes. The centerpiece of the pedalboard is the Axe-Fx MFC foot controller for the Axe-Fx II XL, which, as previously mentioned, controls the effects in a manner similar to switching on and off stompboxes.

There are two expression pedals used for the Axe-Fx, one to act as a volume pedaland the other to control the harmonizer built into the Axe-Fx unit. From the output of the Whammy, the signal heads into the input of the Carvin Legacy amplifier head. Out of the effects loop of the Legacy, the signal heads directly into the Axe-Fx II XL, where it is split into stereo and the effects are applied and controlled via the MFC foot controller.

Out of the output of the Axe-Fx, one signal is sent back to the original Legacy head return, and a second is sent to a second Carvin Legacy head return, bypassing the preamp stage completely and acting as a slave power amp. Vai utilizes his stereo setup on effects like delay, where he sets up two separate delay times one slower and one faster and allows them to alternate back and forth.

The signal is then sent from the amp to the 4x12 Carvin Legacy speaker cabinets loaded with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers. Vai uses AKG microphones to mic his amps, and uses a separate Carvin power amp to power a direct guitar monitor cabinet instead of relying on the PA. Detailed gear diagrams of both Vai's [ ] and guitar rigs [ ] are well-documented.

Steve vai biography discography of the band: Vai's full discography encompasses more

Since the late s, Vai has resided in Encino, Los Angeles with his family. Vai is married to Pia Maioccoformer bassist of the band Vixen who can be seen in the film Hardbodieswith whom he has two children, Julian and Fire Vai. Not including guest appearances. Vai started his recording career in with Frank Zappa, and has since recorded with a plethora of artists and bands.

InVai began his career as a solo artist with his release of Flex-Ableand solidified his place as a virtuoso rock guitarist with his acclaimed release of Passion and Warfare. His discography consists of nine studio albums, two EPstwo special albums, eight live albums, twelve soundtracks, twenty compilation albumsand six DVD releases.

These are the three wins from Vai's 15 solo or collaborative nominations: [ ]. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikidata item. American guitarist born Instrumental rock hard rock heavy metal progressive metal. Favored Nations Relativity Epic Mascot.

Musical artist. Biography [ edit ]. Early life [ edit ]. Early music career — [ edit ]. With David Lee Roth — [ edit ].

Steve vai biography discography of the band: Steve Vai is an American guitarist,

Media appearances [ edit ]. Video games [ edit ]. Films [ edit ]. Style and influence [ edit ]. Notable contributions [ edit ]. Work with Frank Zappa [ edit ]. Alien Guitar Secrets masterclasses [ edit ]. Eventide H Ultra-Harmonizer [ edit ]. DiMarzio pickups [ edit ]. Carvin Legacy amplifier [ edit ]. Touring [ edit ]. Equipment [ edit ].

Guitar rig and signal flow [ edit ]. Please login to post a shout. Stay signed in. TOP 25 and more filters. Generation Axe. Categories : Discographies of American artists Rock music discographies. Toggle the table of contents. Steve Vai discography. Steve Vai in Milan Alcatraz on September 25, US:[ 12 ]. UK:[ 14 ]. US:[ 19 ]. US: 88, [ 19 ].

US: 14, [ 19 ]. US: 41, [ 19 ]. US: Platinum [ 15 ]. US: Gold [ 15 ]. Crossroads Released: Label: Warner. Vai performs the track " Juice ". Zappa's Universe Released: Label: Verve. Compilation of the 7th song of Vai's albums, and 3 previously unreleased tracks. The Elusive Light and Sound Vol. This disc collects Vai's many contributions to film music Re-released as Vol.

Warmth In The Wilderness Vol. Mystery Tracks — Archives Vol. Various Artists — Archives Vol. Collection of songs Vai has contributed to other projects and records Vol. A career-spanning collection of 32 digitally remastered tracks over 2 CDs including work with other artists such as Alcatrazz and Whitesnake. Piano Reductions Vol. This is an album of 11 solo acoustic piano interpretations of Vai songs by Mike Keneally Vol.

Five-CD package containing a large selection of tracks from the Vai catalog that have been mixed without the main lead and melody guitar tracks. Tinsel Town Rebellion. Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar. Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention. Live at Donington