Backstage and Uncovering the SECRETS of Steve Vai's Tour Guitars!

Ibanez invited me backstage with Steve Vai and I shot this video with his Guitar Tech - Doug MacArthur. We talked about all the mods Steve and Thomas Nordegg did to the guitars. We see the secrets of how Steve has his Pia, his Evo and his Jem's set up and modified. Nothing is stock here, everything is tweaked to just how the Guitar God wants it. The Guitar Geek was HAPPY that day.
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#theguitargeek #SteveVai #ibanez

[@Aletheia_Z]

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]

Doug is a wonderful human being

[@Aletheia_Z]

@@TheGuitarGeek He is!

[@brandonjackson5865]

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.

[@andrewkelly2863]

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

[@darkestfugue]

the counter springs on the trem is a nice idea

[@groovefretboard]

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.

[@denverrandy7143]

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

[@saarangnarayan123]

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

[@TheGuitarGeek]

You are welcome you filthy beast!

[@PooNinja]

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]

Vaiafied for life!

[@TheGuitarGeek]

Poo gone wild

[@megatodd707]

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]

It's the Encore

[@MrNumber1gator]

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

[@firhanrizani96]

thank you for the explanation mr. you know.

[@mallninja9805]

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

[@nopenope1194]

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

[@TeleCaster66]

@@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.

[@stepitupandgo67]

It's good to be the king

[@mimetype]

Yes! 😎👍✅

[@pzuliomaccavellion9711]

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

[@TheGuitarGeek]

You’re welcome! It was life changing

[@ThatMattGoodMusic]

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]

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]

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.

[@backlom]

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

[@DesignCourse]

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

[@l8tapex]

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

[@DoktorDamage]

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

[@vasotoe]

Perfect FriYAY video!

[@TheGuitarGeek]

yeah! just some fun stuff about guitars

[@Buzzel-NL]

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

[@TheGuitarGeek]

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

[@DenBagus-nu8wf]

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

[@lone-wolf-1]

Vailuable informations! Thank you Andy!👌🏼

[@TheGuitarGeek]

You’re welcome 😇

[@2beJT]

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

[@ZOOTSUITBEATNICK1]

excellent

[@timhamlett5042]

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

[@garymaddux2000]

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]

Very cool!

[@wideyxyz2271]

Cool, Interesting stuff!

[@wideyxyz2271]

Lol Andy someone is running a scam...

[@andycummings-music]

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

[@TeleCaster66]

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.

[@DreidMusicalX]

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.

[@Ottophil]

Thats brilliant. But i found having a hardtail even better

[@andrewkelly2863]

Doug MacArthur reminds me of Charlie Day !

[@TheGuitarGeek]

Fighter of the night man!

[@danielelise7348]

Doug is Steve 2.0😁

[@albarnes6421]

I love a little more beef in my Pia.

[@thomassteiger7169]

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]

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

[@MikeLute]

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]

Good point,I'd love to see that.👍

[@rjpike75]

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]

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]

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

[@russellward4624]

@@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.

[@F3PIZZA]

Does the scalloped fret job help with trigger finger?

[@willsonlang1403]

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

[@TiberiusWallace]

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.

[@ernieb3626]

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]

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

[@ashleyjackson4481]

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

[@endezeichengrimm]

I'd like to see Steve try an Evertune.

[@Ashaliel]

that would be interesting

[@kodykindhart5644]

Or true temperament frets

[@endezeichengrimm]

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

[@tim_bauer3100]

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

[@ericskinner7355]

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

[@mark.guitar]

Surely the guitars have been made Vaiable...

[@TheGuitarGeek]

Boom! Love it

[@AlphabetPudding69]

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

[@PaulCooksStuff]

But does he have any fuzz pedals?

[@jerryvahnknight218]

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

[@TheGuitarGeek]

Pretty sure it’s a single coil sustainiac stealth pro

[@willsonlang1403]

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

[@Cestariarts]

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

[@potluckfishing]

@@Cestariarts road worn

[@bpabustan]

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

[@miterbox7031]

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

[@willsonlang1403]

Sustainer reverse function is pickup, but very cold dry sounding

[@TeleCaster66]

Hi Doug.

[@lucaszembrzuski]

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

[@endezeichengrimm]

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

[@nicholastotoro7721]

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... 😂

[@MauiBoyTrav]

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

[@lucianoguitarristamusico125]

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

[@888Marco]

you know

[@HerrPapa]

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

[@matthewrotherham1]

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

[@leonidaspapanikolaou3165]

Bad Horsie with a 6-string?

[@davekiddie4467]

Stock SS.

[@alif499]

I know

[@Hondo99]

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.

[@stevewarren4813]

Has Thomas now retired?

[@ibanezgitarrero]

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]

Stew Mac And sweetwater carry them

[@davekiddie4467]

@@kodykindhart5644 no they don't.

[@kodykindhart5644]

Looks like they carry 2 different types 👨🏻‍🚀

[@davekiddie4467]

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

[@kodykindhart5644]

Go have one 3D printed then

[@Murphy_R9]

This is going to sound blatantly obvious But why didn't he just go Humbucker, single, single in that black PIA guitar??? Using the sustainer it would have made it more uniform with no need to use a pickup cover to fill that space?

[@justinvzu01]

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]

Thank goodness for logic!

[@willsonlang1403]

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

[@nopenope1194]

i miss Thomas...

[@horrifyinggelatinousblob]

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.

[@RockGuitarVibes]

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]

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]

@@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]

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]

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

[@miterbox7031]

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

[@alessioavallone9154]

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

[@makor2817]

Was it Clickbait or what was fake ?

[@brandonlangely8834]

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

[@borgjude5278]

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

[@mixodorians12]

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

[@TheGuitarGeek]

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

[@endezeichengrimm]

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

[@tradbowseven]

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

[@beefnacos6258]

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

[@Dncr]

click bait

[@FluidFocus]

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

[@TheGuitarGeek]

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

[@FluidFocus]

@@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.

[@bofuscrapshaw]

The tech talks exactly like Steve

[@iAmGio91]

“You know”

[@paologueli5384]

You know