STEVE VAI

The Seventh Son

HISTORY

At the age of 18, Steve Vai impressed Frank Zappa enough to earn a job transcribing complex compositions. By 20, Vai occupied the coveted ‘stunt guitar’ role in Frank’s band, before moving on to a series of rock projects (Alcatrazz, David Lee Roth, Whitesnake) and finally finding his true artistic voice on 1990’s smash

‰ PassionAndWarfare.

GREATEST ACHIEVEMENTS

Vai’s guitar innovations are as influential as his playing. His signature Ibanez JEM incorporates features like an HSH pickup layout, back-routed Floyd Rose tremolo, 24 frets and a sculpted neck joint – all of which are now standard features across dozens of guitar brands.

But Vai’s inclusion in this list is for the development of his seven-string guitar with Ibanez. At first dismissed as a shredder’s toy, the piece soon found its place in the music of bands like Korn and Meshuggah, and now almost every guitar brand in the world offers seven-string models.

Vai’s creation helped push the voice of heavy guitar lower and lower, to the point where it almost sounds strange to hear metal played on a standard six-string guitar today.‰

WHERE TO START

Ya Yo Gakk

It’s simple and fun, and it will have you alternating between low-B chugs and higher chord fragments. ‰

BOSS LEVEL

The Riddle

A tour-de-force exploring the entire range of what the seven-string is capable of, from the lowest, gruntiest of notes to the highest screams.‰