Steve vai Revives His Legendary ‘For the Love of God’ Ibanez for Upcoming Tour
Steve Vai’s iconic track For the Love of God, featured on his groundbreaking 1990 album Passion and Warfare, represents a pivotal chapter in his musical journey.
This monumental instrumental piece highlighted Vai’s remarkable skills, showcasing intricate harmonics, rapid legato passages, sweeping arpeggios, and extraordinary whammy-bar techniques. Remarkably, he achieved this after enduring four consecutive days of fasting, meditation, and relentless practice.
reflecting on this intense experience, Vai shared in a 2016 interview wiht Guitar World, “I was really pushing my limits. By the time we recorded For the Love of God,my fingers were wholly worn out. I even took photos of my fingers afterward, and they were bruised beneath the skin.”
The Music Video: A tribute to Rock History
Equally memorable is the music video for the track, which features a charred Ibanez Universe seven-string guitar. According to brand representative Scot Schwestska, this guitar was designed to mimic the famous Stratocaster that Jimi Hendrix set ablaze at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival.
“We applied mineral spirits to a standard Jem Universe and carefully ignited it to replicate the look of Hendrix’s guitar. It felt like a family barbecue!” Schwetska recalled.
A Comeback for the classic Guitar
Recently, Doug MacArthur, Vai’s dedicated guitar technician, revealed in a Premier Guitar rig rundown that this legendary guitar has made a return, accompanying the SatchVai Band on their recently concluded American spring tour.
“It’s amusing that this is considered a backup, but it’s the very guitar from the For the love of God music video,” MacArthur noted.
“Its name is Bruno. They torched it and distressed it. Interestingly, when we moved recently, I discovered a letter from Ibanez that mentioned, ‘Hey, we’re exploring this new aesthetic,’ which was sent to him in the late ’80s or early ’90s.”
Despite fans eagerly anticipating its use during the recent tour, MacArthur confirmed, “he hasn’t played it yet as he hasn’t broken a string on that guitar.”
Now that it’s officially part of his touring lineup, we wouldn’t be surprised to see it make an appearance at future shows with the supergroup.
What’s Next for Vai?
Along with reviving his classic guitar, vai has hinted at the potential retirement of his impressive triple-neck Ibanez Hydra, adding another layer of intrigue to his evolving collection.
