Do you agree with Steve Vai here?

[Fireproof]

Steve Vai explains why And We Are One is his “greatest accomplishment” on guitar

Taming the Hydra and the majesty of For The Love Of God can't compete against the Modern Primitive track with “more phrasing and melodic intimacy than anything I’ve ever recorded”

www.musicradar.com

 

[DrewJD82]

Hahahahah I'm glad they're putting Vai out there when they don't have to, but I can't get past-

"You think it would be 'Teeth Of The Hydra', but let's check this interview from 6 years ago before he wrote the song to find out!"

 

[Blix]

Hahahahah I'm glad they're putting Vai out there when they don't have to, but I can't get past-

"You think it would be 'Teeth Of The Hydra', but let's check this interview from 6 years ago before he wrote the song to find out!"

Some 10/10 journalism there

 

[Fireproof]

Hahahahah I'm glad they're putting Vai out there when they don't have to, but I can't get past-

"You think it would be 'Teeth Of The Hydra', but let's check this interview from 6 years ago before he wrote the song to find out!"

Haha - I know it. I laughed at that.

 

[DrewJD82]

As for the song in question itself, eh.....I remember it, vaguely. There's only a couple Vai vocal songs I can enjoy, this ain't one of them, even if it's not technically a 'vocal song'. While I can appreciate his personal goals as a guitarist and what he sets out to do for his own goals, they don't always line up with what I want to hear from him. Pretty much everything from '99 up until Inviolate was like that. I was really stoked to listen to that album and it hit me very similarly to how his music did in my teens.

While I generally don't get picky about guitar tones on other people's music, when it's a lead guitar through 90% of the song I do. This is in his zipper phase with the damn Sustainer. There's this top end fizz that sounds like a f*ckin' zipper and it drives me nuts, it's most noticeable when he's playing on the lower strings, especially higher on up the neck. I don't know if that's the way they interacted with the Legacy or not, but it hasn't been an issue since he's been using the Synergy stuff.

 

[Gearzilla]

I’ve somehow missed of a chunk of his work between Real Illusions and Teeth of The Hydra.

 

[ManWithGas]

I agree with him.

To me it's super articulate and he's really playing music here and not guitar Olympics or stage entertainment.

His phrasing and choice are notes are different for him. The Holdsworth use of the arm is warranted on this track.

I really like it and so yes, again, I agree with him.

 

[Fireproof]

I need to go listen to it again with this article (and your comments) in mind. Don’t remember it really standing out to me when I first heard it.

 

[Blix]

I agree with him.

To me it's super articulate and he's really playing music here and not guitar Olympics or stage entertainment.

His phrasing and choice are notes are different for him. The Holdsworth use of the arm is warranted on this track.

I really like it and so yes, again, I agree with him.

My take it's a solo that really touches him on an emotional level, which might not touch everyone the same way. It really is an unusual solo for him, with a tone that sounds hard to play too. Not my fave, but I can dig it.

 

[-BOOGIEMAN-]

I dig Steve Vai’s playing, but I must admit I enjoyed him the most when he played with David Lee Roth.

 

[TubeStack]

They're referring to a recent Guitar Player interview, no? It's linked in the second paragraph.

 

[DrewJD82]

I’ve somehow missed of a chunk of his work between Real Illusions and Teeth of The Hydra.

As a Vai fanboy, you didn't miss much. It was mostly compilations and I think one album, Story Of Light. That album had "Weeping China Doll" on it, which is the only Vai song I remember the name of from '01-'22.

 

[Fireproof]

I dig Steve Vai’s playing, but I must admit I enjoyed him the most when he played with David Lee Roth.

Me too - those riffs and the guitar playing on that album was K

I really wanted a 3rd album!!

 

[Bruce]

As for the song in question itself, eh.....I remember it, vaguely. There's only a couple Vai vocal songs I can enjoy, this ain't one of them, even if it's not technically a 'vocal song'. While I can appreciate his personal goals as a guitarist and what he sets out to do for his own goals, they don't always line up with what I want to hear from him. Pretty much everything from '99 up until Inviolate was like that. I was really stoked to listen to that album and it hit me very similarly to how his music did in my teens.

While I generally don't get picky about guitar tones on other people's music, when it's a lead guitar through 90% of the song I do. This is in his zipper phase with the damn Sustainer. There's this top end fizz that sounds like a f*ckin' zipper and it drives me nuts, it's most noticeable when he's playing on the lower strings, especially higher on up the neck. I don't know if that's the way they interacted with the Legacy or not, but it hasn't been an issue since he's been using the Synergy stuff.

The only shred guitar player who can really blur the lines of great singer or great guitar player to me is Richie Kotzen. Sings his ass off and shreds like no tomorrow, too.

As far as vais tones, I enjoy them when he plays. For me, I own a GMC777 universe as well as a white Jem and find both their inherent tones a bit flimsy. The premium BFP to me sounds great though.

 

[Stone]

Love Steve Vai seen him many times, met him once a genuine super nice human being

 

[DrewJD82]

The only shred guitar player who can really blur the lines of great singer or great guitar player to me is Richie Kotzen. Sings his ass off and shreds like no tomorrow, too.

As far as vais tones, I enjoy them when he plays. For me, I own a GMC777 universe as well as a white Jem and find both their inherent tones a bit flimsy. The premium BFP to me sounds great though.

Yeah, I’m not a fan of the Evolutions in the white JEM. I’ve had a 25 year love/hate relationship with them. Love them for leads but that’s it. The UV came with Blazes which are really close to Dimarzio PAF Pros (probably my favorite Dimarzio pickup) and the BFP came with Gravity Storms, which are a dialed-back version of Evolutions, kind of somewhere between a PAF Pro and an Evolution.

It seems Vai prefers getting the midrange from the guitar more than the amp and that’s evident by his pickup choices, which is precisely why they drive me nuts.

 

[Bruce]

Yeah, I’m not a fan of the Evolutions in the white JEM. I’ve had a 25 year love/hate relationship with them. Love them for leads but that’s it. The UV came with Blazes which are really close to Dimarzio PAF Pros (probably my favorite Dimarzio pickup) and the BFP came with Gravity Storms, which are a dialed-back version of Evolutions, kind of somewhere between a PAF Pro and an Evolution.

It seems Vai prefers getting the midrange from the guitar more than the amp and that’s evident by his pickup choices, which is precisely why they drive me nuts.

I actually bought a set of whatever is in the RG2027x in neon green with the intent of putting them into the universe. I never got around to it and they’re still in the box. What a great sounding pickup for a 7 string

 

[DrewJD82]

I actually bought a set of whatever is in the RG2027x in neon green with the intent of putting them into the universe. I never got around to it and they’re still in the box. What a great sounding pickup for a 7 string

You know man, you should just save yourself the hassle and send me the UV.

 

[Bruce]

You know man, you should just save yourself the hassle and send me the UV.

It’s “just” a MKR. I hit up Darren from ATD a few years back to give it a PAW swirl. He said he’d do it and I’d still consider it “original” if he did it. I never got around to it. I know he had quite an unfortunate fire about a year or 2 ago.

 

[DrewJD82]

It’s “just” a MKR. I hit up Darren from ATD a few years back to give it a PAW swirl. He said he’d do it and I’d still consider it “original” if he did it. I never got around to it. I know he had quite an unfortunate fire about a year or 2 ago.
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He did indeed, the poor guy lost everything. Like EVERYTHING. He’s been plagued with health issues for years now and is also in a nasty custody battle over his mentally ill son and a mother who is trying to have the kid sent to a home permanently because she doesn’t want the hassle. (He posted about it on his FB/ATD page, so I don’t think I’m giving away details he wanted secret) Really rough couple of decades for that guy and from all my conversations with him, he’s a genuinely good dude.

I was trying to go up and help clean up the wreckage, they managed to salvage some of the dipping vats he used but for the most part it was done for. I had the divorce going on at the time and I was moving, so I wasn’t able to go so I just hit up his GoFundMe. Hopefully that GoFundMe put him in a financial spot to open his business again. No one does it like Darren. There’s a few guys who are doing great jobs, but that dude just had it down and an ATD is immediately recognizable.