Steve Vai

Steve Vai is an American guitarist and composer known for pushing the guitar's technical and sonic limits. He is the player most closely tied to the Ibanez JEM, the signature model he designed with Ibanez in the 1980s, with its "Tree of Life" fretboard inlay, "Monkey Grip" handle and Edge double-locking tremolo. His main guitar is a white JEM nicknamed "Evo", used for roughly 60 to 70 percent of his live and studio work, and he also plays the Ibanez Universe seven-string.

On amps he is linked to Carvin, which built the Legacy series amplifiers designed for him, and his rig has since moved a long way into digital processing, with a Fractal Axe-Fx replacing most of his effects. His latest signature instrument is the Hydra, a custom Ibanez with a seven-string neck, a partial 12-string neck, a bass neck and 13 harp strings, introduced on the album Inviolate.