Steve Vai playing the Hydra guitar

[walrus]

He's more skilled than me, although so are a lot of players!



walrus

 

[SFIV1967]

That's a great video ! Thanks for sharing! What a guitar!
We had some more info posted earlier, for those who missed it, here is one of the discussions:

And Now For Something Completely Different!

Found on the interwebs:

letstalkguild.com

Ralf

 

[chazmo]

Slick!

 

[GGJaguar]

I'll bet his back hurt after shooting the video.

 

[Canard]

I'll bet his back hurt after shooting the video.

A friend who had a long-scale Gibson RD-Artist bass, an instrument that you needed a forklift to pickup if you didn't want a hernia, ended up making a waist-belt that worked in conjunction with the shoulder strap to support the instrument's weight, much of that weight carried by the hips then. He said without his custom harness, the instrument was useless. Using the heavy bass, he could never make it through a rehearsal or a gig without the harness - back pain, shoulder pain.

 

[fronobulax]

I chose to Move and Merge.

 

[Walter Broes]

I don't really get how someone like Vai, after all those years still kind of does the shredder "circus act thing" instead of doing really good music.

 

[Midnight Toker]

I don't really get how someone like Vai, after all those years still kind of does the shredder "circus act thing" instead of doing really good music.

It's not the kind of style I ever enjoy listening to besides the occasional wow factor video viewing like this one, but there is definitely a market/audience for it. I remember going to see Satriani in concert right around the time he broke onto the scene around 86-87. I went w/ a few guitar player friends, and they were completely over the moon about it. I was bored to tears. I'd rather go see Little Feat and dance till my legs hurt. My friends on the other hand would have likely been just as bored at a Feat show. I'm not ever going to judge what someone else considers "really good music". Musical tastes are purely subjective and emotion driven, and there's definitely a worldwide audience for shredder guitar. Some of the most well known guitarists to come out of the youtube era are just that. I'd wager it's exactly what their audience considers "really good music". More power to them.

 

[fronobulax]

I don't really get how someone like Vai, after all those years still kind of does the shredder "circus act thing" instead of doing really good music.

We had a perhaps similar conversation about another artist. It could be about the money or it could be he feels locked in or it could be that is just how his artistic creativity expresses itself. There are lots of examples of someone who is creating their art for themselves and are surprised or annoyed when other people "consume" it.

 

[GGJaguar]

Pic from his Twitter feed. The guitar was suspended from climbing gear. I guess it was digitally removed in the editing room.

 

[GAD]

Or you know, maybe he likes it? And maybe other people like it and pay for it?

 

[Walter Broes]

Sure, absolutely. And he has a large audience, and a lot if those people are probably dissappointed if they don't get the pyrotechnics etc..
But you know what I mean.

 

[walrus]

Pic from his Twitter feed. The guitar was suspended from climbing gear. I guess it was digitally removed in the editing room.

Now THIS explains a lot! That is really a cool set up!

walrus

 

[GAD]

Sure, absolutely. And he has a large audience, and a lot if those people are probably dissappointed if they don't get the pyrotechnics etc..
But you know what I mean.

Not really, when you use terms like "instead of doing really good music."

I detest artist bashing, and the idea that the only good music is the music that certain people approve of is just dumb to me. The guy is great at what he does, people appreciate it and he gets paid well to do it. Isn't that the dream? But that's not good enough?

 

[Midnight Toker]

Pic from his Twitter feed. The guitar was suspended from climbing gear. I guess it was digitally removed in the editing room.

That looks like a rig just for him to play it sitting down. Watching the video again, the instrument is definitely gravity centered at his waist, and clearly moves on axis with him, something it certainly wouldn't do if suspended from both ends. I'd wager it has a belt harness of some sort. Maybe even w/ suspenders.

 

[FNG]

If he had that guitar, he might not have lost his duel with the Karate Kid.

 

[Walter Broes]

Not really, when you use terms like "instead of doing really good music."

I detest artist bashing, and the idea that the only good music is the music that certain people approve of is just dumb to me. The guy is great at what he does, people appreciate it and he gets paid well to do it. Isn't that the dream? But that's not good enough?

OK, I'm out

 

[guitarlover]

I do not want to turn this into a discussion for or against this player but I just get the feeling that Mr. Vai over the years is just repeating his "tricks" over and over again.
So to me this looks more like a - technically challenging - "circus act" (for lack of a better word, no insult intended) than an artist making music and further developing his art.

But who am I ;-)

 

[Midnight Toker]

I do not want to turn this into a discussion for or against this player but I just get the feeling that Mr. Vai over the years is just repeating his "tricks" over and over again.
So to me this looks more like a - technically challenging - "circus act" (for lack of a better word, no insult intended) than an artist making music and further developing his art.

But who am I ;-)

I get that notion, but to be honest, very few artists ever outright change their stripes. Angus Young has been doing "his" circus act forever, as he should. As has Mick and Keith, It's their trademark and fans would be disappointed if they didn't. I'm not 1/1000th the skill level of Vai nor do I even pretend to understand the complexity of his playing, but knowing his schooling, his background w/ Zappa, etc, and his overall conviction for art, that I seriously doubt he's been phoning it in for the last 30 years and that he IS constantly pushing new boundaries in his playing which few even notice unless you're at the level of being able to chart Paganini by ear. Go on YouTube and look up some interviews w/ Vai where he tells his story about how he came to play for Zappa. It definitely changed my view of him. He's not just a parlor trick. To his ultra advanced level, every one of those notes in a lightning fast run has purpose. Just as they did to the trio on Friday Night in San Francisco. It likely comes down to people's taste in his guitar sound and backing tracks/accompaniment. I was never a fan of that whole 80's spandex wearing hair band stuff chock full of shredders that followed in Van Halen's footsteps, but it was extremely popular, and many from that generation are still fully entrenched in that genre. They eat up Vai's stuff. I enjoy the occasional sample for the wow factor, just like I do Tommy Emanuel or some other extremely technically proficient player, but I would never put on any of their music for a relaxing drive in the country. I'd rather put on the Stones' Exile. Still, I'd never call Vai a one trick pony. More like a 10,000 trick racehorse!!

 

[zulu]

What's with this technical mastery? I took one look at that guitar and I wanted to hear Bob Dylan play it!