Vai's action?

[jpmguy]

does anyone know the specs that nordick uses to set up vai's guitars?

[ScottB]

What's a "nordick"?

[Shakma!!]

i think he means Thomas Noregg(I think) or whatever the current tech's name is.

[john1880]

i just read an article with yngwie malmsteen, and he said that steve vai's and satriani's action in very low, too low for him, but no specs were mentioned.

john

[ScottB]

From these pics of Evo, It appears that Steve has his guitar setup fairly high by normal shredder's standards.

[nuno]

that's a damn high action!
actually, if you see Vai's Live in Astoria DVD you can see how high Steve's action is by looking at how far the low-E stands from the fretboard edge (when the camera shoots him from the crowd under the stage in front of him).

while if you watch Satch's Live in S.Francisco, on the same camera shots you'll see the low-E still resting very flat and laid on the frets, it's impressive how low it is.

of course, camera shots aren't the very same distance and angle, but the low-E action can't change that much in any case.

[Kasper Kowalski]

Originally Posted by nuno

while if you watch Satch's Live in S.Francisco, on the same camera shots you'll see the low-E still resting very flat and laid on the frets, it's impressive how low it is.

The low action is in part a benefit from a compound radius fretboard. Flattening the radius as you go up the neck reduces a string's tendency to 'fret out' when bent, which is what happens when your action is too low. Having such low action means Satriani can have roughly the same action at both ends of the fretboard and that means consistent volume when notes are hammered regardless of where they are fretted.... one of the reasons why his 'hammered' tunes sound good regardless of where they're played on the neck.

[Rotti]

Geeze you think they'd line up the dots properly on the 12th frett. This is not a cheap guitar.

[whatshisname]

Looks like he likes his action to be right about where I like mine. Sometimes I like it even higher that that. I like to let the strings have room to vibrate, and it actually seems to help my playing. Never really got that whole crazy low action thing, myself.

Originally Posted by Rotti

Geeze you think they'd line up the dots properly on the 12th frett. This is not a cheap guitar.

That's actually the first thing that I thought, upon seeing those pics.

Hmmm... Maybe they're SUPPOSED to be offset?

[john1880]

i hear ya about the dots. i wonder if mr. vai's guitars dots are "off". :-)
i personally go for the lowest action possible, but when i play a guitar with higher action and heavier strings, it sure sounds great. the strings really ring out. but i can't play solos for too long with high action. weak fingers i guess.

the action in the pictures looks too high to me. it almost looks like there's too much bow in the neck too. it should be just about straight, with a tiny bit of bow.

jp

[whatshisname]

Originally Posted by john1880

i wonder if mr. vai's guitars dots are "off". :-)

jp

They are. That's Mr. Vai's EVO, in those pics.

[Rotti]

Never really got that whole crazy low action thing, myself.

I agree. I strike the strings way to hard to have super low action anyway. When I'm just playing quietly and noodling around it's okay, but when I crank up an amp and play I break guitar pics all the time if they are not thick so I figure I must be hitting the strings prety hard.

[whatshisname]

Having a heavy hand is one good reason, but I actually play with a pretty light touch. I just like to give the strings more room to breathe, and, I also prefer the feel it gives me. That's probably kinda weird, I know, but then I'm kinda weird...

[RSVampire]

I play with a heavy left hand... so low action is a big no no for me. that's about where I like my action, any lower and I get fret buzz. I'll tell ya one thing though I wear out frets like a mofo with my left hand.

[Drew]

Although, to me, it looks like his treble action is quite a bit lower... at the angle the second pic is taken from, especially, you wouldn't expect to see the treble strings lower than the bass strings if it was even...

I agree, though- slightly higher action, especially clean, seems to give a lot more "life" to the guitar.

-D