Picture 2 - body closeup
Special thanks to Rich Pike of Greasy Kid Stuff - the official Steve Vai fanclub & newsletter for pictures and information of Vai's '97 G3 Guitars.
"Owned and used by Mike Keneally on most songs on the G3 tour. Steve has had to use it in the past when strings have broken. Featured on the 1997 G3 Tour. Serial # F616858. This is a mahagony body with a maple top.
Update 6/2001 - going to Ebay auction soon to raise money for the NAMF Charity.
(info & pictures courtesy Rich Pike - Greasy Kid Stuff)
"Or 'Nev' for short, Steve's Bad Horsie backup guitar. Didn't appear on stage during the G3 Tour. Also backup for "Fire in the House" Note on occasion Keneally played this guitar during Fire Garden & G3 shows during Attitude Song, including the NJ shows. Serial # 236322
Update 6/2001 - We most recently auctioned "Neville," another of Steve's custom Ibanez Jem guitars. It brought in a high bid of $5488, all of which went to the Make A Noise Foundation! The winning bidder was Roland Schemers of California.
(info & pictures courtesy Rich Pike - Greasy Kid Stuff)
"Actually a floral JEM painted white, with a neck from a 555. Backup guitar". Serial number C414109. Featured on the 1997 G3 Tour according to Rich. Note this is not an actual production 555 neck because the [Steve Vai] inlayed 24th fret is missing. This one was seen early in the G3 '97 Tour that caused lots of confusion
(info & pictures courtesy Rich Pike - Greasy Kid Stuff)
Evo Miami 10/16/97 G3 Tour Finale
Picture 2 - body closeup
10/97
Picture 3 - full shot mid
G3 '97
Picture 4 - Evo circa '96
pre G3
Picture 5 - Evo circa G3
'97 promos and early G3 '97 tour
EVO is Steve's #1 Guitar since Sex & Religion. It was built by Mase Bailey, formerly of the Ibanez Custom Shop. It was said to be strung with 0.010 strings (GS 2/97) Rich Pike updates us on 12/97: "Steve usually uses 9's on Evo, and all his guitars except those that are detuned. Steve started using 10's on G3 but went back and forth, he's on 9's again now, and 9's were used on Evo for the entire final leg of the G3 tour."
The "mid G3 '97 picture" of EVO is from the USA G3 '97 Tour. Vai broke the neck earlier this year, as GKS reported, when he threw the guitar to a tech. Rich tells me that Steve unplugged the cable but upon tossing it... CRASH! The cable got hung up in the guitar strap. The new neck has a pink vine inlay and black headstock with no trussrod cover. On stage, the pink vine is very hard to see compared to the brighter pearloid inlays.
"Steve's main guitar. Used for the vast majority of live and studio work, as well as on tour, writing, warming up, etc. We put a new neck on it when the other one was smashed accidently onstage. It doesn't match the color, but it feels good to Steve, so it stayed there. This guitar gets lots of abuse"
(info & pictures courtesy Rich Pike - Greasy Kid Stuff)
"Steve's main backup guitar. First came out with us on the European G3 tour, I believe" Serial # 616852.
(info & pictures courtesy Rich Pike - Greasy Kid Stuff)
As seen on the '96/97 G3 Tour and Fire Garden Tour. This is a JEM7VWH with a natural ash body and a black pickguard and black knobs added. The ash body is said to give the guitar a thicker sound (GS 2/97). Steve told me at the 6/21/97 G3 show that "There is only one Bad Horsie guitar... I tried lots of bodies but none other sound like that Ash one". This one looks really cool in person, but not many will ruin the finish of their 7VWH for this effect. Vai used this in the Fire Garden tour for Bad Horsie, which means it was tuned to Dropped-C. During G3, Vai used this for a few songs, but used the 7VWH for Bad Horsie. Attention Desert Sun Yellow owners, this is an inexpensive way to improve your guitar's looks and prepares the guitar for a swirl!
Simon writes in that in 3/97 Vai opened the Fire Garden show with this guitar playing "Fire in the House" He opened the NJ Fire Garden show with this guitar too!
[For Bad Horsie] "I used a natural finished Jem with Evolution pickups and strung 10 through to 52 to give it more support - if you use light strings and tune that low [Drop-C] they get kinda flabby. - Steve Vai (Guitar Magazine 5/95)
(info & pictures courtesy Rich Pike - Greasy Kid Stuff)
"Backup guitar for "Fire in the House & Bad Horsie. Used by Mike Keneally during "Fire in the House". Note that on some G3 and Vai Fire Garden shows Keneally plays Neville during Fire in the House and Atitude Song
(info & pictures courtesy Rich Pike - Greasy Kid Stuff)
As seen on the '96 G3 Tour and Fire Garden Tour. Not used on the 1997 G3 Tour. This is a JEM7VWH with a black pickguard installed to replace the standard white pearloid one. No big deal really & yes... this pic is a 7VWH retouched. It has the correct knob colors however for those interested (black volume/tone, white 5-way tip)!
Guitar Shop says that "Lasher is a white JEM that Steve smashes nightly during the song "Kill the Guy With the Ball" Roger Bell has to rebuild it after almost every gig." (GS 2/97) Actually Lasher is an RG. Rich Pike further clarifies "Steve has on occassion smashed Jems [as opposed to RGs] onstage. Steve didn't smash any guitars during G3 because time constraints necessitated a shortened show, but many a guitar was maimed on the Fire Garden tour, which spanned the US, and about 15 other countries from Nov 18 1996 through March 1997.
Matt Wrobel writes in that "Steve threw the "Lasher" guitar to the ground and jumped on it at the first G3 show in Concord, CA last year." Bmonday adds "I saw Vai trash "Lasher" in the beginning of his Fire Garden tour in Tulsa. He had relations with his Marshall 4x12 using Lasher as his unit, then he stood on the guitar and pulled up on the neck. He totally abused the guitar but the only real damage was broken strings. It took a bruisin' for an RG." Request... Steve, if you're gonna break JEMs, the 555 is a great place to start!
Interesting tidbit courtesy of Rich Pike - "the "Lasher" guitar used to be called "Attitude", but adopted the name Lasher when Steve stopped using it as his hotel alias."
