How does Vai get his distortion?

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: How does Vai get his distortion?

I just checked out that Guitar Geek thing, and it looks pretty outdated. www.vai.com has a pretty sweet rundown on all his gear.

 

[tc]

Re: How does Vai get his distortion?

can't we get along people?? at the end of the day we all just love playing our axes brothas!!! nu-metal or punk or blues...we all play guitar (or bass, i dont enjoy discrimination hahha)....c'mon and lets get along dudes....gear isn't as important as playing itself, ya know?? yeah sure it must be awesome to plug a 3000+K Les Paul into a cranked as hell Marshall....or a Jackson with EMGs into a Mark IV or somthin....im still happy even with a beater guitar and a ****ty amp...as long as its WELL SET UP!!!

 

[Majestic]

Re: How does Vai get his distortion?

The Evolution pickup is really more like a nasty-sounding "Hybrid", if anything. The resistance isn't that high. The two coils are completely different, if my understanding is correct. I own one, and it stays WAY clear (if not annoying and harsh) compared to the pickup in my Axis guitar.

I imagine it would indeed stay clear & ringing (if not annoying) through a jacked-up vintage tone like the Legacy's.

 

[theodie]

Re: How does Vai get his distortion?

Yeah, you're right.... guys like you who plug Fenders and Gibsons into vintage tube amps must be far more creative than guys who play metal. There's absolutely nothing more unique than a guy with a Strat and an old Fender amp.

ROTFLMAO!!!!!

How true!

Once again,

ROTFLMFAO!

 

[Binnerscot]

Re: How does Vai get his distortion?

This must be the first time that I have seen so much interest in Vai's tone....I never liked his tone much (its not bad, but it doesn't grab my ear either), his playing sure makes up for it.

The old dogs with Pauls and Strats have far better tone than the young kids with fuzz and white noise pouring out of the amp (and I grew up on thrash metal in the 80s).

Now take those great classic tones and play cool stuff = those legendary players (EVH, SRV, Yngwie, Blackmore, and lots of others). When you can shred on a Strat/Paul through a great sounding amp dry and sound good....pedals are just icing on the cake for those that like them.

Like anything else tone related, you can get gear that will get you close enough, the rest is in your hands.

I forgot to add - THOW SHALT NOT MOCK EVH! FOR ANY REASON!

 

[paytojt]

Re: How does Vai get his distortion?

I forgot to add - THOW SHALT NOT MOCK EVH! FOR ANY REASON!

Yeah, he mocks himself enough as it is! :nana:

 

[drew_half_empty]

Re: How does Vai get his distortion?

hah i remember one time at practice it was gettin hot as hell so i turned on a fan & the other guitar player was like "got your steve vai pedal goin eh?"

funniest crap ever

and if you don't know what i'm talking about watch his performance on crossroads guitar festival

 

[devastone]

Re: How does Vai get his distortion?

His DS-1 is a Keeley Ultra Mod, BTW. Don't expect a stock DS-1 to sound like that.

Also, I've seen pics of a Keeley-modded true-bypass Tube Screamer on his board, too. Not shown on the Guitar Geeks diagram.

He's using a stock DS-1 again now to push his Legacy, the TS-9 is Keeley modded. The article in GP is the best reference for his current live setup, in the studio, I'm guessing anything goes.

 

[Rich_T]

Re: How does Vai get his distortion?

Now go sound like an angry bumble bee if that's your thing...if you enjoy it fine. But don't fool yourself into thinking you're doing anything creative.

I don't really see that there is a relationship between guitar tone and creativity.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: How does Vai get his distortion?

The DS-1 puts out the fattest sound of any distortion pedal I've heard-and I use it about 70% of the time onstage-but it doesn't track very well when I play fast, so I switch to the Tube Screamer...."

Can anyone explain this crazy comment to me? The DS-1 is an analog pedal . . . it doesn't track anything, just has a couple of diodes in it for clipping and gain. How exactly is it possible for a gain/distortion pedal to not track very well? I could understand it being muddy . . . but not able to track the playing?

 

[Dr.Mavashi]

Re: How does Vai get his distortion?

Now take those great classic tones and play cool stuff = those legendary players (EVH, SRV, Yngwie, Blackmore, and lots of others). When you can shred on a Strat/Paul through a great sounding amp dry and sound good....pedals are just icing on the cake for those that like them.

A Major +1.

 

[Dr.Mavashi]

Re: How does Vai get his distortion?

Can anyone explain this crazy comment to me? The DS-1 is an analog pedal . . . it doesn't track anything, just has a couple of diodes in it for clipping and gain. How exactly is it possible for a gain/distortion pedal to not track very well? I could understand it being muddy . . . but not able to track the playing?

I think what he meant was that when he shreds the DS-1 muds things up a bit, single note clarity and seperation is better with TS9 - tracking of shred stuff.

 

[Skarekrough]

Re: How does Vai get his distortion?

The thing I've found about nailing Vai's sound is that, weirdly enough, less is more when it comes to Gain. On more than a couple of amps I've found that I need to spend more time dialing down and really pushing the Bass and Mids.

 

[tc]

Re: How does Vai get his distortion?

I think what he meant was that when he shreds the DS-1 muds things up a bit, single note clarity and seperation is better with TS9 - tracking of shred stuff.

yep thats exactly what he means...honestly i never thought his tone was that awesome...its perfect IMO (cuts through, etctetc...) but it wasnt ear-catching, even though his compositions (im not talking about his chops) are soul-touching, and id rather have that than having the brown sound nailed...

I don't really see that there is a relationship between guitar tone and creativity.

well, it kinda has some relationship if you think about it. think dimebag darrell...he grew up listening to guys that cranked their marshalls with PAF pups...yet he used a bill lawrence and enjoyed solid state randalls because they gave him a "nastiness" he wouldnt find anywhere...its all about that noise you hear in your head and how you bring it to life...tubes, ss, strats, pauls, single coils, humbuckers....whatever dude...

 

[daemon barbeque]

Re: How does Vai get his distortion?

The only Vai tone that i really dig alot is "bad horsie" tone.Anything else is cool but not special in my book.They soiund allright ,but not breath-taking!

 

[Dr.Mavashi]

Re: How does Vai get his distortion?

Me being ancient corps that I am, I think his best tone was on For the Love of God from Passion and Warfare. I could never figure out where his tone ended and where his compostional/note choice stuff began. Its kind of hard with him and Satch all those modes really throw me off, sometimes I listen to him or Satch and I am like ok, blah, good clean distortion that's about it and then nex measure you wow that's great and its hard to say whether its how they fret and pick or is it their composition or is their Bogner hidden in boxes of who ever they are endorsing.