I'm Tom Morello, host of Maximum Firepower. A weekly podcast focusing on the music, the moments, and the movements that have shaped my world view and left an indelible mark on me as an artist and activist. I'm Tom Morello, this is Maximum Firepower. My guest today is the wonderful and great and talented Steve Vai. Hi Steve, how are you today? Hey there, I'm doing very well.
It's always lovely to talk with you and today we're doing this round of Maximum Firepower. We're doing compiling top ten lists. Each of us have picked our five favorite individual guitars of all time from the history of guitars and we're going to tell you why we like them. That's it. That's the parameters of the conversation. So Steve, I'm going to let you kick it off. What's a guitar on your list?
Yeah, Jimmy Page is double neck. That Gibson double neck. When I saw that as a kid, it just seemed miraculous. It was mystical and plus he played stairway to heaven on it and the song remains the same and all these things. And it just seemed so practical. And it kind of in my mind, it launched my sort of love affair for multi necked stringed instruments. Sure, sure, sure. I had never seen a double neck guitar before. I don't know that I never seen a double neck guitar before.
Of course, it was the wizardly Jimmy Page who was to introduce that to the world. And then he's playing stairway to heaven on it. It's amazing. I think people don't realize how little we were aware of a guitar with two necks. Nowadays, you know, you think I'm going like this. There's no limit to the number of necks on guitars. And then I remember just like, you know, staring intently like, okay, one of those has more strings.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. What's that? What could that pass? I didn't know what 12 string guitar existed. So like, what could that possibly even mean that he's got? Yeah. And then like watching to see when he switches. Right. Yes. Yeah. And the total changes between that's a huge and it was his kind of small frame. It was sort of frail, cool frame in that huge guitar was a, I mean, it was just, it was mind blowing. Especially when he was holding like this going. Almost if he knew.
Oh, he knew. Oh, he knew. He knew very well. So my, my first one on my list is the Randy Rhodes polka dot guitar. Oh, yeah. That was the, that was the poster that I had had on my wall when I was practicing eight hours a day. It was Rhodes insistence on like musician ship first. He was a musician first and a rock star second. And that really appealed to me. My great uncle had been a violinist in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for 40 years. So I had seen him playing around the house.
And there was something in the Randy Rhodes interviews and something in his playing, which really resonated. It was less about, he was less a person. It seemed like he was not about the occult and drugs, but he was about like really being great. Yeah. But at the same time, he had this kind of style and flash and a polka dot guitar, which was kind of antithetical to, you know, the degree and dragons and evil of the metal music that I enjoyed at the time.
And I love that juxtaposition of this guy that could just play his ass off. Yeah. This kind of classical and technical musical underpinning and yet had this phone guitar that was, you know, was not like evil at all. Yeah. Yeah. It's interesting because when I think of that guitar, you know, one of the things about Randy that you were touching on, there was a certain kind of a class and a musician ship.
Yes. That he embraced and his interests were classical music. You know, he actually studied conventional classical music. And then, you know, you, you, you imbue a metal mind, minded guitar player with those tools. That's right. And it flowed into all that great stuff he was playing. And that guitar, whenever I see it, it represents what he did in a sense of introducing a whole different kind of musical atmosphere into metal.
Yeah. That's right. And that was the guitar. So. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Your number two was Jimmy Hendrix's strat burned in Miami and given to Zappa. Yeah. Yeah. As the story goes, there was a Jimmy had done a show in Miami. And he had burned his guitar and did the whole bit and a tech had given somehow the guitar made it to Frank. And when it, you know, it was all burnt at the, you could see where the lighter fluid hit the pickup covers and stuff. Yeah.
But Frank had, you know, very little celebration that it was Jimmy's guitar. You know, for Frank, it was a guitar. Yeah. And he wanted to, and it looked cool because it was burned. And Frank kind of tore it apart. All the parts were kept. But then he would start putting all these things in it like parametric EQs. And just changing out the pickups, changing all sorts of things. And the guitar toward when I was touring with Frank and it was actually my backup guitar. Oh, wow.
That's all I got to play it. You know, when the Jimmy Hendrix guitar is your backup guitar. You know, you're been the rare fight air. Yeah. Yeah. And it's an iconic instrument. It's beautiful. And do we sell has it now. Oh, wow. Wow. That's awesome. That's a great story. That's no idea about that one. My number two is going to be the Joe Strummer and the stick around said ignore alien or orders. And that was, that was my college poster on my wall.
And it was really like sort of, you know, it was in the sort of the Woody Guthrie tradition of the this machine kills fascist, you know, writing something on your tires that sort of poetically indirect. And yet it's punk rock at the same time.
And it really just set my imagination on fire there. It was just like, yeah, it was just like it was the guitar that I thought he was a guy. You know, he always said he always downplayed his own musicianship. He said it's either six strings or no strings at all.
You know, like that's his last name. Strummer was accurate. You know, yeah, yeah, yeah, it was accurate. And so I was those are the two ends of the spectrum for me. One was like sort of the brilliant technique and the flash of the Randy roadside. And then sort of the this guitar, which looked like it had been run over by several tour buses and was created my favorite songs from my favorite band.
Yeah, it's funny. You know, you notice how we we give albums when we have the vinyl and we have all the packaging. We give it the music. Sort of the personality of the album cover. Sure, you know, sure, absolutely. And guitars are like that too. And it's it sounds like that guitar when you hear it, or when you see it, you hear the chords. Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely.
And so your next choice here, sir, is Brian Mays Red Special. Yeah. That captivated me when I was a kid because I was a huge, huge Brian May fan and still am. And he, the story, I didn't even believe it was true, but it was true that he had built this guitar when he was like 17 with his dad.
Like with his dad. Yeah, that's what yeah. Yeah. And then the neck was just like a piece from the fireplace, you know, that they carved out. And and I've had discussions with him about this guitar because it's always fascinated me. The detail. And to this day, how many years of 50 60 years or something. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's still intact. It still has all the, you know, the same.
I've got to be probably replace some things, but it's the tone of that guitar that has painted our childhood, you know, of course has changed the whole. There's nothing like it. His. There's nothing like it. Yeah. Yeah. You know, and that guitar. And I remember talking about like sitting around the rainbow and chatting.
When I first moved out to, I couldn't have been here more than a week, you know, and now I was just in high school and then college, I'm 20 years old and I'm living right around the corner from the rainbow. And I go up to the rainbow and there's Brian May standing at the bar. I couldn't believe my eyes. Oh my gosh. I went and I just, I said, Brian May, what's going on? I can't believe it. You know, Brian May.
And he's, and he was so kind. I got to tell you, Tom, he was the kind of, he invited me, this kid to a queen rehearsal. Did you know, and I actually went and I'm watching queen rehearsal. And there it is. There's the guitar. And I'm looking at it and I'm like, that's it. And he's, he's, that's it. Yeah. And he said, you want to play it? No, he did not. He did not. And I said, well, let me think about it. Yes. Yes.
I, I, I, it's really hard to play, you know, because the action is really low in the, and I'm playing it. And to my chagrin, it didn't sound like Brian May. Yes. It sounded like Steve by, you know, I want Brian's Tom. Yeah, you want to tie your mother down with that thing. Yeah. It's his touch and everything that just makes it. But that guitar is just. Wow. That's amazing. Is, was his dad a loocier? I mean, they just like read a manual to do that.
Like, well, you know, Brian eventually studied astrophysics. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. That's that. That's on scientific mind was behind all of that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think I probably have figured out anything. Yeah. That's amazing. Alright. So my next one is the Eddie Van Halen Frankenstein. Yeah. You know, as far as guitars of legend, go. It's about as legendary as it gets. And of course, this guitar, you know, when we first heard about it in the Midwestern suburbs, it was.
And somebody's like, Henry's was from another planet. But anyways, like of a different DNA. He had built this guitar and it looked crazy. And it, and it sort of defied all the things that were supposed to be awesome about guitar. You needed a lot of knobs on your guitar. And you need your guitar to look great and smooth and flashy. And his guitar looked like a piece of crap that he's been wrapped up.
That he had somehow sewn together. And then the coup de gras for that guitar was it had one knob volume. And that one knob. Yeah. And I was like, whoa. Yeah. And see quarter a quarter to hold the wedding bar from going to quarter.
I mean, the whole history of rock and roll might have been different if you had different change in his pocket that day. What if they, what did they make on what might, what might what might a rupture, what might a rupture of sound like a video, but a nickel instead will never know. 15 cents. So you see you, you know, you first, you hear Van Halen with that tone with his, you know, his incredible inventive and pyrotechnics.
And then you see the guitar. It's like, oh, we, we've just turned the page on possibilities here. Yeah, he laid it down. It's kind of like when sort of like when grunge came along, they didn't need to wear all of the funny clothes and everything. And Edward's guitar was the way it spoke volumes, but it looked like the cat drag didn't I remember once. And that was Edward.
You know, it was like any means necessary. I don't care. It just has to work. I remember once I was at Frank's Frank's house, Zappa. And Edward was there. And we were actually jamming and Edward picked up this guitar that the high E string was buzzing. So there was a screwdriver like a really long kind of like green meaning, but it was really long. And he took it and he shoved it underneath the nut and cranked it a little bit.
So when jamming and he's got this guitar with a screwdriver sticking out of it like this far in the net. So it's the E string doesn't buzz. I'm like that's Edward. Yeah, but that guitar. Yeah, where is that now? Do you know what I saw at the Met. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. They had a what was the greatest collection of instruments of all time there. And it was it was there with the clapped in guitar and with the pink Floyd guitar and all these other guitars on it.
One of the things that I think about these guitar Steve is, you know, having been to the Rock and Roll Hall fame and seen the thing at the Met with these great guitars is it's a little bit like toy story where you're like when you turn off the lights. At night at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the lights go dark on the Randy Rhodes guitar and they go dark on the on the Joe strong work.
There's some of the likes these were instruments that were as alive as an inanimate object could possibly be. And now they're revered in a way, but there's a the thing that made them burn hops is not there. I've I've made a lot of suggestions. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame believe me. And one of them was instruments that were strata variances and things like that.
And the 16 1700s are still played by symphony orchestras and they make the rounds because their timeless instruments that deserve to be heard centuries after their create I will I wonder if some point of you know those instruments to make their way back into the world. Hey Tom, you never know you and I might be jamming on you know I'm going to claim pages double neck.
I'll take the Frankenstein. Yeah, okay. Oh my gosh, you'd imagine I would just be grinning so hard I wouldn't be able to play a known. I'm Tom Morello. This is maximum firepower. I guess today is the great Steve Vies. We discuss our 10 favorite guitars of all time.
The next one I have in front of me is Tosin Abassi's Abassi guitars. Yeah, the reason I pick that is Tosin you know there's as you know every generation there's an evolution in all fields all fields and the guitar field is no different you know.
And I've watched guitars evolve you know through the manufacturing them the design the playing of them I mean we see these huge sub cultures of these exotically talented young guitar players doing things that are just like what yes and Tosin is one of those guys you know there's just like an extra brain muscle or something.
I've toured with him you know and and he's a dear friend and he's he's a quiet genius you know and that guitar is just such a interesting evolution because when I like when I design my gem you go for practicality you go for what your instincts want to have on the instrument and his this instrument turned out so in line with his technique is developing technique it's got the fan Fred since eight string you know.
And the way that he plays it and what happens that so interesting is when you get an instrument like that in the hands of especially if the hands are the guy that designed it and then they do extraordinary things with it there's another whole little sub culture of people that want to improve upon that so there's this whole contingent of guys playing and gals playing that guitar and you can't really do what they're doing on any other guitar.
Right right right and that's kind of why I chose that because I think it's kind of stand out. Yeah just to see the evolution and how it's yeah yeah it's a different kind of I mean when I went from the seventh string certainly did that and now with that I've seen you guys play together and it's pretty amazing like I don't I don't say like it takes a while to even understand what's happening sometimes yeah someone like I'm watching going I don't know what how that's happening.
Well I watch tosen and I part of me feels the same way okay I know I know what he's doing but I don't know what he's doing you know it's like the timing you know the way they're using grooves right right right so beautiful yeah and so my my next choice and this was a tie here but I because I my number five is is locked so I'm leaning towards the David Gilmore black strat you know but the prince purple rain guitar was a was also in the very much in the conversation but I went with the David Gilmore black
strat simply because of the songs that it played on yeah and the combination of that that artist and that band and those songs and that tone and those so the expressiveness and the beauty and the pain and the power in those solos that came through that guitar I had the good fortune to see it when they the Pink Floyd exhibition was in London it was it was still a part of it and I saw that in everybody's you know like looking around and taking I'm like yeah yeah
yeah that is that really the one and sure I was you know serial number zero zero one or whatever unfortunately you know where that guitar is now this shapes me to know and he put all his stuff up for sale a while ago and that guitar sold for millions and millions of dollars to the
owner of the Indianapolis Colts so the guy who owns the Colts and his teenage son are sitting around with the guitar that recorded animals you know well as long as they don't stuff it under the bed you know I know they don't sell it under the bed I mean like that should be somebody
else's hands it's got to be a museum anyway yeah yeah I know that I hear you on that one that black strats when I was a kid were like just they had so much mystique yeah and I had I had a poster of him playing that on the wall and the guitar becomes a different thing that I mean you know when it all of those notes that affected us yes through it absolutely all right and your number five is the Tom Morello's arm the homeless guitar I see that that's right because that is an
iconic instrument and I've been watching it since you first started appearing and we're talking about a lot of guitar heroes here and a lot of guitars but your contribution is so powerful and you're you know I've I've mentioned this all before I just am so appreciative and that guitar it's it's miraculous to me that all of those sounds and I remember you told me once that that is the one you use and there's one head that you use and I just
though and I listen to the records and I'm like what there's so much dimension there's so much depth in it and it's and obviously it's the way you play and it's the it's the attitude and the intention that's flowing into the instrument but again the instrument creates an iconic imagery in our mind that is enduring and and and deep you know because we we see these things and it's just where they're again you know when listening to that music we're hearing that music and all of the tones that have
flowed through that guitar and all of the concerts and and the way that you've been able to make that guitar fit into all the projects the different projects sure and get the dimension of sound out of it with with the way with your unique particular approach is worthy of the pantheons of historical
that's my thing that's really that's so kind I mean in that in that guitar really is you know it is an island of misfit toys guitar I think that we've discussed this before but I bought it you know why I can do it and performance guitar because of you because of you yes because you're a guitar had
performance at the top so when I got my first check from working my job as a scheduling secretary for United States senator I went to performance guitar and I said I would like to make a guitar here and then unlike yours mine came out horrible you know you checked the you know this is the kind of wood and this is the kind of frets I didn't know anything so I just was like sort of randomly checking boxes and I got the crappiest guitar you could possibly imagine and so it's so the only thing that
remains for it wasn't really their fault it was my fault for sort of making all the unenforced choices though I mean no but so I change the only thing you're making performance guitar is the piece of wood
it's the body yeah it's about yeah it's about so but anyway then and I'm a creature of habit and once I kind of had my version of it and kind of gave up trying to get your sound or Randy Road Sound or Nuno Betten Court Sound or whatever I just like I'm stuck with this sound so decided to sort of
apply my creativity to that well you certainly did my brother and it's vast and it continues so you're still absolutely weird from using that I have other guitars that I use but that guitar has appeared on 22 out of 22 records that I've made my band anytime I've played a show that has an electric guitar in it's it's been there from spring scenes of rage to audio slaves to my own shows it's yeah it's all the only reason it's not in the museum yet is because you're still playing
I did get I did I have received offers from billionaires for it too like I don't have some guy call me up and I'm like no dude like I let's this is my axe it's still playing it's a working instrument right now yeah anyway so I I chose a Steve Vi guitar for my number five I don't know where this guitar is you here's a great you have multiple iconic identifiable Steve Vi guitars throughout your career beautiful guitar the one that I first
flipped my switch when I became a fan was the it was a little island of misfit toy it was green and it had like some pink on it and it was like it look with the green media that is out there yeah yeah and it just looked like because we have the Eddie Van Hanley guitar that looks like it's it's weird but this guy has his own universe of abilities and innovations and is you know coming for the throne with his own version of that thing which is this green
meaning guitar so tell me about that guitar and well that was you know that when I was young I loved strats because they had the whammy bar but I didn't like the tone and I like less balls because of the sound it didn't have a whammy bar and you know that kind of thing so I always kind of didn't have exactly what I wanted when I was working with Frank he would just pull things together and do whatever he wanted and I thought
well I can I can have something built you know so I joined Alcatraz yes yes I really needed something with some humbuckers and Edward had come out with the you know the Frankenstein and it it was probably one of the first super strats as they told them you know so I went down I the guys from Alcatraz took me down to Grover Jackson's Charvel yes yes yes and I you know I need something and of course nobody had
anything with 24 frets and all of the things that I ended up doing to that guitar but he gave it to me it was a sunburst Charvel kind of super strat thing you know and then I had the Elwood Patrick Francis
as my tech that around then he's playing bass now for ZZ top and he was great he would take care of the guitars but he would he would do all sorts of weird things to them you know one of the things I did was that was the first guitar that I hacked out the below the bridge so that you could pull up I
could pull up on the bar yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah and then Elwood stripped it and painted it day glow green and put all these funny stickers and stuff like like like the things are on the bike of a bicycle yeah like the reflectors and think yeah yeah and I use that that was the main
acts all through while the Alcatraz Dave Roth and then when I got to Dave I needed more guitars yes and that's it that's it was a good sounding guitar I recorded like Edemann smile and a lot of sky scraper with that and then the sound you know I was just moving into some different things I wanted the 24 years and you know I we shaved the cutaway so you could reach up in there and you know it worked good for a while I think right now it's in it's in a museum probably I think they're rock and roll
whole a fame museum oh great great it's been there for a while yeah I would love to see I'll I'll make a trip to Cleveland so I would love to see I'd love to be in a room with that one too because that was just such an icon I mean it really was kind of like the birth of a new era it wasn't just like
he was very but iconic and then there was Randy Rhodes and then all of a sudden it's like oh my gosh like there's no telling what might happen next you know with a guitar like that in the hands of a player and then some crazy guy comes out with day glow green I know I know I know it really was like the Scott the sky was is that's the that's the guitar from the Yankee Rose video right yeah yeah yeah that was the first thank you for choosing that guitar Tom oh of course no that was a that guitar
was a big deal for me Steve thank you so much this has been our top 10 list and I really I know anytime we can we don't need a record I'll sit at the rainbow with you anytime to discuss any a top 10 anything that has to do with music or whatever else it's just always always a real pleasure
and it is it's always a pleasure Tom thanks for the invite brother anytime anytime you need me man okay thanks man have a great day thank you very much for listening everybody I'm Tom Morello this has been maximum firepower thanks so much to Steve Vi always great chatting with him until next time brothers and sisters take it easy but take it this has been Tom Morello's maximum firepower you're this episode again or listen to past shows right now on the series oxim pop search maximum fire power