Evo is the name that

Steve Vai Steven Siro Vai (; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a transcriptionist for ...

has given to his primary stage and recording guitar, an

Ibanez is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, as ...

JEM7VWH. It was co designed by Vai and guitar manufacturer Ibanez in 1987. 'Evo' still retains identical specifications to the production model, with several aesthetic modifications.

History

The

Ibanez JEM The Ibanez JEM is an electric guitar manufactured by Ibanez and first produced in 1987. The guitar's most notable user is its co-designer, Steve Vai. As of 2010, there have been five sub-models of the JEM: the JEM7, JEM77, JEM777, JEM555, JEM333, ...

line is considered Vai's signature guitar line. Around 1993 he recalls that he wanted to design a "Jem that had a classic look to it," and out of this came the JEM7VWH. Vai was sent four production models when they came out and started playing them all in an effort to decide which one to use on a longer-term basis. According to Vai, "guitars are like snowflakes in that it seems like there are no two that are exactly alike," so it was important to him to select one which fit his playing best. Around the same time Dimarzio also sent him several pickup prototypes, of which one design was selected and dubbed "Evolution". Vai then named his favourite of the guitars "Evo" (after the pickups installed in it) so that he could easily distinguish between his aesthetically identical guitars. Vai has played Evo since before the recording of ''

Sex & Religion ''Sex & Religion'' is the third studio album by American guitarist Steve Vai, released under the band name "Vai" on July 23, 1993 through Relativity Records. It is known as the first major appearance of future Devin Townsend Project and Strapping ...

'' in 1993.

Features

Evo is largely identical to a stock JEM7VWH, sporting an Ibanez Edge tremolo, 24-fret neck, and Dimarzio Evolution pickups. The tremolo cavity is stuffed with paper to reduce spring noise therefrom. The guitar is currently on its third neck, the first having been broken in Australia on tour and the second being replaced for a more recent tour. The body of the guitar had a substantial crack running through it that affected tuning, but this has since been fixed circa 2005, according to Vai's guitar technician. The guitar has been signed on the back by Les Paul twice. The first time was in 1995 at Paul's birthday party, but since it wore out he re-signed it in 1998. Upon the second signing the signature was covered in plastic, but it has still faded.

Use

Vai has used the guitar on a large number of his studio albums. It also has become his main guitar when playing live. Evo is usually used in conjunction with its sister guitar, Flo. Flo is a JEM 77FP modified with an AANJ (Ibanez' "all access neck joint") made to look like a JEM 7V, with a

Fernandes Sustainer An effects unit or effects pedal is an electronic device that alters the sound of a musical instrument or other audio source through audio signal processing. Common effects include distortion/overdrive, often used with electric guitar in el ...

attached. Due to the guitar's extended service to Vai, coupled with his aggressive playing style, Evo currently suffers various fallibilities, both aesthetic and structural. Some of these are irreparable, and consequently Vai has resorted to playing Flo more than Evo, to extend its stage life. He also owns several backup guitars for use on tour.

References

{{Steve Vai Individual guitars Electric guitars Instruments of musicians

History

Features

Use

See also

References