“He took it on tour, beat the heck out of it, then painted it. This is a family heirloom now”: Joe Satriani gifted Steve Vai his relic’d, custom-painted Ibanez signature – now it’s one of Vai’s most treasured guitars

Steve Vai with his custom Ibanez JS1, which was gifted to him by Joe Satriani. It features a heavy relic'd black finish and custom artwork on the back.

From his Ibanez PIA all the way to his radical five-neck Hydra, Steve Vai is a man of many electric guitars – but the instrument he considers to be a “family heirloom” isn’t actually one of his own models: it’s a Joe Satriani signature guitar.

In a short video posted by Positive Grid – which recently collaborated with Vai on a Spark Mini signature amp – Vai can be seen discussing three of his most cherished guitars.