Joe Satriani

MMR caught up with Satch just prior to his recent South American tour to get the 411 on his latest gear.

Legendary guitar wizard Joe Satriani has built up a career that most six-stringers would love to have. He has released 14 successful solo albums, racked up 15 Grammy nominations, masterminded and co-headlined the popular G3 tour, and played around the planet numerous times. His latest album, last year’s Unstoppable Momentum, is one of his best with its blend of muscular riffing balanced with melodic hooks. The man has an ear for catchy guitar instrumentals, which elevates his music above stereotypical shred fare. We certainly have heard that combo in effect on hits like “Summer Song” and “Flying In A Blue Dream.” New tracks “Can’t Go Back” and “Shine On American Dreamer” are awesome in their own right.

MMR: You play your own specially designed Ibanez guitars. Which ones do you prefer lately and why?

Joe Satriani: The last few years I have moved exclusively to the 24-fret JS models. The 2400 and 2410 remain my favorites for sound and feel.

You’ve been playing your own Ibanez guitars for over 25 years now, haven’t you?

JS: Yeah. And you know what? The Ibanez guys were over my house recently, and we are still working on several new designs that will maybe take six months or a year or three years. Some of the stuff we’ve been working on for over 10 years. We’re tireless. We just keep pushing it. Sometimes it’s a hit, sometimes it’s a miss, but it’s fun.

Is there any one pedal that you can’t live without?

JS: Wow. It’s a funny thing. I think maybe my delay pedal is the most “my friend” of all my effects. The Time Machine pedal that I put together with VOX probably has all the elements that I really like about a delay pedal. But the close second would be the wah-wah pedal. The Big Bad Wah is sort of an homage to the original VOX wah-wah pedal, but it also has a second inductor coil in there that you can switch to if you want to get more of the late ‘70s, ‘80s sound. I shunned that wah-wah pedal for many years until one day when I was heading into the studio to record Surfing with the Alien. I remember looking at it in my apartment in the corner covered in dust. I thought, “What the hell.” I hadn’t played it in five or six years and just threw it in my bag. When I put it on the ground, I remember [producer John] Cuniberti going, “Oh, no, I thought we hated those things!” I thought, “Let’s just try it.” And all of a sudden something new came out of it. So maybe the wah-wah pedal is a close second.

Which effects are you using more of lately?

JS: I’m using fewer effects on this tour because my signature JVM410JS Marshall head and cabinets sound so good! For live shows, I still use two delays, two Ibanez chorus pedals, a whammy, POG, and wah-wah pedals.

What are your favorite amps lately and why do you like their sound?

JS: My JVM410JS Marshall! It’s so very versatile and always sounds big and natural.

What kind of cables are you using and why?

JS: I use Planet Waves cables. They are my favorite for their tone and toughness on the road.

Any preference on picks?

JS: This past year I switched to “extra heavy” picks made by Planet Waves. They make a bigger, warmer sound.

What about strings and any other accessories?

JS: I use D’Addario .010 to .046 strings tuned to E flat. They have the best tone there is. And of course, my very own signature straps from Planet Waves featuring my artwork!

For each album sound, the musical approach is dictated as much by the gear as the ideas that you have in your head. Why is that synergy of artistry and technology so important to you?

JS: I think there is the music in your head and how emotional you are about it. A great example of that would be the title track of Not of This Earth, which I brought in to Cuniberti and said, “This is a very weird song. It’s got these chords that change key and there are only two bass notes in the entire song. It’s very strict in the rhythm section and the guitar is doing all of this crazy stuff on top.” He’s trying to process all of this emotion that I’m laying on him about how I feel about this and what it sounds like in my head. He said, “I have this idea, there’s this machine over here…” He couldn’t explain it to me, but he showed me the “Non Linear” reverb setting – what was it called? The EMT 251 – and I flipped out because it sounded very much like what I heard in my head, which was a time-distorted reverb or delay effect. I didn’t know how to put it into words when I was describing the sound in my head to him. He listened to what I was saying. It wound up being the sonic hook of the song because after these strange chords come in, you hear this kick and snare that are just hysterical sounding, and it played into both of our fascination with robotic music with Kraftwerk and trying to figure out how to marry what was the beginning of techno music with expressive guitar music.

Joe Satriani’s Go-To Gear

Guitars: Ibanez JS2400 and 2410 models, Boogie Body Strat-type electric, ‘58 Fender Esquire, ‘06 Gibson JPP #1, ‘83 Gibson 335, ‘61 Fender Stratocaster.

Amps: Marshall JVM410HJS amps, ‘59 Fender Twin Amp, assorted ‘50s Fender amps, Peavey 5150 head, Wizard 100-watt head, Roland JC120, Fargen Retro Classic, ‘64 Fender Bassman, Two-Rock Classic Reverb and 10th Anniversary amps.

Effects: Vox Big Bad Wah and Time Machine pedals, Boss DM-2 and OC-2 pedals, Digitech Whammy pedal, Sustainiac pickup system.

Accessories: D’Addario .010 to .046 strings; Planet Waves straps, cables, and “extra heavy” picks.