Steve Vai

• Legato technique is the foundation — hammer-ons and pull-offs must be even and musical
• Floating tremolo setup: balanced spring tension allows raises and dips with equal control
• Whammy bar dive bombs followed by immediate harmonic pinches are a signature move
• High-gain amp with pick attack very light — let the gain do the sustain work
• Time feel is everything — Vai's extreme runs land perfectly on the beat
• Lydian mode and chromatic passing tones give his phrasing a sophisticated, jazz-like quality
• Study "For The Love of God" for the definitive sustained, emotional Vai approach
• Artificial harmonics and tapped harmonics add the "whistling" high-register tones
• String gauge .009–.042 with a very light touch produces the fluid, fast legato feel

Steve Vai is the most technically ambitious guitarist alive — composing, arranging and executing music that pushes the limits of the instrument in every dimension. His Ibanez JEM, with its monkey grip cutaway and floral inlays, is instantly recognisable, as is his ability to make extreme technique sound lyrical and emotional.