Ibanez Steve Vai Signature PIA3761C Electric Guitar - Blue Powder Reviews

The workmanship and finish of the instrument is only surpassed by its playability and rock solid tuning. The strings ring out with great clarity and rich harmonic overtones. The accuracy of the build that is required to maintain clarity and intonation across the neck is remarkable. I love being able to so many open strings on top of chords.

It looks good, it feels good, it sounds, and it plays great!

I've had them all. If you have or had a Jem of any kind this is not a Jem. Though I love a Jem I just feel the Pia is a smidge lighter, faster, Trem response is even better, and the mids and lows are simply tighter, crisper, more sustain. The highs or that sizzle you DiMarzio nerds love is there just not as harsh and brash for leads. The new Utopia in all positions are much more versatile. The high pass filter is genius. Pickups remind me of EMG 57 n 66 set just with even more clarity, sustain, smoothness. The neck pickup literally sounds as creamy as a Les Paul no kidding and I tested mine against a 10 top PRS , Dusty Waring PRS , Jackson US, a $ esp Snapper that also looked n played incredible. By far best instrument n bang for buck. Incredible...btw no pictures do the Blue

This guitar took a long time to get for some reason (6 months or so), but now that it is here, I wanted to post a review. First of all, I have not noticed any fit or finish issues that have been mentioned in early Pia reviews. The guitar feels solid, and it plays really well. I have tuned it once since it arrived and it has stayed in since (a couple of weeks). I lowered the action from the factory settings, but i was able to play all of my more intricate songs even with the stock action, I just like it a little lower. I haven't found the point where it starts to buzz out yet. The neck is not like any other Ibanez that I have played and I have owned a couple of them, mostly the Prestige S series. I have checked specs, but it feels like a thicker wider neck, where I feel like there is a more space between strings and even room to fret the first string, than a say PRS from a width perspective (and I like PRS a whole lot), but this neck felt to me like a guitar I might have commissioned after trying several neck styles. I have bigger hands and longer fingers, and there is ample room for me. I have another custom guitar with a slightly wider neck, and probably similar to this one, but it is thinner, which is fine, but I also like the solid feel of this neck. This neck provides a sense of stability, if that makes sense, but at the same time, the strings feel more loose and slinky than say a LP or PRS and I can bend and play country licks more like a Tele, which suits me.

I would guess as well that this guitar stock is pretty close, if not exactly, what Steve Vai plays because I can't see what you could do to improve the playability or tone, for what that is worth. In other words, it doesn't feel like a stock guitar with a signature (though his name is not on it), it feels like it's probably a pretty fair replica of what he plays, even if I can't play it like he can.

Then, I would also say that the 5 position pickups are not what I expected. Yes, the 4th position (between neck and center) is more muted and jazzy, but the neck pick up has some nice full kick to it and is one of my favorites so far, especially for clean tones. Often, with other guitars, the neck pick up by itself is purely a rhythm setting or sounds a bit thin or lacks dynamics, but this one sounds bright and sparkly, but without the same full bite as the bridge position, which is obviously the hottest pickup. With distorted/OD settings, you can still hear every string really well, very clear even though distorted, not muddy, which is hard to describe, and it feels like it has unlimited sustain as well, especially with a little OD.

I have not played this guitar out yet, but folks in my house said it sounds really good, and I think it does as well, especially through a good tube amp. It also comes with a nice guitar multi tool, that has all of the Allen wrenches and screw drivers you would ever need. I am not sure I need two trem bars, but happy to have 2. In terms of negatives, It is a lot of money for an Ibanez, but I feel like the quality is worth it and I think this will likely become my daily driver, which is saying a lot. I also like the color very much (I have the sky blue), and it looks a little smaller and more angular in real life. One other note, the chord plugs into the center bottom at an angle, so you can't set the guitar on the ground without concern about damaging your cable or having the guitar slide over, so it will always need a stand. I will revise if something more negative comes up, but initial impressions are very positive, and I appreciate that we people on the planet that make great gear.