Skip to main content
MusicRadar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
UK EditionUK US EditionUS AU EditionAustralia SG EditionSingapore
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Artist news
  • Guitars
  • Controllers
  • Drums
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Guitar Amps
  • Music Gear Reviews
  • Synths
  • Software & Apps
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About us
More
  • "She knew what she'd created": Back to Black
  • Trower's '80s supergroup
  • Music theory tricks
  • Stage Tour game
  • 95k+ free music samples
  1. Guitars

Ibanez launches trio of Steve Vai swirled seven-string guitars to mark 25th anniversary of Passion And Warfare

News
By Michael Astley-Brown
Published 11 August 2016

New Universe models celebrate shred icon

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Passion and Warfare

Passion and Warfare

We first caught a glimpse of these swirled stunners at Ibanez's spangly NAMM stand, and now Steve Vai's trio of special 7-string guitars are hitting stores.

Celebrating 25 years of Vai's pivotal Passion And Warfare, the three guitars - Passion, Warfare and Silver - are based on the Universe guitars Steve used on the album, and each come with a certificate of authenticity.

The UV77PSN Passion and UV77WFR Warfare draw on the much-coveted swirled patterns found on original Universes, while the UV77SVR Silver reflects the album's silver anniversary and recalls Steve’s custom seven-string used when touring with Whitesnake back in the day.

Head on through the gallery for a closer look, but before you do, we should warn you that these made-in-Japan beauties all retail for around $9,300 ($6,999 street), and we can't even guess what UK RRPs will be just yet.

For now, just stare into those lovely finishes and forget all about the outlay…

Page 1 of 4
Page 1 of 4
Ibanez UV77PSN Passion

Ibanez UV77PSN Passion

  • Neck type: UV 1pc maple neck
  • Body: American basswood body
  • Fretboard: Rosewood fretboard w/ Disappearing Pyramid inlay
  • Frets: Jumbo frets w/ Prestige fret edge treatment
  • Bridge: Lo-Pro Edge 7 tremolo bridge
  • Neck pickup: DiMarzio Blaze (H) neck pickup
  • Middle pickup: DiMarzio Blaze (S) middle pickup
  • Bridge pickup: DiMarzio Blaze (H) bridge pickup
  • Hardware colour: Chrome
Page 2 of 4
Page 2 of 4
Ibanez UV77WFR Warfare

Ibanez UV77WFR Warfare

  • Neck type: UV 1pc maple neck
  • Body: American basswood body
  • Fretboard: Rosewood fretboard w/ Disappearing Pyramid inlay
  • Frets: Jumbo frets w/ Prestige fret edge treatment
  • Bridge: Lo-Pro Edge 7 tremolo bridge
  • Neck pickup: DiMarzio Blaze (H) neck pickup
  • Middle pickup: DiMarzio Blaze (S) middle pickup
  • Bridge pickup: DiMarzio Blaze (H) bridge pickup
  • Hardware colour: Black
Page 3 of 4
Page 3 of 4
Ibanez UV77SVR Silver

Ibanez UV77SVR Silver

  • Neck type: UV 1pc maple neck
  • Body: American basswood body
  • Fretboard: Rosewood fretboard w/ Disappearing Pyramid inlay
  • Frets: Jumbo frets w/ Prestige fret edge treatment
  • Bridge: Lo-Pro Edge 7 tremolo bridge
  • Neck pickup: DiMarzio Blaze (H) neck pickup
  • Middle pickup: DiMarzio Blaze (S) middle pickup
  • Bridge pickup: DiMarzio Blaze (H) bridge pickup
  • Hardware colour: Chrome
Page 4 of 4
Page 4 of 4
Michael Astley-Brown
Michael Astley-Brown
Social Links Navigation

Mike has been Editor-in-Chief of GuitarWorld.com since 2019, and an offset fiend and recovering pedal addict for far longer. He has a master's degree in journalism from Cardiff University, and 15 years' experience writing and editing for guitar publications including MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitarist, as well as 20 years of recording and live experience in original and function bands. During his career, he has interviewed the likes of John Frusciante, Chris Cornell, Tom Morello, Matt Bellamy, Kirk Hammett, Jerry Cantrell, Joe Satriani, Tom DeLonge, Radiohead's Ed O'Brien, Polyphia, Tosin Abasi, Yvette Young and many more. His writing also appears in the The Cambridge Companion to the Electric Guitar. In his free time, you'll find him making progressive instrumental rock as Maebe.

Read more
Ibanez Axe Design Lab Iceman ICMS721
Guitars Ibanez just weaponised the Iceman for metal and refreshed a bunch of its flagship signature models
 
 
Kramer 50th Anniversary Collection
Guitars Kramer marks 50 years of shred with a gold metallic makeover for its high-performance lineup
 
 
MusicRadar Guitar Gear Round-up June 2026
Guitars MusicRadar’s epic guitar gear round-up: June ’26 edit, ft. EHX, PRS, Fender’s mega-launch and more
 
 
Jackson and Charvel Sleep Token Signature Models: the Jackson Monarkh and Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Bass V are designed for low-end metal riffing.
Artists Jackson and Charvel’s Sleep Token signature models are officially here – and are officially kind of insane
 
 
MusicRadar Guitar Gear Round-up July 2026
Guitars MusicRadar’s July 2026 guitar gear roundup: featuring Orange Amps, Harley Benton, Epiphone and more
 
 
Brandon Ellis demos his signature Jackson Kelly in Gold Crackle
Artists Jackson and Brandon Ellis unveil a top-tier 27-fret Kelly that's designed especially for metal solos
 
 
Latest in Guitars
An Epiphone Les Paul electric guitar on a blue background
Guitars I’ve covered Guitar Center sales for years, and the freshly launched Guitar-A-Thon sale is a must-shop with reductions hitting up to 30% off
 
 
Death Cab For Cutie
Artists When Death Cab for Cutie shared their guitar rig with us
 
 
Epiphone Joan Jett Olympic Special
Electric Guitars Epiphone brings back the Joan Jett Olympic Special and gives the single-pickup powerhouse an all-new look
 
 
Joe Bonamassa demos his new signature Pawnshop Special P-90 pickups from Seymour Duncan.
Artists How a miracle pawn shop purchase in the depths of winter made Joe Bonamassa fall in love with P-90s:
 
 
Gibson x Baggs HiFi DNA Pickup
Guitars Have Gibson and Baggs cracked the code for amplified acoustic guitar tone? Meet the HiFi DNA system
 
 
Electro-Harmonix Adrian Belew Echoflanger
Guitars “Equal parts smooth operator and agent of chaos”: EHX and Adrian Belew resurrect the Echoflanger
 
 
Latest in News
Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor, November 1978
Drummers What Roger Taylor thought when he first heard Freddie Mercury’s voice: "Like a strangled sheep"
 
 
suno
Tech "I'm cancelling my subscription": Suno users slam its V6 update as "muffled, generic, soulless garbage"
 
 
Sonicware ELZ_1 core
Synths Sonicware’s ELZ_1 core puts a powerful, multi-synthesis engine in a compact desktop box
 
 
The Smiths
Artists Johnny Marr recalls the magical experience of writing songs with Morrissey for The Smiths
 
 
An Epiphone Les Paul electric guitar on a blue background
Guitars I’ve covered Guitar Center sales for years, and the freshly launched Guitar-A-Thon sale is a must-shop with reductions hitting up to 30% off
 
 
La Roux headshot, looking into camera
Singles And Albums “I lost my voice, had a nervous breakdown and disappeared for ten years”: La Roux re-emerges with new album
 
 

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...