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  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

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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
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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.

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