While he didn't have to wait as long as Randy Bachman did, Steve Vai is elated after being reunited with a hole-y grail guitar that has eluded him for nearly four decades: a custom green instrument known as "Swiss Cheese."
Over the weekend (January 14), Vai shared the story of the axe's importance and recovery in an Instagram post, sharing how it was one of a number of custom guitars built for him by the late Joe "Jem" Despagni.
"Joe was my best friend in life growing up & he made me some of the wildest guitars I ever laid my fingers on such as the Flame guitar, the Lightning Bolt, this Swiss Cheese guitar, ZNG ZNG & his final piece that he made for me before he passed away, Theadolite," Vai shared, referencing the radical instrument designs that came before the virtuoso's Ibanez affiliation and that brand's JEM signature series of guitars, co-designed by Vai and named for his late friend.
One of those early instruments was the green "Swiss Cheese" model seen above, and as Vai tells it, "I used 'Swiss Cheese' in the original 'Yankee Rose' video while I was with David Lee Roth, and stretched it out in rehearsals & was planning on touring with it, but this guitar, along with 3 others, was stolen in Pasadena, CA, at Perkins Palace during rehearsals for the Eat 'Em and Smile tour," Roth's first solo trek after leaving Van Halen.
Notably, Vai confirms that the green-painted "Swiss Cheese" is "officially the first guitar to receive a 'monkey grip' handle, and the first one Joe made with a handle at my request" — a prominent design feature that has become a hallmark of the Ibanez JEM series.
As for where it ended up after being stolen in the mid-'80s, Vai shares, "The guitar was discovered by young [Iván González Acosta] in the attic of his grandparents home in Tijuana, Mexico not too long ago. It seems the people that lived in his grandparents house before them purchased the guitar somewhere along the way & it was just stuck in the attic only to be discovered recently when they were reorganizing things."
Vai explains that photos of the instrument shared by Acosta online found their way back to collaborator Mike Mesker, who the artist calls "THE authority on the history & specifics of all my guitars."
"Mike started reaching out to Ivan & after some time he was able to arrange a drop off where Ivan was met by Mike, [Vai's guitar tech] Doug MacArthur & myself," Vai shared, adding of the instrument's shape nearly four decades later, "The condition of the guitar when I saw it was a shocker. It's as if it was put in the case & never played for 36 years. The colors are still vibrant and the neck is in great shape."
Thanking Acosta for returning the instrument, Vai concluded, "Receiving this guitar feels like an old friend has returned home after so many years to jam with me. I believe that we will make a wonderful Ham and Swiss sandwich together."
If you think Vai's "Swiss Cheese" guitar is an affront to luthiery, you should see the instrument that landed the legendary axeman on the list of Exclaim!'s 25 Worst Album Covers of 2022.
Over the weekend (January 14), Vai shared the story of the axe's importance and recovery in an Instagram post, sharing how it was one of a number of custom guitars built for him by the late Joe "Jem" Despagni.
"Joe was my best friend in life growing up & he made me some of the wildest guitars I ever laid my fingers on such as the Flame guitar, the Lightning Bolt, this Swiss Cheese guitar, ZNG ZNG & his final piece that he made for me before he passed away, Theadolite," Vai shared, referencing the radical instrument designs that came before the virtuoso's Ibanez affiliation and that brand's JEM signature series of guitars, co-designed by Vai and named for his late friend.
One of those early instruments was the green "Swiss Cheese" model seen above, and as Vai tells it, "I used 'Swiss Cheese' in the original 'Yankee Rose' video while I was with David Lee Roth, and stretched it out in rehearsals & was planning on touring with it, but this guitar, along with 3 others, was stolen in Pasadena, CA, at Perkins Palace during rehearsals for the Eat 'Em and Smile tour," Roth's first solo trek after leaving Van Halen.
Notably, Vai confirms that the green-painted "Swiss Cheese" is "officially the first guitar to receive a 'monkey grip' handle, and the first one Joe made with a handle at my request" — a prominent design feature that has become a hallmark of the Ibanez JEM series.
As for where it ended up after being stolen in the mid-'80s, Vai shares, "The guitar was discovered by young [Iván González Acosta] in the attic of his grandparents home in Tijuana, Mexico not too long ago. It seems the people that lived in his grandparents house before them purchased the guitar somewhere along the way & it was just stuck in the attic only to be discovered recently when they were reorganizing things."
Vai explains that photos of the instrument shared by Acosta online found their way back to collaborator Mike Mesker, who the artist calls "THE authority on the history & specifics of all my guitars."
"Mike started reaching out to Ivan & after some time he was able to arrange a drop off where Ivan was met by Mike, [Vai's guitar tech] Doug MacArthur & myself," Vai shared, adding of the instrument's shape nearly four decades later, "The condition of the guitar when I saw it was a shocker. It's as if it was put in the case & never played for 36 years. The colors are still vibrant and the neck is in great shape."
Thanking Acosta for returning the instrument, Vai concluded, "Receiving this guitar feels like an old friend has returned home after so many years to jam with me. I believe that we will make a wonderful Ham and Swiss sandwich together."
If you think Vai's "Swiss Cheese" guitar is an affront to luthiery, you should see the instrument that landed the legendary axeman on the list of Exclaim!'s 25 Worst Album Covers of 2022.
