Rising costs and reduced return on investment have forced an artistic decision upon 50-something guitar ace Joe Satriani.
“It has to be 5 strings for the foreseeable future,” Satriani told Rolf Apilos of MF Shredz magazine. “It’s simple bean counting really, there’s a 17% saving in strings there. This is the recurring cost that I can most easily control. If I can get the number of guitars used in a set down to 3 then I can really start reaping the rewards.”
Satriani feels that the non-financial sacrifice to be made is trivial. “It’s actually LESS strings. I manage to get around six strings OK, having five will simplify many aspects. I should have done this years ago. OK… there is some relearning to be done, and I probably will have to see the Hendrix tour out on the old setup.”
"I have to tune differently, probably in 5ths which is like a Mandolin and, in fact, opens up many new possibilities."
Other cost saving strategies on the Satriani radar are the use of coated strings and reducing the number of guitars used in a show. In terms of his auxiliary gear he is looking at a single amp and Ice 8 rather than Ice 9 overdrive pedals. Ibanez are working on a new “string scrape” pedal to compensate for the coated strings, but Satriani says the savings on strings and plectrums (“17% less wear per strum”) will soon pay for the one new piece of gear.
“Unfortunately this is the reality of the times that we live in,” said Satriani. “Fans, those of them that know how many strings a guitar has, will have to get used to this and make some small adjustments, though I can assure them that the music will not suffer. Steve Vai is going to be touring with six string guitars. David Gilmour is cutting back to just three guys to operate his pedals.”
