After months of excitement and gear speculation, Sammy Hagar is set to take his Best of All Worlds tour out on the road this weekend.
The 31-date run will see the vocalist performing Hagar and Roth-era Van Halen songs, backed by an all-star band featuring Joe Satriani, Michael Anthony, and Jason Bonham.
The guitar world has been patiently drip-fed information about the gear that Satch will be using for the shows, with many a keen eye paying close attention to a man who doesn’t do things by halves.
We already know he’s worked with 3rd Power amps for a tube amp that nails Eddie Van Halen’s transitional 1986 guitar tone, and that his signature Ibanez models will feature. Now he’s given fans the most comprehensive rundown of his Van Halen-worthy axes yet in a new video.
Amongst the guitars packed for tour is a 1995 Music Man Wolfgang, which he bought on Reverb. It has since been re-fretted and had Satriani’s signature DiMarzio Satur8 humbucker installed in the bridge. The pickups it came with “didn’t work,” in a surprise twist.
The pickup's chrome finish, he says, “was not the color we were looking for but it was the only one they had.”
There’s also a modded EVH Frankenstien, which has been fitted with a Sustainiac pickup, kill switch, and a clear pickguard for “my unusual picking technique.”
Of his Frankensteined Frankenstien, he adds “I straightened out the pickup and put a Satur8 in there. It sounds really good.”
Satriani has previously joked that he fears the ghost of Eddie will haunt him for the mods he’s made to the guitar. But, forever a tinkerer and innovator, we imagine that Eddie would have loved to see these choice tweaks being made here.
The Satriani signature guitars that have gotten the nod are his Elephants of Mars model, his standout Chrome signature, and Red, White, and Black variants.
Of those, he says “my main guitar is gonna be the chrome guitar, which I have really beat up on tour all year. It sounds great for all the stuff.”
The Red model, meanwhile “is a bit sweeter” for having a basswood, rather than an alder body. The Black model will stand as his 5150 guitar.
Indeed, the fact that an Ibanez – and not an EVH or the Music Man – will play the leading role is an interesting development, with the guitarist perhaps leaning a little further into his style of playing than some expected.
There is one feature, though, that is prevalent across virtually all the touring guitars, regardless of who made them.
“I’m sure people will say, ‘What’s this speed knob doing here?’” says Satch with his Elephants guitar in hand.
“Well, it’s because I need the numbers. I just need to look down really quick and find out where ‘four’ is on the volume knob, and get that perfect volume setting for whatever song we're doing.”
Satriani admits that he’s “not quite sure which ones are going to be the ones I’ll use on every song,” but insists he’ll “have fun” and “mix it up,” throughout the tour.
Visit Sammy Hagar's website for a full list of upcoming Best of All Worlds tour dates.
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