Joe Satriani says 24 frets are enough for him

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      Last month I went and saw Uli Jon Roth’s Ultimate Guitar Experience in Vancouver, and man–the things the German guitar wizard and ex-Scorp can do on his 32-fret Sky guitar are something to behold.

      So a couple of weeks back when I was interviewing Joe Satriani in advance of his show at the Molson Canadian Theatre at Hard Rock next Sunday (April 24) I asked him what he thought of Roth’s fret-heavy invention.

      "Well I toured with Uli back in 1998," replied Satch, "so I got to see that guitar every day for almost six weeks, and I played it a few times. A beautiful, you know, beautiful sounding instrument."

      That said, Satriani believes that the 24 frets on his signature Ibanez JS2450 guitar are plenty.

      "If it gets too high sometimes people don't know how to fit it in their ear," he explained. "It just gets too damn high, you know."

      So, in conclusion, don't expect Satriani to be asking Ibanez to build him a 30- or 32-fret model any time soon.

      "Nope," he says, "don't need 'em."

      For more from Satriani, see the preview in this week's issue of the Georgia Straight.

      Read it on paper for that old-school 22-fret vibe.

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