I don't just mean are you aware of it, I was wondering if anybody here actually KNEW the fretboard or frormula for this madness. I've tried all over the net and in mags, but I can't find anything more than a whisper of it's name anywhere. I don't want to have to ask some fop at TG or GT or whatever, because I rekon you're the better bet, so come on guys! help a fellow shredder out!

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im not sure but i THINK his should be in the theory section

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You can't play it on just any guitar, rumor has it he has a guitar in lockup that was custom made with 48 frets. Instead of being based on half steps it is based on quarter steps. . . Therefore, unless you have a guitar cut to that design it would be impossible to play. So, it doesn't matter. I believe it is actually called "Xavian" but yeah, Steve doesn't use it much anyways.

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48 frets!?! Holy shit that guitar must have been detuned like 10 steps or else everybodies ears were going to blow up.

It isn't an extended scale. . . it is the same size of a fretboard just divided into quarter semitones rather than half semitones like a regular guitar. . . .

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I'd like to have a guitar like that.

I forgot to mention that you could pull it off on a fretless. . . just it would be a lot more ummmm challenging. . . I could be wrong on some of this but I do believe I am correct on it. . . I read an article on it once upon a time on a guitar scale site. . . Can't be specific but I am not just pulling it from my ass.

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The neck must be a bit longer, otherwise the frets at the high end would be too small for you fingers. Well, for my fingers anyway.

Does anybody have a picture of this 48 fret guitar? Would the inlay locations change/ or have more of them? How would you even fit your fingers in the frets past the 15th????

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Ok well that explains a few things.

You mean divided into half-semitones rather than individial semitones

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he uses a frettless........ i read it in his interview........ i dont even think 48 frett guitars exist.

48 frets... quartertones... sounds like a sitar. you know... the big twangy thing that the arabians rock out with



although... i'm probably completely wrong

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The intro to Metallica's "Wherever I may Roam" uses a sitar.

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why not? it is supposed to be custom made

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so thats what that sound is! that sounds fuckin rad.

Speaking of sitars heres a cheap electric one.
http://www.rondomusic.net/sitar.html

Hey not to resurrect an old subject but check out this guitar. . . http://yehao.com/ulijonroth/Gallery3/G3-Wembley-4.htm . . . . it isn't quite 48 frets but it is 36 frets. . . Uli Jon Roth once of the scorpions. . . anyways hope you enjoy this ugly guitar that is definitely fucking jam worthy, at least once.

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haha, yeah, but that one is in regular semi-tone scale

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i've seen that axe before, its crazy.

I would say that Vai just uses a fretless guitar. it would be easier than twice the frets, can you immagine how small they would get?

I wouldnt mind a fretless, you could just have mother of pearl strips where the frets would be, that way you wouldnt get lost when trying to sound a note

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I heard Ronni LeTekro of TNT had one made for him, and it was a quarter-tone guitar, too. Neven seen a picture of one, though. It would be nice to see what one looks like. Must be quite a crazy instrument.

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stop changing subject guys! i need the formula or fretboard maps so i can play it! i dont care about metallica, they're shit anyway! and as for sitars, why bother? play a koto or shamisen. but yeah, little help please people (even a link to another thread that knows if you can't be arsed to tab it yourself [i know i wouldn't])

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don't be like that. if annybody posting in this thread new, he would have told you. And whats wrong with a little offtopic entertainment as long as its not flaming?

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Point being even if we did have the formula, you more than likely could not play it. Probably because you don't have a guitar capable of playing it unless you are a God of bends. . . So the relativity of having the formula is only as relative as your ability to play it. . . which not dogging you but the idea of you playing it is similar to Ellen Degeneres winning a heterosexual award.

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The "Xavian scale" (not Xavier) is made by taking the octave and break it up into 16 equal tones; it is a thing called "Divine Dissonance". The Xavian Scale is a 10 note scale extracted from the 16 tones, and when you play chords with it, its supposed to be very dissonant because of the intervals being so twisted. The guitar he uses to play this scale is just a 30 fret guitar that has the octave at 16 frets (so all your jibber jabber about a 48 fret was pointless). He also has another guitar that breaks the octave up into 24 tones, which gets into tetrachords and blah blah blah. Steve Riply made both guitars for Steve Vai. So to answer your question of how can i use it/play it, YOU CAN!! Only if your friends enough with Steve Vai to use that guitar.

He also does this with other scales where he breaks up an the European 12 note octave into equal parts. He has done it with 9 or 10 equal parts as well. He calls each different scale a Fractal.

And the Question your asking yourself now, "Where can i hear this Xavian Scale". He only used it on 'Deep Down Into the Pain'.

So there is your answer, hopefully it worked out nicely for you, because much of the stuff on this thread is very "Rumorish". All this info here is straight from Steve Vai's mouth.

Mental! Just what I've been looking for!

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it still would be cool to see a 48fret guitar

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It would be, however impossible to play... semi-semitones?! The frets get small as it is in semitones. A scalloped neck would be required.

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If you made the scale length of a guitar neck/fretboard longer would that not increase the fret size? The neck would have to be crazy long and you would probably need higher gauge strings to make it tight, and a nice tight truss rod to go along with it to make it comfortable to play the higher frets, but that would probably leave the lower frets, hard to reach/play.

Either way, don't you guys have enough problems playing a 22 fret guitar let alone a 24 fret which i am sure alot of you have? Its kind of cool i suppose but it seems just as elementary as like trying to beat some kind of speed record by being like 'look how far i can go'. Well thats nice but until you have mastered a 6 string, why make a 9 string, 40+ fret guitar? Meh, its a little impractical and stupid. Even if you wanted to be all unique and individual, i hear half those guys with a 7 string or 8 string never use it to its potential anyways, and its definately a look thing. But i am not doubting there are guys out there that do amazing stuff, there was this one guy that made like crazy mutli line songs with his 8 string, but i forget who that is.

bigger is better

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