Description
Roadhouse USA:
RL Customs Steve Vai Flame Hand Crafted Tribute Guitar W/Hard Case.
Handmade in Dundee Oregon by a maker called RL Customs.
If you have ever (like me) wanted a guitar like the one Vai played with David Lee Roth in the late 80’s, this is about as good a replica as you will ever find.
Well made, nice finish on it, the neck is excellent and the guitar plays great. Lynch ESP style hockey stick headstock, very similar to the original Flame guitar that was made by Joe Despagni.
The bridge is a Floyd Rose copy and I have not pulled the pickup to see what it actually is, but it sounds quite good and its easily replaceable with your personal fav if you don’t dig it.
This was a VERY solid build, a well made guitar. Its not some cheap Chinese joke at all. While it is obviously not the original, its as close as us normal guys will end up ever coming to it.
Comes as pictured with hard case.
Fun Facts about the original Flame Guitar:
The original Flame Guitar built by Joe Despagni and used extensively on the David Lee Roth Tour. It was loaned to Guitar Center / Rockwalk in Hollywood, where it hung amidst guitars owned by various celebrity musicians. (A weird or funny addendum: Rich Pike, of Vai.com, and Steve’s assistant through the mid-to-late-90’s, once worked at that Guitar Center and discovered that the guitar is on the computer’s inventory list with a selling price of $50,000!). Sold in Sept 18 2017 by Steve to raise funds for his friend Joe Despagni, Steve’s life long friend who built the guitar. Joe passed away in 2018.
