Replicas of Steve Vai's Emerald Ultra Guitar now available

Last month, we brought you news of the Emerald Ultra guitar, the futuristic, otherworldly looking instrument that Steve Vai is playing for the song The Ultra Zone on his current The Story Of Light Tour.

The guitar was custom-built for Vai by Alister Hay of the Ireland-based Emerald Guitars. Hay based his design on Aaron Brown's illustration for Vai's 1999 album, The Ultra Zone, which depicts an "alien Steve" playing a guitar that could have come from a sci-fi film.

Replicas of the Ultra guitar are now available from Emerald Guitars. Each is an exact replica of the Ultra Guitar owned by Vai and will precisely maintain the same standard and specs as the one the guitarist is currently playing.

The Ultra guitar's body is constructed from a carbon/glass composite and its neck is carbon fibre. It features built-in lasers and what is said to be a "chameleon-like tendency to change color." The run of Ultra Guitars is limited to just 100 pieces. Each Ultra guitar comes with a hand-crafted “Pod” guitar case like Vai’s, along with a letter of authenticity.

The price is $8,450 USD, and orders can be secured with a $1,000 USD deposit. To pre-order and for more information, visit Emerald Guitars.

The Ultra guitar - front and back views

The Ultra guitar - plus "Pod" case

The Ultra guitar - snazzy lighting stand not included

Steve Vai vibes out in rehearsal with his Ultra guitar

Designer Alister Hay with the Ultra guitar

Joe is a freelance journalist who has, over the past few decades, interviewed hundreds of guitarists for Guitar World, Guitar Player, MusicRadar and Classic Rock. He is also a former editor of Guitar World, contributing writer for Guitar Aficionado and VP of A&R for Island Records. He’s an enthusiastic guitarist, but he’s nowhere near the likes of the people he interviews. Surprisingly, his skills are more suited to the drums. If you need a drummer for your Beatles tribute band, look him up.